Creative Schools workshop with Tubber National School, Co Clare
After at least two days preparation and two visits to Bunakippaun Wood we had an outdoor school trip ready for all the children from Tubber N.S.
We designed a wildflowers of Bunakippaun woods worksheet for the children so as that they could have a wildflower hunt
The children’s excitement (23 junior and senior enfants and 10 higher classes) filled the air when we met them that morning…We organised the children into mixed groups with teams of two, and headed off to the nearby woodland
The children explored the woodland, discovering all kinds of floral, fungal and animal life, including sightings of frogs and even a red squirrel
It was wonderful to see the children’s faces and watch while they rediscovered this area with open eyes and listening ears, a new found joy in their local landscape.
Our worksheets were a great success, the only obvious adjustment needed was extra space required for recording the many more flowers, nuts and seeds that the children found and wanted to record
After returning to the school and a little rest and ‘sos beag’ we let the children have a closer look at some fresh plant material from trees that they had discovered in the woodland during a workbench session which included leaf shape observation and drawing – the children loved this
However the extraordinary creativity of these children had yet to be revealed…. we introduced the simple concept of leaf rubbings, showed them some samples of leaf rubbing work that other school children had made and off they went…..all I can say is amazing!…. as you can see here…
These small children with their uninhibited creative energy got totally lost in the moment and produced some beautiful, highly imaginative work…..
We finished off the workshop by making magic ash wands- each child created their own wonderful magical wand……a perfect way to end an unforgettable and magical day……
…… thank you to the children form Tubber N.S. and thanks to your fantastic teachers….
