Tuesday 30 June 2015

Day 30 - Reflections

When I first set out to do 30 wild things I thought it would be easy but I found it  hard to fit in wild things everyday on top of things we would normally do.  We are lucky because we cycle to and from school, weekends are often spent walking in the country or playing at the park, but to do more on top of this was hard to fit in with homework.

I really enjoyed geocaching - that is something to do again! I also enjoyed the BioBlitz and am looking forward to that next year.

I would also like do more for wildlife in our garden but I think that is going to take planning.

Monday 29 June 2015

Sunday 28 June 2015

Day 28 - Have a picnic

Today whilst E was at gym competition we found time to have a picnic outside.  We sat under a fab oak tree (sheltering from some a few drops of rain) to eat and the girls enjoyed playing on and around it.



Day 27 - look at trees

Today we looked at the different trees growing in our garden by comparing leaf shape and colour, height, fruit and whether they are evergreen or deciduous.  We also enjoyed feeling the different leaves.




Friday 26 June 2015

Thursday 25 June 2015

Day 25 - look at bees

Today we went out and looked at bees in our garden.  Disappointingly we didn't see that many but it was late in the day (after school).  We saw a couple of honey bees, a bumblebee (I think it was tree bumblebee although the only photo I got of it was quite blurry so not uploaded) and what I think are Ivy Bees (but am happy to be corrected!)




Wednesday 24 June 2015

Day 24 - examine a tree

Today we looked at the apple tree. The girls climbed it, looked at the bark and apples growing, saw ants on the bark and looked at the top and bottom of the tree. We tried to reach round its trunk and estimated its height. 




Tuesday 23 June 2015

Day 23 - leaf rubbings

We collected leaves and enjoyed rubbing them whilst talking about their different shapes, sizes, patterns and features.

Sunday 21 June 2015

Day 21 - birthday party at Audley End Miniature Railway

Today we had P's 5 birthday party at Audley End Miniature Railway and Enchanted Fairy and Elf Walk.  The fairy walk is a delightful walk though the woods looking for fairies, animals and elves.  Then we had a steam train ride looking for bears! We had also hired a bouncy castle which the kids loved and had an Elsa cake made by husband and G. 





This is not strictly wild but it was outdoors!  

Saturday 20 June 2015

Day 20 - make a flower crown

For midsummer we made a flower crown by collecting petals, flowers and leaves from our garden and then glueing them onto a strip of card.  We then stapled it to the right size.


Thursday 18 June 2015

Day 18 - Watch some caterpillars grow

OK we did cheat as we couldn't see any in our garden although I am sure we must have some!  We bought some from Insect Lore.  They have already grown loads! 

Wednesday 17 June 2015

day 17 - make a tumble trap

Frist we found an old jamjar and filled it with a piece of cheese and some banana (you could use any fruit and bacon as well).  In the garden, we dug a hole big enough to put it in and then placed a piece of wood on top, propped up with twigs (to keep the rain out).  We are looking forward to seeing what we have caught!


Tuesday 16 June 2015

Monday 15 June 2015

Sunday 14 June 2015

Day 14 - make a wizard's wand

Today the girls collected sticks and then painted them with acrylic paint to look like magic wands.

Saturday 13 June 2015

Day 13 - BioBlitz


Today we undertook some FREE activities at the Botanical Gardens as part of the Biobltiz.  I had booked them in advance.  We did owl pellet dissection, big hunting (not so good as the weather was inclement) and pond dipping where the highlight was seeing a caddis fly larvae in its woven home. 








Friday 12 June 2015

Day 12 - BioBlitz bat walk

In the dark, as part of the bioblitz, the girls and Tim went on a bat walk round the Botanical Gardens.  Sadly because it was a bit cold and dark they only found a few - we will just have a try again on another walk later in the year.

Thursday 11 June 2015

Wednesday 10 June 2015

day 10 - clay plant imprints

Today the girls collected plants from the garden. They then laid them on top of a small piece of clay and used a rolling pin to make the imprint.




Tuesday 9 June 2015

Day 9 - Potion making

Today the girls went out in the garden and found herbs, petals, twigs and other plant material to mix with water to make a potion!



Monday 8 June 2015

day 8 - cloud spotting

When the sun finally came out we lay on the trampoline and thought what shapes we could make in the clouds!

Sunday 7 June 2015

Day 7 - Geocaching

Today we went to Hatfield Forest for our first foray on to Geocaching... we didn't follow a trail but found some that were in fairly close together.  There was only one cache we tried to find and failed!  The weather was stunning, the buttercups were out looking like a yellow carpet and we even saw a herd of deer (of which there is a fairly rubbish photo!).





Friday 5 June 2015

Thursday 4 June 2015

Wednesday 3 June 2015

Tuesday 2 June 2015

Day 2 - Bug Hunting

Having been raining on and off most of the day, the sun has come out and we went bug hunting.  We found some woodlice, a worm, a caterpillar, lots of bees (not collected but observed), snails, and a large black spider, hiding under a stone, that spat white liquid from his rear end.

Monday 1 June 2015

Day 1 - rain gauge

Today we made a rain gauge so we can measure rain fall over the month.  We followed instructions here on how to make it.We have dug it a little into the ground so it doesn't fall over.