For ages people have asked what is the purpose of the curved pieces that could be seen in front of the plat. I have explained, but it has been difficult to imagine.
Now, the work has been done to erect the sections to form a covered space.
What a wonderful room in which to take shelter from sunshine and rain alike.
At the end of January, work began on a second barn for storage purposes. The construction was similar to the one built two years ago, but it was to have the floor made from pallet wood.
By February, it was left incomplete but usable by virtue of a tarp covering the roof to keep out most of the water. The only photos are incidental – ones taken of the whole plat from a drone.
Work recommenced in August, and the priority was to get the roof felted. A deluge of rain had been forecast following months of drought. So once the tarp was off, there was an urgency about the task.
The rains came, and satisfyingly, when every container was overflowing, the water ran off the roof to perfection.
It was time to tidy up the roof, pay a little attention to details and get the straw bale walls sorted.
We are grateful to have the benefit of modern technology that allows us to compare and contrast and see the progress made on the plat over time.
Two years ago, on 23rd June 2020, we had just begun work on the site. Clearing the growth that occupied the plat looked like the image below.
A month later, things were just beginning to take shape.
The first aerial photos were not taken until March 2021. Here is an example.
There was no covered play kitchen or children’s dining room. In fact, the real kitchen for preparing children’s meals was under construction as the photo was taken.
Here is the equipment employed in taking photos.
So, from the heavens, here is how we look.
We have developed a children’s encampment, nestled on the perimeter of beautiful ancient woodland. This is our gentle environment where little people can blossom and flourish.
After nearly two years of attempting to handle paperwork out in the elements, we have added to the structures one last building for an office.
There was excitement when a lorry struggled down the track to deliver the summerhouse for self assembly. So much was the interest that one little chap made a model of the vehicle.
Then the structure began to go up, bit by bit…
..until, eventually, the building began to look reasonably complete.
There was help on hand to remove the masking tape used during painting the building, and any number of essential tasks.
Now we are organised.
There are signs and labels everywhere. Whoever said that you would not have labels on things in the outdoor environment? Here is an example. And notice the decorative squirrel – it is a red squirrel, of course.
Twelve months ago, we had gone from the wettest October on record to a winter of named storms. The result was the destruction of tents and wallowing in mud on the plat. Last January, told the story of replacing the marquee with a yurt. Now we turn our attention to the surface on which we walk.
Winds battered the marquee, and the bark intended to protect from the mire failed. We were walking in slime.
So along with upgrading from tents, there came a project to construct decking and a variety of walkways.
We began at the rear of the plat and continued in front of the yurt. Then we started a completely different style at the main entrance to the enclosure.
Between the decking and the logs, the project has been completed with a surface constructed with pallet wood laid diagonally. The practical benefit is enormous, and it looks good into the bargain.
Last October the rains fell seriously and the year was a very wet one. One of the results was a very slippery path to the woods. We decided to create a new surface with boot gripping ebony chips.
Children were involved in it all. Now they will use the new access to the woods with a sense of pride in what they have achieved.
The children missed the popular mud kitchen for a fortnight. The wait was worth it, though: the whole thing has been refitted with everything you could ask to have in your kitchen.
There is a French dresser, a hood over the solid fuelled oven and even a microwave.
A great benefit is that all is under cover.
And there is more still.
Next door to the kitchen is a new Toy Room. So now, effectively, there is a new block at the side of the sand pit.
From time to time, we are asked what philosophy of education we follow. Here is a fabulous statement of the answer. It is the symbol associated with the great German pioneer Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852).
The wooden monument stands 5 ft high and can be seen from all over the plat.
Froebel designed a range of ‘gifts’ – manipulatives – for use with children in his kindergartens. He regarded the second gift as the most important of them and as encapsulating his whole approach to education. It became the identifying emblem of Froebel and his work. His gravestone took the shape of the three solids arranged in the familiar configuration.
We display this symbol as a school in that great pedagogical tradition.
Throughout the year, almost every week has seen improvements and developments to the site and facilities. It has been exciting and demanding. For the children, it has been marvellous to witness the construction of an outdoor kindergarten; for those of us who have been involved in the progress, there has been the satisfaction of knowing that we have done it ourselves.
One week it was the simple location of a timepiece on a section of boarding that had not been there before. The panel shelters livestock from the glare of the sunshine. The clock has not only helped the staff to know the hour but the children have been given the opportunity to learn reading the time.
A sail hung from a specially constructed frame has given much-needed shade to children reading books or building Duplo at the table.
Children were thrilled to find a climbing frame with swings one Monday morning. They could hardly be persuaded to leave it for other activities. We are immensely grateful for the kindness of the family donating (and erecting) the equipment.
Although there was much rain during the last weeks of term, when the sun shone into the kitchen, it was insufferably warm. A canopy over the window was installed to bring some relief. Decking has been used and an extension to the short flight of steps effected. The planter acts as a barrier to prevent children from falling down the side of the well.
The school year 2020-21 has been extraordinary for us. But there is more to come. Keep checking the blog for the next post. There is something beautiful to show you next time.