Sakura, Sakura!   Creative writing workshop, KS2 Children inspiring their writing with a trip to the school garden! Spring has well and truly sprung! Old news for most in the Northern Hemisphere, I know, but as the cherry tree at the end of my garden has now exploded into a cloud of pink blossom, the beautiful growing season is hard to miss.  This natural inspiration is priceless and, following on from a workshop about iconic Japanese print The Great Wave, provides the perfect backdrop for some writing on the Japanese Hanami cherry blossom (sakura) festival. Using a selection of Hiroshige and Hokusai woodblock prints as inspiration, my group spent the morning outside in the school garden getting up close and blossomy with the pink blooms. Following their senses, the children developed a vocabulary bank featuring precise verbs (floating, dancing, waving, gliding and so on) and evocative adjectives (silky, glossy, transparent, baby pink, sweet aroma and many m...

A fun, enjoyable session with Level 5 students at Leeds Trinity University this morning exploring the theory and practice of outdoor learning and Forest School. The session explored the Scandinavian origins of Forest School and how it is applied to the UK. It was very positive that so many students recognised that the outdoor space is an excellent resource that can be used to enhance the learning of children. Outdoor learning brings confidence and independence to children of all ages allowing them the freedom to allow their imaginations to flourish! Thank you for all you hard work! The students had plenty of positive feedback! "Two fantastic [ARTiculate] lectures attended and loved them." Emma, student at Leeds Trinity University "[I was inspired to] let children explore the outdoor environment freely." Saphron, student at Leeds Trinity University "It gave me a better understanding of how to work with children outdoors." Rezwan...