As well as spending infinite amounts of time outside in the fresh air come rain or shine, we also believe in teaching children about nature and the importance of taking care of it.
Looking for some fun ideas to keep the kids busy over the Easter holidays? We’ve put together some activities inspired by nature that will get you talking about and exploring it with your little adventurers.
1) Go on a hunt for minibeasts
Spring has well and truly sprung and the warmer weather it has brought means lots of creepy crawlies are now making themselves known around our gardens. Why not see how many different minibeasts your little explorers can find in your garden or on your next family walk? Keep an eye out for worms, ladybirds, snails, butterflies and bumblebees and see how many more you can add to the list.
2) Bark rubbing
Next time you head out on a walk, bring some crayons and paper. Look for trees with detailed markings on the bark and get your children to place the paper over the trunk and rub a crayon over the paper to create some tree-rific prints! You could also see if you can identify what kind of tree it is - the Woodland Trust have a great app which might help with this. You can also try this activity with leaves, pinecones and other treasures you come across.
3) Build a butterfly feeding table with London Wildlife Trust
With the arrival of spring, you might be lucky to spot butterflies fluttering in your garden or further afield. London Wildlife Trust are hosting an online workshop on Thursday 15 April from 1-2.30pm with the Brilliant Butterflies project. Perfect for the whole family to enjoy, you will learn how to make a simple butterfly feeder to be used in a garden, on a balcony or even out of windows. You will also find out which butterflies to look for and how to tell them apart.
4) Pressing flowers
With flowers popping up here, there and everywhere, it’s a wonderful chance to save some of your favourites and press them. Your little ones can use the pressed flowers to decorate cards or even frame them for pictures. Press the flowers between two sheets of parchment paper and then place inside a heavy book and leave for 2-3 weeks until the flowers have dried and voila!
5) Build a den
This is a great activity for letting the imagination run wild and there is little more rewarding than building something from scratch, especially if you can play with it afterwards! Leaning sticks up against a tree in a wigwam style is an easy and effective way to build a den - now the fun part to decide what it's going to be used for, perhaps a pirate's hideaway or a fairy castle?!