Get Your Grown Ups Gardening!

Here are some images of the Radishes that we planted with the children. We had a special afternoon digging and preparing the raised veggie bed. Lots of muddy fun!

May Garlands

Seedlings Woodland Group enjoyed a May Garland workshop in the woods. Children collected leaves and flowers and we decorated them with ribbons!

Spanish lessons

Mini Linguals teacher Vicky taught a series of Spanish lessons for all ages. We enjoyed her music and puppetry and dancing! The small group of families had the opportunity to learn set phrases in spanish and songs to help them remember key words.

Spring Fair 2014

The Spring Fair was full of fun and we all enjoyed setting up stalls and sharing ideas with each other. The children found a newt and that sparked a keen interest to play alongside in the woods, finding creepie crawlies and climbing trees. We had stalls from 'Pink Giraffe' Eco products & baby clothes, a home grown plant stall from Louise & Matthew, 'Little Red Sewing Box' a local crafter and a handmade cards stall, Aloe Vera stall and fair trade refreshments from the Roma caravan and a hot foods stall with veggie sausages! Many people from the village communities came as the event was publicised locally and we had families from the woodland group. We will be repeating this event next year!

Den Building Day!

The skills of making a structure to shield ourselves from the elements are ancient. With delight we created a den structure in the woods and encouraged the children to explore and create from their surroundings.The Seedlings Woodland Group have got an action packed Spring/Summer planned with workshops for families such as yoga, gardening and woodland walks, rural skills and painting workshops. For more information contact Ruth by email ruth.artscope@googlemail.com or by mobile 07989 160602

Chopping down the Great Elm

It was an exciting day to come out and play on the Great Elm, a natural playground for children. However, there was a sadness to the fallen tree, that had blown over in recent storms. Dutch elm disease has destroyed this beautiful species. Unfortunately Ash dieback is an iminent threat to our native trees and we all need to be watchful. The tractor was fully loaded by the end of the afternoon, firewood a plenty and a natural resource.

Spring at the Farm

How we enjoy seeing the first blooms of Spring! All that hard work planting bulbs paid off and looks beautiful before us! The Seedlings Woodland Group planted Crocuses and Narcissus, which have all bloomed under the Poplar trees... We spent a merry afternoon planting peas and carrot seed, weeding the veggie patch and clearing out the greenhouse ready for seed planting. Our new shed is being put up this week and will house our children's spades and gardening equipment. We have signed up to RHS Get Your Grown Ups Gardening campaign. This exciting project has provided us with some great seeds and resources.

Woodwork at the farm

The mild winter weather made all of the blooms come out early and they greeted the wonderful families that came out to the farm today. We enjoyed making a special Steiner maths toy to experiment with beautiful geometry. A simple gadget made out of offcuts of wood, all we needed was a simple hammer and nails. Everyone enjoyed creating unique patterns in simple number sequences. An enjoyable hands on approach to maths! The crocuses and irises were out in full bloom and the children enjoyed playing outdoors making pine cone and twig stew and digging with the children's spade. A cosy fire glowed in the Roma Roma caravan and we enjoyed a cup of teas and friendly chat afterwards.

Marmalade Day

It's that time of year when the Seville oranges appear! In a hurry marmalade makers find their muslin squares and get busy squeezing and the room fills with gorgeous citrus aroma. Little hands love the messy squishing and after all the hard work is done, it is a pleasure to see the marmalade simmering aay in a pan on the aga. Out here at the farm, principles are high and we chose soft sweet organic oranges, What a delight to see the final golden product in it's jar. Finally not to waste anything, we made candied peel with the leftovers - yummy!

Candlemas

Candlemas in the Snowdrop Woods Let us all be grateful and glad for the blessings of Spring! It was a joy and a privilege to see folk after the winter hibernation. Everyone was in good spirits and the children were ready for a walk around the snowdrops and aconites in the woods. We had a group of 10 adults and 9 children. Parents brought candles in jam jars and little bells for the children to ring. We stopped intermittently to sing with the children to wake up the bulbs. We sang to the tune of Frere Jacques: Are you sleeping, Are you sleeping, Little bulbs, little bulbs, Spring is coming, Spring is coming, Ding Dang Dong, Ding Dang Dong

Advent Spiral

With the edges of Winter frost on our fingers and toes and a chill in the air, we wrapped up warmly and held our candles in apples (not disimilar to Christingle) and celebrated the beginning of Advent... The children stepped carefully around the Advent Spiral of evergreen branches and placed their candles inside. The walk symbolises a walk into the darkness of Winter and the emergence of Light. We had a talk about St Cuthbert and his gentle life of kindness and prayer. We sang Winter and Christmas carols. It was lovely celebration that brought us together and lightened the Winter months. We held Advent Spiral with Seedlings Woodland Group @ St Cuthbert's church, Brattleby.Thankyou to Rev Adrian Smith and the Springline Parish, my father Pastor Alan Hoare and the Seedlings Woodland Group!

