Nursery •
Nursery
Follow our simple steps and create your own frog pond. Attract more wildlife to your garden by building them a home. Use things you have at home: a washing up bowl and old bits of wood are easy to find You don’t need a big space just somewhere big enough to fit your bowl Make sure you ask your grown-up to help you! Keep your eyes peeled for frogs, toads and newts!
Art using natural materials
Let your little Picasso spread their wings with this butterfly colouring page. Brilliant blue, garden green, pretty pink or regal red. Whatever their favourite colours are, help your mini Nature Detective embrace their creative side. Inspire your little one with a butterfly spotting adventure Use paints or crayons the more colourful the more beautiful Count the spots and see how many more they can add Make some friends for your butterfly in different colours and create a beautiful butterfly garden
Create a butterfly feeder for your garden. Help butterflies with this simple nature activity and get a closer look at these beautiful insects! You just need some mushy ripe fruit, a paper plate and some string. Experiment with different fruits which are more popular? How many different types of butterfly visit your feeder? Do any other insects or animals come to your butterfly feeder? Use different sized and coloured paper plates to see which attracts more butterflies.
Paint your little explorer’s feet with bright colours and make a butterfly. Step into nature and help your mini Nature Detective to get creative! Every new beautiful picture is totally unique to your little one Layer their footprints with different colours the more the better Name your new breed of butterfly
Rustle up a sugary slap-up supper for visiting butterflies. Tempt butterflies and other insects to visit your garden serve up supper! Do they prefer brown or white sugar? Try golden syrup and treacle what to the butterflies like best? Which other creatures stop by for supper? Make sure you put the sugary supper among the flowers.
Make beautiful butterfly wings using the magic of symmetry! We’ve spotted a new butterfly in the garden but where are its pretty wings? Can you help it to fly by creating them? How many colours can you see? Where does your butterfly live? Find a real butterfly for inspiration Make sure you give your new butterfly a name. And don’t forget to show your friends and family all the pretty colours.
We asked outdoor practitioners from across the country for their ultimate all time TOP TIP. For tips that save your socks and your sanity, look no further!
Can you escape from the cat in time?
Making chalk drawings etc.
We had to search for the stocking. There was something red hidden in the thick trees
Keep your eyes peeled for holly, ivy and mistletoe! Woods are magical in winter, and there’s an extra-special sparkle at Christmas-time. Head to the forest for a festive adventure: Listen for robins singing among bare branches Spot glittering frost on evergreen leaves Look for fat red berries nestled among prickly holly leaves Can you find any other Christmassy signs?
Head to the woods and track down festive signs! Can you get a photo of each item on the list? Look for Santa’s boot prints. Can you find a tree shaped like Rudolph’s antlers? What’s red like a jolly robin’s breast? What other Christmassy signs can you find?
Make a festive picture or turn it into a Christmas card! Get creative and decorate this fir tree ready for Christmas. You could… Choose your favourite colours for the baubles Use real pine needles that have fallen off your own tree Recycle old cards or sweet wrappers and stick them on to create decorations When you’re finished, why not turn it into a Christmas card for a special friend? Eco-friendly tree decorations Many Christmas decorations are made from plastic – tinsel, garlands and glittery baubles – so they’re not kind to the planet. Have a go at making your own plastic-free Christmas decorations instead using natural objects, paper and wool!
This is a great activity to do when children are a little tired after an energetic game.
Use this spotter sheet to help you hunt out all the colours in nature. Grab your best detecting kit – it’s time to find these colours! How many will you spot? Look for colours in flowers, leaves and berries Can you find them all in the woods? What’s your favourite colour? Once you’ve ticked off all the colours, try looking for others. You could even make a picture using the colours you spot.
Grab your favourite pencils and pens and create your own comma butterfly! Rain or shine, you can colour in at any time. Use this comma colouring sheet and make a masterpiece. The comma’s Latin name is Polygonia c-album Get inspired by real life butterflies or use your imagination Use felt tips, pencils, paints or felt to make a magnificent picture What have you called your comma? Maybe you could colour in some other butterflies and create some friends for him?
Grab your favourite pens and pencils and colour in these conkers! Conkers are so much fun, but if it’s too cold or wet outside to collect them, colour in instead. Go hunting for real conkers how many can you collect? Create a conker collage using leaves, twigs and bits of conker shell Conkers are the seeds of the horse chestnut tree Look carefully at your collected conkers do they have swirly patterns on their glossy shells?
A fun autumn game using conkers
Make this super easy feeder for your garden birds. This is simple and fun. All you need is lard, bird seed and a cookie cutter or two. Easy peasy! Making these feeders is messy fun, so be prepared to get your hands dirty! This is a super activity for little (and big!) Nature Detectives Hang your feeders where you can see them and wait for your feathered friends to tuck in to
Creating funny creatures from natural features
Fun way to start your forest school session
Fun game with hoops and tennis balls
Fun game to improve fine motor skills
Help your little one spot these creatures while you’re in the woods. What will you discover when you go down to the woods today? How many different birds will your little one spy? Count the animals together Help your child look for animals in the trees and on the ground what can they see? Keep your eyes peeled and help your mini Nature Detective spot woodland animals when you’re out and about.