The Easter Egg Trail

In recent weeks I've blogged about making mazes and using ropes to create labyrinths. As yesterday was the last day of term, it seemed appropriate to continue the theme of a purposeful walk following a trail.

I brought along some ropes, chalk, alphabet mirror letters, laminated numbers, painted stones and, of course, plenty of mini chocolate eggs. I explained to the class that their job was to create an Easter egg trail or hunt for children in another class. The children could work as a whole group (there were only five, as several were absent) or in pairs or alone.  I showed them the resources and then let them decide how they were going to do this.

Initially there was some exploration with the resources. The mirror letters were hidden in various places. One child considered a number line as a form of trail, but it seemed rather short.

The idea of chalking messages was popular and in many ways this was the catalyst for what turned out to be a whole group effort as it marked the start of the trail.

Naturally the ropes begged to be involved and before long, one child had worked out that if all the ropes were tied together, then we'd have a pretty decent-sized rope trail to follow.

Another child wanted to ensure the rope trail was well disguised. He covered parts of the trail with leaves. Aha! He also got me involved as he was happy doing this with his feet but doesn't like to get his hands dirty, so I did some moving of leaves as part of the effort.

Deciding where to hide the eggs was also fun and created some discussion. After all they need to be hidden in some way for an extra surprise.

The younger class came along after break and the Easter trail could not have been more perfectly suited for most of them. The different ropes which were laid in an interesting pathway really did create interest.

There was a lot of discussion and wonder about where the eggs would be found. And of course, great excitement when they were!

Now although the painted stones had not been used as part of the trail, the children made a connection between these and the chocolate eggs. This class and the afternoon class of the youngest children both referred to the stones as "treasure". In the afternoon class a lot of schematic play was involved burying objects, including the stones, and finding them again as well as hunting for the eggs which this time were hidden all over the wildlife garden and not just at the end of the rope trail.

Beware! Extreme Signage

Last week whilst I was walking from the car park at the back of a hotel round to the reception at the front, I couldn't help but notice all the signs within the 100m stretch. On the one hand the sheer number of warning signs was amusing. Yet at the same time, it perturbs me. If this is how customers are told to behave, I dread to think about the working ethos within the hotel. It also is a good reminder to review our own outdoor spaces and think about the message our notices and environmental print tell children, parents and visitors to our schools.

Firstly, as you can see, the hotel is located in a beautiful spot beside a waterway. Lovely. Not the sort of place for extreme signs.... or is it....???

The signs tell another deadly and dangerous story. Are you still breathing? If so, read on with caution...

Firstly I came across this sign which scores high on the instant irritation factor for its spelling. There is no moat anywhere. 

We all accept that need to accept parking regulations for good reasons.

But... there's no actual fire exit anywhere near this sign. No door. No nothing. 

And the other sign above where you can't park tells you that you use this car park at your own risk...

Rest assured, you may be run over by a car but not a skateboarder or roller skaters. I wonder how they view people wearing heelies...

Then I start getting facetious. I have lots of badges leftover from my political activist days in the Eighties. Will this entitle me to park here?

There are the threats too...

Naturally, you need to be sure you really even should be in the car park...

This concerned me too...

There is a designated smoking area...

Right beside the notice that reminds you not to smoke inside...

Yet you can't stand here obstructing anything. Heaven forbid!

The fire assembly point is round near the front of the hotel. Away from the car park.

Past the climbing frame which needs supervised children.

But not dogs in there...

Cycling is not allowed round this side of the hotel. There were quite a few of these signs...

Swimming is also not permitted...

In or out of the water...

But if a child must go into the water, make sure there's an adult there too...

Of course, uneven surfaces are abound...

The hotel had even made a few extra signs, just incase we were not aware of the ground beneath our feet...

To be absolutely sure, there was even differently worded signs....

Finally before rounding the corner to the reception there was one information sign which was not a threat, instruction or warning. Phew!

I was intrigued to discover that that inside the hotel, the screen for my PowerPoint show had been carefully set up in front of a fire exit which really shouldn't happen. I couldn't be bothered to tell them though especially since a good part of my workshop was taking place outside. I hate to imagine the number of additional notices and checks this would have caused the staff to create and make.

