Summer is a wonderful time of year when children can get outdoors to play, explore, discover, and enjoy the freedom of nature. It’s also a time of great abundance, with nature’s riches everywhere we look. Nature’s gifts can be beautiful, fascinating, educational, stimulating, and hugely enriching for little ones. Whether it’s a delightful butterfly flitting through the air, a super-cute bumblebee searching for nectar, or a patch of colourful wildflowers growing in a meadow, nature really is rather magical — and that’s especially so for young children. With that in mind, today’s Summer Nature Hunt activity encourages children to get closer to nature* to discover some of its many delights. When children and adults take time to properly look, nature’s wonders really are incredible. Our suggested activity today comes with a free, downloadable reference poster that highlights 20 wonderful things for little ones to look out for during the summer months. From caterpillars and dragonflies to winged seeds and slow worms, there is a lot for children to discover during this abundant time of year. A summer nature hunt will open their eyes and teach them about the natural world around them, as well as being a fun adventure — enjoy!
Summer — Dates
Summer in the UK is generally the warmest part of the year, but the exact dates vary from year to year depending on whether you are using the meteorological or astronomical calendar.
- According to the astronomical calendar, summer starts on Sunday 21 June for 2026 (the longest day of the year or ‘Summer Solstice’) and ends on Wednesday 23 September (2026’s ‘Autumnal Equinox’ when the day is the same length as the night). The exact date varies a little each year because the solstice and equinox sometimes fall on alternative days due to the Earth’s path as it travels around the Sun.
- According to the meteorological calendar, summer starts at the very beginning of June and ends at the very end of August every year. This particular calendar keeps things simple, using full months. It is used for such things as weather forecasting and, being based on full calendar months, allows scientists to more easily compare climate data from year to year.
Download Your Free Summer Nature Hunt Reference Poster
Download your child’s free Summer Nature Hunt reference poster below. Simply click the large preview image to view or download it in high-resolution Acrobat format. We recommend printing it out using your printer’s best settings and paper for the highest-quality results. Posters can be printed at A4 or even A3. For handouts for your child to take with them on a nature hunt, A4 or A5 may suit best. Children can use the little tick boxes to indicate which natural item they have seen during their excursion into the natural world. The activity combines a challenging quest with exploration, discovery, learning, and fun!
How Many Can Your Child Spot?
Can your child find a winged seed, like those from a sycamore tree? Perhaps show them how such seeds spin and travel, often long distances, when falling through the air on the wind — a great example of just one of nature’s magical tricks. Can your little one spot wildflowers, daisies or a wonderful sunflower? How about a bird’s feather, apples growing on a tree, or blackberries growing on a bramble bush? There are also lots of insects to find, such as bees, hoverflies, butterflies, mayflies, and dragonflies. Caterpillars are also fascinating and come in all manner of different forms, including some that are harder to spot if well camouflaged. Then, for the luckiest or most observant young nature watchers, the elusive slow worm is a wonderful creature to discover. Looking more like small snakes, they’re actually legless lizards. There are some birds on the reference poster too — ducks, the magnificent swan who majestically glides through the water, and the amusing sight of a sunbathing bird (rather than being injured, they’re simply warming themselves in the sun).
Nature is So Good for Children
Spending time close to nature is hugely beneficial to children — and adults, in fact. Studies have shown that it benefits people physically, mentally, and spiritually in a huge variety of ways. When little ones spend time in and around nature, stress and anxiety reduce, motor skills improve, knowledge grows, and empathy for other living things increases. What’s more, nature can benefit children and students academically. Indeed, some studies found that even just a view of nature or a natural space can improve academic grades — incredible! It’s a huge topic all on its own, so we wrote a whole article about it — learn more about the enormous benefits and importance of nature to children here. It’s also one of the many reasons why Little Acorns Nursery is starting its own Forest School sessions in and around Hindley Green very soon.
More Nature-Inspired Posters for Your Child to Download (Free)
Today’s Summer Nature Hunt activity is just one in a series of nature-inspired activities for children available here on this website. Each comes with its own free reference poster for children and families to print out. So, if exploring nature and learning about the natural world is something you want to encourage your child to do, visit our other nature-inspired activity suggestions today and download your free poster for each. Examples include an autumn nature hunt, winter treasure hunt, and spring nature hunt as well as activities for spotting British birds, minibeasts, mammals, and butterflies. Follow the bold links to learn more and access the free posters — or bookmark them today so you can come back later.
Forest School Sessions Near Wigan
from Little Acorns Nursery, Hindley Green
At Little Acorns Nursery in Hindley Green, we know how important nature and spending time close to it are for children and under-fives. That’s why we’re lucky to have such extensive outdoor grounds where the children can play, explore, discover, and learn under the watchful eye of our early years professionals. It’s also why we’ll provide Forest School sessions for our nursery children. Learn more about Forest School sessions coming to Little Acorns Nursery in Hindley Green, Wigan, here.
