Throwing wood – relief in nature
For more homeschool adventures – https://thereisnoshouldbe.com/wild-camping-with-kids/
Today we have surely experienced relief in nature. We had on our aspirations for the day – build a bonfire.
The elephant in the field
This has been something we’ve talked about for months. We’ve kept the pruned branches, and felled what was required all year long. It had accumulated in a pile, and then grass and thistles several feet high grew and tangled and tussled around it. And there it sat, hidden, before our very eyes, an enormous mound of undergrowth in the middle of our field.
Celebrating Pentecost
We don’t go guising you see, but the boys are very keen not to miss out on all the sweets and treats that the rest of the country would be gathering. So we came up with our own ideas that opened new opportunities for them. Rather than celebrate halloween, we would take the opportunity to celebrate Pentecost, the old All Saints Day. We would build a bonfire, we’d crack open the sweets, a sweetie hunt was mentioned, and we’d dig out the BBQ. We’d invite a few friends round. The children could watch the fire, play swing ball and have a jolly old time.
Heading outside
Today was the day. We had to think about building the heap. It was balmy for October, reaching 16’c. The children had started on their maths this morning with a sense of impetus, which carried them for 10 minutes. Already, 10 minutes later they needed to let off steam. Time to go out, enough talk, more action. We needed some relief in nature.
Would we have enough off cuts and branches to make for a convincing fire? Did we! The more we uncovered the more we found.
The boys were hurling enormous branches over to the production line, and onto the mound.
Before all this
How were the boys before this? Have you ever noticed your child actively self sooth? Perhaps something hadn’t quite gone to plan, or there was a frustration, and your child goes into self soothing mode. We had that. The mound wasn’t the right shape, it kept falling over… Well, 10 minutes of flinging tree trunks around soon took care of that! The boys were beginning to work as a team. Jumpers off, swinging branches around, whacking them on the ground for good measure… relief in nature.
Soon we had such a huge pile of wood that we roped in the big guns – our lawnmower tractor and trailer! The joy of eventually starting our ol’ trusty (bonnet up, stick at the ready) and driving it around for a common good – building our bonfire.
Once we’d finished
And how were they once we’d finished? Hungry! They had truly worked up an appetite. They felt accomplished, able, and satiated. Homeschool still had to happen, and it did – mostly in good form. I noticed them go the extra mile in certain subjects today, and persevere for that extra 5 minutes in other subjects.
More adventures like this
Well we’ll need to incorporate more adventures like this one for the weeks ahead – to work up an appetite, surely this is the key to good education – relief in nature. This must be the key to good self regulation and self application, and accomplishment. Lethargy and overwhelm, begone. At some point I’ll need to work out cultivating opportunities for calm and quiet, but for now, where there is motivation, energy and engagement, I’ll take it any day!
https://www.prayersandcrayons.blog/2024/03/08/nature-in-homeschooling/