Happy new (school) year to you all. We hope you had a relaxing summer break and some much-needed time to switch off from life in the classroom. We don’t know about you but September always seems to start with a bang and before you know it, everyone’s straight back into school life as if the holidays never happened.
No doubt you’ve been busy checking your resources and planning some great themes and activities for the coming term and beyond. We see classrooms go through some incredible transformations during the last weeks of the summer holidays – but does your outdoor learning and play space get the same attention? Here at Playforce, we believe that the classroom outside the one with four walls provides the most fantastic environment to learn in. In fact, we think the sky’s the limit when it comes to taking the national curriculum and EYFS outside. Our customers tell us some great stories about the positive outcomes they achieve when they open the doors – and young imaginations – to outdoor learning.
As well as the changing colours as summer transitions to autumn, September is jam-packed with exciting learning themes. September 8th is International Literacy Day, a global awareness-raising campaign by the World Literacy Foundation reminding us that many children around the world cannot read or write and have no access to education. From book sales to readathons, writing competitions to open mic nights, you’ll find some great resources for schools to support campaign fundraising to support children’s libraries and other literacy initiatives in developing countries. Just register your event to receive more information or download a pdf of great ideas for schools at internationalliteracyday.org/. Why not mark the day at your own school with some fun literacy activities – and remember to take them outside whatever the weather.
If you’re looking for an excuse to take History outside this month, what better reason than Heritage Open Days. From 10-13th September, this fantastic campaign by the National Trust, Historic England and the People’s Postcode Lottery opens the doors – and our eyes – to a host of hidden places, spaces and experiences which are normally closed to the public. From castles to woodland walks, tunnels to towers, you’ll find details of all locations open in your local area here and it’s completely free to explore.
But the day we’re looking forward to most this month is 25th September which is The Dahlicious Dress Up Day, a fundraising event for Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity. It’s another great opportunity to celebrate literacy and you’ll find lots of information for teachers including teaching resources and lesson plans from the Roald Dahl Museum here.
You probably know by now just how passionately we feel about the importance of outdoor learning and play. Our award-winning designs are created by a team of highly-skilled education experts and we work closely with schools and early years settings to ensure our resources make learning experiences better for children and adults alike. To ensure we offer you the very best value for your budgets, there are some fantastic special offers coming later this month – so look out for up to 25% off items from our Poddely, Role Play & Den Making, Cork range, Storage and Furniture and Physical Literacy ranges – COMING SOON!
We wish you all a great start to the new academic year.