World Around Us
Help! How do we build a shelter?
‘Top 10 TARP TIPS’
A terrific game for thrillseekers! This fantastic game is lots of fun. It’s best played at twilight before it gets too dark to see where you’re going. Head to the woods with a torch. Hide among the trees, and move with the shadows. Capture the flag before you’re caught! Watch out for trip hazards like tree roots and fallen branches.
Use this texture hunt to bring the outdoors to life for your mini Nature Detective. Explore the woods together and discover a whole new playground through touch. Let little fingers grasp and hold these enticing textures Gently run the items over hands and arms Describe how each one feels smooth or prickly, soft or rough? Introduce your little one to the natural world. What makes them giggle? Which textures do they like best?
To develop curiosity in the local environment and respect for it – To recognise instruments for measuring length – To be able to use a range of instruments for measuring length – To develop accuracy when measuring – To work together as a group
Grab a some sticks and tap out a drumbeat! All you need is a sturdy pair of sticks and a tree stump, and you’ve got your woodland drum! Try your drumsticks on different textures is there a difference in the sound? Paint your drumsticks bright colours, or draw a pattern on them Make other natural instruments and set up your own woodland orchestra!
Find your very own special tree. Trace the lines on your hands in mud, and search for a tree whose branches, twigs or bark match them. The matching marks might be tiny, so look carefully! If you’re very lucky, you might have more than one tree twin Can you find any trees that match the other lines on your hands? Trace the lines on your family’s hands and find a whole family of trees to match!
Why are trees important?
How many different types of twigs can you find? Ready to be a real Nature Detective? Go on a twig hunt adventure who will find the most? Look for twigs on the woodland floor Can you find any sticks that birds might use to build their nests? Do you know where they’ve come from? You can find twigs all over the woodland. Try finding your favourites and collect them all together what will you make from your twigs?
Identify trees just using their twigs. Ready to be a real Nature Detective? Keep your eyes peeled for these twigs while you’re out and about. Do you think birds would use any of the sticks to build their nests? Look out for twigs on the woodland floor some are thin and short, some are fat and long Can you tell which trees they’ve come from? Look for twigs all over the woods. Use them to build something twig-tastic!
Use this iDial to help you identify trees all year round. Twigs give us lots of clues for tree ID, even if the trees are leafless – can you find out which trees your twigs have come from? Hunt for these sticks on the forest floor and among the branches Can you spot any new leaves coming through on the twigs? When you find a twig, try guessing which tree it comes from, then check your iDial to see if you were right. Make sure you take this iDial with you when you go to the woods or play in your garden. Once you’ve spotted some twigs, try making something from them.
Build a raft using twigs and leaves. Twig rafts are really easy to make. Just follow our simple steps. Try sticks of different thicknesses and lengths what works best? Float your raft on a puddle or pond how far does it go? Experiment with different types and numbers of leaves. Does it go faster with one long leaf or three short ones?
Head into the woods after dark what can you see, hear, smell and feel? Take your torch and your grown-up and explore at night! Lots of animals are active at night how many can you spot? Use all your senses Wrap up warm and take a flask of hot chocolate Will you discover any creatures you don’t see during the day?
Great for…
• History understanding how Viking culture has affected
British society
• RE rituals and the religious significance of death
• English creative writing
Fun activity to start your Forest School session.
What can you and your class expect? The topic of water in the forest is quite common. Why then should you
use this particular guide? Isit not just another set of worksheets? This time we tried to approach it from a
“different” perspective. We planned the worksheets and the individual activitiestogether with teachers and
experts as one unit, thatshows teachers and their class a way to tackle the topic from different angles(pupils
will not only find out about some of the intracacies of the forest ecosystem, observe water directly in the
forest, but also plan how to correctly pack for a trip to the forest and have a go at doing something good for
the forest)
Play is an essential part of children’s lives and is vital to their development. The importance of play in contributing to the health and
well-being of children, extending through childhood and beyond, is
universally acknowledged. As an essential ingredient to the
social, physical, intellectual, creative and emotional development of
children, play provides a mechanism for them to explore the world
around them, develop and practice skills.
This resource has been developed to inspire you to provide and
create playful opportunities for children in your care. The resource is
divided into five sections. Each section provides an overview of play
along with some ideas of things that you can do to support it.
Predict and record this week’s weather using this weather diary. Try your hand at weather forecasting! Make predictions for the week ahead, then record the actual weather and see if you were right. Will it be sunny, cloudy, rainy or windy? Can you guess how much rain will fall in one day? Which type of weather is your favourite? Remember, whatever the weather there’s always lots to do in the woods. You just need a good rain coat and your favourite wellies!
Looking at how animals and plants are linked together
Splish, splash, splosh – welly wanders are great fun for rainy days! You’ll need: Wellies Puddles Lots and lots of mud! Keep your eyes peeled for slugs and snails while you’re on your wander
What to wear outside
“Help – I’m starting Outdoor Nursery, what should I wear?”
To develop curiosity in the local environment and respect for it – To work together as a group – To promote responsibility among the senior pupils – To stimulate creativity – To learn new skills
Find out why leaves turn red and gold in autumn. Nature really puts on a show during autumn. And brightly coloured leaves are its crowning glory. Find out why and how leaves change from green to gold Learn the names of the other coloured leaf pigments Discover how the weather affects leaf colour
Identify birds that live in the woods with a printable iDial. When you go down to the woods today, look out for woodland birds and use your iDial to identify them. Keep your eyes peeled while you’re walking through the woods Listen out for bird song Some birds will be in the trees and some will be on the ground How many woodland birds did you ID? Which was your favourite? Did you hear them singing? See if you can spot any other birds while you’re on your travels.