Nursery •
Nursery
Challenge your friends and family to a leaf-hunting competition! Head outside and hunt for autumn leaves. Who’s the first to find an orange leaf, a star-shaped leaf, a tiny leaf? Sort your leaves by colour, shape and size. Make a leaf rainbow!
Introduce your little one to trees with a leaf hunt! Take your mini Nature Detective into the woods and help them collect different types of leaves. Choose leaves of different shapes, sizes, colours and textures Describe them are they smooth, rough, prickly? Let your little one hold each leaf Collect the leaves together and make a collage when you get home.
Make a colourful mask using autumn leaves. One of the best things about autumn is the colourful leaves! Turn them into a fantastic face mask with this fun and easy craft. Head outside and collect some fallen leaves – look for reds, yellows, oranges and golds. Cut out a mask shape from some card. Don’t forget the eye holes! Stick your leaves to the card. Attach some ribbon so you can wear it.
Ahoy, me hearties! Make ye own pirate hat and set sail. Collect lots of different shapes, sizes and colours of leaves and stick them to your pirate hat. Add a pirate symbol like a skull and cross bones to the front of your hat Are you the captain or best mate? Always ask a grown-up to help you when cutting out Now you’re ready to set sail and scavenge for buried treasure!
Use leaves and crayons to create amazing pictures. Make your own autumn woodland using real leaves. Collect leaves that are different shapes and sizes Use the wide sides of crayons to rub over leaves Try and get all the little details, like veins and crinkly edges Once you’ve rubbed enough leaves, stick them on your wall and make a leaf rubbing forest!
Make a sensory box using leaves and toys. Add your autumn items and favourite toys to a shoebox, and get hunting! This is a fantastic sensory activity for tiny Nature Detectives Describe the sounds the leaves make in the box rustle, crunch, shush! Choose lots of different toys balls and wooden figures are great
Gather lots of autumn leaves and play a game of leaf snap. Remember you’ll need at least two of each kind of leaf. Matching leaves can be the same colour or the same type it’s up to you Don’t forget to set the rules on what’s a match before you start playing! The last person with a handful of leaves is the winner Learn about the leaves with our handy leaf ID sheet.
Time spent cloud gazing and describing what they could see encouraged lots of description and imagination.
Welcome to the second edition of the Loose Parts Play Toolkit. Since 2016, when it was first published under Scotland’s Play Strategy, we have seen a burgeoning of loose parts play in schools and nurseries, play, care, childminding and out of school settings. Across the country, education and play practitioners are building a body of knowledge from their experiences of facilitating play and, at the same time, managing an array of challenges that come from the introduction of loose parts
Make your own wand and weave a little woodland magic. Find a special stick and turn it into a magic wand. Then get set to cast some spells! Your wand can be as brightly coloured as you like Try making different wands for different spells Don’t forget to add natural items like feathers and fallen leaves to your wand You might need a grown-up to help you peel the bark from your stick.
Make a magic potion using natural treasures. If you go down to the woods today, you’ll find heaps of ingredients to make your own make potion. Collect some mysterious bits and bobs. Can you find a fluffy feather, some scented pine needles, a shiny acorn? Add water and a little food colouring. Use a special stirring stick to give everything a magic mix Now make a wish! This is a great activity for Halloween, or if your kids like playing witches and wizards.
Transform ordinary sticks into dazzling star decorations. This is a great craft to try in winter when you’ll find lots of twigs on the forest floor. Fasten some sticks together in a star shape Paint it bright colours Hang your star on your Christmas tree or on your bedroom wall!
Make your own wreath using twigs, pine cones or evergreen leaves. This hands-on activity is great fun. Here are some ideas to get you started: Twist twigs together to make the wreath base, or use cardboard Experiment with different shapes – a square, an oval or a star Keep the natural look or paint your wreath bright colours A wreath is a traditional Christmas decoration, but you could display yours throughout winter as a celebration of this beautiful season!
An easy and fun Bonfire Night craft. In autumn you’ll find the most beautiful leaves on the ground. They are perfect for making colourful leafy fireworks. Look for leaves that are different shapes, sizes and colours Get creative make a long tail, lay down layers of different colours, or make a huge circle or star shape! Build a bonfire using sticks and flickering leafy ‘flames’ to go with your fireworks This activity can be done in your garden, park, school grounds, or local wood. Just find a clear patch of ground and start creating!
Crown yourself king or queen of the woods! Find leaves of different shapes, sizes and colours Your crown can be as fancy or as simple as you like Maybe you could create a crown using your favourite leaves? Try making a new crown every time you go to the woods during autumn.
Create a castle fit for a moley king or queen. Look out for molehills when you’re playing outside, and get building. Find lots of different natural items like leaves and twigs to decorate the castle Don’t forget to create a moat and drawbridge Be as imaginative as you like try making turrets and flags too Molehills are made when moles push the earth out from their underground tunnels.
Get your hands dirty and make muddy creatures. We love squelchy, sticky, gloopy mud! Grab a handful and get sculpting. There’s no limit to what you can create let your imagination run wild Make mud monsters and animals the wackier the better Use whatever you can find to add eyes, ears, a mouth even wings to your creation What type of creatures will you magic up from the mud?
Make masks from household items
Make your own mini woodland using bits and bobs from the forest floor. Ever wondered what it would be like to be a giant wandering through the woods? Well now’s your chance! All you need is a flat, smooth patch of ground, and then you can get creative! What will you use for trees, bushes and ponds? Think about their shape, colour and texture Do any animals or magical creatures live in your wood? What are they? Your woodland can be as big or as tiny as you like all you need is your imagination and a few bits and pieces!
Design and build your own minibeast mansion! All animals need somewhere to sleep and to hide from predators, and minibeasts are no different. Think about what might want to live in your mansion some minibeasts prefer dark, damp places and others like bright sunshine Gather sticks, moss, leaves, bark and other woodland items together Get building! Make sure there are lots of places for the creatures to hide Your mansion can be as big or small as you like, but build it on different levels using different materials so the minibeasts have lots of places to hide.
Create a home for creepy crawlies Find a sheltered spot and build a marvellous minibeast palace. Use twigs, leaves and grass to make it cosy Different minibeasts like different places to hide twig towers are great Minibeasts will hibernate, munch through and lay their eggs in the palace Next time you go to the woods, check to see if any creepy crawlies have moved in!
Collect colourful treasures and make a bangle. Try this creative craft on a trip to the woods. It’s a brilliant way to explore autumn’s bright colours and exciting textures, but you can do it at any time of year. Fasten a strip of card around your wrist. Add some double-sided sticky tape. Explore the forest floor and look for interesting items to add to your bracelet. This is a great way to encourage youngsters to look closer at the natural world. What does each item look like? How does it fell? Does it smell?
Early years maths
Setting up an outdoor programme
Outdoor policy for early years relating to Covid