Kate Hodges

By Kate Hodges

19th January 2022

Spot signs of spring, make love spoons, cook vegan haggis, take steps to decolonialising your geography! Plus how to grow tasty microgreens and read books ahead of this year's film releases!

Kate Hodges

By Kate Hodges

19th January 2022

Kate Hodges

By Kate Hodges

19th January 2022

EVENT AND MAKE HERE COMES THE SPRING
Evenings are getting lighter, mornings brighter, and the first snowdrops are peeping through the soil. Always a cheering sight, they’re a sign that spring is just around the corner, and new life is ready to come bursting through. Galanthophiles, as snowdrop lovers are called (find out more about them here) are well-served with festivals across the country, many of which are taking place for the first time in a couple of years.
Visit The Garden House in Devon, find a garden full of them near you here or here or discover more about them at Scotland’s snowdrop festival, held at venues across the country.
This Woodland Detectives sheet details some more optimistic signals, from bird song to elder bud burst and hazel catkins; take a look at it here, and find more nature activity resources here. Or create your own permanent displays indoors – will you go for tissue paper or origami versions?

EVENT, RECIPE, LEARN, DO
BURN IT UP!

It’s Burns Night on Tuesday! Party on Tuesday at home with Eddi Reader as she hosts a free online party with musicians including KT Tunstall and comedians Ross Leslie and Richard Pulsford with a delicious vegan haggis, neeps and tatties, and play silly haggis games or liven up your lessons with these fun downloadable quizzes, posters and writing prompts or these teaching resources. Alternatively, take in multi-media art installations and live performances online at Edinburgh’s Burns&Beyond festival or enjoy free online and real-world performances Glasgow’s Celtic Connections.

DO
SCREEN AHEAD

We’re a fan of reading books ahead of upcoming films; it’s fun to contrast the character created in your head with the film-maker’s take on them. There are lots of our favourite books being turned into films and television series released this year, including Pinocchio, Matilda, The School for Good and Evil, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules and The Railway Children. Find The Book Trust’s take on them here.

EVENT, MAKE, LEARN
SPOONING TOGETHER
Tueday is Dydd Santes Dwynwen, St Dwynwen’s Day, the Welsh equivalent of Valentine’s. It celebrates Dwynwen, the Welsh saint of lovers. One of the most romantic Welsh traditions is the giving of wooden love spoons, intricately carved in Celtic knots, floral crests and open linked chains. Join the National Museum of Wales free online talk about the spoons on January 25. If you’re handy with wood, you might like trying to make your own (or sign up to St Fagan’s real-life course) alternatively, try creating yours out of making your own from card and egg cartons or create a virtual version to send a loved one.

RECIPE AND DO ROOTS AND SHOOTS

Microgreens are the first shoots of salad vegetables and herbs. They taste fresh and young and are packed with vitamins. They make a great first growing project – a garden will fit neatly on a windowsill even in winter – and are ideal for trying as a family. Find some tips from the National Trust here, and find out more, including the ten best microgreens to grow, here.

WHAT WE’RE READING How to stay positive and find joy in 2022, according to a life coach​​: If you like to start the year as you mean to go on, there’s still time to change a downbeat mindset and find joy in the months ahead — it only takes a few tweaks to let go of the doomsday thoughts and replace them with positive views. Read more here

WHAT WE’RE EXPLORING The Equal Earth Wall Map is for schools, organizations, or anyone who needs a map showing countries and continents at their true sizes relative to each other. It’s perfect for decolonialised learning. Africa appears 14 times larger than Greenland as it actually is. And wherever you live, the map has you covered. Download a choice of three versions centered on these regions: Africa/Europe, the Americas, and East Asia/Australia. Find it here

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