Gardening and Wildlife
My name is Sarah and I am a children's author. Today we are going to be finding out about the wildlife all around us. Come and join me for a day filled with fun!
9.30am Activity:
Read a poem - 'The Wise Old Owl' by Sarah Griffiths
We are going to read a poem about a very wise owl that comes to a robin’s rescue.
Grown Ups:
This is one of many of Sarah’s poems for children, sharing the beauty and wisdom of the natural world around us.
Support your child to talk about the wildlife around them. Can you go for a walk or look out of your window? What wildlife can you see? Ask your child what is their favourite wild animal or mini beast? Can you write a short rhyme together?
This activity supports children’s language and sound recognition. Rhyme is a fantastic way for children to remember stories and poems with the lovely rhythm of the verses. It helps children to recognise the ending of words with the same sound.
10.30am Activity:
Wildlife Hunt
Sarah and Eva go on a hunt in the garden for all the wildlife they can see.
Grown Ups:
Grown Ups:
You will need:
A container with a lid
Careful hands
Magnifying glass (optional)
A lovely way to look for wildlife is to go for a walk in your garden with your grown up. If you don’t have a garden you can look out of a window or go for a walk. Look up at the trees, look closely at the plants on the leaves and flowers.
With your child make a small chart to record what wildlife you can see and how many of each you can find. Count the total of each together. What was the biggest number of creatures you found? What was the smallest number of creatures?
This supports your child to count up to 20 and beyond, grouping numbers and number recognition. It also supports their understanding of more and less than.
1:30pm Activity:
Sound and action song - Wildlife all around me
Sarah shares an action song you can join in with your grown up all about the wildlife all around us.
Grown Ups:
Grown Ups:
With your child can you think of all the mini beasts and wildlife. Together make up your own song using sounds and actions.
This supports children’s language, communication and development of vocabulary.
2:30pm Activity:
Paint or colour your own minibeasts
Collect large round stones to paint your favourite mini beasts.
Grown Ups:
Grown Ups:
With your child look in your garden or local area to find some smooth round stones. Look at the patterns on different minibeasts to make your own. Use paint, colouring pens and pencils to decorate your stone. Can you talk about the patterns on your minibeasts together? What do you like about them?
This supports children’s creativity and understanding of the world around them.
Story time:
The Leapfrog by Hans Christian Andersen
Lloyd ends our day with a story.
