Looking for inspo for the final weeks of term 4? Our Playful Education Officer Denise Ansingh shares five great ways to take learning outdoors!
At this time of year, the sun shines brightly, and the days have warmed. Free your children of the indoors and head outside for our top five hunts! Children delight in hunting whether it is looking for an object in a scavenger hunt or a person in hide and seek! They love to explore, discover, collect, and sort treasures. Here’s a link to our classic treasure hunt or try these variations on finding games!
1. Sponge Bullseye
Take your children out for a fun game with sponges and buckets of water. Ask the children to identify a suitable spot on the ground or a wall to draw chalk targets. Setting up the game is one of the best things about being outside!
Download Sponge Bullseye lesson plan
2. Shape Hunt
Take your children out to look for real-life shapes in the natural and built environment. Give each child or team a token of a specific shape to find or identify a variety of shapes and make a tally for each one. Which shape did they see the most? Children can replicate the shapes using small sticks, stones, long grass or leaves or draw copies on the paving with chalk. Imagine buildings or play equipment with different shapes.
3. Texture Tag
Take your children out on a nature texture hunt. This active game is perfect for children who need to move and make noise. Racing around on a texture adventure is exciting and a great way for them to use their energy constructively!
Download Texture Tag lesson plan
4. Pack a Picnic
Take your children outside for a morning tea or lunch picnic in a shady spot. Nothing says summer more than sitting around with your food and your friends, enjoying a snack and a chat. To complete the sensory experience, encourage children to lay back and look up for shapes or pictures in the clouds or trees or roll over and watch insects go about their daily lives.
5. Spraying Silhouettes
Take your children out to find some interesting shapes in nature (leaves, flowers, gumnuts…) and create some art by spraying around the outlines with coloured water in spray bottles! Creative play with natural outdoor materials invites exploration and discovery.
Download Spraying Silhouettes lesson plan
Want to learn more about taking learning opportunities outdoors?
Discover Nature Play WA’s professional learning workshops for your school or early learning centre and learn inspiring and practical skills to deliver outdoor learning and play opportunities for your students or children in your care.
