Winter Celebration

music under the trees, and a long line of glowing lanterns weaving down to the Hall, 

shining deer may step briefly out of the woods and unexpected flowers 

and butterflies suddenly shine in memories of summers gone

(our first ideas)

"what makes our villages special?" is the question lying behind a Winter Celebration project now in full glue-and-tissue bedlam in south Derbyshire.

Combining workshops with communities in the villages of Ticknall and Weston-on-Trent with the neighbouring National Trust Calke Abbey estate ( visit them here!  ), the project sets out to celebrate people, places and creativity, culminating in a lantern procession through the estate grounds in the late afternoon of Saturday 3rd December

Workshops to date have offered:

skill-sharing with local volunteers

a noisy evening with Ticknall Youth Group

an afterschool session at Weston-on-Trent ( Weston Primary School  )

cooperative sessions involving the Ticknall Toddlers Group with Key Stage 1 children from the local school (  Dame Catherine Harpur's School )

an exciting afternoon where Key Stage 2 pupils worked with the Ticknall Art Group to make the most ambitious lanterns of the project so far!

People - because "people are what makes our village special"

Whitefield stories

First images from sessions creating adventures about Wycoller Country Park - over the next few week,s an hour a week will grow stories about the Park building books as we go so by the time we reach the end of term we'll have a new library of some 90 books and stories.... 

Adventures Everywhere! storytelling workshop, July 2011

"Learning Outside The Classroom" courses with the Peak District National Park

ADVENTURES EVERYWHERE – 22nd March 2012, Moorland Discovery Centre, Longshaw Estate nr Hathersage


Step out of the classroom and into a world where everything around us is having adventures. The processes and patterns of nature, the lives of animals and plants, all offer rich inspirations for new poems and wild stories
Looking for Adventures Everywhere, during the afternoon we will:

• shape communal poems out of special moments and memories


• work outside building our own storywalk: with activities that could work either joined together to create a whole experience or that might stand alone as individual exercises: atmosphere poems, riddles, animal diaries and wildlife characters


• make laced-up books drawing all these earlier activities together
• end with a quick story-telling session, sharing our new poems and stories

All courses run from 1:30 -5:30pm and cost £70. If your school books more than one of any of our charged for courses you will receive a 20% discount on all courses.

For more details, please contact:

Sarah Wilks, Tel: 01433 620373     learning.discovery@peakdistrict.gov.uk

Workshop leader: Gordon MacLellan: as Creeping Toad, Gordon has been leading celebrations with schools and community groups for more than 20 years. From playschemes with hundreds of children to quiet garden events, Gordon’s experience reaches from South African arts festivals to Manchester schools, from Highland woods to Buxton’s lantern processions    

Maths, naturally

"Learning Outside The Classroom" courses with the Peak District National Park

pirate cunning will shape our mathematical adventures....

MATHS NATURALLY- 21st March 2012, at Losehill Hall Youth Hostel, Castleton

Based around a maths treasure hunt, come and discover how learning in the fresh air can help develop an enthusiasm for maths, as well as deepen mathematical understanding and thinking. This workshop will offer:

• activities to develop mathematical skills in real life contexts


• working with maps and coordinates to engage pupils and encourage them to lead their own learning


• developing maths through story and drama activities


• activities that use a kinaesthetic approach to teaching maths OR enjoying maths through hands-on, engaging making and doing

All courses run from 1:30 -5:30pm and cost £70. If your school books more than one of any of our charged for courses you will receive a 20% discount on all courses.

For more details, please contact:

Sarah Wilks, Tel: 01433 620373     learning.discovery@peakdistrict.gov.uk

 patterns, shadows, forms and measurements, 

an old oak offers so much! 

Workshop leader: Gordon MacLellan: as Creeping Toad, Gordon has been leading celebrations with schools and community groups for more than 20 years. From playschemes with hundreds of children to quiet garden events, Gordon’s experience reaches from South African arts festivals to Manchester schools, from Highland woods to Buxton’s lantern processions    

Natural Celebrations

"Learning Outside The Classroom" courses with the Peak District National Park

NATURAL CELEBRATIONS -9th January 2012, Flash School, near Buxton


How do we get our classes to take hold of their own inspirations and work together to create exciting and dramatic events? What activities can capture the colours and patterns of nature for our celebrations?

This workshop will offer:

• activities to help groups plan and design celebrations


• a look at creative themes you might use in a celebration


• give you a chance to try some useful  art activities with lanterns, flags, big masks, spectacular standards and unbelievable hats…


• take time for us all to share ideas and experiences

All courses run from 1:30 -5:30pm and cost £70. If your school books more than one of any of our charged for courses you will receive a 20% discount on all courses.

For more details, please contact:

Sarah Wilks, Tel: 01433 620373     learning.discovery@peakdistrict.gov.uk

Workshop leader: Gordon MacLellan: as Creeping Toad, Gordon has been leading celebrations with schools and community groups for more than 20 years. From playschemes with hundreds of children to quiet garden events, Gordon’s experience reaches from South African arts festivals to Manchester schools, from Highland woods to Buxton’s lantern processions    

Disappearing....

 Thanks to Diana for a couple of extra images from the SpeyGrian weekend at Wester Caputh....

SpeyGrian

a weekend of sunshine and frost and clear, bright days and cold bright nights.......working with members of the SpeyGrian network to add a little flavour of Creeping Toad chaos to their activities...

SpeyGrian: SpeyGrian is a group of artists, writers, scientists and educators, united in their love of outdoor learning. We aim to provide a catalyst for change at both a personal and a national level by bringing new perspectives to the relationship we have with the natural world. We achieve our aims by offering training courses, arranging informal (and fun!) meetings and sharing our reflections through stories, music, writing and art. (taken from their website)

and we stayed at wonderful Wester Caputh Hostel - so have a look in there as well!