Bring Nature Back Into The Classroom With These Shrew With The Flu Lesson Plans

In line with Earth Day 2022, I’m pleased to announce the launch of a special partnership between The Shrew with the Flu and Earthwise.

Together, with the help of The Shrew with the Flu Illustrator, Jennifer Davison, and Level 3 Forest School certified, CEVAS accredited Earthwise founder and educator, Claire Rosling, we have created a series of free, downloadable lesson plans designed to bring nature back into the classroom for EYSF, KS1 and KS2 year-groups. The aim is for these lesson plans to make it easy and enjoyable for teachers to engage pupils with nature.

View all “The Shrew with the Flu” downloadable lesson plans: here.

Knowing that many inner city schools don’t have immediate access to gardens or greenspaces, we have worked hard to ensure these free-to-download lesson plans are accessible and easy to implement.

I’d love to hear how you get on with them. It’s taken a heap of energy to get them to this point so every ounce of feedback is very much appreciated.

Stay safe; stay smiley.

Will :)

Smiles, All The Way From South Africa

A couple of months ago, Justin Waples, from Waples Wines, told me about Kaapzicht Wine Estate, and how Danie Steytler and his family were educating underprivileged adults and children, and supporting families through Kaapzicht’s Farm Community - hosting “after-school-clubs”, “soccer”, and “horse riding for handicapped children”. The call to action, just reading about the wonderful work they are doing, was immense.

Having offered to schedule a free virtual school visit, Justin and Danie chuckled. I was confused, until they explained that many of the schools in South Africa did not have the resource to host an author virtually: the electricity was unreliable, interactive whiteboards and flashy computers were a luxury and a rarity, and the these farm communities were largely established because of a sheer lack of educational resource and funding. My concept of “streaming an author visit” was totally bonkers.

Despite this, Chris Stobbs, founder of worX Software, interjected, saying that “we’ll just ship a box of books to you”, and reminded me that his father, George Stobbs, was also a budding children’s author. So, worX Software and MiTEQ teamed up and shipped out a big box of The Shrew with the Flu books to Kaapzicht Wine Estate.

A couple of days later, Justin forwarded me this video, from the children.

Since Shrew's Journey Began...

With every new website, comes a new opportunity for me to rave about all the awesome people that have made this adventure so epic. Thanks a bunch, team.

It’s hard to put into words, what The Shrew with the Flu has achieved, since it was published, in 2020. We have created a bloomin’ awesome partnership with Kabloom, creating The Shrew with the Flu eco-friendly guerrilla gardening “Seedboms” (now available for businesses to stock at wholesale). We hit a whopping 70 five-star reviews on Amazon. We have received testimonials from international bestselling authors, conservationists, national environmental charities, mammologists (one of which was actually a self-proclaimed “shrewologist”), and many, many more.

Despite all that, I have to admit that no adult testimonial has quite compared to the moments, during schools visits, when young people have voiced their responses to hearing The Shrew with the Flu. One girl that told me she had planted “one-hundred conkers” in her mother’s garden. A class educated me on “hedgehog houses” and “bug hotels”. One boy told me that he knew I was reading my story “from the heart” because he could see that I was reading without looking at the words in the book. These moments have made Shrew’s adventure more fulfilling than I ever could have anticipated, and so I want to personally thank all you schools and teachers that continue to reach out and enquire about author visits.

Now, it seems bizarre that I still have big projects left to announce, but there are more books being written, partnerships being finalised, and events being planned that will (hopefully) blow your socks off. As we wait for that good stuff to be unveiled, please keep spreading the word, leaving reviews, and reaching out when you have ideas for visits, events, or collaborations.

Stay safe. Stay smiley.

Will :)