So as the clocks go back

And the nights draw in

It is time to tell you

What I did last summer

I decided to return to teaching

I accepted a job at our village school

At Esther and William’s school

To teach Year 1 and 2

I was given a room

And a small budget

And asked to change the room into a classroom

Which I did

We did

David and I

The room was damaged by a flood at the start of the summer

So though I could prepare resources I could not set up the room

Until the last week of the holidays

So what did we do all summer?

We created an outside area

Nobody asked us to

But I knew if I was teaching Year 1 and 2

I wanted to do it right

I wanted to be able to offer continuous provision

And an engaging, stimulating outside space to learn

To play

There was a lot of heavy, physical work

That fell to David

But Esther and William enjoyed helping too

Outside the room there was a small patio area and

A steep overgrown bank with a hidden pond

It was the far end

And unused area of the Reception Class outside space

David and I decided to clear the bank

And fill in the pond

We also wanted to remove a rockery

It was dangerously close to the door

Where the children would be entering and exiting class

It took days of hard work for David

With some help from friends and family

To clear the space we needed

The space was, is, small

I knew what I wanted it to have

A water area

A water wall

A place for sand play

A writing wagon

A construction corner

Small worlds in tyres

And the bank

Inspired by my uncle was to become an outdoor reading area

An outdoor seating area for sharing stories and special lesson times

David came up with the idea of building a wall with sleepers

To stop the bank from sliding

To prevent the playground falling down

The wall was a good idea

And David executed it brilliantly

Precision perfect

Through horrible summer weather

Heat and rain

But …

It looks wonderful and provides a place for children to sit

They also use it as a road for cars!

I am so proud of what we as a family did

For our school

Our community

With the help of our friends

Esther, William and Bea loved their summer at school

And my class are making the most of the outside area now

Though it is still not nearly complete

It is enough to start

The bank – this has now been turfed and we are going to be planting daffodils and creating an outside prayer and reflection space

Small world tyres

Water play complete with our water wall from home

As well as building the sleeper wall, David also built a dividing screen between my new KS1 classroom and the Early Years outside space. Using bamboo and wood kindly donated by Homebase he was able to create a screen that looks natural and can also be used to attach learning resources too.

The outside space is still developing.

An ongoing project this academic year.

I hope you will follow our journey.