Entries by Mark

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Little Citizen Scientists: Get Ready for The Big Butterfly Count!

Little Citizen Scientists: Get Ready for The Big Butterfly Count!

People of all ages are needed this July and August for the world's biggest wildlife survey — the Big Butterfly Count.Calling all children and their families — people of all ages are needed this July and August for the world’s biggest wildlife survey — the Big Butterfly Count! So, whether you’re a child or an adult, you can play your part. This is a great activity for under-fives too as it’ll be fun, educational, and incredibly worthwhile. What’s more, they’ll become little citizen scientists by taking part. The nature-based activity takes as little as just 15 minutes and costs nothing at all. Children don’t need any special abilities other than a little patience and good observation — both great skills for them to practise. Let’s take a look and see what the Big Butterfly Count is all about and how children can take part this year.

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Leaf Scavenger Hunt Activity (With Free Reference Poster!)

Leaf Scavenger Hunt Activity for Children (With Free Reference Poster!)

A simple leaf-hunting activity will get children exploring outdoors, enjoying the fresh air, having some fun, and learning about the natural world.Wherever you look, nature’s flowers and trees are bursting with life during spring and summer. This got us thinking about the many nature-based activities that are possible for children and under-5s to enjoy at this time of year — under appropriate supervision, of course. One of them is a simple leaf-hunting activity that’ll get little ones exploring the outdoors, enjoying the fresh air, having some fun, and learning about the natural world. With this in mind, we’ve put together a Leaf Scavenger Hunt reference poster for children and families. It can serve as inspiration for some common leaves to look out for during the warmer months of the year. The poster is free to download, right here today, and highlights 16 different types of leaves. Included are oak, sycamore, beech, lime and many more. Children will probably be familiar with some — especially oak leaves with their wonderful little acorns — while others may be unfamiliar. However, all of our examples were sourced on a single morning’s outing, so it’s feasible to find all 16 kinds with a bit of eagle-eyed persistence! So, download the poster for your children, print it out, and explore the outdoors to see how many of the 16 leaf types your little one can find. See if they can identify the differences which make each species of leaf/tree/plant unique — and learn their names if they can. The free identification poster and some help from an adult should help. Have fun out there!

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Bee-Friendly Flower Growing Activity for Under-5s — & World Bee Day

Bee-Friendly Flower Growing Activity for Under-5s — & World Bee Day

With World Bee Day arriving on the 20th of May and National Children's Gardening Week arriving on the 24th, it's an excellent time for a flower-growing activity for children.With World Bee Day arriving on the 20th of May and National Children’s Gardening Week arriving on the 24th, it’s an excellent time for a flower-growing activity for children — including under-fives. More specifically, the growing of bee-friendly flowers — from seeds — will be an excellent way to celebrate World Bee Day and support these adorable little creatures. Bees, butterflies, and other pollinators are incredibly important for the world, being largely responsible for pollinating the crops, including nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables, that we rely on for food. Yet they are under threat with numbers dwindling severely in recent years. Without bees and other pollinators, the world’s animals, plants, trees, and flowers would be in real danger. Today’s bee-friendly flower-growing activity is therefore an incredibly worthwhile one for children to get involved in. It’s fun, highly educational for little ones, and will help to make the world a better place! Little ones, let’s get growing!

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Let’s Go on a Spring Nature Hunt – With a Free Reference Poster!

Let's Go on a Spring Nature Hunt – With a Free Reference Poster!

With signs of spring now all around us, it’s the perfect time to release our free ‘Spring Nature Hunt’ activity poster for children. We’ve highlighted 20 beautiful and fascinating things that children can look out for when outdoors during this wonderful season. The activity is a great excuse for children to get outside, open their eyes, and see some of the wonders that this season brings. When they take time to actively look, they can spot beautiful flowers like crocuses, snowdrops and daffodils blooming. Fascinating pussy willow buds and dangling catkins can be seen on country walks. Wonderful butterflies and bumblebees have started to arrive in gardens again, having been absent over the winter. Now spring is finally here, birds like house martins and swifts will also start to return to the UK skies — children will be able to watch them soaring through the air up high. Down on the ground, beautiful animals like lambs and baby rabbits are also sure to delight little ones during a nature walk. These are just a few examples of some of the natural things you can challenge children to look out for in spring and our free poster will be an excellent visual reference. So, why not download the free poster today, print it out for your children, and get closer to nature as a family? This nature-based activity is fun, educational, and really good for both children and adults — such is the power of the natural world!

