We started in Old Kilpatrick and entered Glen Lusset at Glen Road. There are other entrances to Glen Lusset parking at the Kilpatrick Braes Car Park. We walked down through the Glen until we reached Dumbarton Road ( A814 ). We turned left and walked down to the traffic lights where we crossed and headed down Erskine Ferry Road. After the Scout Hall we turned into the clearly signed Saltings. We walked a loop around the Saltings stopping in the woods and on the beach before returning the way we came back up through the Glen.
Walking down through the Glen the level of water in the Dalnottar Burn was nice and low so we decided to do a Gorge Walk down the river. We all had our wellies on and managed to keep our feet mainly dry. ( Adults very close supervision is required with this if you don't want very wet children!)
Entrance to The Saltings.
A big walking stick is always useful!
A great activity for getting children familiar with 1 metre. All you need is a piece of rope / string or wool measured and cut at 1 metre, half a metre, 25cms etc.
Questions or Tasks to ask the children:
Can you find me a stick that is equal to 1 metre in length?
Can you find a stick that is shorter / longer than 1 metre ?
Change the activity and ask for half a metre. For older children you can become more precise and ask in centimetres.
Can you find a tree that has a circumference of a metre?
There are lots and lots of things to measure which will enable the children to start to have a very clear picture of what a metre looks like. This will also really help when it comes to working on measurement questions back in the classroom.
Den Building is a fantastic activity to do no matter what age you are! Here we used a very simple triangle based structure using just 1 piece of rope. Lots of learning possibilities to explore while Den Building including measure, design, shape, structural strength etc. As well as all that it's great fun to hide out and have your lunch in your den.
Questions / Tasks to ask the children:
Measurement Questions
Can you build a Den that is . . high and , , , , long? ( Change the measurement to suit the ability of the child )
Design Questions:
Can you build a Den that is big enough for you all to have lunch in ?
Why did you decide to build your Den like this? What do you think is the best bit about the design of your Den ? If you could change something about the Den what would it be? Why did you decide to build it in this location ? etc.
Our last activity today was Raft Building. All we needed for this activity was some wool, a pair of scissors and a stream.
Questions or Tasks to ask your children:
Can you make a raft that is a specific size ?
What do you think would be the best material to use to make your raft with? What things float or sink?
Why did you decide to design your raft like this? What do you think is the best thing about your raft ? If you were to try and improve your raft for next time what would you do ?
How far do you think your raft will float for? How fast do you think your raft travelled? ( Older children ) What design do you think is most efficient for travelling through the water?