The Great Outdoors
- SarahEarlyYears
- Aug 15, 2020
- 3 min read
The heatwave (which seems to have turned into epic storms here) made me think about some playful outdoor ideas - activities which work great outdoors! I also saw a post on Instagram that read 'get off the internet and go outside'; excellent advice which I plan to follow this weekend. Some of these ideas are for the garden and some would work best in a park or open space. I hope you manage to find some good weather to get outside and have fun soon.
Challenge yourself to try one (or fifty) of these playful outdoors ideas!
The National Trust have a really charming & playful family resource called 50 things to do before you are 11 and 3/4.
I've added their lovely tick sheet at the bottom of the blog, so you could record your progress if you want to try all 50. The activities are seasonal, suitable for different ages and will help children to notice and interact with the natural world around them. The website gives tips on doing things safely and ideas for parents. I think one of my favourite activity ideas has to be imaginative cloud watching : https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/no-33-go-cloud-watching
The NT website also has some great family friendly ideas like easy recipes (the pizza looks delicious) and an epic building challenge. You could do lots of these activities, like get to know a tree or look for wildlife clues, at one of the gardens or parks that the National Trust has now re-opened. You may need to book ahead so do read the latest information here, before visiting : https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/
Try an outdoors photo treasure hunt.
There are lots of nice templates available to find easily online for all kinds of scavenger hunts, including nature & seasons. I've added my own below that you can download and it is simple enough for very young children to join in with spotting things. For older children you could get them to focus on their photography skills or add a time limit.
I really like the photo element because it encourages children not to disturb the natural world and enforces the cardinal rules of no picking anything, no licking anything!
Make a bug or bee hotel!
This one requires a bit of effort but is a great construction project and a nice way to encourage nature in to your garden.
Here are a two different tutorials: https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/diy/making-a-bee-hotel/
Some simpler ideas for younger children here: https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2019/09/how-to-build-a-bug-hotel/
Try an outdoors day out.
With indoor attractions and big venues limiting entry this summer you could try an outdoor venue for your next family day out.
Woodland trust have family friendly ideas for visiting woods here (woodland nature art is very fun): https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/things-to-do/children-and-families/
To find your closest wildflower meadow have a look at this information from The Wildlife Trusts: https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/where_to_see_wildflower_meadow
This beautiful blog post from SmallHouseBigTrips is about visiting a Sunflower farm that looks amazing, such a lovely back drop for family photos. Lots of other day trip ideas here too. http://www.smallhousebigtrips.co.uk/beckettsfarmsunflowerfield/
FamilyFuninBrum tried out a virtual dinosaur safari at Walsall Arboretum. It looks so much fun (I do adore anything with dinos!). It uses an app called Love Exploring, which I really want to try, designed to help people explore their local area. https://loveexploring.co.uk/
Hope you have fun in the great outdoors, let me know if you try any of these ideas.
Sarah
Resources to download:
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