Little Acorns Nursery provides almost year-round nursery and preschool places for babies, toddlers, and children under five in and around Hindley Green, Wigan. We support funded childcare hours and places for eligible children and welcome enquiries from families looking for childcare provision in the area. Please get in touch using an option below to get started. We’ll be delighted to tell you more, show you and your child around, and begin your child’s enrolment.
If you are a family living in Wigan, Bolton, Atherton, Platt Bridge, Westhoughton, Bickershaw, Leigh, Ince-in-Makerfield, Tyldesley, or near Greater Manchester, Little Acorns Nursery in Hindley Green could make a very convenient choice for your weekday childcare. Contact us using one of the above options if you’d like to explore this further — we’d love to hear from you.
* Safety notice: Always ensure that children, especially the youngest, are supervised by a responsible and vigilant adult when they’re playing and exploring outdoors. There are many hazards out there!
The team at Little Acorns Nursery is delighted to announce that we’ll soon be running regular Forest School sessions for children under five in the Hindley Green/Wigan area. Little ones absolutely adore Forest School — they seem instinctively drawn to nature and natural outdoor spaces. Like them, we simply can’t wait to begin! Preparations and training are underway, and we hope to begin our first Forest School sessions for children from September 2026. It’ll be a really exciting addition for the new term and for families living nearby. With all that in mind, today’s post explains what Forest School is all about, how it came to be, and how it benefits children, especially those under five.
Forest School is not so much a place, destination, or static centre of learning as it is a child-centred philosophy and learning process. Through a Forest School programme, little learners can safely play, explore, and discover outdoors, close to nature, under the supervision of specially trained adult leaders. There, in the natural environment, they will learn new skills and grow holistically in a vast number of new ways.
As well as being inspired by several incredibly influential proponents* of outdoor play, learning, and discovery, Forest School has its strongest roots in Scandinavia. It was there that people first took notice of their outdoor ‘Friluftsliv’ (free air life) culture. Soon becoming virtually a way of life, the philosophy began to spread around the world. It eventually arrived as ‘Forest School’, in the UK, back in the early 1990s. Its UK beginnings were initially led by staff from Bridgewater College, Somerset, who had visited Scandinavia to see Friluftsliv for themselves. Since then, Forest School’s popularity has grown and grown, with children and adults loving everything about it and enjoying the many benefits it brings.
Forest School sessions are held regularly over an extended period of time and, weather conditions permitting, cover several seasons of the calendar year. They’re usually likely to include a variety of activities in tandem with general exploration and discovery. Examples might include climbing, balancing, problem-solving, activities connecting children to nature, working in teams to complete creative or building tasks, and so on.
The impact of Forest School on children can be truly profound. It’s not only immense fun but also incredibly beneficial to little ones. Even those who previously might have been reserved, or who displayed challenging behaviour, often absolutely flourish when embarking on a Forest School programme. Indeed, many discover skills they didn’t know they had and often relate deeply to the natural world. Forest School is also a great leveller, with children from all kinds of backgrounds finding a new niche where any of them can thrive on an equal playing field. Nature is a place where social bonds adapt and grow in unexpected but often brilliant new ways. New connections are made on so many different levels too. And, with all its profound effects on children, Forest School often helps children develop a long-term appreciation for the natural world, the Great Outdoors, and the need to look after the planet responsibly. It really is a wonderful thing — and we can’t wait to introduce Hindley Green and Wigan children to Forest School.
Outdoor play is one of the truly magical elements of any healthy, fun-filled childhood. At the very least, it gives children the chance for some freedom, fresh air, and adventures that simply aren’t possible indoors. In today’s technological age of electronic screens, however, it’s also something that children have been doing less and less of over the generations. That’s a shame, when you think about it, not least because outdoor play is immense fun and incredibly beneficial to children. In light of this, today’s post explores 18 Reasons Why Outdoor Play is Essential to Children — of all ages. Take a look and see why outdoor play is so good for little ones.
We mentioned it in our introduction — playing outdoors provides children with wonderful opportunities for real adventures! Whether it’s exploring The Great Outdoors on a family ramble, climbing on playground equipment with friends, embarking on a make-believe quest with the family dog, or making a den with siblings, there are no limits to what’s possible with outdoor play. Indeed, the adventures that are possible through outdoor play are only limited by a child’s imagination! Speaking of which…
Let’s not forget, too, that playing outdoors is huge fun — and that’s important. Simply put, playing outdoors and giving children space to run around will make them happy. And there’s not much in life that’s more important than a child’s happiness — it’s an essential part of any magical childhood.
