Outdoor Activities
Create an awesome autumn scene. Head outside and get inspired by this beautiful season, then come home and get colouring! Think about autumn’s colours use reds, oranges and yellows Use your favourite crayons, pens and pencils Add scraps of fabric or card to add interesting bits of texture Can you spot all the creatures living in the autumn woodland?
Go hunting in the woods for autumn leaves. When you go down to the woods today, keep your eyes peeled for these autumn leaves. Look for leaves in trees and on the woodland floor How many red leaves and how many yellow leaves can you spot? Collect your favourite leaves and use them to make a picture when you get home How many trees and leaves did you ID, Nature Detectives?
Use leaves to create snakes and flowers on the woodland floor. Choose different coloured autumn leaves to make your creations. Who can make the biggest snake or brightest flower? Leaf crafts are great fun but can you tell which trees the leaves are from? Try making a whole garden of leafy flowers Leave your artistic creations behind for others to find!
Find a big pile of leaves and kick up a storm! Tell a stormy story and act it out using crunchy autumn leaves. Help your mini explorer create a super leaf storm Rustle the leaves to make the sounds of the storm Let your little one join in by helping them kick and throw the leaves Can you make stormy sounds from other woodland items?
Create a colourful autumn collage. Use your favourite colours to make a vibrant autumnal picture. Choose rich purples, reds, golds and browns for berries and leaves Try creating a collage from natural items like leaves Are there any creatures hiding among the leaves in your picture? Head outside and get inspired by the forest floor take a photo of the colours and shapes and use these in your picture.
How many different autumn leaves can you find? Take our handy ID sheet with you when you’re exploring the woods this autumn. Look for leaves on the trees and on the ground How many different colours can you find? Find out why leaves change colour with our fantastic factsheet
How many autumnal signs can you spot on your scavenger hunt? Keep your eyes peeled while you’re out and about! Can you find all the items on the scavenger hunt? Remember to look in the trees and on the ground Keep your eyes peeled for other signs what will you spot? Try collecting fallen leaves and conkers and make a wonderful woodland collage.
Make your own rattle using seeds and beads. All you need is a plastic bottle, acorns, conkers and beech nuts, and rhythm! This is a fantastic sensory activity for tiny Nature Detectives Shake the bottle or roll it along the floor It goes without saying, but make sure your little ones don’t put any seeds or beads in their mouths
Can you find all these autumn treasures? Be a real Nature Detective. Next time you’re in the woods, see how many treasures you can find. Keep your eyes peeled autumn treasures hide where you least expect them! Look out for nuts, seeds and leaves Challenge your friends to see who can hunt down the most signs of autumn Don’t forget to tick each item off when you find it!
Making music outside using everyday items
Explore the properties of different materials using your feet
Free your feet and explore with your toes on a barefoot walk. Set up your walk in your back garden or living room, and challenge your friends to see who can identify the most textures. Follow our simple steps and free your trapped toes! Discover different textures are they warm or cool, smooth or rough? Create a game with family and friends who will guess correctly? Have fun choosing different items to use on your walk, but make sure you don’t choose sharp or prickly items as they can hurt your feet.
Create a bark rubbing and be a bark artist. Take a few sheets of paper and your crayons to the woods or your local park, and get creative. Choose an interesting tree big, old, knobbly ones are perfect You might need a grown-up or friend to help you keep the paper still while you make your rubbing Find other trees and layer up different colours and patterns. Frame your picture with twigs
Colour in this spooky bat! Get inspired by nature and create this brilliant bat picture. Create a dark background using sweet wrappers and tissue paper. Or make a collage from old magazines Add lines of white or yellow to his wings and ears to show where they reflect the moonlight Did you know? The common pipistrelle bat can eat more than 3,000 insects in one night
Transform into a brilliant bat! Are you adventurous? Do you like exploring new places and trying lots of new things? Do you love hanging out with your friends? If so, you’re a bat! Print out and make up this marvellous mask to complete your transformation.
Getting to grips with coordinates
Fun activity to get warmed up before a session
Creating pictures with home-made beanbags
Use this spotter sheet to identify butterflies fluttering in the sunshine. Look out for these insects sipping nectar from flowers and basking in the sunshine. Look for butterfly eggs on the underside of leaves Butterfly caterpillars come in all colours, shapes and sizes, but please don’t Use this spotter sheet to identify butterflies fluttering in the sunshine. Look out for these insects sipping nectar from flowers and basking in the sunshine. Look for butterfly eggs on the underside of leaves Butterfly caterpillars come in all colours, shapes and sizes, but please don’t touch them The transformation stage that takes place when caterpillars become butterflies is called pupation Butterflies come in lots of bright colours. Spot them flitting between flowers throughout the spring, summer and autumn.
Get creative with your mini Nature Detective. Grab your favourite colouring crayons and make a masterpiece together. Choose greens, yellows, oranges and reds or whatever colour you fancy! Colour in lots of beech leaves and make your own forest Make a leaf collage using sweet wrappers, foil and coloured paper Paint the hands of very little Nature Detectives and let them splat their prints onto the leaf.
Find and identify these beetles when you’re out and about. Look out for beetles scurrying around and among deadwood, tree stumps, flowers and plants. There are lots of different types of beetle how many can you find? Did you know that ladybirds are beetles? Some beetles eat pollen, some eat tree sap and others eat other invertebrates!
Lots of activities exploring the forest ecosystem
Learn about the term Biodiversity
Start spotting birds
Mathematics using some fun bird models