Some of our KS1 pupils have been preparing the allotment for Spring, by tidying up, and planting bulbs. They’ll be checking on their progress as they grow.
Some of our Year 1 pupils were having fun in the allotment yesterday. They enjoyed using the gardening tools to tidy the raised beds. Next week they should be ready to plant some bulbs for the Spring.
Some of our Year 2 pupils visited our allotment to see which fruit and vegetables were growing there. We found broccoli, spinach, Swiss chard, cabbage, mint, thyme, courgette, blackberries and rosemary. Some of these are mentioned in our Oliver’s Vegetables story book. It helped us to write our descriptions of Grandpa’s garden.
The rain has been good for the plants, trees and animals in the allotment.
We harvested our first crop of spring green cabbages and lettuces and had a taste of the lettuce – some of our staff had it with their lunch. Back in class, we prepared the cabbage and mixed it with other vegetables to make soup. Yum!
It’s a great feeling knowing that we helped to grow our own food.
In our allotment we noticed that there seemed to be a lot of strange looking ladybirds on our raised beds! After a bit of research, we discovered that many of them were in fact stages in the life cycle of a ladybird. We didn’t see any eggs, but we spotted lots of larva, pupa, and adult ladybirds. We had a little ladybird spotters guide and found that the most common ladybird in our allotment is the adult 7- spot ladybird, its larva and pupa. Apparently there are 46 different species of ladybird in the UK. We learnt quite a bit about them. They are great for our allotment ecosystem.
As you know, pets and other animals are so important to us and to our world. Here are some suggestions to help out our animal friends:
Being kind to animals
Have a kind play time with your pet. Even if it’s just 10 minutes to play, your pet should enjoy it.
Help to tidy up the area your pet sleeps in.
Create a corner for nature
A leaf pile – A leaf pile provides a place for worms, gives shelter to other creatures, and will also supply valuable compost that will naturally fertilise your garden’s soil.
Long grass and nettles – Long grassy areas will attract insects, provide shelter for animals, and give food for predators.
Logs – Logs provide an excellent hiding place for all sorts of amphibians, frogs and ground beetles.
Herbs and flowers – attracts pollinating minibeasts and birds.
A spoonful of water and sugar – a simple mixture of sugar and water will help revive an exhausted bee. Simply mix two tablespoons of white, granulated sugar with one tablespoon of water, and leave some on a spoon.
Bird feeder – recycle a plastic bottle.
Pupils from Year 3 to Year 6 had a great time in the allotment today. They planted pea seeds, ready to go into polytunnel, and a pot to take home. The fruit trees in the orchard are starting to bloom, so hopefully the bees and insects will pollinate the flowers. We are looking forward to harvesting the fruit.
Joe Wicks PE lessons have been so popular with our pupils, and with pupils all over the world. We know that keeping active is especially important at the moment, and maintaining physical health keeps our body healthy, as well as giving the ‘feel good factor’.
Mental wellbeing is as important to us as our physical health, particularly in recent times. So try taking 5 minutes out of a busy, or tiring day to practise 5 minutes of mindfulness – focusing on the present moment. Mindfulness can relax your body and mind, creating a feeling of calm.
Have a go with Tai chi – you can practise outdoors or indoors.
You’ll soon pick it up, and it could become as much a part of your daily routine as… brushing your teeth! Our pupils thoroughly enjoyed it when Ilona, a local Tai chi instructor, gave us lessons during Health and Wellbeing Week.
Follow the NHS Mindfulness link for further advice.
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/mindfulness/
Spring is a great season to see growth happening in nature. Whether it’s spent in the garden, yard, planting in a window box, or watching from an open window. It’s all around!
It’s a fact that gardening, or being out in fresh air surrounded by bird song, flowers and trees, can make us feel uplifted and brighter, as well as providing other health benefits.
Checkout the video for some great activities you can do at home. You might learn a new skill like gardening – great exercise! Or grow some vegetables or flowers from seed. You may like to grow something to plant in our allotment, and observe it’s growth from time to time. Have fun!
There is more info on the growveg website:
https://www.growveg.co.uk/guides/fun-garden-activities-for-kids-during-lockdown/
Fantastic designs from our winners! The brief was to promote healthy eating, taking time out to enjoy the environment, exercise and wellbeing.
