This week we took the children for a visit to our allotment, just a short 5-minute walk from the nursery. On the way, we talked about road safety, what we would find at the allotment and what we would do while we were there. All children should have access to the great outdoors, who wouldn’t love the opportunity to dig around and learn while getting messy? Our youngest visitor was 11 months and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
Once we arrived, we popped in to see a neighbour who keeps chickens and horses. The children loved saying ‘hello’ to the animals. In the YMCA allotment, they found digging equipment and delved straight into the empty vegetable patches. The children talked about “smelly mud” (compost) and some even found worms which they held in their hands. Children sometimes don’t get the opportunity to explore their natural environment, so this experience is really helpful when developing their senses.
Other children used the watering cans to water the fruit trees and they talked about the apples that might grow on the trees next year. Being able to watch the trees grow and produce fruits in the coming years will help children to learn about growth, decay and change over time. After working up an appetite, they sampled some homegrown fruit snacks of their own.
While exploring, some children found a big railway sleeper solidly resting over the top of some tyres and climbed up to walk along it, jumping off at the end. Children should be able to learn how to take risks themselves to learn what is safe and what may not be so safe. Some children asked staff members for help, which shows that they understood there was some risk and asked an adult to help them.
We all had a great time at our allotment and we’re looking forward to visiting again soon.
If you would like more information on how your child can benefit from activities like these, please click HERE