Nature Play & Learning

This section contains suggestions for experiences based around playing outside in natural spaces where children can enjoy playing and developing a love of the outdoors and nature that lasts a life time.

It is worth exploring other pages of the blog posts such as Developing Outdoor Spaces and Gardening. These contain posts that have strong connections to nature play and vice versa.

Outdoor Early Learning and Childcare

  • Outdoor nurseries in Scotland. This is not a definitive list as it keeps growing all the time. Also I have added in examples of regular nurseries that have a strong outdoor ethos.
  • Dunblane Nature Kindergarten – a transformation from traditional to nature-based practice. Manager, Steven White, took the staff on a journey to change the ethos and practice with very positive results.
  • Cowgate U5’s Centre – come and look! A 2010 tour of this urban nursery with a strong nature based ethos and practice.
  • The affordance of the big steps. Thinking about environmental features and how they add to an off-site nature experience for children.
  • What do you seek in a wood for play? Children are drawn to naturally more adventurous spaces… let’s follow their lead.
  • A Forest Kindergarten session. An older post from the original Scottish Forestry Forest Kindergarten pilot project back in 2012.
  • Nature Nurture. A wonderful example of the therapeutic benefits of primary-aged children spending extended time in nature.
  • Wild about this space. It’s not a wildlife area, woodland or garden… just a neglected patch of ground in a school that is much loved by children who visit weekly.
  • Woods for Learning: St Mungo Primary. An example of how a primary school developed a local woodland for learning with the help of a local countryside ranger back in 2010.
  • Free play at Broxburn OOSC. Wonderful example of primary-aged holiday club in the woods. Check out the nets.

Plants

Leaves

  • Leaf play – 10 ideas. Very simple ideas for playing with leaves, ideal for linking to a relevant story or book.
  • 2D shape art with leaves. Whilst the focus is maths, the clever use of cardboard and dried colourful leaves at the end of the post can be applied to all sorts of projects and concepts.
  • Leaf roses. Whilst this feels like more of a craft activity, the art process comes through the exploration of different leaves and their flexibility and textures.
  • Leaf art. Colourful ephemeral leaf creations inspired by a workshop run by Alain Kain.
  • Exploding leaves. Yes! Creating artwork with a bang! Perfect for a Guy Fawkes related nature celebration.
  • Developing thinking skills with leaves. Using leaves as a context for reflective and critical thinking.
  • The black spot – pirate maths outdoors. Arr! Find me a sycamore leaf you landlubbers!

Sticks

Animals

  • We’re going on a bug hunt – minibeast magic. A helpful blog post covering the basics of organising a minibeeat hunt with a class.
  • 15 minibeast outdoor maths challenges. Beastly fun going on a hunt for little creatures that help us understand maths in the world around us. This approach can be adapted to exploring other aspects of nature too.
  • Stick insect symmetry – using sticks to create symmetrical insects. Surprisingly good fun. Use rainbow sticks to increase the challenge even more. Are all insects symmetrical in real life? Go on a mini beast hunt and find out.
  • Seafood investigations. Exploring the carcasses of seafood to learn more about the structure and function of these amazing exoskeletons.
  • Skulls and bones. A wonderful way of exploring nd understanding animals. One blog post well worth a look.
  • Red squirrels. Feeding advice and explanations of why the UK is trying to eradicate the grey squirrel.
  • Woozy wasps. A few stinging comments and some sensible advice.

Birds

Snow, frost and ice

Other weather explorations

Water

  • A portable water wall – handy for settings that set up from scratch.
  • Skitch those water wall designs. Using apps to annotate photos. Works well in a range of outdoor lessons and contexts.
  • Developing a water play area. An example of one that takes account of Tom Bedard’s dimensions and elements so that it active engages children through open-ended explorations!
  • Axioms of sensorimotor play. An illustration of some basic principles for the layout of a space and how to facilitate play in ways that keep children exploring, using water as a context. Based on the work of Tom Bedard.
  • The “Sensori” water station. How to pimp play equipment and quickly create an engaging water play area.
  • Rain chains. They can be functional or aesthetically arty. They can be bought or home-made. Useful addition to collecting water for re-purposing in your outdoor space.
  • Dry creeks and streams. These can be high or low affordance, properly installed or a DIY construction. Lots of to think about but well worth it!
  • Where water meets sand and rock. It is a liminal place where the most interesting play can happen but does require some planning and organising to ensure this works for your cohort of children.
  • The science of a splat. Using water and rocks to undertake a fair test and scientific investigation.

Beach and sand

  • The urban beach visits – one nursery’s experience of getting this going. Much of this was around building confidence of staff and children to explore.
  • Beach play – 10 ideas. In the unlikely event that your children need some inspiration. Good for linking to a relevant text.
  • Shells – 10 ideas. A few short, simple ideas for playing with shells on a beach.
  • The sand dog sculpture – small is beautiful. Sometimes a bag of sand is all a group needs.
  • Sandpits outside – challenging myths and misconceptions. The one stop shop for finding out about the ins and outs of having sand in a early years or school grounds. Also lots of examples of practice to give you ideas.
  • The Highway Farm sandpit. An illustration of a creative self-build approach: different levels, mirrors, use of platforms and pulleys. Good for settings wanting to stretch the play possibilities.
  • A tyre sandpit. *This was my first attempt at a pop-up sandpit. Whilst it looks good, there are lessons to be learned and one key one is active and ongoing management of the pit. Also I wouldn’t put soil and plants around the edges anymore.
  • A recycled sandpit kitchen. *An example of a play space created through careful use and placement of unwanted home economics furniture – with due regard to checking and ensuring the safety of these to use in this context.
  • A seascape to whet the appetite. As a result of the grounds developments, Inverallochy School children were inspired to give the school dining room a sea theme makeover – a lovely example of indoor/outdoor connections that can be made that involve the community too.
  • Boggle Hole – Children need to have access to objects and ideas that spark the imagination and get the creative juices flowing. This Youth Hostel does just that!

Rocks, stones and pebbles

Mud

Generic nature play posts

Sea Glass

Sea glass is broken glass that has been tumbled about by the water, waves and sand.

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