A Space For The Butterflies

A space for the butterflies and the bees and any other wildlife that enjoyed a sniff around some wildflowers,that's what year five spent their Monday afternoon creating ..... a wildflower garden.

Our local park celebrates its centenary this year. It was given to the village by the Duke Of Portland one hundred years ago to celebrate his wedding anniversary.

The committee who care for the park have invited local schools to help them create a wildflower garden and that's why I found myself accompanying the whole of year five up the street and to the park.

And what a good time we all had.

No dramas,no fussing or falling out,just children enjoying the fresh air and a break from school routine,on what turned out to be a lovely spring day,warm enough to wear just jumpers and teeshirts and to appreciate the freshness of spring.

We arrived at the park and we given two tasks to do. One was picking up litter and the other was sowing the wildflower seeds. Our group was on litter duty first,the children were placed in groups of three - one to spot the litter,one to hold the big hooped bag to pop the litter into and one 

( this was the most prized job) to use a grabber to pick the litter up. Well to say the children were enthusiastic is a understatement! In seconds the park was covered with groups of chattering children looking everywhere and anywhere for a piece of litter. No stone was left unturned. These kids meant business. Infact as far as the children were concerned there was not enough litter to be found at all! The park was soon totally litter free,not often you can say that about a park!

Soon it was our turn to sow the seeds. This was hilarious! The children were led to a big wide area of earth and told how to spread the seeds evenly around. The best way to do this was described as 'the chicken dance' a kind of swaying move as if you were giving chickens their corn. Well the noises the children made as they distributed the seed around the ground had to heard to be believed! Let's just say the word 'chickens' and I'll let your imaginations do the rest. I stood back and watched the children,the were all having a good time - all of them. For that five minutes they had not a care in the world. They laughed,danced,chattered,quietly concentrated, as they sowed the seed. Isn't it funny what a bit of fresh air and a simple activity like sowing seeds can do?Maybe kids need more of this kind of thing,I certainly think so. There was no arguing,no friction at all,just happy,relaxed,smiling children.

When all the seeds had gone we got ready to walk back to school. And for five minutes the children played on a little grassy bank. Some tried to roll down the hill but it wasn't suitable for rolling really,some made daisy chains,some sat and chattered and some just gazed around.

It was such a peaceful afternoon considering that there were over seventy children around.

I can't wait to see what the wildflower garden will look like,I hope the butterflies will like it.