Summer breeze: The children at Queen's College take learing outdoors

The last day of the spring term was celebrated in the forest area to the children’s delight!

Forest Fridays are favourite days for the younger children; exercise and woodland activities allow the children to observe changes to their immediate locality, to search for interesting objects, to socialise in outdoor, natural settings, to watch, note, run and play. Learning takes on a new meaning and there is always something unusual to discover when you look carefully, listen and investigate!

The Nursery children have been learning all about the Spring season, labelling parts of flowers, sequencing pictures of the life cycle of a flower and making spring pictures by printing flowers using kitchen paper and different coloured paint. In the woods they played circle games recapping new words and letter sounds.

The Year 1 children have been investigating the world of "plants", they have been growing their own and are about to discover the magic of Jack and the Beanstalk!

Collecting twigs, stones, dry leaves and pieces of bark allows the children to create their own designs. These items are always available in the classroom for the children to use in art and design activities. What better place than nature to find inspiration for colour, shape and pattern?!

The older children continue their work on protecting our planet with projects instigated by Save the Med; respecting their immediate environment is always a starting point for their project work. They never miss an opportunity to make sure that any litter they come across is removed carefully whenever they work in the surrounding woodlands.

The children in Nursery, Reception and Years 1 and 2 are incredibly excited as this week they embark on their swimming programme in the Queen’s College Sports Centre. The older primary children use the school’s swimming pool throughout the year, the younger children wait until the weather is a little warmer.

They have been busy preparing their swimsuits, flip flops, caps and goggles and cannot wait for this new adventure! The walk to the centre is only a 3 minute walk away but with a class of excited three year olds carrying their change of clothes and bottle of water, preparation and routine are the key to a successful experience! Many of the children already go swimming at the centre after school but for some children, this will be their first time at the school’s swimming pool!

Here’s looking forward to a wonderful summer term at Queen’s College!