It's so important to make sure our tots spend enough time outdoors exploring what's out there, so if you’ve exhausted all there is to do within four walls and a kickabout in the back garden isn’t cutting it any more, the great outdoors can provide some much needed inspiration for educating and entertaining little ones while stuck at home.Aside from looking and smelling great, loads of everyday plants have interesting textures to explore with your kids.
Keeping kids engaged during storytime can sometimes be challenging. But by taking it outside you can add a whole new dynamic to what really can be precious. Lie on a blanket on the grass, and let your imagination run away with you both.Create your own garden adventure by setting up a homemade den and make your fortress your own! Play dress up and create stories about who owns your 'castle' and get cosy sat inside.
You can even camp out at night and do some star gazing, depending how old your little one is and if they can stay awake that long! Check out our article on some of theAnd while you’re down there, take a look up! Cloud watching can really get the imagination juices flowing and be extremely relaxing for you, too. See which animals you can pick out among the clouds and keep a list, and see how many you can find.
*note: the number of hedgehogs has declined rapidly in the last few decades, so use the opportunity to teach your children about how to interact properly with wildlife.If your children love arts and crafts, the garden can stimulate their imagination in new and exciting ways. Collect household items like lollipop sticks, buttons and glitter and get to work creating pretty fairy houses to put up in the branches of bushes or around the bases of trees.