With the season of winter arriving in December, new opportunities for outdoor activities arise for children of all ages. And, as nature and outdoor play are so beneficial for children, we thought a winter nature hunt would be a great idea (cool even!). With that in mind, we’ve put together a free, downloadable, reference sheet of 20 things for children to look out for during this season. Despite the colder temperatures at this stage of the year, if children are wrapped up in warm clothes and suitably supervised by an adult, there is still lots for them to enjoy, discover, and learn from. That’s even more true for children still in their early years. Nature is a huge educator and is often stunningly beautiful too. A winter nature hunt is therefore a great excuse to get them outdoors, exploring, discovering, learning and simply having fun!
There’s So Much for Children to Discover in Winter
A winter nature hunt will open children’s eyes to some of the many fascinating things that the season brings. Through this activity, their attention will be drawn to magical things like leaf skeletons of different shapes and sizes, or beautifully organic lichen growing on twigs and branches. It will help educate them about the difference between evergreen firs, with pine needles that stay all year round, and deciduous trees that shed every leaf over winter. Adults can show children that every snowflake is unique — it will fascinate every child who manages to catch one and take a close look. Children can learn about wildlife too. For example, robins and blackbirds tend to stay resident over winter while other species migrate to warmer climes. Then, when a frosty morning arrives, parents or supervising adults can draw children’s attention to the astonishing beauty of frost covering a spider’s web. With some encouragement to get outdoors, children will be able to witness frost encrusting plants, trees and grass, or making organic patterns on windows or frozen puddles. Then, of course, when snow falls and settles, the fun will really begin!
Download our Free Winter Nature Hunt Reference Sheet
The preview image above shows what the free Winter Nature Hunt reference sheet looks like and the 20 suggested things for children to look out for. Click to download or view in high-resolution Acrobat Reader (∞) format. Print out at A4 or even A3 and children will be able to take the reference sheets out with them and tick off each item discovered. Not only will it be a fun adventure, but outdoor play is good for children and being close to nature benefits little ones in a huge variety of ways. Follow the bold links to learn more.
More Free Nature Activity Posters for Kids:
Our Winter Nature Hunt poster is just one of several nature-themed activity sheets that are free for families and children to download. Also available is a reference sheet for an autumn nature hunt and stunning posters that introduce children to butterflies, birds, mammals, and minibeasts. Children will love to display these in bedrooms or print them out and take them with them when on outdoor excursions. They’re all fun, attractive, adventurous, and educational!
Little Acorns Nursery, Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley
High-quality Weekday Childcare for Under-5s in Central Lancashire
Today’s post and the free poster were brought to you by Little Acorns Nursery in Clayton-le-Woods, near Chorley. We’re a wonderful setting for babies and children under five, offering a first-class early years education and professional weekday childcare. We have incredible indoor facilities, a self-contained preschool block, and two gardens where children can explore, play, discover and learn. The gardens allow children to connect with nature which, as we’ve said before, is incredibly good for them. We also support various free childcare funding schemes, including free childcare hours for eligible babies as young as just 9 months, making childcare more affordable for Lancashire families.
Consider a nursery place for your child at Little Acorns Nursery today. Choose a button to start your application, arrange a tour, or ask a question:
As a nursery in Clayton-le-Woods, we may also suit families in nearby locations including:
Clayton Brook, Clayton Green, Thorpe Green, Pippin Street, Buckshaw Village, Whittle-le-Woods, Farington, Bamber Bridge, Lostock Hall, Euxton, Leyland and Penwortham.
Safety Notice
Young children should be supervised by a responsible parent or adult, especially during outdoor activities. Risks will need to be assessed and mitigated in each situation. For example, care should be taken to educate little ones about the dangers of potentially poisonous berries, plants and fungi, as well as being mindful of hazards like slipping on ice, stranger danger, wandering off and getting lost, traffic, and dangers associated with frozen ponds, lakes and even puddles. Children should also be dressed appropriately and be protected from the cold, wet, and any adverse weather conditions.
One of the key tasks all tots must face, in tandem with parents, is potty training. It’s something we all had to master as toddlers and therefore we know it’s 100% achievable — despite it sometimes seeming to be rather a challenge. Achieving success, though, will improve the quality of life for the child, the parent, and other guardians involved in the child’s care. Learning to master the use of the potty and later the toilet will also be a major boost to self-confidence and independence when the child is at nursery, preschool, and later school. With that in mind, today’s guide outlines our top tips for successful potty training.
Children become ready for potty training at different times — every child is different in that respect, with some starting as early as 18 months and others not training until the age of 3. That said, the majority of little ones begin potty training between the ages of 2 and 3. There are some signs to look out for that will help parents decide when the time is right and we’ll look at those below.
Ensuring children understand the language around toileting is helpful, of course. So, it’s healthy to help children learn the various terms involved, whether talking about a potty, wee-wees, or anything else. Learning appropriate words will empower children to ask for what they need, at appropriate times.
