Collaborative Post
There are heaps of outdoor learning activities out there for children to get them trying out lots of different experiences. They will all help your child find what makes them feel happy, as well as allowing them to learn a whole breadth of new skills and abilities.
In this guide from a private nursery in Letchworth, we take a look at 5 different activities you can try out with your child.
1. Playing word games with chalk and water
A good way to get children familiar with different words is by taking them away from the usual reading and writing methods we all use and bringing them outside. Write some words out with chalk – we recommend using sight words so that it’s easy for your child to pick up when reading on the pavement. When they guess the words correctly you can then grab a bucket of water and let them wash away the chalk!
2. Practising handwriting with paint
To improve a child’s handwriting skills, get them to write out words by using paint. Watercolour is a safe bet and causes much less mess, and bring a table out into the garden to make it more engaging. See how your child manages to write words out using a larger paintbrush and how it can help them write with a pen or pencil later.
3. Build a bug hotel with your child
To teach children about biodiversity and the planet you could work on making a little bug hotel in your back garden. You can use a variety of things lying around your home, like old toilet roll holders and bricks, as well as any long hollow tubes you have. Get your child involved in safely assembling this bug hotel and let them make their mark.
4. Adding different materials to water
From sand, mud, paint, even other liquids – they all change when added to water. Make a little science experiment area where they can add different materials to water and see what changes about the consistency each time. It will help your child learn a lot about STEM and the art of science.
5. Build rockets out of recycled rubbish
After you’ve washed out your plastic bottles and cans, you can then use them to cut them up into different shapes. From there you can create rocket ships and paint them or add stickers to them – anything your child would like to add to their own rocket to make it unique. Once they’re done you can set them off in the garden or at the park!