Visit from our client, Gyles Morris

We had in informative, fun and interesting visit from Gyles Morris today. He gave us a talk about his background and what he does in Wales. Here are some notes from his talk:

'Every young person should experience the world beyond the classroom as an essential part of learning and personal development, whatever the age, ability or circumstances.'  Learning Outside the Classroom Manifesto.

Gyles achieved a degree in Landscape Architecture in Leeds University. He worked for a spell in Australia and later for the Hampshire Council where he worked on a roads project and more interestingly doing schools landscaping, which included designing outdoor areas for children. Gyles retrained as a teacher 20 years ago, but has not taught in school. He now has a small holding in Wales where he teaches teachers and children of all ages through imagination and play. http://www.naturesbaseschoolcamp.co.uk/Staff.html
Here amongst many activities they make sculptures and cook in clay ovens, allowing children enjoy learning skills outdoors.

Our children are suffering 'Nature Deficit Disorder'. Naturebase helps teach children, parents and adults how to play outdoors. Here is a book about the disorder: Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv

Blurb about this book: This huge international bestseller, fully revised for non-American readers, is now in paperback. "Last Child in the Woods" shows how our children have become increasingly alienated and distant from nature, why this matters, and what we can do to make a difference. It is unsentimental, rigorous and utterly original. Camping in the garden, riding bikes through the woods, climbing trees, collecting bugs, picking wildflowers, running through piles of autumn leaves...These are the things childhood memories are made of. But for a whole generation of today's children the pleasures of a free-range childhood are missing, and their indoor habits contribute to epidemic obesity, attention-deficit disorder, isolation and childhood depression. "Last Child in the Woods" is a clarion call, brilliantly written, compelling and irresistibly persuasive - a book that will change minds and lives.

Gyles said that wilderness camps (American Summer Camps) have gone from being based out in the wild, to obesity camps or computer based ones. This is quite sad and frightening too! The media in the western world has given us 'stranger danger' mentality which is disproportionate to the reality and we are keeping our children 'safe' indoors. Statistics say that more children fall out of a bed and break an arm than out of a tree, also more children recognise a dalek more than an owl!

Gyles also mentioned the National Trust site which is promoting a scheme to get children outdoors and doing fun things: https://www.50things.org.uk/  The website is a little uninspiring, but the ideas are great fun and easy to do:

Richard Louv has started a new nature movement, and there is an interesting article on this: http://blog.childrenandnature.org/
Forest schools have also been set up all over the country to promote outdoor learning. It has been found that a child of 4 can do their own risk assessments and know their own boundaries. Ask a child what they can watch out for and allow them to explore freely.
Here are some recognised Advantages of Outdoor Experiences that he listed for us:

• exposure of the senses
• development of cognitive skills
• better concentration
• better communication with other children
• accessible to all abilities and learning styles - children with learning difficulties thrive in outdoor activities; can be more creative, imaginations thrive and they work better together and help each other express their own opinion
• "When children spend time in the great outdoors, getting muddy, getting wet, getting stung by nettles, they learn important lessons- what hurts, what at is slippery, what you can trip over or fall from."
• Self confidence and self esteem
• team work
• motivation
• skills and knowledge and pride in achieving
• geocahing http://www.geocaching.com/

My responses to Gyle's little work task for us: He asked us to draw what the moon looked like last night, what was the area we live in used for in the past, name 5 resident birds, name a white flower, trace the origins of the ingredients of last night's meal and name 10 edible plants found in the wild:

These are things that help us connect culturally, socially and environmentally.

 We next went outside for a session of working with nature. Here we constructed a 3D adventure page using material we found. Our group made a Princesses tower with a magical forest.

The Princess was at the top of the tower, where she had a lovely garden.

Here you can see the magical forest, through which the Prince has to come in order to save the Princess.

Another groups 3D page of a garden, complete with a stream and pond.

Gyles then showed us how to make a face using mud...

very messy, but great fun!

This was the face I made.

 





and this was Felicity's.

 Here is another view of our page.


All in all this was a fun session and showed me just how important outdoor play is for children. (and adults!)

The session helped us see how fun Gyles must make his activities at the centre he runs.

First page

There will be a narrative running across the double page spread. The Mallard drake is hidden under a flap, which when lifted not only reveals the drake, but will also give additional information about Mallard ducks.

This is the format that I have in mind for the other pages as well. The book is aimed at 5 to 7 year olds. In the narrative the cat will take the reader along the canal and introduce them to some of the wildlife and things that can be found on a normal canal walk. The last page is a spotter page, which a child can use to tick the boxes when they spot the illustrated animal/thing. I am hoping that this will encourage young children to go out and walk on the canals, which are in abundance in Great Britain.

 Here the cat takes a walk along the canal and stops to look at a Mallard drake and duck...

...and under the flap...

Is the colourful drake.

Start of my book...

Here's the start of my planning for my book on the adventures of the canal cat...

12 pages planned now for detailing a page with some colour and added features...

Photos taken along the canal

Mallard ducks and drakes on the canal.

The lock and lock keepers cottage.

A view of the canal with brick path and mooring posts along the edge.

