Let's Get Bonkers for Conkers Again
Our resident Forest School teacher Natalie on why the nation should get Bonkers for Conkers once again!
Kids are bonkers for conkers. Always have been and always will be. Some of my fondest memories of school were the deeply competitive conker competitions that took up most of my time in Autumn, not only at playtime actually playing conkers, but in the evenings after school where my brothers and I would spend hours soaking our conkers in a variety of different solutions, investigating what was the magic formula to make ours the hardest conker in the playground! It was only when researching the resource sheets for this month did I realise that children don’t really play conkers anymore. There was no question that playing conkers was a relatively lethal game in theory, but I don’t remember any serious injuries, other than to my pride. As a nation, we do seem to have become overly concerned with our children and the way that they interact with nature. The first recorded game of conkers was in 1848, and it would seem a dreadful shame to see the pastime die out. The World Conker Championship was held last Sunday on the Village Green at Ashton in Northamptonshire. Next year's World Conker Championships will be back next year on October 9th, with full details here! Contestants are not allowed to use their own conkers. Nuts are supplied for each game after being gathered and strung by the organisers. Each game lasts five minutes. If neither conker has broken a shoot out takes place. Each player has three sets of three hits and the one who lands most clean hits is the winner. I am sold. I hope that you are too, and that you are inspired to share the joys of conkers with your children. I hope to see you all in Northamptonshire very soon…
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