Make a wormery

You will need:

Large, clean jar or clear container

Plastic tray

Soil

Gravel and small stones

Water

Old leaves, plants/flowers

Fruit/veg peelings

Black Paper

Sticky tape

1.   Wash and dry your chosen jar or container. Place on plastic tray.

2.   Pour in some gravel or small stones, this will help to drain any excess water.

3    Then add alternate layers of sand and soil.

4.   Continue adding layers of sand and soil until you have nearly filled the container to the top. 

      Each layer should be about  2cm deep      There needs to be about 5cm of space at the top of the container.

5.   Add just a little water so that the top layer of soil is damp.

6.   Then find some earthworms to put into your wormery!  Carefully place them onto the top layer of soil.

7.   Next, gently place some leaves, plants or flowers and some fruit and vegetable peelings on the top.

8.   Poke some holes into the lid and place onto the container.

9.   Stick the black paper around the container and place somewhere cool and dark, like a cupboard.

10. Leave for a few days and then see what the worms are doing.  Hold the container carefully and place in on a table to       keep it steady.

11. To care for your worms, ensure that the contents of the wormery are kept moist but not too wet and not too dry.  Earthworms don't like to be kept anywhere too hot or too cold, so somewhere cool is best.  New food can be added once the first lot has been eaten.  Plants, leaves and flowers or food scraps are good, also some newspaper or cardboard scraps can be added.

Now Spring is almost upon us, its a great time to get outside and look for signs of new life, crocus, snowdrops and daffodils are in flower, birds are singing and many insects and animals are beginning to wake up from their winter sleep.

Whilst out on a walk this morning I decided to make a natural outdoor mobile so I collected some sticks and other natural objects such as fir cones, leaves, berries etc.  Using different lengths of string, I attached each object to the stick.  When I had finished, I hooked it up on a tree branch and watched it blow in the wind.

Have fun making one and do send us in a photo of yours!

To create such rubbings, you will need plenty of plain paper, some wax crayons and pencils.  You may want to explore inside your house and look for things with textures that will make perfect rubbings such as a tiled floor, some coins, or a cheese grater!  Some patterns will show up better than others. 

Take a look outside, explore and try different things. Again, somethings will have better results than others.  There may be different textures on house bricks, trees and drain covers.  If you are out on a walk, look for raised lettering on signs and different textures on buildings but do be respectful of peoples property.

Have a lovely, relaxing half term and remember the star count activity runs through till 14th February. 

Star Count - family lockdown activity

This is a great activity which all the family can get involved in.  Between 6-14 February 2021, choose a clear night to count as many stars as you can which are positioned within the constellation of Orion.  To find out more, follow the link below for more information.

https://www.cpre.org.uk/what-we-care-about/nature-and-landscapes/dark-skies/star-count-2021

Wrap up warm and let us know how you got on!

                                                                          
The weather forecast is predicting snow this weekend! If we get enough snow, we would love to see photos of your snowmen/women.

Have a great weekend!                           

We hope you have all had a great week!  Did anyone make a Wow Jar/Gratitude Jar?  

Gratitude Jar/Wow Jar

In order to keep ourselves feeling good, why not make a gratitude or a wow jar.   The purpose of this is to remind us of the things that make us happy, the things we are good at and have achieved and what we are grateful for.  You start by writing on a piece of paper something positive, for example..."I love hugging my mum" or "I learned my 7 x tables" or "Today my dad and I splashed in the puddles, we had the best time" or "I spoke to my grandma on the phone, it made us both happy" if you can, put the date on there too.  Fold the piece of paper up and place it into the jar and do this every time something makes you happy.  Then on days when you may be feeling a bit sad or things aren't going right for you, look at some or all of the thoughts you have written, share them with your family.  You will soon forget about the negatives and will be able to gain those positive feelings again.

I hope you enjoy making this and do send in photos of your jars, we would love to see them.  Keep smiling and stay safe.

To make the jar, you will need the following. 

You will need:

A plastic or glass jar with a lid 

Some things to decorate your jar (sequins, glittler/glitterpens, ribbon etc)

Paper and pen

We've had quite a bit of rain lately and there's nothing better than to have a good old splash in a puddle.  So take your grown up out with you and wearing suitable clothing and wellingtons, go and have a SPLASH!! 

See if you can find a clean puddle and take time to look into the puddle.  Look at the reflection in the puddle.  What can you see?   Can you photograph it and maybe have a go at sketching the reflection.

Another great water activity is pooh sticks, follow the link to find out how to play.

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/no-19-play-pooh-sticks

Make a bird feeder

During the winter months food for the birds is vital for them to survive so we can give them a helping hand by putting out seed and suet based food for them.  

