1. Mud Pies
Oh, what fun!! I would recommend an apron as we had to strip Mini Mumbler’s clothes off as he was covered in mud!!
Mix up your mud mixture and then divide onto plates and decorate your pie with items from around the garden. We had toppings of petals, gravel and leaves!
2. Leaf Printing
Whilst on a walk find some colourful flowers and some juicy leaves. Grab a bit of thin plain cloth and a rubber mallet. Fold the cloth in half and place the flowers and leaves inside the folded cloth. Let your kids hit the cloth with the rubber mallet and a beautiful picture will appear!
3. Den Building
A great project for local woods! You may be lucky enough for dens to already have been made and then you can add on your dead twigs and sticks to make the den bigger. If not, start by making a tipi formation against a low lying branch and keep adding! It will keep the kids entertained for hours!
4. Build a Bug House
This is quite an elaborate bug house built by some friends during lockdown which I was amazed at, but if you’re looking for something a bit easier and more child friendly, use a plant pot and then fill with cut grass, twigs, pieces of bamboo, acorns or pine cones etc and build it up until it is full before placing in the garden for bugs to enjoy!!
5. Paint with Water
This is a great one to keep toddlers occupied! We used to play paint the garage door with different sized paintbrushes. He would love to spray the garage door too!! To add more colour into this activity, get the chalks out and make some marks on the ground before practising cleaning with the water and paintbrushes!!
6. Leaf Art
Let’s see all the different coloured leaves that we can find in the garden and then using cutting skills create a picture! If you have a hole punch or zig-zag scissors this is a fun way to make different shapes!
Add paint to the picture to create different animals such as hedgehogs!
7. Race Homemade Boats
We had great fun making boats out of lollypop sticks and empty margarine containers. We made a raft with a sail and then a paddle steamer with a propeller which was a piece of plastic attached to an elastic band which we wound up. We had a race to see which was the fastest! We then made another paddle boat and raced both of them!
8. Make a Daisy Chain
I had so much fun showing my little boy how to make a daisy chain! Whether it is a bracelet, necklace or crown he kept running around the park to find daisies whilst I sat and threaded them!
9. Campfire Cooking
When we attended Forest School this was my little boy’s favourite activity and I was so impressed that he quickly learnt about the safety aspects and what they could and couldn’t do! Try toasting marshmallows, crumpets, make mini pizzas or popcorn!
10. Petal Perfume
The best place for us is to take a trip to Nanna’s beautiful garden and collect some petals in a basket! Once home grind them up with a little water, releasing the scent and colour. Add a little more water to create the perfume and then bottle in a small glass jar!
NEW ADDITION: Strava Art
Find some open space and download a free tracking app such as Strava and challenge your children to make some masterpieces! For a full project, why not get them to plan some walks on your local streets using maps? After the planning, see if your designs match the outcome.
For more ideas for Fun with the kids see this page!
