Workshopping with the Windmill Cluster

The Scrapstore was delighted to welcome the Windmill Cluster of schools to our family of members in September.

As part of encouraging their use of our 'sustainable' materials, one of our best friends - Ruth Moyler (Lead Practitioner at John Donne School, part of the Southwark Teaching Alliance and consultant with Linden Learning) led a workshop out of her mobile 'green shed' for 25 of the Early Years practitioners from the cluster.

The exam question: make an outdoor puppet out of a milk carton and other waterproof and robust junk. The assessment standard: Bronze (completion of a set activity), Silver (completion of an activity with some freedom over the output) or Gold (open-ended activity). The outcome: a whole range of Bronze, Silver and Gold achieved; impressive creativity and critical thinking, with many exceeding pupils!

We loved the results!...from pirates, superheroes and 'Rosie the glamorous' to evil folk and boring people - there was something to suit everyone's hidden personality. Leather trousers, string vests, capes and belly buttons all figured in the creativity. Our favourite was the 'exceeding' dancer with swivelling hips and groovy feet.

We hope the participants had as much fun with their 'show and tell' at the end as we did. Penny Porter-Mill, Community Partnership Manager for the cluster, told us:​

'...the session was practical, interactive and fun and gave inspiration to those who were lucky enough to attend. Hopefully their enthusiasm will translate into lots of visits to the Scrapstore!'

Huge thanks to Ruth! We salute your green shed! Ruth welcomes visitors by prior appointment to her Green Studio at John Donne School in Peckham and to view her inspirational approaches to creative learning. She is also available as an independent consultant for Inset days or other training - or through Linden Learning.