Source: Irresistible Ideas for Play Based Learning
I was somewhat depressed this week by the realisation that of my five new year's resolutions last year, I only managed to tick off one (and, in the spirit of full disclosure, my father actually completed this on my behalf).
I still don't keep chickens, there is no Pete Beale style market
stall for the kid's to flog their produce, the school has singularly
failed to take up my offer of helping with Gardening Club, and most
pathetic of all, I can't seem to blog on even a weekly basis.
So I've decided to treat my resolutions on the same basis as I
treated every single weekly essay in college. I shall ask for an
extension.
I shall also... hmmm, how shall I put this? Cheat. A bit. Just, you know, to make sure I keep this blog a little less sporadic.
Yes, much in the same way I always borrowed Jen's revision notes
because they were more thorough than mine, better thought through and
best of all, legible, I shall, on occasion, use a blog post to point you
towards superior content online. This will hopefully mean you see
interesting things, whilst I can bathe in the reflected glory of someone
else's genius.
This week, a sandpit caught my eye. I spotted it on the Studio 'g' blog but the original idea was actually from Irresistible Ideas for Play Based Learning
- an Australian blog. Very simple, very cheap (provided you can find a
tyre to recycle) and incredibly effective. The long bamboo poles can be
covered with sailcloth or a similar outdoor material but you could just
use an old sheet and simply accept it will have a shorter lifespan.
For anyone offended by the black rubber exterior, it would be easy
enough to plant around the edges and soften the look. In a sunny spot,
something like Stipa tenuissima would give movement and is a very tactile plant for kids.