This weeks activity is to make bird feeders to put in the garden.  Below are some

instructions for you to follow.   

Also coming up is the Big Garden Birdwatch which runs from 29th - 31st January.  This is a great opportunity for you and your family to take part in this survey, where you can spend an hour, counting birds in your garden from the comfort of your own home.  Please follow the link to take part. 

https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/birdwatch   

You will need:   

Bird seed

Suet or lard

Yoghurt pot   

String

Scissors                                                     

1. Turn a clean yogurt pot upside down and make a hole in the middle of the base using a pair of scissors or sharp instrument, please ask a grown up to help you with this!

2. Keeping the pot this way, thread through a length of string so there is a length left at the top and at the bottom of the pot.

3. Cut cubes of suet or lard (at room temperature) into a large mixing bowl.

4. Add good-quality bird feed, sunflower seeds and dried fruit such as raisins to the suet or lard using one-third fat to two-thirds mixture, or until the fat holds the mixture together.  Mix this together using your hands.

5. Fill the yogurt pot to the brim with the mixture, being careful to ensure the string remains in the centre of the pot.

6. Tie a knot in the string at both ends of the yogurt pot and then again, adding a small twig to the end of the string – this will become a perch for visiting birds to sit on while feeding.

7. Place in the fridge for 2-4 hours or until the mixture is hard.(You could put it in the freezer!) 

8. Cut away the yogurt pot, and then hang the feeder upside down with the perch tied on at the bottom.

Have fun and stay safe!

Ice Art

      Activity

• Collect a large selection of natural materials from the outdoors such as pebbles, leaves, twigs, bark, shells, etc.
• Place a large shallow tray or dish on the ground and arrange the materials on the tray or in the dish. It doesn’t matter if they hang over the side.
• Fill the container with water and leave outside overnight on a night when it’s likely to freeze (or put in the freezer!). Before you leave it, place a piece of looped string in the water and over the edge of the container.
• Return to the container the next day to see what has happened. 
• Hang the ice art on a branch or from a post.
• Observe the sculpture during the day, does it melt or stay the same, do bits fall off? You may want to take photos to show how it changes throughout the day.
• You may want to make two ice sculptures and hang them in different places in the garden.  Which one melts first? Why?
• You could if you wish add some food colouring or paint to the water before it freezes.

Build a bug hotel

There are so many insects and bugs in our gardens at the moment and it's a great time to start building a bug hotel.  Follow this link from the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust to find out what you will need and how to build your very own bug hotel.  We would love to see your photos! 

https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/actions/how-build-bug-mansion

I Spy a Butterfly! 

How many butterflies have you seen this year?  The weather is certainly bringing them out.  Here are a few I've spotted in my garden over the last couple of weeks. 

Can you find these in your garden? 

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Cloud Watching

We have had some some beautiful blue skies lately and some amazing clouds also.  

Whilst in my garden at the weekend, I was looking up at the clouds and noticed a whale swimming above my house!  Can you spot it in the first photo?  I have outlined it for you in the second photo. 

Why not find a good spot on on the grass and look up at the different clouds and see if you can spot something in the sky.  Maybe take a photo of it and email it to  p.hamlen@st-marybourne.hants.sch.uk

Look at this link from the national trust about cloud watching, have fun!

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/no-33-go-cloud-watching

Pond Creation!

Look at this amazing wildlife pond made by a pupil from Oak class. Thank you for sharing this and well done! 🌈

"We collected some plants from the river and shells from the beach, then decorated it with fir cones and large pebbles/stones from the garden. And the best addition to our pond was a tadpole that we caught, called wiggle, he has two back legs now!"

Weaving

This is amazing, thank you to one of our pupils again for having a go at one of these projects. Thank you! 

Please see link below to YouTube video from Dodie giving an update on Makonsi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jonOE5lp8dE&feature=youtu.be

Make a wildlife pond

About 5 weeks ago I made a small pond in my garden using an old washing up bowl. Below are some step by step photos and instructions.  Look at the last photo, see how it is looking after those 5 weeks! 

You will need:
1 old washing up bowl
some gravel
large stones
2 tall plants and an oxygenating plant
water

What to do:
Dig a hole.
Put in the washing up bowl.
Wash the gravel.
Put the gravel in the bottom of the bowl.
Add some tall plants and some oxygenating plants to keep the water clear. 
Place some large stones to one side of the bowl so small creatures like hedgehogs can climb out. 
Tip the water in gently to fill the bowl. 
Plant around the pond. 

Weaving with natural materials

Using a piece of cardboard with string or wool, make yourself a weaving loom or even using some twigs tied together and attach wool from one end to the other.

