World Around Us
Create icy decorations to hang up in your garden All you need is your imagination and a few woodland items easy peasy! Find unusual and interesting items next time you’re in the woods Ask your grown-up to help you put your art in the freezer Take a photo of your sculptures to capture them before they melt Be patient! The water might take a day to freeze, but it’s so exciting when you finally hang it up!
Fun activity to start your session with
Keep a record of your adventures: make a super journey stick! Take some coloured wool or string with you next time you’re off on your travels. Then find a stick and tell the story of your journey. Which colour or object represents a different feeling, sight or smell? If you’ve been on a big adventure, choose a long stick
Fun activity to start your sessions
To create a labyrinth • To use the labyrinth for a meditative journey
Build a cosy house for ladybirds, lacewings and other minibeasts. Collect sticks, dead leaves and pine cones and create a homely hidey-hole for your garden minibeasts. Lots of minibeasts snooze through winter, and they like to be cosy and hidden Different minibeasts like different types of houses, but ladybirds love snuggling into dead leaves, sticks and pine cones Remember to tuck your ladybird house into a quiet, sheltered spot
Go on a ladybird hunt and use our handy ID sheet to identify your discoveries. Seven spots, twenty two spots, some even have stripes! How many different ladybirds can you find? Ladybirds live in lots of different places in trees, by ponds and in your garden They re known as the gardener’s friend as many of them munch on aphids – a garden pest Ladybirds aren’t always red they can be orange, yellow, brown even black! Did you know there are 46 species of ladybird in the UK?
Find out all about the life cycle of ladybirds. Use your iDial to discover ladybirds, and help you ID and name the different stages of their lives. You’ll need to look really carefully on and around plants, especially if you’re trying to spot eggs! There are lots of different types of ladybird how many can you find? Check out our ladybird ID sheet to see what sort you’ve spotted
Make your own ladybird stamps. Use a potato and paint to create lovely ladybird pictures. Nature Detectives will love this minibeast craft activity Turn your pictures into cards, wrapping paper and posters Create exciting backgrounds using grass, leaves and twigs Can you make any other minibeasts?
Collect fallen leaves in this handy bag. Look out for different colours and types of leaves. Gather up the most amazing ones you can find and pop them into this leaf bag. How many different leaves can you find? Discover which trees the leaves have come from with our leaf ID sheet
Catch as many leaves as you can! Watch for brightly coloured autumn leaves falling from the trees, then try and catch them! Challenge your friends and see who can catch the most Who can find the most different coloured leaves? Find out which trees the leaves have come from with our leaf ID sheet
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.
Find all the lovely leaves on this super spotter sheet. Take this spotter sheet with you when you’re out and about. Can you find all the leaves? Look for leaves on the ground and in the trees Have you spotted more long, fat, spiky or curled leaves? Which is your favourite type of leaf? Try collecting the different types of leaves you find. Perhaps you could take them home and use them to make a lovely leafy picture?
Learn about the trees in your garden, street or local wood. Here’s our handy leaf ID sheet. It has 13 common British trees on it, including oak, hazel and holly. Use it identify leaves on trees and on the ground. Look at leaf shapes and sizes. How are they different? Some leaves change colour in autumn. Find out why. Did you find all the leaves on the sheet?
A handy tool to help kids identify trees found in the UK. Print and make the leaf iDial, then take it with you on your next adventure. How many different leaves can you find? Look out for leaves during spring, summer and autumn Challenge your friends to see who can find each leaf first! Try guessing which tree or shrub a leaf belongs to, then check the iDial to see if you were right! Did you know? Leaves are large and flat to help them absorb sunlight and carbon dioxide, which they turn into food to help trees and plants grow.
Everything you need to know about Ireland’s forests
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.
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
Get baking and create this amazing ladybird cake. Get ready to wow your friends and family, and tuck in! This cake is great for parties, birthdays, or just for a fun treat! Decorate it using brightly coloured icing and sweets Get inspired by real ladybirds will you make a seven-spot, five-spot or orange ladybird? Have a go at making cakes inspired by other woodland minibeasts try bumblebees, caterpillars and ants.
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.
Feed the birds, outsmart the squirrels. Next time you feed the birds, try these top tips to stop squirrels stealing their snacks. Use things you have at home, such as Vaseline, bowls and plastic tubes Experiment with different techniques Make sure you ask your grown-up to help you! Did you manage to stop the squirrels in their tracks?
Keep a log of your woodland adventures. Record your next woodland adventure in this wonderful woodland log book. Draw, paint and write about everything you discovered Think about how you describe the woods and trees you see Remember to use all your senses and see what you can spot Keeping a record like this helps you remember your favourite woods, and what you got up to on your visit.