09 Jul Lavender Creations & Pollinator Spotting at Curve Garden
This week, Year 1 enjoyed another wonderful session at Dalston Curve Garden, filled with calming scents, careful observation, and lots of creativity. The children began by making their very own lavender pouches, using fresh lavender from the garden. They loved exploring the texture and smell, noticing how the scent changed as they gently rubbed the flowers between their fingers.
We then headed out into the garden to look for pollinators. The children were brilliant at spotting butterflies, bees, and even moths fluttering and buzzing around the plants. They used their observation skills to notice how each pollinator moved, the colours on their wings, and which flowers they preferred.
As part of our learning about pollinators, the children were fascinated to discover how bees eat and drink. Bees have a long, straw‑like tongue, called a proboscis — the scientific name you were thinking of — which they use to sip nectar from flowers. If you watch a bee very closely while it’s feeding, you might even spot its proboscis stretching out to reach deep inside a flower.
After exploring, the children spent time getting creative. Using a range of colourful shapes, they carefully constructed flowers and little bees with buzzing wings, thinking about how each part fits together just like the real pollinators they had seen.
As our sessions draw to a close next week, we are feeling a little sad — but mostly incredibly proud. The children have had the most amazing experiences, learnt so much about nature, teamwork, and creativity, and shown endless curiosity throughout every visit. Their enthusiasm has made each session truly special.
We can’t wait for our final week together.