Pumpkin Carving with the Kids

Autumnal Blessings

My favourite time of year, when the leaves turn beautiful oranges and golden. The soil recovering from it's growing season and the opportunity to plant bulbs for an early Springtime appearance. Today we all celebrated with a bonfire and healthy snacks, whilst toasting our toes near to the fire. The children played the afternoon away digging up wiggly worms and running around the Willow Dome structures. Fresh air and rosey cheeks, muddy hands and happy hearts. It was refreshing to chat to the parents about alternative education and bringing the great outdoors into our central learning. Our regular meet ups are now group insured and registered with SWSF (Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship). We are looking forward with anticipation to the next years development on the farm. Working as a Collective is rewarding and soul nourishing. And in the lead up to Christmas, it is a pleasure to work with a group that bring meaning to the seasons - instead of the consumerist consumption overtaking the nation.

Apple Pressing Day 2013

Walnut Picking

Walnut Picking is an arduos task if left to your own devices up a tree, and so we were pleased to have the help of seven families today! Five large crates of walnuts are now sitting in the barns waiting to be laid out and dried...We enjoyed the company of children and adults who spent the afternoon shaking walnuts off the trees - before the squirrels could get them. We also loomed up our outdoor Earthloom - a beautiful wooden design commissioned from Living Willow Lincoln's Jay Hadley. We were fortunate to recieve a grant from the Parish Council to pay for this. After all the hard work, everyone enjoyed fairtrade teas and cakes in the barns before returning to the Willow Dome Field for an afternoon bonfire. We burnt the remains of a temporary structure to make way for a more permanent yurt framework. We all stayed until late afternoon, forgetting the time in our outdoor pleasure.

Apple Pressing

Yes! The Apple Season is upon us! The day has been a busy one, collecting the rosy Bramley cooking apples and smaller Cider apples. A bit of a risk when you consider how many wasps savour the latter. We collected up two boxes full, which are nicely stored in the greenhouse at present. They are ready and waiting to be pressed or cooked or made into baby puree... We trial ran our brand new apple press - delivered all the way from Germany. The beautiful wood and metal handles excited the inventive natures of our Off the Grid Kids. We had a merry morning dicing up organic apples and squishing them to a juice...very hard work indeed!

Beautiful Vegetables

After spending the afternoon weeding (again) and working out what bulbs and seeds we'll be planting this Autumn, I treated myself to a cup of hot sweet tea and a quick perusal of the daily paper...An article caught my eye on the subject of 'Ugly Vegetables'...indeed, I don't think I have ever laid eyes on such a thing, perhaps a vegetable that has been attacked by some pest, but generally as a rule, homegrown vegetables have a certain character. In fact, I would say that after tending them for the season, they have a familiarity and charm about their diverse sizes and appearances. Why so then are 40% of the Nation's homegrown produce subjected to waste or animal feed due to their 'Ugliness'?? It is an aim of mine to encourage children and families to connect themselves with the wonder of growing your own...perhaps we should have a garden competition for the 'Ugliest Vegetable' in Autumn??!

Wheelbarrow Fun

September gardening...and all we did all afternoon was pull up weeds and get dirty... Yes! The joys of outdoor life! However, we now have an awesome cleared space ready for planting some early peas now. The main job next week will be mulching in some organic compost. We have had a productive couple of weeks in general, what with the Bramley apples exhibiting their rosy fullness. We have enjoyed making baby puree for the littlest in the house, with the apple stewed with sultanas and cinnamon. MMMmmmmmmmmm The Pumpkin is next on our list for baby puree, Pumpkin Risotto and perhaps if there's anything left we can carve a Jack O Lantern. I'm getting excited for our new arrivals sometime next week - a couple of Legbar chickens, who will hopefully provide us with some beautiful blue eggs.

Big Pumpkin, Little Pumpkin

Life at the farm is very busy right now and there are endless tasks to do...my favourite part is to drink in the sunshine and feel it warming my face and back as we sweat it out in the smallholding. Sunburn prevention has been high priority this year with the heatwaves. However, these sunny spells have done their magic on our plants and vegetables. My delight is in the cascades of tomatoes in our lovely green greenhouse. We have also established a wonderful pumpkin that is going to being baked whole in the Aga this Autumn with a mixed centre of grated pumpkin, Greyere cheese and coriander... Here pictured are our Summer, soon Autumn delights including out littlest Pumpkin :)