Adventure Aberdeen's Playground

Eighteen months ago I blogged about an undeveloped outdoor space. This post is a celebration of a remarkable makeover of this grim patch. It is still a work in progress but I think you'll agree that the Adventure Aberdeen staff have done a wonderful job. Eighteen months ago this was what the site looked like:

The area was unsecured. There were cracks in the walls and mostly it was a mossy green space. Spot the difference now:

The place just looked unloved and neglected. It had been for a while as it used to be an old school playground years ago.

Now the fence has been fixed and all sorts of features added:

The whole project has been undertaken on a shoestring budget. Because of this, the staff have made the most of free items and sources of assistance available locally. In the biking area below, the bumps and ramps have been created by tyres covered with grit. They did have to hire a digger for a day.

40 tonnes of topsoil was donated by a local building company. Whilst the area looks barren at the moment, some of the mounds and features will be planted with wildflowers and other native plants.

There are two ponds on site. Again, the area around these features will be planted up. Eventually they will be great for pond dipping and mini beast hunts.

Throughout the site, orienteering markers have been placed to enable people to learn the basics of orienteering on-site before trying more challenging courses elsewhere.

The murals were painted through a community project. They are the back drop for a traversing climbing wall. This is made from holds used on a previous wall. The bark chips came from the parks services and make a perfectly adequate safety surface, given the height of the holds. There is also going to be a vertical climbing wall located in the centre of the biking area.

The big tractors tyres are for a team challenge which involves creating bridges for groups to traverse across. The big lids were made by the staff. In the background you can see the low ropes course. This is for completing in teams of four people. The hessian around the trees is to prevent sap from the trees making people's hands sticky as they negotiate the course. Underneath the hessian are old sails as the trees do bleed copious amounts of sap. I love the use of the tyres as retaining walls. Again, the staff created all these features.

Now let's have a look at the playspace for younger children. Below is the fire pit and singing circle that was created by a community service group working under a local ranger. One of the instructors is also a freelance voice worker so has tested the area for its acoustics!

Check out the water bowser! It was salvaged from Summerhill Education Centre which closed in 2010. The water really does come gushing out. The benches it is standing on, were salvaged from the cloakroom of the creche at Summerhill. This is going to ensure lots of interesting water play.

This is where the bowser gets filled up...

The tyres below are multi-functional. Holes at different heights were drilled in the wooden gym bars from the Summerhill Centre. The bars fit perfectly into the wooden lids on the tyres. Doweling is added to make guttering stands for water play. There is enough guttering, bars and doweling to cover the the length of the playspace. Yay!

The lids on the tyres were created by the staff from wood which has been beautifully painted in a variety of colours. They are screwed on tight. This means they are exceptionally strong and can be walked or run along. This is great fun. They are squishy and sink slightly under your weight. The wooden stumps and other bits lying around came from a "Come and Help Yourself Day" at a nearby forest.

We had a look at why they were so squishy. The bottom tyre is filled with chip pings, bark and mulch. But the top tyre isn't:

The tyres also house signs that are used for team-building activities. I think they are made for a few traffic signs too!

The concrete slabs protruding out of the grass now have big sensory pits on top. One is sand, one is soil and the other is stones and shells for children to use as they wish when playing here. The containers used to be the cooker hoods at Summerhill. What a beautiful example of re-using and re-purposing unwanted items.

The large concrete pipes came from the City Ranger service. There's two of them within the play area. I like the soft surfacing inside!

Finally there are lots of trugs filled with a variety of toys, ropes and other bits and pieces. These are put out for children to use as they want in the outdoor space.

What can't be seen so clearly in the photos are the old climbing ropes up high. These have been added for enabling 3D play into the area. Think karabiners and ropes and pulleys! Finally, no playground created by adventurous activity instructors would be complete with out a boat. With a sail too!

The Adventure Aberdeen Centre is open to school groups as well as private and commercial enquiries. It's lovely to see a playspace designed for adults and children! After all, even adults do need and enjoy playing outside too.

So I'm looking forward to the next eighteen months as this space gets lots of use and the area over the wall gets a makeover too. That's another blog post for the future. Do remember that if you live or work within travelling distance of Adventure Aberdeen then you can book a day to bring your class. Also, if you are interesting in purchasing the tyre tops, please get in touch with Adventure Aberdeen via their website.