International Screen Free Week

Running from the 4^th to 10^th May is International Screen Free Week, encouraging us all to unplug from digital devices and reconnect with the real world. So take the children outside to explore, get active and connect with each other. Spring is in full flow, with new life emerging everywhere you look, providing endless opportunities to watch, listen and learn.

Go for a walk in local woodland and feast your eyes on the multitudes of spring flowers which are at their peak now, before the leaf canopy fills out. Carpets of bluebells and swathes of wild garlic abound, dotted with wood anemones, violets, primroses and early purple orchids. Take a camera along and take photos of your classes floral finds for identification upon your return to the classroom. If it is a sunny day, try spotting butterflies and counting bees and, whatever the weather, encourage a moment of stillness and quiet and listen to the birds. Follow the sounds with your eyes and see how many species you can spot.

For some more formal ideas, and a host of identification sheets, take a look at the Nature Detectives website. Ask parents to provide some all-weather gear, and head off to the great outdoors (even if it’s just the school playing field) which we at the Learning Escape fervently believe should be an essential part of all children’s education. And whatever you decide to do, switch off those screens for an afternoon and take in the sights and sounds of this wonderful season.