Alexa Loves : An old milk bottle, rebuilding fairy houses and muddy hands...

I spent my Friday at a nature reserve in North London - taking my class of littlies out on a 'forest school' activity day. We explored the woods, played Hide and Seek, dug holes in the mud with little spades and found hidden treasure, built dens, discovered all kinds of creepy crawlies and plants. It was amazing to find such a magical environment so close to our school and the busy road that I walk along every morning.

We had heard rumours of real fairies living in the woods but when we had arrived at the clearing, the 'fairy village' had been destroyed by a dragon who had accidentally landed on it, thinking it was a comfortable place to sleep for the night. All that was left were sticks and leaves.... The littlies loved rebuilding houses for them, one even said "Look, there's the dragon's tail hiding on the top of the roof over there! Let's build really quickly!"

Finding feathers was one of my childhood joys...I enjoyed passing it on. How gorgeous is this?

This next photo nearly didn't make it to the blog, but I love the colour and the creaminess!

Making mud pies and getting creative!

I enjoy the contrast of the painted finger nails and mud...

We also enjoyed digging near an old tree. The nature reserve is by a railway line and we found lots of treasures hidden below ground... An old boot, who did it belong to? When and how was it lost? Let's just hope we don't also find the owner!

My favourite find of the day - an old milk bottle....gorgeous!