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World Book Day – A Parent’s Guide to Celebrating with Under-5s

World Book Day – A Parent's Guide to Celebrating with Under-5s

World Book Day is one of the most magical dates on the calendar for children and parents alike. Taking place on the first Thursday of March in the UK* (6 March for 2025), this annual celebration is all about inspiring a love of books and storytelling. But how can you make the most of it with your little one? Here’s a handy guide to help you embrace the joy of reading with toddlers and preschoolers!

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Winter Treasure Hunt Activity (With Free Reference Poster)

Winter Treasure Hunt Activity (With Free Reference Poster)

Today’s Winter Treasure Hunt activity is a great antidote to the cold temperatures and shorter days that families experience during this season. So long as the weather is not dangerous or insanely cold, families can still enjoy the outdoors if they are dressed appropriately and children are adequately supervised. Even in winter, there is still so much for children to discover in The Great Outdoors! What’s more, spending time in and around nature is generally very good for both children and adults (more about that later). With all that in mind, we’ve put together a free reference poster that families can download and use as the basis for an exciting Winter Treasure Hunt. There are all manner of magical things for children to search for and discover in the winter months — from leaf skeletons, pine cones, and frosted spider webs, to animal tracks, icicles and miraculously unique snowflakes. So, take a look and download a free reference poster for your child today — and check out others in the same series.

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A Big Garden Birdwatch for Little People: 24-26 January 2025

A Big Garden Birdwatch for Little People: 24-26 January 2025
The Big Garden Birdwatch takes just one hour and allows families to be part of the world's biggest garden wildlife survey.Families, set your diaries for the wildlife event of the year, which happens this January from Friday the 24th to Sunday the 26th inclusive. It’s free, takes just one hour, and allows children and adults to be part of the world’s biggest garden wildlife survey. During the event, families and individuals across the nation simply count the birds they spot in the garden, park, local green space, or even balcony over the course of 60 minutes. The results of hundreds of thousands of these surveys are compiled by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) to build a picture of the health of the nation’s bird populations. It’s important scientific and ecological work and children can become citizen scientists if they simply take part. Learn more about the Big Garden Birdwatch and how to take part in today’s guide for families with children.

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Free Childcare in Hindley Green — for Eligible Children Aged 9 Months to 4 Years

Free Childcare in Hindley Green — for Children 9 Months to 4 Years

Eligible working families can access substantial free childcare in Hindley Green and elsewhere — and the funding scheme is supported by Little Acorns Nursery. Since September 2024, free “childcare hours” have been available for eligible babies aged from just 9 months as well as for eligible toddlers and preschoolers aged up to Compulsory School Age. What’s more, the number of free hours is set to increase next year (2025) for the youngest children. In today’s post, we’ll explain more about who is eligible — and it’s a lot of families — how many free childcare hours they can access, and how the funding will increase from September next year. With Little Acorns Nursery supporting the schemes, this is great news for families of under-fives living in and around Hindley Green and Wigan, Greater Manchester.

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Let’s Go on an Autumn Nature Hunt! (With Free Reference Sheet)

Let's Go on an Autumn Nature Hunt! (With Free Reference Sheet)

Autumn is a beautiful season and one of the most magical times of the year. It is particularly fascinating for young children as they witness the wondrous changes that take place in nature. From the crisp, clean air and trees turning a myriad of colours, to leaves falling like leafy snowflakes, and nature providing an array of seeds, nuts and food for wildlife, it’s remarkable. At such a time, children can enjoy a wide variety of fun and educational activities out in the Great Outdoors. Such activities will demonstrate just how incredible Autumn and nature are and what a fascinating bounty of magical things they provide. There is so much to see and discover and all children need to do is get outside with family and friends and explore. With that in mind, we’ve put together a reference sheet that highlights 20 of Autumn’s treasures for children to look out for and collect, under adult supervision, at this time of year.

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How to Help Children Settle Into Nursery

How to Help Children Settle Into Nursery: a Guide for Parents

When your baby, toddler or under-five child first starts at nursery, it can be a time of apprehension for both parent and little one. It’s such a huge milestone when they first spend time away from home; they’re incredibly young and, until then, have usually spent most of their time around close family at home. When they first start at nursery, it’s a new, often unfamiliar setting for them and many questions may trouble the mind of any parent or carer at this time. Are they going to like it? How will they fit in? Will they make friends? What are the nursery staff like? Will they eat enough? Will they be warm enough? Will they cry when they’re left there? There are potentially so many questions and concerns! With that in mind, today’s post is all about how to help children under five settle into nursery. If you’re a parent or carer whose child is just starting at nursery, take a look.