The Orchard Continued...

As you can see from the photos, it was tiring work digging holes and planting our apple trees but it will be worth it in the end! We worked as a team to get the job done and took turns to get dirty down on the grass. Back in class some children used the laptops to research the 9 different types of apple tree we were planting and created some interesting and useful fact sheets.

These will hopefully be displayed outside near the trees once they have grown a little. You will be able to find out when the best time to eat the apples will be and also whether they will be sweet and crisp or more bitter and have softer flesh! We really didn't realise there were so many different types of apple. Apparently there are over 7,500!!

 Here are the fact sheets we created as a class:



Our Awesome Orchard

The week before half term was a busy one for Class 3 and Sean Creagh as it was time to plant our orchard!

Sean brought in a selection of 9 apple trees and 7 currant bushes for us to plant in our grounds which will hopefully begin to bloom over the summer.

The trees were taken from the van to the grass area carefully, with two children holding each one. Stakes were used to make sure the trees stay upright in the wind and these were carried sensibly too!

How can we play with our new outdoor space?

Take a look at some of the games, activities and ideas

Class 3 came up following our 'Play Research' session!

Mrs Poll: She's back and she's been busy!

It's Tuesday 10th May and our grounds are looking gooooooood! We spent most of today with Mrs Poll clearing stones and bricks out of the raised beds ready to plant all our fruit and vegetable shoots from before Easter! 

Unfortunately some of the plants did not survive over the holidays. Tomatoes, sweetcorn and some herbs haev been wilting away from a lack of tender loving care whilst we were all away from school! Due to this, Mrs Poll very kindly brought in some of hers from home to replace them and now the raised beds are overflowing with life!

Most of the class got involved with the planting however there are still a few raised beds which need clearing out ready for more seeds...so the fun will continue tomorrow!

Over playtime more and more people came along to help out with the project - even Mr Dixon lent a hand.

In the next few weeks Sean is planning to come in and begin work on our orchard. This is very exciting and we can't wait!  Not only can you perch on the end of the large wooden tubs and smell the gill, corrriander and parsley...but hopefully soon you'll be able to pick an apple from a nearby tree and enjoy the fruits of our labour!

Play Research at its Best!

All in the name of research, we spent the morning playing in and around our new outdoor learning space. It was brilliant! We arranged ourselves into groups of four and were given different areas around the grounds to play on. We thought about all the games and activities we could play in each area and jotted them down on our clipboards.

Some of the ideas we came up with were brilliant and very unique! In the stage area below Tree Island we thought we could put on shows such as 'Padiham Green's Got Talent' or perform dances and songs. We thought about linking our play to our work and sharing our stories or poems infront of an audience too.

Deep in Tree Island there were chances to climb trees, make dens, hide and swing on the low branches. It was so much fun!

Caitlyn's group came up with the idea of playing 'I'm a pupil get me out of here'!

On the snail mound so many good ideas were discussed. The boys thought about using that space as a relaxing, chilled out place to be. They decided there was a great chance to find shapes in the clouds, bird and plane watch, read books quietly or just sit and look out across the grounds at their friends playing. 

Around the pole area games such as cat and mouse were talked about, as well as using rope or ribbons to wrap around the poles and make mazes or puzzles. If we used large peices of materials we thought we could make dens, hideouts or different rooms of a house. Tig and chasing games would be fun too.

On the paths around the grounds we decided we could use chalk to create pieces of art work or write stories. We could also write numbers on the paving slabs and throw bean bags to collect points!

         

When we returned to class we presented our ideas on large posters and shared them with the other groups. Overall we decided that the school playground and the field were great places to run, shout and be free, but the Island Project space should be an area where children can be quite, thoughtful and rest. It could be a place where you can talk to your friends, walk, play and have fun in a more chilled out way.

What do you think?

  

* Party in the Grounds! *

What a really great day! Whatever your views of the royal family, there couldn’t be a person not impressed with the fun and excitement experienced by our children yesterday. It was a moment of living British history that I’m sure our children will remember.

It was a beautiful, sunny day with us all dressed in red, white and blue starting with a themed picnic lunch; Mrs. Page made a brilliant wedding cake (everyone got a piece today!); all our infants had already been to St. Leonard’s with Rev. Jones on Tuesday (Many thanks to Rev. Jones for that!); some staff had brought their own wedding dresses to school to show the children (Thanks for that too!); we had bunting and flags that lined the junior playground where we had all our dining tables set out for the big street party (Many thanks for sending in all the party goodies too!); we had DJ Raz’s music pumping out across the afternoon from Ashton Entertainments; we had a wedding hat competition with such incredibly creative entries (see winners list below and thanks to Mrs. Nicholls and Mrs. Lowe this time for the thankless judging task!) and we noticed that the standard was really high with such innovative ideas that we had to increase the number of prizes!

We also had a wide range of crafty and sporting activities that kept the children interested, excited and challenged all afternoon; and we finished the day with a conga led by Mrs. Simpson and her megaphone through our new creative outdoor space.

Huge thanks to all our staff team for pulling it all together and providing this wonderful opportunity once again for our children at Padiham Green. Watch out for the Burnley/Padiham Express  and the Telegraph for photos.

The Wedding Hat Winners: YR Tierney Graham; Y1 Lilymae Johnson; Y2 Ellie Walsh; Infant overall winners: Siannah Forrest and Jude Marsden; Y3 Caitlyn Finch; Y4 Leon Pilkington; Y5 Soraya Ostle, Olivia Stockdale and Oakley Butcher; Y6 Ruby Hughes; Junior overall winners: Rebecca Mellor and Aiden Hoyle. The Westminster Abbey Treasure Hunt Word Winners were Alfie Angus, Lewis Harwood and Isaac Wild.

                              

Grounds Update!