In September we took our Rainbow Unit to the County Animal Adventure Afternoon at Willow Tree and it was a hit! The girls afternoon started off with an opportunity to meet some real reptiles. The Animal rangers were brilliant introducing each reptile to the Rainbows, telling them all about the animal species and answering any questions the girls had. Ghost the snake was a particularly hit with unit as girls got to feel her smooth scales. It was a pleasure to see some of the rainbows facing there fears and holding the smaller snakes.
After the excitement of meeting the animals, it was time for the Rainbows to get creative. Feeling inspired from their animal interactions the girls began to decorate cakes as animals (after washing their hands, of corse!). We had a whole range of animal cakes from bears to bunnies. One rainbow even made their cupcake into a deer, after spotting one running across Willow Tree.
The afternoon didn’t end there as the girls then moved onto a fun craft activity. Using cardboard, twigs and wool the Rainbows made beautiful owl decorations to take home with them. It was great to see how such a lovely craft could be created with only a few items. It has left us wondering how we could do something similar in the future.
After all the Rainbows helped tidy aways the craft resources, we had plenty of time left for a couple more outdoor adventures. Divided into pairs the Rainbows went off on a scavenger hunt finding pictures of animals across Willow Tree which matched their tick list. Whilst some of the pictures were easy to spot, others were a little trickier to find just like in real life. Once all the pictures had been found there was just enough time for the girls to have fun on the Adventure Playground.
At the end of the afternoon all the Rainbows were sent home with huge smiles on their faces. As our youngest Rainbow left she told us “It was the best day ever!”. After the event we received lots of messages from the parents telling us how much the Rainbows enjoyed the day, one message saying ” My daughter had an absolute ball this afternoon and said she didn’t want it to end”.
Lizzie Hornal, Unit Leader, 5th South Ruislip (Ruislip Victoria) Rainbow Unit