I have been outside a lot with my chickens. I have six now and they have been in their own lockdown since November. So they are sadly not allowed out around my garden anymore.
Having my chickens means I am outside often to clean them out, feed them and make sure they have fresh water. I also like to spend time with them and give them treats and cuddles.
If you have a dog, taking them for walks would count as time outside. Maybe you take them to the park, around the streets or to the woods.
This week I have been taking my dog up to the woods (Gramps) and down to the river. We also went to Tollohill woods to play on the tree swings. Everytime we go to the woods, we always come home with sticks. One for my daughter, one for my son and of course one for me!
A stick collection has been growing on my back door step since I had both my children. Although my own mother still has my collection sitting at her back door and when ever my children go through to visit they seem to add more to the collection.
A good stick is something special. Teach your child how to hold their stick safely. In nursery we advise all sticks be carried upright. We remove any small side shoots and try to round off the ends so they are not pointy.
If like me you find a collection of sticks at your back door then you may be interested in the following ideas.
In the nursery garden we have lovely straight sticks of different heights.
We measured our sticks to one meter and then used them to measure things around the nursery garden. After a while we got a few one meter sticks and cut them down, so we had half a meter and 25 cm sticks too. Allowing our children to measure themselves, each other, the staff, their toys and everything else they can find.
We painted the ends so we knew what sticks matched to make a whole meter stick. Easy Maths Sticks.
What could you measure?
Having a collection of sticks is a helpful loose part to have at home.
Using big sticks and a sheet you could build a den.
You could make a wand.
Maybe you could make a shape and weave some pretty leaves in to your dream catcher or add feathers, pinecones and other things you find outside.
Maybe you could use your sticks to make a dragon cave, or a home for your fairies.
There are loads of ideas for what to do with those sticks. SO lets see your amazing ideas too.
Share your sticky masterpieces on the interactive learning diary (ILD) I can’t wait to see what you make.
