Autumn Scavenger Hunt Activity + FREE Printable

The leaves have started to change colour and fall from their branches, autumn is well and truly here. Autumn is probably one of my favourite seasons, early autumn at least, we still have some sunshine and fine days, the leaves are crisp and the air is fresh and full of the mellowness of the season. I love it, and I know I’m not the only one. Yesterday we met a couple of his friends for an autumn scavenger hunt in a local park, it was just the thing to keep them engaged and occupied for an hour and they all did really well.

We live by the river and walk the dog down there most days. By the river is a nature reserve and we often see lots of different birds, insects and plants. I’ve tried to keep the autumn scavenger hunt quite simple, so you should be able to find most of the bugs, birds and plants in your local park.

Download your free Autumn Scavenger Hunt Printable Here!

I have left room on the printable for children to make notes too. If they spot anything different or noteworthy, they can write all about what they’ve seen in the notes section.

Going on a scavenger hunt, or a nature trail is a wonderful thing to do with children and to help them learn a little more about nature and the world around them.

Whatever you do this season, whether you’re walking in the park; pond dipping in a nature reserve or walking the dog on the beach; make sure you stay safe. Keep your eyes peeled for all the wonders of nature and watch where you put your feet!

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Spring Scavenger Hunt Activity + FREE Printable

Spring has sprung and there’s nothing nicer than getting out and about with the kids. This week the boy is off school for Easter and we’ve been making the most of the fresh air and sunshine by visiting the local parks and nature reserves. Yesterday we met a couple of his friends for a Spring scavenger hunt in a local park, it was just the thing to keep them engaged and occupied for an hour and they all did really well.

We live by the river and walk the dog down there most days. By the river is a nature reserve and we often see lots of different birds, insects and plants. I’ve tried to keep the Spring Scavenger Hunt quite generic, so you should be able to find most of the bugs, birds and plants in your local park.

Download your free Spring Scavenger Hunt printable here!

I have left room on the printable for children to make notes too. If they spot anything different or noteworthy, they can write all about what they’ve seen in the notes section.

While we were out on our walk we spotted a few things which weren’t on the list. We spotted a couple of bees, some different spring flowers, an assortment of birds and (as this was an urban park) dog poo with sweetcorn in it. I was both grossed out and secretly pleased by their observational skills. We also learned an important lesson about looking where we were putting our feet if we are walking in long grass.

Whatever you do over Easter, whether you’re walking in the park; pond dipping in a nature reserve or walking the dog on the beach; make sure you stay safe. Keep your eyes peeled for all the wonders of nature and watch where you put your feet!

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Seashore Scavenger Hunt Activity + FREE Printable

We are really into scavenger hunts at the moment. It’s a great way to spend some time exploring and learning about what’s around you. A few weeks ago we did a summer scavenger hunt in our local park and as we’re visiting the beach this week I thought I’d put together a seashore scavenger hunt to see what we can find on the beach.

We do love beachcombing and I’m a keen collector of sea glass, so beach combing is something we all enjoy. Last year the boy went rockpooling with the National Trust and found lots of interesting creatures in the rock pools of North Devon.

I’ve included a wide variety of things you can find on the beach in our seashore scavenger hunt. You might not be able to find them all, especially the slightly rarer things like sea glass and mermaid’s purses, but it’s worth taking a look to see what you can find. If you want to find out more about mermaid’s purses, they have lots of child-friendly information on The Shark Trust website.

Download your FREE Seashore Scavenger Hunt Activity Printable Here!

When it comes to sea glass, don’t pick any up that has got sharp edges, that’s just glass. Sea glass should look round and smooth like a coloured pebble; it’s a very special thing to find on the beach, but do be careful.

I’ve left some room for you to make any notes about what you might find on the beach. Doing a seashore scavenger hunt is a great way to start conversations with your child about nature and what kinds of things you can find on the seashore. Why not take along a net and a bucket and see what creatures you can find in a rockpool. How many different kinds of shell can you find and what creatures lived in them?

