Dec 2, 2022 | Early Years Outdoors, Literacy Outdoors, Nature Play & Learning, RME Outdoors, Science Outdoors
In 2005 I planted a holly tree in front of my house. It has grown slowly but steadily and since 2014 has consistently produced berries being a female tree. This does surprise me because there are no holly trees that I can see nearby. My understanding is that the...
Nov 30, 2022 | Community Involvement, Early Years Outdoors, Nature Play & Learning, Play Resources
During winter months, many children who attend early learning and childcare settings are likely to be outdoors in the dark. This offers many exciting opportunities for storytelling, games and exploring the environment in different conditions. When I worked in an...
Nov 28, 2022 | Early Years Outdoors, Health & Wellbeing, Nature Play & Learning, Play Resources
Many years ago I remember providing a presentation about outdoor play to a large group of early years practitioners. At one point a collective gasp of shock and then lots of muttering happened because I showed a photo of children playing in an icy outdoor space. The...
Nov 21, 2022 | Early Years Outdoors, Nature Play & Learning, Science Outdoors
At this time of the year, there are lots of puddles to meet and greet when out and about. Whilst children tend to like and play in puddles, I suspect they remain a secret source of fascination to many adults too. These suggestions are designed to help you respond to...
Nov 8, 2022 | Nature Play & Learning, RME Outdoors
Many years ago I attended the annual Outdoor and Woodland Learning Scotland conference. It took place in Dunkeld, which is one of the places in Scotland to see the leaves change colour and become immersed in the beauty of Autumn. Perhaps my favourite activity was a...
Nov 7, 2022 | Art & Music Outdoors, Early Years Outdoors, Nature Play & Learning
In November and December 2010, there was a bumper amount of snow that fell. As a result it suddenly felt Christmasy very early! In the hope of a white festive period, I thought I would update this blog post from November 2010. It’s perfectly possible to make...
Nov 1, 2022 | Early Years Outdoors, Maths Outdoors, Nature Play & Learning, Science Outdoors
This blog post is a guest post by Justina Danišová, who is an experienced environmental educator and home partner in the Czech Republic. She has her own website and is influential across her country in supporting educators to develop learning and play opportunities....
Oct 30, 2022 | Early Years Outdoors, Nature Play & Learning
Autumn is here and leaves are asking to be played with. Hours of fun can be had simply kicking leaves about and watching them float to the ground. Here’s some other ideas most of which are instantaneous and require no other or just a few props. 1. Creep and...
Oct 29, 2022 | Nature Play & Learning
Several years ago when I was working in the Czech Republic I was given a leaf rose at one environmental education centre. It was very pretty and I took a photo to remind me to have a go at making them. Whilst touring Australia, I spent a lovely morning at the Spirit...
Oct 27, 2022 | Art & Music Outdoors, Early Years Outdoors, Nature Play & Learning
Many people know about environmental art. Andy Goldsworthy made the concept public and popular from the Eighties onwards. More recently land artists such as Richard Shilling and James Brunt provide child-friendly inspiration through their inspirational art work. Some...
Oct 26, 2022 | Nature Play & Learning
Autumn is well and truly here, so once more, leaf activities are a must-do with children at the moment. As with so many natural materials, the non-uniformity of leaves – each one being unique – this can lead to a lot of creative thinking, exploring and...
Oct 25, 2022 | Art & Music Outdoors, Early Years Outdoors, Nature Play & Learning
Some children find explosions a source of fascination or interest. Not least, the story of Guy Fawkes always held appeal for me. The whole idea of attempting to blow up the Houses of Parliament I found thought-provoking as a child. Many anarchists argue that he was...
Oct 22, 2022 | Early Years Outdoors, Maths Outdoors, Nature Play & Learning
One of the most memorable parts of the story, Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, is when Billy Bones is presented with a black spot. One side is black, the other side bears a message. A pirate – particularly a Captain – who receives this in their...
Aug 24, 2022 | Early Years Outdoors, Gardening, Nature Play & Learning, Whole School
In late summer, wasps are growing woozy. Most don’t have much longer to live. The female wasps that have mated will leave the nest to hibernate over winter, so the social structure of the nest begins to go awry and the nest starts closing down for winter! At...
Jul 14, 2022 | Community Involvement, Developing School Grounds & Outdoor Spaces, Nature Play & Learning
Early this year, a natural playground opened in Aberdeenshire that has been named after one of Scotland’s most enigmatic climbers of the twentieth century, Tom Patey. He was born in Aberdeenshire, trained in medicine at Aberdeen University and finally ended up...
Jun 18, 2022 | Community Involvement, Early Years Outdoors, Nature Play & Learning
Mud Mapping Find all the muddy places nearby. Look for hidden nooks and crannies between rocks. Check near puddles. Test each mud patch and rate in terms of squelch, ooze and stickiness. Mark each spot on a map with a splodge of mud! Dinosaur Swamp If you have a...
Jun 15, 2022 | Nature Play & Learning, Science Outdoors
The summer term is a particularly good time to find minibeasts – in the cooler months the worms, insects and other little creatures tend to be less active or more hidden! Most children, when asked, are keen to hunt for minibeasts. Many want to use different...
Jun 6, 2022 | Early Years Outdoors, Nature Play & Learning, Whole School
There are a growing number of organisations and Facebook groups dedicated to ensuring children have lots of free time in nature as part of their early childhood. Browse the following to get a feel for them: American Forest Kindergarten AssociationChild and Nature...
Jul 21, 2021 | Early Years Outdoors, Health & Wellbeing, Nature Play & Learning, Play Resources, Whole School
Over the past few weeks I’ve had the pleasure of reading through a recently published book The Essential Guide to Forest School and Nature Pedagogy by Jon Cree and Marina Robb. This book has been a long time in the making and given its hefty size of 400 pages,...
Jun 17, 2020 | Early Years Outdoors, Literacy Outdoors, Nature Play & Learning
On many of my courses, I offer a booklet of nature play ideas on different outdoor themes. These are adaptations of many of the blog posts, so click on the links below to find out more. Linking books to nature has several aims when it comes to supporting...
