Friday 2nd May 2025

What a glorious May afternoon and very appropriate as it turns out, since hawthorn trees were the original Maypole that young people danced around.  It has been a symbol of fertility for hundreds of years and is steeped in mysticism and magic, as it supposedly protects you from evil.  In the modern world, it is seen as a sign that spring is turning to summer and it certainly felt like it in the hot weather.  As usual,  I asked the children to go round observing changes since before the Easter holiday, which of course included a rise in temperature.  They noticed how much better the herbs looked, how low the pond had got and how much blossom and new flowers were around, as well as nettles.  Nettles are a very important plant to a number of butterflies and moths, so we have to be very mindful when we are foraging.  We always only take a third or less-today a lot less- as we are going to be harvesting more next week to make nettle soup.  Wearing gloves and armed with scissors, they did a stirling job.  En route, I pointed out another plant with which they were familiar-cleavers or sticky weed! This is actually an edible plant as well which you can use in salads and drink as a tea, but we will leave that for another time.  They also tried refreshing mint and fennel- a very aniseedy taste.  There was just time to mulch and water all the fruit trees before they and the children wilted!

The story-telling sessions got off to a fantastic start with Years 4, 5 and 6 today.  The first group chose a silver teapot from our box of mystery objects, to inspire them to write a story-Louisa’s name was picked out of the hat, so she chose- a good choice.  Names were picked out of the pot to decide the order the stories would be read in.  First up was Willow who got the ball rolling with a wonderfully witty rhyming poem.  There then followed several beautifully written stories by Ffion, Ava, Louisa, Parker and Lauren.  Each had a different setting and twist and the children were superb listeners and gave really positive feedback. There were fantastic descriptions of setting and character, some “to be continueds”  and some great dialogue.  No two stories were alike. We ran out of time, but there are still two more stories to hear in June.  In the meantime, Lauren chose the next object to inspire a story or poem: an Egyptian mask-watch this space.  Next week, the second group will share their stories about a music-box.