It was a glorious day, the sun was shining down on us for a lovely change, although it was a little bit chillier under the trees. Whilst we were walking over to the woods in which the den building area was located, we walked through the pollinators' garden, where we found information about nature and animals local to the area for the children to read and find the answers.

Arriving at the den building area, the children got themselves into groups and set about building dens. All groups were very resourceful, with varying ideas about how to construct a den/shelter. Some balanced sticks against the trees to form a teepee-style den, others constructed a square shelter and used tarpaulins to put over the top like a gazebo. The time went very quickly, and I believe the children could have carried on for another couple of hours just enjoying building and constructing and working well in their teams, showing good teamwork. 

We then walked around the site locating answers to the quiz.

Such questions as: 

• How many spines does a hedgehog have? = 5,000 to 7,000. 
• How heavy is a heron? = maximum 2kg.
• How many times per second does a woodpecker's beak hit the tree trunk? = 40 per second.
• What is a barn owl also known as? = A ghost owl.

They did very well with this challenge. Time just flew by, and we ran out of time to go back into the outdoor classroom and sit down and reflect upon what we had been learning.

A great morning was had by all, and the children were all very happy, albeit a bit tired.

I think all the children would love to go back again for another longer visit.