Hello everyone, I hope you are well and enjoying the sunshine on your daily walks, or in your gardens. I’ve been noticing all the different leaves appearing this spring, and looking at the shadows they make - so this week’s theme is Leaves, Shapes & Shadows!
This week…
Listen to… Timeless Tales of Beatrix Potter: Peter Rabbit & Friends on Audible
Gather… leaves and play Leaf Snap! Everyone fans out around the garden or park and collects 10 different leaves. Come back together and make a circle, count from 3 down to 1, and then everyone places a leaf into the middle. If you have the same leaf as someone else, say Snap! Whoever says it first wins the leaf. First person to gather all of the leaves wins. A great game for looking closely at the similarities and differences between leaves
Make… a mandala on the ground with leaves, starting in the middle and working your way outwards in rings. Try sorting your leaves into different colours, textures and shapes and using them to make patterns. Here’s one we made at Forest School in the autumn
Bake… a garden flatbread! Find a flatbread recipe that you’d like to make (I used this one: https://minimalistbaker.com/garlic-herb-flatbread/), and then chop up lots of vegetables into different shapes - long thin strands, round shapes, angular pieces. Cover the flatbread with pesto or olive oil if you want, and then start laying out the pieces of veg onto your flatbread to make the image of a garden! Season, then bake, and enjoy!
Spot… shadows that leaves make on the walls, forest floor, parasol. Look out for the shadows cast by trees, plants, flowers, leaves, and yourselves! I’ve been taking pictures of the shadows I spot, feel free to send me pictures of the shadows you see
Draw… around each-other’s shadows! Stand on a concrete or paving slab path and see where your shadow goes, and then draw around each others shadows with chalk. Try it at different times of day to see what the position of the sun does to the length of your shadow
Thread… string through a needle, and then use the needle to thread through the tops of different leaves, pushing them each down your thread until you have a mobile to hang up made of beautiful leaves. Hang it up in front of a window to see the light through it
Print… leaves into clay or play dough, by rolling out a flat piece of clay, laying leaves on top of it, and then rolling them with a rolling pin. Peel the leaves away carefully to reveal the imprint left behind! Make a hole in the top and hang them in the sun to dry or bake in the oven to make leaf decorations
Experiment… with telling the time with a sundial. Create one using a circular piece of card and writing the numbers to create a clock face. Make a hole in the middle and attach a stick to the middle of the clock. Place it in the garden. Orient it so that the shadow falls on the correct time, and then come back later to see if the shadow has moved! My cat tried to help...
Write… your name using sticks to create the letters. Take a picture to send to me!
Challenge yourself with… the stick drop game. A two person game. Someone is the dropper, someone is the catcher. The dropper holds a stick, and the catcher puts their hand just above the stick. When the dropper drops the stick, the catcher must try to catch it before it reaches the ground.
Forage… for edible flowers to put in salads, teas and mud potions… Calendula (marigold) is an easy-to-spot edible flower that you can sprinkle in salads or make into a tea. (Not safe for pregnant/breastfeeding women)
Weave… a leaf crown to wear in your garden. Make a frame using pliable sticks (willow) or cardboard, and glue or weave leaves into it!
I hope you enjoy this week's activities, as always do comment below the blog with your pictures and experiences, let me know what worked well and what didn't! (My sundial only tells the time backwards... any advice welcome!)