Senses | Diary of an Adventurous Retiree

My post is a little late this week as my husband and I decided at the last minute to take off for the weekend. (There will be another blog post on that too, soon!) Usually I blog when away but there was not internet connection at this particular venue

Children’s development is shaped through the experiences they have. The five senses of hearing, sight, smell, taste and touch are important to help in all their learning. In the classroom and on outings teachers draw their attention to the five senses and encourage the children to use them to explore the world around them. We had a wonderful time on Thursday when went with one of the boy classes to the Fish Hoek Beach – a perfect place to use all our senses.

The forecast was grim – rain and cold was predicted – but I put in a special order for the rain to be held off till later and my prayers were positively answered. We had a spit and a spot at 8:15 but the hours on the beach were perfect and the rain only came down later in the afternoon!

Writing in the sand feels so good

Cloudy, still and warm enough to go for a swim

Building with wet sand

Building with dry sand

We found shells to decorate our designs

The sea was cold

Splashing in the cool sea is fun

We got wet

It was a still, calm day

Fun on the rocks

Snack Time

Tasty Snacks and Cool Drinks

More fun in the sand

Look at my construction

Mud, glorious mud

Thank you all the parents who helped with lifts. It was a delightful outing which I hope you all enjoyed as much as we did.

This week the girls have got in touch with their senses. They now know that an ear isn’t a sense but the instrument that uses the sense of ‘hearing”. They have learned new vocabulary to describe what they see, hear, touch, smell and taste. And to put this all into practise e visited Higgledy Piggeldy Farm at Imhoff on Thursday. Their lunch boxes were filled with different tastes, there were wonderful sounds and smells and sights and they could get up close and touch the animals that they were also allowed to feed. We arrived at snack time and were allowed to use the lawn in front of the restaurant for our picnic. There was a play area with a big tree and a rope swing – oh what joy! My Gap student soon had them lined up and taking turns and there wasn’t one incident of selfishness. This was the second class she was assisting and had learned from her experience with the first one to have a plan of action and to make sure every one understood the rules! Well don Emma – you did a fantastic job of organising the girls.

Picnic Time

The swing was a hit

What fun to climb a real tree

Down the chute I come

Then it was our turn to go and feed the animals. The girls’noses twitched and the new smells – which most of them describes as nasty but none were put off. Some with drew their hands at the unfamiliar feel of animal lips nibbling feed from their hands; there were nervous giggles which soon changed to shrieks of delight. They identified the quack of the ducks, the bleat of the goat and the oink of the piglets.

Feeding the ducks

The goats were grateful for the treats

But which animals did the girls enjoy most? Without a doubt the bunnies. There were some brand new baby ones and weren’t they the cutest! We let the girls in a few at a time and boy was it hard to get them out of that enclosure to let the others have a turn!

He feels so silky

Enthralled by a bunny

The girls were ever so gentle and kind to the animals. I do believe that animals are therapeutic; shy children loosen up, sad ones begin to smile and all because they get to pet a creature who doesn’t judge them in any way.

It was altogether a successful outing. Thanks to the parents who gave up their valuable time to transport the girls. It is very much appreciated.