Kids' Club

So we managed to get the very first Kids’ Club off the ground last week. Shame this was the last week of school summer holidays, so the only one for now, but it was very much worth it.

Really I should have set these up earlier in the holidays, but I can only be in one place at a time and I was in the kitchen making preserves.

Anyway, last Wednesday morning three lovely families gathered with me in the woodland where we explored trees and discovered all sorts of things about them.

We listened to poems, we pretended we were trees, stretching our toes into the ground and our branches up to the sky. We flexed and swayed and were tickled by the wind. We soaked up the sun on our faces as we reached upwards.

Then we introduced ourselves to the different kinds of trees around us and learned about how they grow, what they do, why leaves are different colours, why and when they fall from the trees, and all about flowers, fruits, seeds and nuts.

We talked about Squirrels and Jays and how they gather and hide acorns and hazelnuts, and that sometimes they forget about them and the acorns and nuts grow into trees.

We learned about giving and taking, so we should ask and thank trees before picking their leaves or fruits and we should promise to give something in return, which may be that we will look after them and keep them safe, or perhaps to plant more trees.

We gathered treasures from the woodland floor. We learned all about what we had found. Then we looked at some of the berries and nuts on the trees.

We played hide and seek with the legendary Green Man of the woods and read his poem.

Then we heard about how the different trees show us their magic, by protecting from evil spirits, helping us see faerie parades and protect ourselves from the faeries’ trickery and pranks, and also which trees make the best magic wands and flying broomsticks.

Next we went for a walk to explore some of the farm’s hedges. We saw a bright yellow mushroom with a sponge underneath it’s cap, a puffball mushroom, some fun exploding seeds that were difficult to catch, and we found flowers, seeds, berries and evergreen needles that we could eat.

Then we visited a great big Willow tree with a whole world of mystery beneath. We climbed into its big branches and imagined what creatures might live protected under the tree. Then we sat on the grass next to the tree and made a story about these characters, which was a lot of fun.

I have a lasting impression of a sleepy 💤 badger 🦡 snoring gently, while a bunny 🐇 and a ‘wabbit’ RABBIT 🐰 munched nearby on carrots 🥕 and broccoli 🥦.

Lots of smiles and giggles and some warm sunshine made this the perfect morning outdoors.

I hope to organise some more Kids Club events soon and I’d love to see you there.

Watch out for dates on the Events page here on the website and on our Facebook page, where you can ‘Follow’ us to keep up to date with what we’re up to.