So many of us love Autumn, the colours of the leaves, collecting acorns and conkers and generally seeing nature slowly evolve into a new season.

Although the weather may get wetter, colder and windier it’s still a superb time to get out into nature and enjoy the wonder of that Autumn brings here are just a few ideas of things to do with your little ones this Autumn.

• Collecting leaves
  • Go on a nature walk and collect fallen leaves of different shapes and sizes
  • Talk about which trees the leaves have come from
  • Sort the leaves into different shapes, colours and sizes to help them with their categorising skills.
• Build a Fairy or Animal house
  • Using sticks, leaves and stones build tiny houses for small imaginary woodland creatures or fairies.
  • This activity helps build fine motor skills, problem-solving whilst expanding their imagination.
  • Maybe talk about how animals including squirrels and hedgehogs and birds build shelters to nest in or sleep in.
• Nature themed art
  • Using colourful autumn leaves create a collage, maybe add some paint using twigs and leaves as paint brushes.
  • Helps foster artistic expression, imagination and again finer motor skills.
  • Why not have a chat about why leaves fall from the tree and change colour in autumn?
• Bird watching and feeding
  • Autumn is a great time to spot birds, the leaves falling from the trees make them easier to see for little ones.
  • Why not set up a bird table with a feeder to encourage them in closer?
  • Making bird feeders can be a fun activity using things like pinecones, peanut butter, and birdseed.
  • Chat about how some birds migrate for winter and others stay here.

If you only take a take a walk in the park with your little one this Autumn it may be a great idea to take a long a printed sheet with all the different leaves of Autumn on it.  The Woodland Trust Nature Detectives sheet can be downloaded here

At Holy Tree Children’s Nursery, Wigan we embrace nature wholeheartedly with children of all ages enjoying outside play and the changing of the seasons in a loving and education-focused setting.