We met with other home educating families, roughly once a week, at Noakes Grove Nature Reserve (or other sites when it was too wet to park at Noakes). We explored the reserve's pond, meadow, shrubland, and woodland. Sometimes parents organised short activities, but the bulk of the day was undirected, with the children free to explore, and play as they chose.
In such a lovely natural environment, the children often became interested in nature. We sometimes went on nature walks across the site, and usually had some reference books to hand in order look up insects, flowers, trees, and fungi. As the seasons progressed the children came to appreciate the changes that take place in nature.
Sometimes we engaged in forest-school style activities like fire lighting, whittling, den building, and laying trails.
During the colder months we often cooked our lunch over a wood fire. Sometimes it was a simple case of toasting crumpets, occasionally it was a more elaborate affair (we particularly enjoyed chocolate brownies cooked inside hollowed out oranges).
Sometimes we got creative.
They often got a bit mucky.
There was usually lots of running, hiding, and imaginative play.
Some activities were seasonal, such as blackberry picking in the Autumn or creating rainbows in the summer sunshine.
There were sometimes opportunities to help around the site.
When in the mood we read stories.
As an "all ages welcome" meet up, HB often got to play with kids of different ages, from toddlers to teenagers.
Occasionally we organised wide games to be played across the site. These tested the children's ability to work as a team, use their initiative, and spot things.
