A bucket full of fun! Ten top tips to keep them learning at the beach
- Laura Hutchinson Posted On Jun 9, 2017 | Learn
1) Beach Scavenger hunt
If you have time to prepare before your trip, a beach scavenger hunt will keep little ones entertained and learning all day long! Create a checklist of things for them to look for including:- Seaweed
- Feather
- Flat pebble
- Layered stone
- Crab shell
- A stone with a hole in
- Sand castle
- Deck Chair
- Pink T-Shirt
- Seagull
- Flip Flops
2) Water relay race
This is a great activity if you are at the beach with a large group of children. Mark out some check points in the sand and stagger each team along them. The first person to set off balances a full bucket of sea water on their head and passes it to the next person at the first check point. The aim of the game is to have the most sea water in your bucket by the end of the race! Top tip: At the end of the race encourage the children to estimate the volume of water left in the bucket.3) Sand Portraits
4) Sorting Seashells
- Painted topshell
- European cowrie
- Dogwhelk
- Common wentletrap
- Limpet
- Size
- Colour
- Texture
- Weight
5) Four in a Row
Draw out a ‘connect 4’ grid in the sand which is 7 squares horizontally and 6 squares vertically. Collect stones and shells from the beach and gather together to use as playing tokens, one player uses stones and the other uses shells. Take it in turns to place your token in the grid; the first person to connect four is the winner!6) Pebble Decorating
Take some paint pens with you on your trip to the beach for some pebble decorating fun! Go on a scavenger hunt to find as many large flat pebbles as possible, once you’ve collected them think about how you would like to decorate them. A fun idea is to write on their name and the year and hide it in a secret place. Can you find it again when you return?Top tip: Decorate a pebble with the saying ‘I love…’ and ask your child to think about what they love most about the beach.7) Rock Pooling
8) Sand Letters and Numbers
9) Beach Bowling
Great for active play, beach bowling is simple to set up and creates hours of fun! Start by marking out an area for your game to take place and then dig some small holes at one end of the area. Using tennis balls take it in turn to bowl, aiming for the holes you have dug!Top tip: To extend the learning write a number by each hole from 1-10. The higher the number, the higher the score!10) Post Card
- Putting a stamp in the top right corner
- Writing the address on the right hand side
- Starting the postcard with ‘Dear xxx’
- Including information about where they went and what they did
- Signing the card with ‘From xxx’
World Ocean’s Day is on the 8th of June, play your part by helping to keep the beach clean and tidy after your visit!
*Browse our outdoor exploration and discovery tools on our website!
The Importance of Getting Wild
This month we are taking part in The Wildlife Trusts’ #30dayswild campaign! We took a trip to Cley Marshes Nature Reserve on the north Norfolk coast to meet with their Community Education Officer, Rachael Wright. We asked her all about the campaign, why it is so important and how you can get involved!
Tell us about Cley Marshes Nature Reserve:It is Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s oldest and best known nature reserve and was purchased in 1926. The reserve includes an award-winning visitor centre, a gallery and a Wildlife Education Centre named in memory of the naturalist, Simon Aspinall.
We are well known for the birds on site. The shingle beach and saline lagoons, along with the grazing marsh and reed bed support large numbers of wintering and migrating wildfowl and waders, as well as bittern, marsh harrier and bearded tit.
[Image of Marsh Harrier, credit: Norfolk Wildlife Trust Website]
What does your role at the Norfolk Wildlife Trust involve?I organise our events programme and exhibitions. We work with local community groups and I take school groups and other education visitors out on the reserve. The Cley Marshes provides school groups with great opportunities to explore both coastal and wetland habitats!
What’s your favourite thing about your role?Working with school groups and inspiring the next generation to explore wildlife and have fun outdoors!
What is #30dayswild and how can people sign up?30 Days Wild is a Wildlife Trust campaign aimed at getting people outside enjoying the living landscape. We encourage and support people to take a little bit of time every day to do something wild! People can sign up on their local Wildlife Trust website and will receive a digital support pack with ideas, inspiration and information on local events and places you can explore! You can share your wild adventures using the #30DaysWild hashtag.
What do you have planned for #30dayswild during June?We have crafts and activities in our education centre throughout June and events on throughout the month. From nature walks to pond dipping there’s something for everyone, take a look on our website for events this June!
What is a Random Act of Wildness?A Random Act of Wildness is about making time to connect with nature around you, or doing something small yourself to help nature. Random Acts of Wildness are all about experiencing, learning about and helping your local wildlife. They can be simple, small, fun and exciting too. You can use our ideas as inspiration or get creative and make up your own!
Why is getting out into nature so important?It’s important to stay in touch with the natural world and appreciate all that nature does for us. It’s also incredibly important in our busy lives to take time to relax and exploring nature is a fantastic way to do that. A recent poll of 101 people in Norwich revealed that 90% of Norwich’s city-dwellers feel that nature is important to them but 86% of adults in Norwich don’t think that they spend enough time in nature.
What are the educational benefits of exploring nature?Many people learn more effectively through hands on activities and nature provides so many great opportunities. Watching nature events creates memories that will last forever. Every subject taught in a classroom can be taught outside in a more fun and engaging way that will inspire children for a lifetime!
EI-5126 GeoSafari® Jr. Aqua Magnifier
If you are visiting the centre this June, pick up your free Aqua Magnifier (while stocks last) and Learning Resources discount code!
#30dayswild #wildaboutlearning
*Browse our outdoor exploration and discovery tools on our website!
[contact-form][contact-field label='Name' type='name' required='1'/][contact-field label='Email' type='email' required='1'/][contact-field label='Website' type='url'/][contact-field label='Comment' type='textarea' required='1'/][/contact-form]
READ MORE
Get Wild About Learning! 15 ways to explore the outdoors
READ MORE
Nature’s Code: The life and work of Fibonacci
Fibonacci
Liber Abaci
-Fibonacci
Problem with Rabbits
The book demonstrated how a decimal number system could make it easierto complete calculations. In order to do this Fibonacci included number problems and showed how to solve them. He posed the problem:“If two newborn rabbits (one male and one female) are put ina pen, how many rabbits will be in the pen after one year?â€
- A pair of rabbits always produce one male and one female offspring
- A pair of rabbits can reproduce once a month
- Rabbits can reproduce once they are a month old
- Rabbits don’t die within a year!
The Golden rectangle
The Fibonacci sequence can be used to create a range of number patterns. The golden rectangle is an example whereby a rectangle’s side lengths are successive Fibonacci numbers. The example below shows the side lengths 34 x 55. The rectangle can be divided into a series of squares which also have lengths that are successive Fibonacci numbers. When an ark is drawn from one corner of each square to the next, they join to form a perfect spiral. Any two successive Fibonacci numbers have a ratio very close to the golden ratio, which is roughly 1.618034. As the numbers get larger in value, the ratio gets closer. The Golden Ratio is denoted by the Greek letter phi: φ.
Fibonacci in Nature and Human Design
The Fibonacci sequence and Golden Rectangle appear surprisingly often both in nature and human designs. In nature, Fibonacci numbers manifest themselves in lots of places from the numbers of petals on a flower to the number of spirals in the seeds of a sunflower. The relationship between the Fibonacci sequence and the arrangement of things in nature is highly efficient as it allows flowers to pack in as many seeds as possible into a small space or branches to grow in such a way that allows leaves to receive equal amounts of sunlight.
Fibonacci Day
READ MORE
