There are lots of fun things to make and do outdoors. These are some of the things we’ve enjoyed doing at Tiggins Meadow:
Willow stripping and weaving – making rope, baskets, fences, sculptures….
Whittling – we are keen that children should have opportunities to learn to use tools skilfully and safely. Watching them develop dexterity and confidence is very rewarding. We often start with the simplest of plans – to produce a good point on a stick for pushing a marshmallow to be toasted on !
Pole lathe woodturning – using green wood cut on the field, to produce turned pieces such as bowls, spoons, goblets, candlesticks, chair legs and spindles. It’s great to see what simple technology can achieve with just a foot-powered treadle and great to have the opportunity to learn to use tools skilfully.
Clay pot making and clay faces – the soil at Tiggins Meadow is very heavy clay which it turns out is perfect for working with. We have used it mixed with chopped straw to make walls for the compost toilet room out of wattle and daub, but it’s also great fun to use for making pots, clay faces (spot the face on the tree in the photo left?) and tiles. We even had one 11 year old who built a kiln to fire his pots at Tiggins Meadow !
Sketching, painting, charcoal drawing, printing:
Den building – there is a lot of fun to be had from cutting branches to be used as poles and making a bender or wigwam. We have also started to make a ‘living willow’ den which still needs to grow a bit before it is useable.
Dream catchers – made by Lion using willow sourced at Tiggins Meadow.
WILD ABOUT TIGGINS 