A narrow boat moored.

A pleasure boat and narrow boat.

Exploring canals

After looking at several ideas I have now decided that a good activity book for children would be on exploring canals (particularly as Britain has numerous canal systems on most peoples doorsteps; from the canal system in London through the Midlands and up into Scotland). A brilliant place for children to get outdoors and explore nature and the area around them!

So I have started to research what literature is available and have been coming across various interesting web pages:
2 years ago this blog was written and is very thorough and interesting - Children's Canal Books in England

...Part of the blog.

My idea is to make a book about a canal cat that takes children on an adventure along the canal, bumping into wildlife and people and features common on our canals. Cats are naturally curious and adventurous, just like children and so what better companion for a child! The child could take the book with them and use it as a spotting reference and to find out more about things they will see on their walk.
My book will be aimed at 5-7 year olds and so would require them to explore with parental/adult company, but still allow them freedom to enjoy what they see!

Here is a page of a trail leaflet for my local canal available from: http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/explorers-resources/73-Stourport-on-Severn-Trail-compressed.pdf

Here is a children's reading book about a canal cat:

It has appealing cover art work...
I would like to have colour illustrations on my pages which has more appeal to this age range. Images help to engage youngsters and so this would encourage them to want to go and explore the canal.

Jotting down some ideas on paper.

Preliminary design ideas and sketches

 Here I was trying out page ideas for a book to encourage youngsters to go out and enjoy nature.

The first idea was for a book that encouraged not only activities in the forest, but also to give children information  about the importance of forests to us. All done from a child's perspective. I also thought of the idea of taking the reader on a journey through the life stages of a tree; from seed, to full grown, to its use after it falls in a storm and nature taking it over.

The other idea would be to follow the things that you can do in a forest, eg. wildlife, trees and plants, minibeasts.

Forrest school for KS1 & 2.
http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/infd-6frg2r

http://forestsforall.com/about-the-book/description/

This was an idea for younger children; a board book with simple bright pictures of insects. The book would be the shape of a butterfly and the page could turn in 2 halves. The child would have to match the insect with what it feeds on.

 This was an idea of a book taking a child on a journey outdoors at dusk to spot the creatures of the night. There  would be a window on one side with a pull out reveal of the creature. On the opposite page would be a group of lift the flaps, with information about the creature underneath.

This last idea is for a book encouraging a child to go on a Nature Trail hunt. Using lift the flaps on each page a child could discover mini beasts in the garden or on a walk and there would be information about each under the flaps. The repetitive use of Who lives here? could be used on each page. This helps the younger child to follow the book.

Research of books already available

Keeping a track of discoveries can be fun for children too, so give them a notebook where they can jot down, stick in and illustrate their findings. Junior An ideal accessory for jotting down the wonderful things you see while out walking. Daily Express It is the time of year when booksellers shelves are bulging with activity books designed to make you feel uneasy about the amount of time your child sits in front of the telly. Sitting quietly among them is the Adventurer's Notebook whose refreshingly gentle voice encourages wildlife watching and trail finding, with empty pages to fill with your child's very own secret plans. Daily Telegraph This great book could inspire a whole new generation of young naturalists. BBC Countryfile All you will need to make your own record of your adventures. The Adventurer's Notebook is just right for inquisitive children to take with them when exploring the great outdoors. Primary Times'

From the authors of London Adventure Walks, The Adventurer’s Notebook has heaps of white space for creative young minds to fill with drawings, stories and ideas inspired by all the wonderful things you can see and do while out and about in the wild. It is packed with imaginative things to make and do, places to record your finds, instructions on how to cook from the wild, plus bird-spotting tips and how to identify wild flowers and trees.

This is the perfect notebook for inquisitive children to take when exploring the great outdoors. Whether scavenging on the beach, climbing trees in the woods, lazing by the river, playing in the park or just hanging out in the back garden, this is all you will need to make your very own record of your adventures.

 

Here is another interesting book (one of a series) for younger children that arouses interest in birds, bugs etc. in the garden:

This is the write up for the bug book: Take a journey through the garden and discover the bugs that are living there. The beautiful illustrations create the world of the garden, combined with text that leads young readers to the hiding places of various bugs. inviting them to guess what creature they have found. My First Book of Garden Bugs is the perfect introduction to the names of some common garden insects, along with interesting facts about them. Here is an inside page from the companion book on bugs:

Lovely clear illustrations and interesting facts and information about the minibeasts.

This next book introduces younger children to the world of gardening, giving them plenty of ideas of how to grow plants that they can use.

George and Flora are planning a surprise party to welcome home their new baby sister! They're growing all the food for it themselves - with a little help from Grandpa - and are full of excitement as they watch how the baby grows in Mum's tummy and the vegetables grow in their garden. With clear and easy to follow tips and a handy month-by-month planting planner, in this title, readers will find all the information they need to grow and cook their own tasty food.
The illustrations in this book are a mixture of hand drawn pictures and photo collage; it also  has a planner and many tips to make it a very sciting book for children to interact with.

I now have a clearer view of how I want my book to attract children and make them really want to get out and explore the world around them!