Outdoor Activities
Look for early flowers, busy birds and frogspawn! It may still be winter, but spring isn’t far away! Keep your eyes peeled in January and February for the very first hints of the new season. Look for tell-tale green shoots popping up from the woodland floor Birds start singing early in the morning can you hear them? Can you find any leaf buds getting ready to burst? What other fresh spring signs can you spot?
Using items from your grounds to create an artistic feature
Gather bendy twigs, grass, leaves and flowers and make a crown. Will you be king or queen of the woods? Crown yourself or your friends using items you find on the woodland floor. You might need a grown-up to help you make your flower crown it can be tricky Add different colours and sizes of flowers Your flower crown can be as big or as small as you like it’s up to you! Remember to only collect items that have fallen to the woodland floor.
Head outdoors and see how many flowers you can find. Flowers burst into life during spring and summer. That makes it a great time to set off on a flower hunt. Are there any busy bees or fluttering butterflies among the petals? Some flowers turn into fruit, like raspberries, strawberries and blackberries Try using fallen leaves and petals to make your own flowers Flowers come in all colours, shapes and sizes
Use bright red pens and pencils and colour in this mushroom. Fly agaric mushrooms are the red and white toadstools often found in fairy tales. Draw a fairy peeping out from behind the mushroom, or sitting on top of it Cover the mushroom’s cap with red cellophane sweet wrappers that way, it’ll look like it’s out in the rain Did you know? There are more than 1.5 million different species of fungi on Earth!
Look to the skies and ID these flying insects. Use your iDial to help you name the insects you spot. Look around ponds and streams, as well as flowers and plants How many different flying beasties can you spot? Keep your eyes peeled while you’re in the garden and the woods Don’t forget to take this iDial with you while you’re out and about.
Fun game to play outside
Introduction to foraging
During the year, there will be many discussions on many different levels regarding climate and climate change – and many questions will arise. Here we have summed up 10 common questions regarding forests, trees and climate – and tried giving relatively short answers. These short answers cannot cover every aspect of the problem and give a complete explanation, so we encourage you also to seek more knowledge on your own.
Investigate this forest floor puzzle what will you discover? Follow the instructions then colour in and solve the puzzle. Check the answer sheet to see if you found everything. Use your favourite pens and pencils and colour the woodland items Use different techniques and patterns to make them easier to spot Make like a real scientist divide your puzzle into four get discovering Remember to look closely some leaves, berries and nuts might be hiding
Colour in this fantastic fox. If it’s too cold or wet to play outside, create a foxy friend instead. Give your fox little black ears and feet Use crayons, pens, charcoal even old sweet wrappers and bits of newspaper! Make up a story about your fox. Where does he live? What’s his favourite food?
Transform into a friendly fox! Do you love exploring outdoors? Do you enjoy the peace and quiet of the countryside, as well as the hustle and bustle of city life? Do you like spending time with your friends? If so, you’re like a fox! Print out and make up this marvellous mask to complete your transformation.
To develop curiosity in the local environment and respect for it – To work together as a group – To understand fraction families – To stimulate creativity
Exploring friction and forces
Look at pictures of real frogs to discover what they look like, then grab your crayons and get colouring. Will your frog be brightly coloured and imaginative, or really realistic? Cut out scraps of green from magazines to make a collage You could also add a pond and some frogspawn When you’ve finished, hop round your garden like a frog or play leapfrog!
Find out all about the life cycle of frogs. Use your iDial to discover frogs, and help you ID and name the different stages of their lives. Remember, you might have to keep popping back to a particular bit of water to see all the life cycle stages How many tadpoles can you find? Always take care when you’re near water
Hunt for these fruits and seeds in woods during late summer and autumn. How many can you identify? Look to the trees, bushes and hedgerows and see how many different fruits and seeds you can spot. Seeds come in lots of shapes and sizes, including berries, cones, keys and catkins Lots of tasty food and drink can be made from fruits and seeds Do you know how they re scattered? Fruits and seeds can help you ID trees and bushes, so keep your eyes peeled. Remember, lots of fruits and seeds will have fallen to the ground.
This iDial is great for identifying fruits and seeds while you’re out and about. Ready to get detecting? How many fruits and seeds can you spot and ID? Hunt for these fruits and seeds in spring, late summer and autumn Can you guess how they are scattered? They can help you ID trees, shrubs and bushes Fruits and seeds come in all different shapes and sizes, and some are even used to make tasty food and drink. Do you know which?
NIFSA Full of Life Resource
NIFSA Full of Life resource
NIFSA Full of Life Resource
NIFSA resource
NIFSA Full of Life Resource
NIFSA Full of Life Resource
Go hunting for fantastic fungi. Fungi can grow in all sorts of places: in the woods, in the park even in your garden. Some fungi are brightly coloured, some are brown which is your favourite? Did you know that some fungi smell sweet and others smell rotten? Search for mushrooms under leaf litter and on dead wood Remember some fungi can be very poisonous, so never touch them.