Southend Activities

Last Thursday, we set off for a day of outdoor learning. Our journey started with an enjoyable walk down to Leigh-on-Sea train station where we boarded the train to Shoeburyness. The children enjoyed the views of the River Thames from the window and before we knew it, we had arrived. We then began our walk from the station to Friars Primary School - with the temperatures rising we were glad to arrive in their shaded nature garden. We then set off on a scavenger hunt to explore the gardens and woodland, hunting for natural items. Then whilst taking some shade under the canopy of trees, the children selected different leaves to create some beautiful leaf rubbings. After a picnic lunch, we all joined round the campfire to sing some fun songs and a highlight was toasting our marshmallows over the fire whilst spotting some beautiful butterflies and birds that had come to join us. It was then time to head off on our return journey back to West Leigh - a slightly slower climb up the steps after our exciting adventure.

Friday began with a gentle start to get ourselves feeling calm and regulated. Louise from Healing House by The Sea led us through a wonderful session including; yoga, meditation and sound bathing. The children then headed to the kitchen to bake some delicious cupcakes. All the children enjoyed following the recipe and learnt some new skills. After a short break the children were excited to see that their cakes had risen and were perfectly golden. They were then set aside to cool ready for decorating later on. In the afternoon, the children carefully selected beads to design some bag charms or bracelets which they enjoyed personalising with their initial beads. It was then time to decorate the cupcakes with icing, marshmallows and sprinkles - a few ending up with more decoration than cake but equally as delicious, we're sure. For our last activity, we headed onto the playground for some games with the giant parachute. The children behaved impeccably over the two days and were an absolute pleasure to be around.