The weather was kind to Prep I today as they made the short journey to RHS Bridgewater, to explore the garden and their senses. The day started with a potting session, where the children were shown how to plant up a seed and then got to plant their own – grown ups, make sure they are watered and go on a nice warm, sunny windowsill!
Then it was a visit to the learning garden, to explore the different senses of touch and small – using a ‘treasure hunt’, the children had to find plants with different textures and smells. Who knew there was a strawberry mint? A walk through the community vegetable gardens encouraged the use of our eyes, as did a search in the Paradise garden for different colours of plants. No one expected the plants to talk to us, but the children did listen to the sounds in amongst the plants and trees – the rustling of the leaves in the wind, the crackle of leaves underfoot – before we added our own percussion sounds, using branches and sticks to beat out a rhythm.
We didn’t eat any of the plants, but our taste senses certainly came into play when we stopped to eat Mr. Green’s lovely packed lunch, before we ended our activities with a visit to the Woodland Playground. A lovely – and educational – day had by all!
