Aim: to show how to make jam from edible berries collected (mainly) from the Paragon grounds.
We had a good walk around some of the grounds of the school, up across a field behind the railway cutting, looking for blackberries. We played with a dog who was great fun. Quite a few berries, but it felt like we were a few weeks too late. The children were very industrious. Then we went up passed Honeysuckle Farm gate back towards a small gap in the hedge to a track taking us down to the school. So much Himalayan balsam, mixed with nettles and brambles...a real jungle. Elderberries, sloes and blackberries. We started the cooking process, with Marcus (assistant), keeping the fire going and preparing the threads for weaving. Mixing sugar to the berries we saw how the ingredients reduced as they were cooked. Some boys concocted their own "poisonous" mix, whilst others tried the raspberries and blackcurrants.
Learning: finding edible food, fire (and all that is learned from fire), cooking- seeing the mixture change to jam, eating it. Questions about changing ingredients, what else can we cook? Teamwork, keeping the fire going,
The other activity was finger looping, which is a form of weaving with loops of wool around your fingers, remembering a pattern, to produce a length of woven threads. Everyone worked in pairs to help each other. Lots to learn in a short while and quite difficult for 8/9 year olds.
Well done everyone for such a good outdoor learning session...a bread and jam session!
Through the hidden valley, in the bracken and balsam.
