Yesterday was the second part of our project at Newdale Primary School in Telford. Working with the children we are transforming the outdoor learning space into a garden featuring an orchard planted by the children.
The children were also invited to make some delicious apple juice in a traditional apple press.
…Pablo Christmas Tree!
The snow is here and with it, the usual uniquely British chaos, isn’t it fantastic how a smattering of white stuff can bring a country to a standstill?
It’s got some of us feeling festive and inspired this bit of papercraft animation.
There may be more episodes of this nature if the winter weather stays…………
On Wednesday we worked again with Reception at Kingsland, this time the topic was buildings and their challenge was to use the Flip cameras to capture the day. The children picked up some top tips on what makes a good film, including using a tripod to steady the shot and speaking clearly to ensure the microphone picks everything up.
To get our brains and imaginations working we warmed up with some dance, before moving onto using different materials to construct houses and furnish them inside.
In the afternoon we made paper plate faces of somebody who is important to us and took it in turns delivering to the camera and filming on the camera.
Today we worked with a group of reception children from Kingsland who wanted to use digital tools alongside mixed media to tell us a little about themselves.
The pupils began by creating life sized paintings and collaged versions of the tallest and shortest pupil in the class followed by making dough models in the afternoon.
Using the schools Flip cameras the entire day was captured by the children, along with a short puppet theatre piece using the dough models they created earlier in the day.
There is nothing quite like the vastness of a mountain range early morning to remind us all of the power of silence, it is an essential part of a mountain’s presence, it’s beauty, mysticism and majesty can be felt in a single heartbeat of silence, there are many things we can learn in any given moment of silence.
Yet we under value it, we forget this when we are faced with the pressure of having to lead and deliver, especially in the classroom when we have to get through a session and make sure young people have learnt certain facts. We all want them to contribute and be engaged and feel they are valued but when we ask them a question, if they they don’t fire back the ‘right’ answer immediately, we provide a well intentioned answer for them.
Is it time for us all to stop that repeating behaviour pattern and not be afraid of silence?Should we liberate the moments of silence that go unnoticed in the classroom waiting patiently for their turn? Imagine the possibilities in those very moments, maybe children will have a few seconds to think and come out with pearls of wisdom that enlighten us all.
Maybe, given the opportunity they will express things beyond our expectations of them, inspirational ideas and opinions that enable them to feel valued and make a meaningful contribution. Is being in the moment and being comfortable with silence one of the greatest gifts we can offer young people? Maybe silence really is golden.
We are all born with the ability to know the truth and live by it. Spending time with my great niece brings a real clarity to the simple things in life and to the joy of the truth, the truth we know in our hearts is simple, we don’t need it explaining, babies know it, we know it, the universe knows it too.
Why then, do we deny what we know and construct such complicated existence’s? Why do we spend so much irreplaceable time and energy making nonsense important? Do we really think justifying our inability to be truthful by trying to create falsehood actually works? Maybe we should all spend more time with the babies and learn from them, keep things simple and live with truth every second, every moment, every day.
How valuable is work experience? As a company we are committed to providing work experience opportunities and have people in regularly on short and medium term placements. These two students, one from Edinburgh University and one from Lacon Childe High spent last week with us developing their photography skills. These short films capture a few of their thoughts at the end of a long week’s graft.
We spent a few days last week working with children from Newdale Primary school to help them transform their unused outdoor learning space into something beautiful for recreational and educational purposes.
Giant apples and mushrooms with toadstool tables and chairs are just a few of the wonderful ideas children wanted to make happen. They wanted secret places for hiding and sharing stories and somewhere to strut their stuff.
Having a sunrise swim on holiday in Ireland forced me to think about the boundaries between playing it safe and taking a risk. I was fearful and awestruck when a couple of seals popped up next to me and for a few seconds I didn’t know what to do. Fear was replaced by concern, then respect before I just went with the moment and had an unforgettable experience.
The summer is over and I wondered how many of us play it safe at work? How do we respond when something scares or surprises us? Do we stay comfortable and safe, or do we embrace risk and learn and grow from it?
When we encounter daily challenges I hope we can stay in the moment, respond creatively and be inspired by the seals!
Why do so many people become silent when they reach their senior years? An ever increasing number of us are living longer and are finding ourselves in residential care. In spite of our wisdom, the system can soon quieten us and without anyone meaning for it to happen, we are no longer heard.
We want to explore what young people think of this situation and will support them in the Autumn as they create a multi media reportage installation that helps older people in care re-connect with their voice and share their experience.
