Key Stage 2

Texture Scavenge Art Unit 1B / Science Unit 1C

Pupils look for a variety of natural objects with different textures and sort them into a box. They then give each one a label, e.g. prickly, rough, smooth, etc. Back in the classroom this becomes the basis for a literacy game. The objects can then be used for close observation, art, sorting or display back at school.

Widehorizons

Environment Centre

Colour Palettes Art and Design Unit 2B This is also a cross-curricular activity for all levels linking art and environmental education. Each person will have a collecting card so they can discover and collect a variety of colours from the natural world. Watercolours or chalk pastels can then be used to recreate the colours they have found outside.

Scavenger Hunts (Different levels and themes can

Twig Identificati

Foundation & Key Stage 1

1.

Programme of Activities We have a range of programmes on offer covering all areas of learning within the curriculum which can be differentiated according to the age and needs of your class.

All of our programmes are led by experienced centre staff in our beautiful 9 acre wildlife site.

Our Senses Full Day

Walk around the grounds and explore our senses in many

different ways in our natural environment.

Rocky Robin Full Day During the day the children will go looking for Rocky the Robin

around the Environment Centre grounds, investigate what

Rocky eats by looking for minibeasts and make bird feeders to

take home. They will also have the opportunity to follow the

Robin Trail around the grounds to discover what Rocky needs

to survive and make their own Robins to take back to school.

Minibeast Madness Full Day

An exciting hands-on day involving hunting for minibeasts and

some very close encounters with lots of creepy crawlies

Art Attack Full Day An inspiring day spent creating some fantastic pieces of art

work using natural objects and materials in 2D and 3D forms,

as well as looking at the pieces of some well-known natural

artists. Activities can be chosen as ½ of a day’s activities or

can complete a full day.

Art Attack An inspiring day spent creating some fantastic pieces of art

work using natural objects and materials in 2D and 3D forms,

as well as looking at the pieces of some well-known natural

artists. Activities can be chosen as ½ of a day’s activities or

can complete a full day.

Minibeast Madness

An exciting hands-on day involving hunting for minibeasts and

some very close encounters with lots of creepy crawlies

Rocky Robin During the day the children will go

looking for Rocky the Robin around the Environment Centre

grounds, investigate what Rocky eats by looking for minibeasts

and make bird feeders to take home. They will also have the

opportunity to follow the Robin Trail around the grounds to

discover what Rocky needs to survive and make their own

Robins to take back to school.

Paper Making Half Day

A fun & messy programme making recycled paper, ideal for

groups wanting to learn about waste, recycling & materials. Or

for those who would like to challenge their class with an activity

to build on their team work skills.

Forest Fun Half or Full Day

Use our Forest School site to take part in a taster session

during which children will have the opportunity to play and learn

at their own pace and enjoy the freedom of our site.

Land Invertebrate Habitats Half Day

During this half day session students will have a go at catching

a range of invertebrates from a specific habitat in the Centre

grounds. They will also have the opportunity to make some

close observations of these unusual creatures.

Invertebrate Sculptures Half Day

During this half day session students will have the opportunity

to closely observe a range of invertebrates that live in the

Centre grounds and learn about what adaptations they have.

The students will then get creative and make 3D invertebrate

sculptures.

Widehorizons Environment Centre

77 Bexley Road, London, SE9 2PE

020 8850 2615

environment@widehorizons.org.uk

www.widehorizons.org.uk

Registered Charity Number 1105847

Foundation & Key Stage 1

Please choose from one of the programmes below; either a full day programme, or 2 half day programmes.

Alternatively, if you would like to book 1 half day programme, you are welcome to use our grounds to lead your class with your own planned activity (pre-planning visit must be arranged) for the remainder of your day.

Widehorizons operates seven centres across the UK, providing high quality adventures for

over 30,000 children and young people every year.

Widehorizons Environment Centre is located in South-East London. This centre is a unique

nine-acre wildlife site designed specifically for educational use. The centre offers a wide

range of day visit activities including curriculum-based courses, forest school and class team

building days.

Foundation & Key Stage 1 Key Stage 2

Bear Hunt Early Learning Goals

Based on the popular children’s book ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’, we will all go on a bear hunt to explore the site and discover where the bear might be. The class can then go back to school and create their own collaborative book based on the trip.

Route Orienteering Intermediate (Key Stage 2) Children will read and follow directions to find a route around the centre grounds, whilst being introduced to the basic orienteering conventions. Advanced (Key Stage 2)

Paper Making (Autumn and Spring Terms) Art and Design Unit 1B/ Science Unit 2D/ Science Unit 3C

In the classroom pupils will have the chance to turn newspaper into recycled paper by going through the different stages of paper making and incorporating natural materials collected on site.

