Silent Sunday

A fairy world in your own back garden!

“The perceptions children have of life are bound up very closely within a world where fantasy and reality
constantly go hand-in-hand. Research has shown that the children who indulge freely in good quality
fantasy and pretend play, the children who are considered to be ‘high fantasizers’ and spend a good deal
of time in imaginative thinking (Singer and Singer, 1977; Pulaski, 1981; Reiss 1981;), have greater tendencies
towards being creative with materials and situations. Such studies have also found that these creative,
internal thinkers have better concentration, are less aggressive generally, can tell more creative stories with
greater originality and more complex characters and situations, and are more inclined to enjoy what they
do than children who are ‘low fantisizers”.

                                        Janet Moyles, Just Playing

Following on from our magical adventure discovering forest fairies at the local forest (blogged about here. One of my favourite posts so far!), there has been a new found interest in all things fantasy, so we decided to make our very own fairy gardens.

We started  off with an impromptu afternoon outside, using a couple of old tins, some sand, water beads, stones and flowers and made some little portable gardens. We kept it very simple, bearing in mind I was working with a 2 year old, but she enjoyed every second of tottering around the garden looking for things we could include and placing them in the tin to look pretty.

Silent Sunday

Secret dens & Forest fairies

‘Cannock Chase’ is an ‘Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’, and it’s on our doorstep. 

It offers an amazing amount of free opportunities to be physically active as a family/group.

Dressed in woollies and waterproofs, we

had a brilliant time running and splashing

in puddles and catching rain drops.

It’s so easy to look at the dull weather and

put the television on instead. We discovered

some little creative techniques that really

worked to get us and our kids motivated to

be active, whatever the weather.

Creating regular outdoor experiences helps

our children to get into the habit of playing,

exploring and discovering, in all seasons.

Many of us in the group never dreamed

of going out in the cold pouring rain for a

walk. Now we just grab our coats!

Silent Sunday