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Things have been quiet round here…

November 17, 2013May 19, 2014 / Rachel Stevens

This little one has been keeping me rather busy, but I hope to be back on this blog soon.

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homelife

The Tiny Overlord

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← Adventures in Visible Mending

A blog by

Rachel Stevens

Recent Posts

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Lately...

I first moved to the coast in the Winter and, after dreaming about living by the sea all my life, I just couldn’t understand why the beaches were deserted. Why so many people were missing out on this incredible vibrant and dynamic place. It is just so beautiful. And it’s one of the reason the Beach School was born. . . And despite being told on numerous occasions, that no one would come all year round, the Beach School started its ninth (sold out!) term today and its second Winter. And it’s just a magical multi-sensory learning experience. I am so relishing being able to truly explore the elemental nature of this season with you all. The wind! The water! The clouds! The beachcombing! There’s so much more to our coasts than just the Summer. And I am truly grateful you also want to come and play. . . You can follow our Winter beach adventures in stories. Please let me know what’s you love about the beach in the Winter.

Our Winter term of Beach School starts tomorrow and we are getting ready to be on the beach in (nearly!) all weather conditions. I’m often asked what we recommend to ensure children are protected from the elements. However, I think this ‘kit list’ applies to children and adults alike, so everyone has the best possible time outdoors. So during the Winter months at Beach School we recommend that everyone brings and wears: . . •A woolly hat – to protect your ears from sea breezes •Good quality waterproofs – coat and trousers or all-in-one suit – we particularly recommend the dungarees-style trousers that can be worn all year round. • Wellies / sturdy closed toe shoes (my personal favourite are @warmwellies) • A spare change of clothing and a towel – including shoes and socks if you are going rockpooling . . Under your kit, you need to layer warm comfortable clothes. Layering is essential, especially in the winter. In particularly cold weather we recommend using the mantra “warm head, heart, hands and feet” as these are the parts of the body that feel the cold the most. Please layer up – it’s better to take extra layers off than to try and put more on when you are cold. I personally take great pride in seeing how many layers I can fit under my waterproofs! . . *access to good outdoor clothing is a real privilege. I have personally found some great Scandinavian-brand bargains on eBay and would heartily recommend Lidl waterproofs to anyone. However, I know this is still a barrier to many. At the Beach School we also have a small stash of waterproofs to lend out, so please give us a shout if we can help you. . . Have you got any questions? What kind of outdoor clothing are you looking for? This is not a sponsored post, so I’m happy to talk brands etc below 👇🏻

Our Beach School site at St Margaret’s Bay lies just under 20 miles from the coast of France. Most days we can see their white cliffs. And even on gloomier days our skyline is peppered with the channel’s traffic. The link between our two coasts is an important part of our place and our learning. . . So this Winter season we are celebrating the connection between us by supporting @care4calais, a volunteer run charity delivering essential aid and support to refugees living in the worst conditions across Northern France and Belgium. . . Join us on Saturday 21st December for a Winter Solstice Family celebration of light, love and compassion for our near-neighbours. We'll be providing soup, seasonal crafts and storytelling to weave magic in to this wonderful time of year, but also to support building a more fair and inclusive society. All profits from this event will be going to Care4Calais. Find the full details on www.bookwhen.com/littlegulls or follow the links in the usual places. . . And secondly, thanks to the help of one of our Beach School parents, we will be collecting items to donate for @care4calais throughout the Winter Advent term. We’ll be sharing the list of items @care4calais urgently need. . . A big objective of our work at the Beach School is create a place of compassion and love for our coast. And that also means compassion and love for other humans. We hope you can support us and @care4calais this season 💙

As the season of frost approaches, it’s increasingly difficult for birds to find food in the harder ground. We can help by leaving food out for them. At Beach School, we have been serving up some tasty Bird Food Pizza - which also doubles as a brilliant sensory activity with sticky mud and sprinkles of seeds: . . •Take a wooden base - a slice of wood or try something even bigger! • Add some muddy ‘sauce’ (we used damp peat-free compost as we have a ‘leave no trace’ site) • Sprinkle on some seedy topping that will please our feathered friends. •Leave them on a bird feeder or on the ground to help ground feeding birds in the winter months. You can reuse the bases too. This activity also works with large flat seashells (for a proper Beach School twist) or with leftover pumpkin carcasses. . . What other ways can we help our bird populations in the coming colder months? I’d love to know 🐦

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