(Can be adapted for Early Years / Reception)
Children are encouraged to imaginably explore seasonal changes using their senses. A range of short hands-on activities, to look, listen, touch and smell are chosen to reinforce key features of the season being explored.
Key concepts: senses, similarities, differences, patterns, change
For Reception, many aspects of the Personal, Social and Emotional Development and Communication, Language and Literacy learning areas will be included during the activity walks but the key goals are:
Knowledge and Understanding of the world
- Investigating objects by using all of the senses as appropriate
- Looking at similarities, differences, patterns and change
- Observing, finding out about and identifying features in the natural world (including living things, objects and events)
Physical movement
- Moving with confidence, imagination and in safety
Creative development
- Exploring colour, texture, shape, form and space
- Responding in a variety of ways to what is seen, heard, smelt, touched and felt
- Expressing and communicating ideas, thoughts and feelings through imaginative play movement, designing and making, and songs
Programme outline
The exact activities chosen will depend on the season, the size of the group, time available and specific learning goals/objectives to be incorporated. Range of activities might include:
Photo bingo – seasonal photos of features the children need to find.
Autumn snakes – using fallen leaves to create a long snake, winding around trees, over branches and through holes.
Kim’s Game – looking at a small collection of natural objects for a while the children then collect the objects that they remember.
Nose Hike – children collect different woodland materials in a pot, add a little water, then mash and stir to create their own seasonal scent.
Fox and rabbit – the children form a circle and inside is a fox and two rabbits. Can the rabbits with bells on their feet escape the fox who is blindfolded!
Animal moves / Who am I? – an active game where the children respond to animal names through movement.
Texture trail / sharing circle – feeling and describing the bark, leaves, cones, and seeds.
Listening game – a quiet moment for children to stop and listen to sounds around them, identifying who made them and where the sounds came from.
Plus many more!