Thursday 29 July 2010

A-maze-ing labyrinths at The Coombes School

This post has moved to a new location
http://creativestarlearning.co.uk/developing-school-grounds-outdoor-spaces/a-maze-ing-labyrinths-at-the-coombes-school/

5 comments:

SquiggleMum said...

What a fresh and innovative way of taking RE outdoors. Just gorgeous.

Debi said...

My 5-1/2 year old would love this! He loves playing follow the leader and especially enjoys following patterns on the ground or in gardens. What a lovely place to visit!

Play for Life said...

If we had the space Juliet a labyrinth is something Sherry and I would absolutely, most definitely want to have!
Donna :) :)

Juliet Robertson said...

What I liked about this labyrinth is that it opened my eyes about the potential for reflection. The activity doesn't need to be religious...but it can be...it can be whatever we want it to be.

This wouldn't be practical in a small space, but a silent follow the leader in a natural space for a minute or two would be uninteresting experiment with a group of very young children.

Children rarely have solitude at school. This sort of activity just gives an alternative contemplative time. Hmm..

I perhaps also should have said that The Coombes School is a Church of England state school so Christianity has to be component of the curriculum. However I did like the sensitive way this was covered. I think children from different faiths or with no religious upbringing would be comfortable with the approach taken here.

Teacher Tom said...

I walk a labyrinth with other artists several times a year. When done as you describe here, it is a remarkable opportunity to reflect.

I was just thinking about mazes yesterday. We were trying out the wool-web ideas that our Australian friends have been doing at their schools. At one point I realized the children were no longer weaving a web, but instead were treating it like a kind of maze.