I always like to do a little bit of a 2 minute beach clean when I visit the beach. It’s easy to pick up the litter I find to put in the bin or recycle at home. It all helps to keep our beaches tidy and some litter out of the oceans.

If you enjoyed this scavenger hunt, you might like to try this Summer Scavenger Hunt.

Summer Scavenger Hunt Activity + FREE Printable

The summer holidays are well and truly here. The kids have broken up from school and they’re taking a good deal of entertaining. One of our favourite things to do is to pack a picnic and head to the local park. It’s always good to have an activity to do to keep the kids engaged and entertained, so I’ve come up with this Summer Scavenger Hunt which should have them running about, exploring and learning more about nature.

We live by the river and walk the dog down there most days. By the river is a nature reserve and we often see lots of different birds, insects and plants. I’ve tried to keep the Summer Scavenger Hunt quite generic, so you should be able to find most of the bugs, birds and plants in your local park.

Download your free Summer Scavenger Hunt Activity Printable here.

I have left room for children to make notes too. You might want to ask them some questions about what they find too. Here are a few to get you started –

How many spots does a ladybird have? There are 46 different types in the UK, but only 26 look like a classic red and black spotted ladybird we all love. Most common ladybirds have 2 spots, 7 spots or 10 spots.

What is a dandelion clock? A dandelion clock is the downy spherical seed head of a dandelion. When we blow the seeds off the clock we make a wish, but other people count the number of puffs it takes to blow off all the seeds, which tells you the time, in theory!

How strong are ants? Ants can lift up to anywhere from 20 to 100 times their own weight, depending on the species of ant.

Why does a bee die after it stings you? Honey bees are the only bees to die after stinging. When a honey bee stings a person or an animal, it cannot pull its sting out and it leaves behind not only the sting, but part of its abdomen and digestive tract. This then kills the honey bee.

Look out for more of our Scavenger Hunt Activity sheets over the next few months, you never know what mini beasts, plants or critters you may encounter!

If you enjoyed this, you might also like these recycling worksheets.

Learn about Recycling for Earth Day PLUS Free Worksheets

Earth Day is on 22nd April and it’s a great opportunity to talk to our children about how we can care for our planet. As much as we’d all like to banish climate change, pollution and single use plastics with the wave of a magic wand; it’s not something we can change overnight. What we can do is make efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle and make better choices when it comes to buying single use plastics; as well as reducing our energy usage where possible. There are lots of things we can do to reduce our personal footprint on the earth; recycling is an important part of that.

This month, the boy has been working towards his Global Issues badge at Beavers. This involved keeping a recycling diary and taking steps around the home to reduce our waste and energy usage. I put together some worksheets on recycling for him to complete and take to Beavers to show what he’s been up to at home.

– Download these worksheets for free here –

The worksheets include some colouring in; a game where you put the right recycling in the right bin; a recycling diary and some questions about why and how we recycle. It’s just the thing for his Global Issues badge; but it’s also great to do at home if you’re talking about Earth Day, recycling or global issues.

I think it’s useful for adults and well as children to look again at what we throw away and see if we could do better. Or reduce what we use, recycle more or just do better when it comes to rubbish. I am trying to buy fewer things wrapped in layers and layers of plastic. I’ve virtually stopped drinking take away coffee and I refuse plastic straws. Making small changes can have a big impact. What changes are you making this year?

If you enjoyed this, you might also like this easy Earth Day craft.

Kids Crafts: Quick and Easy Earth Day Craft

Every year we celebrate Earth Day on 22nd April. Earth Day is all about loving our planet and doing what we can to protect and care for it. It’s a good excuse for us to talk about things such as recycling, reducing our energy usage and what we can do to lower our personal impact on the planet. We will be doing a few things at home to mark Earth Day, such as reading some books about the environment, learning more about recycling and doing some Earth Day craft.