Here's some ideas for Outdoor Learning

Reading Outside

We’re fortunate in our wild garden at school that we have lots of logs, tyres and a large grass play area for you to sit and read.

Do you have somewhere special to sit and read in your garden?

Send us your photographs of you reading in your garden or outdoor space, or a picture of your shelter. We look forward to seeing them.

Happy reading and den building!

Mrs Mathieson

Build a Minibeast Home

So which creatures are minibeasts? Basically they are anything that you would call a creepy-crawlie, a bug or a grub. Some minibeasts fly, some crawl, some swim, some wriggle and others squirm. But they all have one thing in common, they do not have a backbone. Scientists call these animals invertebrates (we, like tigers, mice, crocodiles, frogs, birds and fish are vertebrates because we have a backbone). Because minibeasts do not have a backbone, they don’t have a skeleton like we do - some have a skeleton outside their bodies! It is a hard protective casing and scientists call this their exoskeleton (exo = outer). It protects their internal organs and is waterproof too. Minibeasts are very numerous - 95% of the earth’s creatures are minibeasts; there are 2500 species of minibeast in the UK alone! They survive in every type of habitat in the world, from the coldest ice caps to the hottest, driest deserts, from the deepest oceans to the highest mountains. Minibeasts are everywhere!

It is estimated that there are about 30 million species (different types) of invertebrates in the world! To make it simpler to understand them all, they are put into groups. Look at the diagram below to see how some minibeasts are sorted.

Animals

I

I

__________

I I

Invertebrates Vertebrates

(Mini-beasts)

I

Insects Arachnids Crustaceans Myriapods Molluscs Annelids Others

(eg Bee) (eg spiders) (eg shrimp) (eg centipede) (eg snail) (eg worm) (the rest)

Lots of minibeasts (invertebrates) love our gardens, including useful and attractive species like ladybirds. One way we can encourage minibeasts to visit, or to stay a bit longer is to make a safe place for them to spend the colder winter.

Compost heaps and piles of logs are the kind of natural places they like to stay, they love to crawl in between sticks and twigs where it is warmer and sheltered. Making your own minibeast hibernation home will provide additional places for them to stay, it’s great fun too.

Compost heaps and piles of logs are the kind of natural places they like to stay, they love to crawl in between sticks and twigs where it is warmer and sheltered. Making your own minibeast hibernation home will provide additional places for them to stay, it’s great fun too.

Your hibernation home can be as large or as small as you like, just make sure you have lots of little spaces for the minibeasts to crawl into.

Minibeasts have their own special requirements when looking for a home so if you can use different materials you will attract different insects. Here are some suggestions -

• Straw or wood is loved by pretty lacewings, whose larvae feed on many pests: aphids, obscure mealy bugs, whiteflies, thrips or acari eggs and other burrowing insects.

• Bamboo rods and drilled logs provide shelter for solitary bees and wasps like the mason bee, that pollinate the first flowers of fruit trees and whose larvae feed on aphids.

• Flower pots filled with hay attract earwigs who also feed on pests. An upside down flower pot might also attract a queen bee.

• Wooden boards will attract xylophagous insects that decompose dead wood.

• Bundles of pith rods such as the bramble, rose, elderberry provide ideal shelter for hoverflies and other Hymenoptera.

• Bricks, stones and roof tiles would be appreciated by amphibians such as frogs and newts that will rest and hibernate amongst damp places.

• Dead wood, especially with bark, provides lots of nooks and crannies for ladybirds to hibernate in. Their larvae consume a lot of aphids.

For best results, put your hibernation home on the ground in a fairly dry, sheltered place near some vegetation, like the bottom of a hedge during the autumn. Hang, or place your insect house in a warm sunny position with the end pointing down slightly to let moisture out. Invertebrates should hopefully move in and will emerge again in the spring.

If you are curious, in the spring gently tap the end of the tube onto a sheet of white paper to see what is inside. Be gentle with anything you find and make sure you return the creatures to the place you find them though!

Once again, I'd be delighted to see your minibeast home, or your own drawing or painting of a minibeast. Send them to your teacher for me to see.

I look forward to seeing them.

Mrs Mathieson

Make a weather vane

You might like to keep a diary of the weather and wind direction.

Have fun. We look forward to seeing your pictures.

Mrs Mathieson

A to Z Journey

What do you have to do? Simple.......on your piece of paper write down the letters A to Z.

While on a walk, for example, write down something you see, something you hear or something you smell for every letter of the alphabet. If your daily exercise is in your own garden you could add in the extra sense of touch.

This activity is great for the following:

• expanding your vocabulary

• increasing descriptive language

• improving observation skills

• calming your parents down if they're getting a little bit excited!

Remember to share a picture of your sheet on your classroom. I look forward to seeing them.

Mrs Mathieson

Make your own Bird Feeder