Collect items from your garden or the park and make a mini garden… on a paper plate!
This is a really fun activity to encourage your child to explore their imagination and use descriptive language.
Watch the video below for an idea of what to do.
The benefits of making a mini nature collection
- It encourages your child's curiosity about the natural world
- By getting them to select their items and choose how to arrange them, you're encouraging their creativity
- You can encourage them to use lots of descriptive language to talk about the different items they pick up
- They can practise answering lots of questions about their choice of items and how they've arranged them
- It can get them thinking and talking imaginatively about what their collection represents - is the twig a tree? Is the grass a lawn?
How to make a miniature garden on a plate
Start by taking a paper plate out with you into the garden or park.
Ask your little one if they'd like to make a garden picture using things from around the garden,
Ask them what bits they could pick up. Could they use some grass or some leaves? How about a twig?
When they select an item, ask them to describe it. What does the leaf feel like? Which twig is the biggest? What could this stone be? What colour is the flower? This will encourage them to use adjectives and descriptive language.
Ask them all about why they've chosen what they have and where they want to put the items on the plate. This will encourage them to describe their garden in longer sentences.
You could challenge them to find different items. For example, 'can you find the biggest stone?' or 'can you find an object beginning with a 'sss' sound?'
Be careful when it comes to touching plants that could be toxic, the
More on the benefits of outdoor play
- Check out Ranger Hamza's ideas for outdoor adventures with little ones
- Find out more about the positives of introducing children to nature
- Read all about what children can learn from looking after plants
