Author: revpmichell

The story began with poles. Then on top of them was constructed the framework for a roof. The bales just remind us that it is going to be a barn. The chickens were fascinated.

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Then the roof was fixed, and the inside was filled.

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Close scrutiny will reveal that the bales do not so much fill the barn as form walls. So you have to come and look inside.

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It is a stage for a nativity play, a refuge from foul weather or a literacy corner. It can be anything you want it to be.

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Teddy got there with his story books just in time for the visit of an OFSTED inspector.

The livestock have been on the site for months now. We hope the children will be present soon as well. But there are evidences of others too.

Who lives in these houses? Is a colony of fairies taking up residence?

Will the blue tits find the box that sits above the chickens?

And, almost completed, is this a place for a barn owl?

For the answer to the last question, just wait until you see the next post in this blog.

As we wait for the visit of an OFSTED inspector and being granted registration, attention is being paid to the garden.

There are planting beds for children to look after. Frames have been constructed from pallets, the base lined with card to deter weeds and then filled with compost.

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A vegetable patch has been started with some radishes and lettuce. Wonderfully the seedlings were clearly visible within four days.

Then there is a handy rack for watering cans.

And speaking of watering, we persevere with what is supposed to be a quadrangle of grass. Water is being pumped up from the pond and sprinkled. Only very slowly grass is appearing.

So here is something else that is taking months.

Much has been going on over the weeks, but some projects take time before they are ready to be presented. An example is the paths that surround a square of green.

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First, there was the path itself to be marked out and laid. Some suitably shallow steps lead up to the veranda.

Then came the materials for constructing fences.

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Don’t miss the box plants that are going to grow into a hedge all around. (And the grass is beginning to take properly).

Now here is a section of the finished route around the plat.

At a university we would probably call it a quadrangle.

The making of a sandpit is a story in itself.

Digging a pit ought to have been easy, but it was not so. Sometimes the spade struck hard clay or stones, but what brought work to a standstill was a long piece of kerbstone, not horizontal but at an angle down into the soil. It was dug all around, but nothing seemed to shift it. Of course, eventually, it was removed, but it demanded some ingenuity.

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Once obstacles had been excavated the hole was made square and a lining place in it.

Then it was just a matter of waiting for sand to be delivered. Those little plastic bags of play sand wouldn’t be anything like enough. When it came today, it was deposited like a giant sandcastle on the beach. (If only the children had been there!)

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Some of it was removed to achieve the desired effect. The sand taken out amounted to a full sack. If four sacks were bought, how much sand is there now in the sandpit? See what maths opportunity has been missed by children not at nursery school today.

It will be like going to Camber Sands every day.

There is a facility about which many have asked. We must satisfy the demand for information.

We do have one for adults and a separate one for children. (Luxury!)

And here is the provision.

I always find restrictions frustrating. 5 mph is an absurd speed, and I see no reason why I should not drive further.

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Prohibitions are so unfriendly. But a welcome awaits all our children

… just as soon as OFSTED registers Mr Noah’s Nursery School CIC.

Rules and regulations!

The children always turn aside from play to see a passing truck or tractor, but yesterday offered a better sight by far.

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The machine was heading directly towards our little people’s school.

Then it turned. It went back and forth noisily, until the job was done.

How the children would have loved it! If only they had been here – the language of regret.

Most of the blogs posted here portray a specific project that has been pretty much completed. In fact, all the while, there are other things in the process. So today here is a sample of some of the work that is currently progressing.

We start with the bark path that leads around the plat. If you look very carefully, you will observe that the prayed-for rain has caused the grass seed to germinate.

Then there is a tyre park and a sandpit (– without sand as yet).

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There will eventually be a garden for children to work, as well.

The tomatoes growing here were sown by the children last February. The plants have been taken to the Gills Green site where they are ripening.

Then lastly, bordering the ‘veranda’ that is nearly complete, a rockery with a colourful display of flowers.

All the time, there is so much that is happening in preparation for receiving the first cohort of children.

The interminable delay in the process to obtain planning permission for a small building has created the problem of where to store equipment and resources. A remedy had to be found. Here it is.

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A storage container has been brought to the site and into the woods.

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A nook was levelled and prepared, and the container lifted into position.

It would be rather nice if all life’s problems were solved just like that.