Children will learn in the classroom the key skills required to orienteer, in teams they will use these skills to plan and follow a route, without an adult.

Paper Making Half Day A fun & messy programme making recycled paper, ideal for

groups wanting to learn about waste, recycling & materials. Or

for those who would like to challenge their class with an activity

to build on their team work skills.

Beginners Orienteering

Half Day (KS1 only) An exciting half day exploring the grounds with the purpose of

finding different markers, while developing map-reading skills

and knowledge of the outdoors. This session also encourages

team work skills.

Forest Fun Half or Full Day

Use our Forest School site to take part in a taster session

during which children will have the opportunity to play and learn

at their own pace and enjoy the freedom of our site.

Animal Homes Half Day Using our beautiful grounds as a basis for this session, children

will be led around the site discovering different animal habitats.

Bear Hunt Full Day

This day is inspired by the very well known story ‘We’re Going

on a Bear Hunt’. The overall aim is for the class to take part in

their very own bear hunt encountering many obstacles along

the way. Will they find the bear?

Little Acorns Full Day

The day is based on the book ‘From Little Acorns’. Children

will explore different types of seeds and think about what a

seed needs to grow. The class will become squirrels for part of

the day and go looking for seeds around the Centre Grounds,

stopping for games and discovering a variety of plants along

the way.

Four Billy Goats Gruff Full Day

An adaptation of the traditional tale, children will meet our own

Four Billy Goats, George, Oliver, Arthur and Teddy! The

traditional tale will be re-enacted outside using our Trip-Trap

Bridge and a scary Troll (one of your accompanying adults!).

Children will then make their own trolls using a variety of

natural objects to take back to school.

Forest Fun Half or Full Day

Use our Forest School site to take part in a taster session

during which children will have the opportunity to play and learn

at their own pace and enjoy the freedom of our site.

Animal Homes Half Day Using our beautiful grounds as a basis for this session, children

will be led around the site discovering different animal habitats.

Seasonal Change Full Day As we walk around the grounds, take part in a variety of activities

based on the season we are in. The types of activities will be

exploring what the plants and animals are doing at the time of year.

Some examples of activities are:

Spring – nest building, pond dipping, summer – colour palettes,

autumn – seasonal crowns, winter – hedgehog homes and

hibernation.

Love Your World Full Day

Using the book ‘Love Your World’ as a starting point for

discovering recycled materials and then using recyclable and

natural materials in a creative way.

Pond Minibeasts/ Land Minibeasts

Half Day Exploring specific habitats, children will have fun capturing

minibeasts that are resident there. Bringing them back in to

class for a closer investigation, they can then use equipment to

create close-up observational drawings before releasing back

in to the wild.

2.

Team Challenges Half Day

Children take part in a variety of games & challenges

throughout the grounds, encouraging team work,

communication, leadership and decision making skills.

Pond Invertebrate Half Day What is lurking beneath the water in the Centre ponds? During

this half day session students will have a go at pond dipping to

catch a range of invertebrates living in the pond. They will also

have the opportunity to make some close observations of these

weird and wonderful creatures.

Orienteering Half Day

A fantastic half day programme for those of you wanting a real

adventure! Small teams are set the challenge of finding their

way around the centre grounds using maps & compasses.

This challenge is fantastic for developing teamwork skills and

geographical mapping skills

Have a look below for some of our

curriculum linked key stage 2

activities;

Art Attack Full Day

Spend the day being creative with a variety of different art

activities. This is a very flexible day that can be created to suit

the group’s needs. Activities could include using clay, water

colours, charcoal, soils and natural materials.

Dirt Detectives Full Day

Someone has stolen the lunch and left a trail of muddy

footprints behind! Can we use the mystery mud to discover

who the thief is? The day includes testing the mystery mud

and comparing it to other soil samples.

Plant Lifecycles Full Day

An exciting day spent learning about all of the stages of the

plant lifecycle from pollination, fertilisation through to

reproduction and germination. The children will spend their time

exploring the Centre grounds for a variety of plants (dependant

on the season) and be set challenges along the way.

Love Your World Full Day

An opportunity to explore the idea of recycling and then use

recycled and natural materials to get creative.

Habitats Full Day

Explore the many habitats of the Centres grounds. Using a

mixture of exploration, close observation and games the

children will discover what living things can be found here.

3.