Outdoor play lends itself to the learning of new skills. With such a varied array of activities possible, children will naturally attempt new things, and each of these can be an opportunity to extend their skills. Physical skills might include tying knots, building dens with branches, playing ball games, climbing, racing, and so on. In addition, children will learn softer skills like teamwork, cooperation, strategy, critical thinking, leadership, and role play. What’s more, all of this will happen instinctively — such is the power of outdoor play.
Children who regularly play outdoors will inevitably meet other children and encounter new dynamics. These will help them make new social connections, and immersive activities will deepen existing friendships. Playing outdoors is a great way, therefore, to strengthen and extend a child’s social circle, and boost social skills like teamwork, leadership, cooperation, brain storming, and so on.
The often high-octane activities associated with outdoor play will also help children boost strength, fitness, motor, and coordination skills. By exposing themselves to different terrains, environments, tasks, games, and equipment outdoors, they will increase the variety of motor skills they need to accomplish activities. Running, jumping, hopping, constructing, chasing, and climbing will all help improve them physically, in so many ways that may not be possible indoors. What’s more, such things will help children protect themselves from harm, as well as empower them physically.
Playing outdoors, with adult oversight, is the perfect opportunity for children to begin learning how to assess risk. Whether it’s safely navigating outdoor play equipment, stepping over undulating ground, climbing a tree, or playing fast-paced ball games, children will soon learn when and how they need to assess possible risks. It’s a skill that, once learned, will keep them safer from harm, so is incredibly important.
All these new skills and enhancements make under-5s well-equipped when the time comes to leave preschool and begin school. Through outdoor play, they’ll have greater independence, confidence, communication and social skills, and physical skills, to name just a few. What a great way to help them hit the ground running from the moment they begin school!
All in all, outdoor play prepares children for life. Through greater independence, better confidence, raised self-esteem, and new tools, skills and knowledge at their disposal, children can go forward with new vigour and thrive. Such is the power of outdoor play.
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!
Some of the leaves will be easier to identify than others. For example, Horse Chestnut (a.k.a. ‘conker tree’) leaves are quite distinctive with their fan of multiple sections (see the 2nd row, last image on the right on the poster for our example). In contrast, hazel and lime leaves are quite similar to one another. One easy clue to tell them apart is that lime leaves are slightly shiny, whereas hazel leaves are extremely matt. And, of course, they have very different seeds once those appear (the lime seed clusters are quite beautiful as you can see on the poster in the 3rd row, 2nd image from the right).
Another interesting factor to point out to children is that some of the leaves come in different colours. Beech leaves, for instance, can be green or deep burgundy, brown or dark purple depending on which variety of beech a child locates. It’s similar for acers, which can be green, yellow, red or a deep purple/maroon. Acers however, are more likely to be found in gardens and parks than in the countryside. Some are a little like miniature sycamores, only rather more delicate and fancy! And, come 
This activity is a great opportunity for children to open their eyes to the natural world. By looking at nature more deeply, they’ll see the finer details that may have been overlooked. Nature is incredibly varied and interesting when you take the time to look closely and discover it properly. It’ll teach children about the natural world, the seasons, the changes in plants and trees at different times of the year, the circle of life, and so much more. Getting out, close to nature, is also incredibly beneficial to children. From busting stress, improving well-being, supporting the EYFS and boosting exercise, to improving concentration and even academic grades, 
Once children have collected them, leaves can inspire various other creative activity ideas for children. For example, has your child ever tried leaf rubbing (putting a leaf under paper and scribbling over it to reveal the leaf structure), leaf pressing (pressing leaves between pages of a heavy book to allow them to dry and flatten), or leaf printing (painting a leaf with paint then pressing it onto paper to offset the leaf’s form as an image)? These are just a few examples of the 
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.
Children will love being involved in this important nature-based activity. They’ll not only play their part in helping birds and nature, but they’ll also have fun and learn something along the way. They will discover some of the many wonderful feathered visitors who live in their neighbourhood and learn about some of the important issues affecting the natural world. They’ll begin to grasp the impact of humans on Britain’s flora and fauna and learn the importance of conservation and looking after the natural world around them. Through this endeavour, they’ll learn how they can make a positive difference. They will also become little citizen scientists! It’s fun, educational, and will give them a wonderful sense of achievement too. It may even change their outlook over the long term and help them think about their own impact on the planet, which is a wonderful outcome. And last but not least, 
Once the chosen time and date arrive, all you/your children need to do is monitor birds landing on your chosen patch. Count those that actually land rather than any flying otherwise there’s a danger that one bird could be counted multiple times. What you need to record for the survey, though, is the largest number of each bird species that have landed at any one time during the hour. So, for example, if you spot two blackbirds that have landed at the same time in the first half hour, but later in the hour you can see 4 that have landed at the same time, then you need to record “4” for blackbirds.
