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Important update from TheSchoolRun

For the past 13 years, TheSchoolRun has been run by a small team of mums working from home, dedicated to providing quality educational resources to primary school parents. Unfortunately, rising supplier costs and falling revenue have made it impossible for us to continue operating, and we’ve had to make the difficult decision to close. The good news: We’ve arranged for another educational provider to take over many of our resources. These will be hosted on a new portal, where the content will be updated and expanded to support your child’s learning.

What this means for subscribers:

  • Your subscription is still active, and for now, you can keep using the website as normal — just log in with your usual details to access all our articles and resources*.
  • In a few months, all resources will move to the new portal. You’ll continue to have access there until your subscription ends. We’ll send you full details nearer the time.
  • As a thank you for your support, we’ll also be sending you 16 primary school eBooks (worth £108.84) to download and keep.

A few changes to be aware of:

  • The Learning Journey weekly email has ended, but your child’s plan will still be updated on your dashboard each Monday. Just log in to see the recommended worksheets.
  • The 11+ weekly emails have now ended. We sent you all the remaining emails in the series at the end of March — please check your inbox (and spam folder) if you haven’t seen them. You can also follow the full programme here: 11+ Learning Journey.

If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected]. Thank you for being part of our journey it’s been a privilege to support your family’s learning.

*If you need to reset your password, it will still work as usual. Please check your spam folder if the reset email doesn’t appear in your inbox.

6 outdoor activities for wintry weather

Children playing outdoors in the snow
Just because it’s cold doesn’t mean you need to stay indoors! Bundle up and get everyone outside to enjoy these fun learning activities, perfect for chilly temperatures and snowy weather.

If we think back to our own childhood, many of us remember splashing through puddles, scuffling through leaves, the wonder of a snowflake and the excitement of the wind. Winter offers children unique sensory experiences to increase their knowledge and appreciation of the world around them. Try these ideas from national charity Learning through Landscapes to liven up your winter days.

Winter scavenger hunt

Before a bracing winter walk, write a sheet of natural things to find while you’re outside. Get the children hunting for holly leaves, pine cones and needles, a leaf skeleton, some lichen, different types of bark, and so on. Make it more challenging by being more specific, such as looking for cones bigger or smaller than their thumb.

Our friends at Twinkl have some great ideas for indoor and outdoor scavenger hunts (including a photography scavenger hunt!). 

Make a natural gargoyle

Invest in some clay (some art shops) and before you head out put a small amount of it in a plastic bag to take with you. Once you’re on your walk, ask the children to look out for twigs, leaves, cones and other natural features. Once they’ve gathered a small selection, get them examining trees for natural features that could make part of a gargoyle’s ‘face’. Use the clay to stick their collected objects onto the tree trunk to develop the rest of its features, like eyebrows, eyes, mouth etc. Take a photo with your phone and leave the face for others to enjoy!

Ice mobiles

Once you come home from a winter walk with pockets full of objects the children have collected, why not make some ice art to hang up outside? Using a range of different-shaped containers, lay a length of string across the top and place your winter object on it at the bottom of the container. Fill the container with twice-boiled and then cooled water (to avoid bubbles), and place it outside overnight or in your freezer. Once frozen, remove your art from its container and decorate a tree in the garden.

Pine cone garlands

Collect a number of fallen pine cones when you’re out and about. Once home, screw a cup hook from a hardware store in the bottom of each one. Using a length of ribbon cut to reach across a window or fireplace, push each hook through the ribbon at regular intervals to make your very own wintry garland to hang. Get the children to decorate with glitter or snowy spray if you like.

Ice egg hunt

For a wintry take on your springtime Easter egg hunt, use a funnel to part fill some party balloons with water. Open the neck to drop in a toy or treat; you might want to add 2-3 teaspoons of food colouring too.  Shake the balloons well for a solid effect when frozen, tie the ends and put them in the freezer. After 2-3 days you should be able to cut the balloon away and hide the eggs around the garden – then take the children out to hunt for them. What might hatch? Why not build a nest to collect them in and revisit as they melt?

Snowbots

If you’re lucky enough to get a decent amount of snow to enjoy as a family, nip to your local DIY store for some wireless, battery powered LED lights (they’re usually around £10 for a pack). Back in the garden, mound up some snow into ‘hills’ 2-3ft high, and scoop out two hollows where eyes might be. When it’s getting dark, insert the LEDs into the hollows and turn them on. The effect is amazing, and better still if you can make a few with different coloured bulbs for eyes!

Learning through Landscapes specialises in outdoor learning and play through education. They aim to enable children to connect with nature, be more active, be more engaged with their learning, develop their social skills and have fun.