Look for many different leaves, plant stems, twigs and flowers in the garden or whilst out on a walk to weave in and out of the wool.  Look at the photos below to give you some idea.  You may want to weave pieces of wool or string with the natural materials, this can be very effective.

Looking forward to seeing the end result, stay safe and have fun. 

Build a hedgehog house

I have been busy building a house for a hedgehog in my garden this week.  Although hedgehogs are very good at building their own homes, they will be very happy to move into one that has been made for them! 

Here are some photos and simple instructions to follow.  Find a quiet part of the garden to build your hedgehog house.  Ask a grown up to help you!

Please send us any photos of these projects, we would love to see how you got on.

Be happy and keep safe.

Now is a good time to start feeding hedgehogs so why not make your own hedgehog feeding station by following these easy instructions. Maybe ask a grown up to help you.

The quick, cheap and easy way:

• Get a plastic storage box about 12” wide by 18” long (or bigger)
• Either use it with the lid on, or turn the box upside down.
• Cut a 4” to 5” hole (about a large fist size) in one of the short ends.
• Tape around the cut-hole
• Hedgehogs can be messy eaters, so plenty of newspaper on the floor of the box
• Put the food at the opposite end so a fox or cat cannot put their long arm in and pull out the food
• Put a brick or heavy weight on top of the box, to stop it being knocked over or the lid pulled off.
• Place a bowl of cat biscuits or hedgehog biscuits in a shallow bowl as well as a shallow bowl of fresh water.  Never give milk or fish based food to hedgehogs.

The Butterfly Conservation Colouring Competition

Do you enjoy nature and spending time outside?  The butterfly conservation is a UK charity which monitors and protects our butterflies, moths and caterpillars.  Many butterflies are in decline and we need to protect these species. The butterfly conservation have a wonderful website with information and ways you can help encourage butterflies into your garden.

They are currently holding a colouring competition #ButterfliesForHope which runs from 28th April to 10th May. There are 3 categories; aged 0-8,  aged 9-15  and 16+.   If you are interested in taking part, follow the link where you will be able to download and print off this wonderful colouring sheet.  Good luck and enjoy!  

https://butterfly-conservation.org/our-work/education/colouring-competition

It looks like we have a few wet days ahead but that doesn't mean you have to stay indoors. Wrap up and go for a walk , jump in puddles or catch the rain drops on your tongue!

For those who like to be indoors on a wet day, here's a fun thing to do.  Make a letter from twigs, it could be the initial of your first name or someone else's name. 

You will need: 

Some twigs, the amount depends on your initial. The twigs are best with notches on as this gives character to the letter. 

Coloured wool or string 

Scissors

Have a go and email a photo to school to p.hamlen@st-marybourne.hants.sch.uk or j.hopkins@st-marybourne.hants.sch.uk 

We would love to see how you get on! 

Using natural materials found in my garden and on a walk,  I have been creating some natural art sculptures.

I have used fir cones, wood, sticks and flowers.  You could also use moss, leaves, grass, stones, anything that is natural. 

Can you work out what my sculptures are?  Why not create your own sculpture, take a photo of it and email it to p.hamlen@st-marybourne.hants.sch.uk or j.hopkins@st-marybourne.hants.sch.uk

We would love to see them and please ask an adult first before picking their flowers! 

Take care and stay safe 🌈.

Today I have been on a bug hunt in my garden, below are photos of bugs/insects which I have found.

Can you find these bugs/insects in your garden?   What are they called?  Where did you find them?  Maybe you could choose one and write down some interesting facts about it. The final photo is a part of an insect which I found. Can you name the insect it belongs to?

This is just for fun but if you wish to take part, you may like to email me with your answers and information to p.hamlen@st-marybourne.hants.sch.uk

Take care and stay safe  🌈

Today we made rhubarb crumble, we dug the rhubarb from the garden.

Here is our recipe for rhubard crumble, why don’t you try to make this at home with a grown up.  Email your photos to Mrs Torkington, we would love to see how your crumble turned out!

FIRST WASH YOUR HANDS!

Victoria and Harriet’s  Rhubarb Crumble

1. Peel the skin off of the rhubarb.
2. Cut the rhubarb into small pieces.
3. Add them to a saucepan with some sugar and   gently heat for 20 minutes.
4. Put 110g flour into a bowl with 50g of butter.
5. Rub gently together until it looks like fine breadcrumbs.
6. Add some castor sugar and oats to the mixture to make a nice and crunchy topping.
7. Once the rhubarb has cooled down, place it in an ovenproof dish.
8. Sprinkle the topping over the rhubarb.
9. Cook in an oven at 180°c for 20 minutes.