Take a look, through some of the common species of wildlife that live in the South Yorkshire area around Sheffield and Rotherham.
A recently extended patch of heathland and woodland, neighbouring Wyming Brook.
Help stop the badger cull coming to Sheffield and Rotherham!
Unveil the hidden world of insects in Sheffield & Rotherham with the newest issue of Kingfisher magazine.
Introduce your toddler to the 'Woolley Worms'. When they're not looking, hide them – and then show your toddler the empty container – Oh No! They've escaped!
Join me on my quest to keep a toddler entertained in my garden and home, with nature as our inspiration, and with fun (and a bit of learning!) as our goal. My 2 and ½ year old will test out these simple and easy-to-do-at-home activities; we’ll let you know the results, and would love to hear how you get on, too. I’ll offer some Outdoor Learning Top Tips on how to adapt the activities for older children, and suggest what skills each activity helps you and your child explore. All the activities are simple, use mostly things you will find in and around your home, and will be free, and will hopefully help to keep you both entertained (and sane!) a they have done for me. Enjoy.
Woolley Worms Create a can of ‘Wooley Worms’ from old wool/ribbon/string and…. Oh No! They’ve all escaped… See if your toddler can creep up on them and get them safely back in their can!
Skills: Observation Imagination Naming Colours
What you’ll need:
Get your toddler focused with this simple but effective activity. Introduce your toddler to the ‘Woolley Worms’. When they’re not looking, hide them along a vaguely linear feature – a hedge, a fence line, a living room wall – and then show your toddler the empty container – Oh No! They’ve escaped! Guide them to the start of the linear feature (perhaps where you last saw a Wooley worm?!) and let them do some hunting.
Top tips (and what we learnt along the way):
Oscar’s review:
Oscar got so excited when he started finding the worms, and was happy to repeat the activity quite a few times. He got the gist of hiding them for us to find, and loved when we dramatically found the worms hiding places.
For older ones –
Thank you the National Lottery Heritage Fund for support with this content.