Outdoor Parent and Child Group
Have you ever walked into the woods or a park and felt at home?
The Outdoor session has been very popular with the Acorns families for a few years already; it is structured similar to the regular Indoor Parent & Child session with a flowing and repeating rhythm that the little ones can get used to and rely on. Acorns Outdoor Parent & Child Group, are held as usual for the last 3 to 4 years at Oxleas Woods , here we have found and adopted a little corner of the woods, our 'home' for two hours every Friday 10am-12noon, and it truly feels that way! We have set the place for picnic, built our own den and have a favourite place for the ring time… Once the children become familiar with the setting, they are happy to wonder around and play together, leaving a happy mum, dad (or nanny!) to relax with a cup of tea and a chat, or an activity. We have only just added an exciting new outdoor venue: Hilly Fields - A brand new session now offered each Tuesday morning, 10am-12noon. I am so happy to have chosen this particular green space; it has a magical quality, a lovely energy. It comes with a 'Stone Circle', and amazing view of London from the top of the hill, a beautiful playground which, of course most parents take their children too either before or after our sessions, a really lovely cafĂ©, which, again, we all go to for drinks and food either before and/or after the session for lunch and when warm, an organic ice cream! The light and the space is unique at Hilly fields, I let my photos speak for themselves, then you can go to the official Friends of Hilly Field site for more info... http://www.hilly.org.uk/  Early morning, as I arrive before the session...  This is our meeting point  This is the Stone circle, our first 'stop' of the nature walk
We started this new sessions just after Easter, and it is already so popular with at least 10 to 12 regular families...
a brand new session now offered each Tuesday morning, 10am-12noon.
The structure of the outdoor sessions is as follows:
Nature walk- 10- 10.30
Snack time-10.30- 11.00 Play time-11.00 - 11.30 Craft (during free play time) Tidy up Ring time/Storytelling 11.30- 12.00
We gather at a meeting point at 9.45 for 10.00 start.
What we do:
We begin the sessions with a nature walk;
here, there is an opportunity to explore the space around us:
we always go along our usual path that leads us to our gathering area.
We do many things, sing the little songs, hope to find incy wincy spider...
we go at the pace of the children and stop often...
Hear the birds and watch the little wonders of nature.
Experience the outdoors in its simplicity
. We don't ask questions, like, how many ladybirds can you spot, or,
do you know the name of this tree...
the children are still far too young for intellectualizing.
We like to believe that we let Mother Nature sing her songs to us and
we just open our senses and listen...
We see what can be found that we may use to either build dens for the children
or houses for the fairies...We meet crocodiles, cheeky goblins, toads, and bears,
even the Gruffalo..
. and whatever the imagination of the children allow!
We gather objects for a possible nature craft, whatever Mother nature got in store for us,
literally everything is interesting: dry leaves, pine cones, acorns, conkers;
this is our common activity, like gathering twigs for crafts,
or other interesting objects for the treasure collection,
making necklaces from the red berries and strings or sitting quietly listening
to the Nature noises can also take place for the first 30-40 mins.
We bring food for a shared picnic prepared in advance and
brought along with the hot thermos
of herbal tea, chamomile and honey, lavender,
eldeflower for summer or for the winter, soup,
and, on special occasions, rice milk hot chocolate drink!
We say good morning to the birds, stones, flowers and trees and go on a
'singing journey' riding ponies; this is our Ring Time/Story Time,
when we get everyone together and conclude the session.
What to wear and what to bring:
Please bring along: Containers, tissues, plates/cups for picnic time,
plus a blanket/picnic mat to sit on.
Please wear lots of layers, thermal vests and long johns,
woolen vests under garments,
wool sweaters and padded waterproofs,
like all in one or separate top and bottom thick trousers,
possibly like ski- wear in winter and hats that stay on the children's heads.
The parents and the children who look more relaxed and play happily are the warm ones!
Travel and Parking:
Both Oxleas Woods and Hilly Fields have free parking.
Both sites are easy to get to by bus.
For map and travel info go to the relevant links.
Who can come:Although we are part of Acorns parent and child group,
we have a variety of ages in the park and the woods, as we welcome toddlers,
siblings, babies in slings, older children, daddies and mummies and child carers
, families with toddlers, young children and older children too, home educators,
grandmas and grandads too, in fact, everyone is welcome, all ages!
   We had a lovely time and when we finished we went to the cafe and two more families we met there are so keen they want to join us next time! The structure of the outdoor sessions is as follows: Nature walk- 10- 10.30 Snack time-10.30- 11.00 Play time-11.00 - 11.30 Craft (during free play time) Tidy up Ring time/Storytelling 11.45-12.00 We gather at a meeting point at 9.45 for 10.00 start. It is easy to meet by the cafe Pistachio in the Park which is at the top of the hill right in the middle of Hilly Fields. It is a lovely cafe and very children friendly! What we do: We begin the sessions with a nature walk from the cafe towards the stone circle here, we stop to play, then we carry on down to the left, following a circle around the perimeter of the park anti clockwise; there is an opportunity to explore the space around us: we always go along our usual path that leads us to our gathering area, which is the fenced area near the bowling, where logs and benches await us, amongst flowers and bushes, perfect for the little ones to feel that they can explore,play 'house' or hide and seek, with the adults knowing the gate is closed! We do many things, sing the little songs, look at little creatures, hear the birds and watch the little wonders of nature. Experience the outdoors in its simplicity. We like to believe that we let Mother Nature sing her songs to us and we just open our senses and listen... We see what can be found that we may use to either build dens for the children or houses for the fairies...We meet crocodiles, cheeky goblins, toads, and bears, even the Gruffalo... and whatever the imagination of the children allow! Craft We gather objects for a possible nature craft, whatever Mother nature got in store for us, literally everything is interesting: dry leaves, pine cones, acorns, conkers; this is our common activity, like gathering twigs for crafts, or other interesting objects for the treasure collection, making necklaces from the red berries and strings or sitting quietly listening to the Nature noises... Snack time We bring food for a shared picnic prepared in advance and brought along with the hot thermos of herbal tea, chamomile and honey, lavender, eldeflower for summer or for the winter, soup, and, on special occasions, rice milk hot chocolate drink! Ring Time We say good morning to the birds, stones, flowers and trees and go on a 'singing journey' riding ponies, or being hopping bunnies; this is our Ring Time/Story Time, when we get everyone together and conclude the session. What to wear and what to bring: Please bring along: Containers, tissues, plates/cups for picnic time, plus a blanket/picnic mat to sit on. Please wear lots of layers, thermal vests and long johns, woolen vests under garments, wool sweaters and padded waterproofs, like all in one or separate top and bottom thick trousers, possibly like ski- wear in winter and hats that stay on the children's heads. The parents and the children who look more relaxed and play happily are the warm ones! Travel and Parking: I believe that Hilly Fields have free parking around it. Hilly Fields is very easy to get to by bus. For map and travel info go to the relevant links. Who can come:Although we are part of Acorns parent and child group, we have a variety of ages in the park, as we welcome toddlers, siblings, babies in slings, older children, daddies and mummies and child carers, families with toddlers, young children and older children too, home educators, grandmas and grandads too, in fact, everyone is welcome, all ages! To book for these sessions click on bookings and choose the Tuesday morning outdoor session and pay on line as usual. It's easy. May I remind you that even with outdoor groups we ask people to commit for the term in advance. It is still the leader's precious time and energy to prepare for the session each week. However we invite people to drop in as guests, which more often results in a new Acorns member of the group! This is an image of Hilly Fields very special stone ring! 
And these are the images from our second session, on a lovely warm sunny day!
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