Thursday 21st December 2023

Well what a way to end nature club, with our voices competing with the wind, which had a decidedly wintry bite to it.  Unfortunately, some naughty elves seem to have hidden the school camera, so you will have to imagine our attempts to sing The Holly and The Ivy in the round!  Year 5 had already learnt about the winter solstice- Latin for the day the sun stands still-so we went and sat in the story stumps next to two evergreens which the children quickly named as holly and ivy.  After we discussed why people have for thousands of years brought holly and ivy into their homes in the heart of winter, we began the singing.  Several children spotted the orange fire coloured fungus that had flourished all over the stumps- a lesson for another quieter day.  After the singing, the children took it in turns to tell a sentence each of a Christmas story about a naughty fox, who actually as it turned out was just very hungry and by various means ended up asleep in Matilda’s bed.  Finally, they each took a sturdy stick to stir the compost which has reduced by about a fifth and made a Christmas wish.  This year nature club have observed nature, planted seeds, weeded, hoed, mulched, watered, collected seeds, pressed leaves, made bookmarks, animal shelters, leaf mulch and nettle fertiliser.  They have spotted nature, rejoiced in nature, cooked with nature, learnt more about nature and protected nature.  Happy winter solstice!  Bring on the longer days.