Potties with designs that are attractive to toddlers e.g. dinosaurs, licensed TV characters etc.
Only start potty training when your child shows signs that they’re ready. (See the When Should You Begin Potty Training? section above for details).
As we discussed in our recent post 
Designate an area in your home for play. It doesn’t need to be elaborate — even a corner with a few age-appropriate toys, books, and art supplies may be sufficient. Ensure, of course, that the space is safe and free from hazards before your child embarks on their play activities.
Outdoor play also offers a wealth of learning opportunities. It promotes physical health, stimulates the senses, and allows for unstructured exploration, which all contribute to holistic development. Take your child to the park, explore nature, or simply play with them in the back garden if you have one. Outdoor activities will also foster an appreciation for the natural world. Indeed, we wrote a whole post about 
Reading is a wonderful way to support learning through play. Choose age-appropriate books, of course, and be sure to engage in interactive storytelling. Ask and encourage questions about the story, encourage your child to predict what might happen next, and ask them what they might do if it were them in the story. Books and reading teach children so many things and, like pretend play above, truly encourage their imaginations and get their creative juices flowing. 
Arrange play dates with other children or involve siblings in play activities at home. Social play helps children learn essential social skills like cooperation, sharing, and conflict resolution. It’s also a great way to make new friendships, learn from each other, and become a closer member of friendship circles.
By mid-November, autumn is in full swing and leaves are turning a myriad of different colours. Scenes of green, yellow, red and golden trees can be breathtakingly beautiful and the air is often crystal clear at this time of year — that’s great for photos! The autumn season also brings with it a treasure trove of fascinating natural things that children can discover if they take the time to look. Indeed, an autumn nature hunt is the perfect excuse for little ones to spend some time outdoors, where they will also 
Ensure children, particularly the very young, receive appropriate adult supervision at all times. Although fascinating and fun, the outdoors holds many hazards for the unwary. Therefore, children will need to be closely monitored by a responsible adult in order to safeguard their well-being.
Today’s flower-growing children’s activity follows on nicely from last month’s 
It’s possible to sow wildflower seeds from March right through to mid-October or, at a push, early November so long as snow or frost is not forecast. Those sown closer to March and April will generally flower in late spring/early summer. Those sown very late in the year will flower the following year, from spring onwards. Any sown up to and including the middle period, for example during July, should still flower in the same year — wildflowers usually bloom some 60 to 80 or so days later if they’re timed to grow in the same year as they’re sown.
There are several ways for children and families to source wildflower seeds. The most obvious way is to buy them commercially, in seed packets. These are available from any number of different outlets including nurseries, supermarkets, 
If you buy your child commercially-available wildflower seeds, the information on the packet will often say if the resulting flowers are bee-friendly, butterfly-friendly, good for pollinators, and so on. So, if you’re sourcing seeds that way, much of the decision-making criteria around which actual flowers to grow is made clear and therefore the choice is easy.
By their very nature, wildflowers are generally not very picky in regard to the type of soil they are happy to grow in. Therefore you/your child will have a greater choice of where to sow the wildflower seeds. A fairly clear sunny area is good, whether that’s garden beds, flower pots, window boxes, grow bags on a balcony, or even the lawn itself if you want a wild ‘meadow’ type lawn. Whatever the choice, it’s best if it’s somewhere that won’t be disturbed by you/the family though, as you wouldn’t want the wildflowers trampled once they do arrive.
With regard to sowing the seeds, follow any seed-specific instructions on packets in relation to timing and spacing. If you’re using self-harvested seeds or there are no instructions, simply sprinkle the seeds so they’re spaced, fairly evenly, i.e. not too densely sown. This will avoid the wildflower plants having to compete with one another once they start growing. A tip is to sprinkle from a height as this will naturally scatter them more widely. Once scattered, your child can help* to pat the soil surface down, either by hand or using the back of a tool like a spade or a trowel, so that the seeds are secured in the soil. Children can even ‘walk’ them in if they prefer. Once complete, ensure that you/your child keep the soil damp over the coming weeks. The preparation stage really is as simple as that!
Today, we look at how early years childcare providers like Little Acorns Nursery can help children under five if they have special educational needs and disabilities. This is often referred to as ‘SEND’ or in longer forms like ‘SEN and disabilities’. Let’s explore the topic to get an overview of some of the help available.
Actually identifying an area of special need or disability is, of course, the first, crucial step in being able to help a child. If an area of special need is suspected, early years providers can work with parents and sometimes other professionals, for example health visitors, speech and language therapists, paediatricians and so on. Involving such professionals will help with any diagnosis.
This is important. Early years providers can create an inclusive environment that welcomes and supports children of all abilities. Encouraging the inclusion of children in social groups and in the making of friends, for example, is of huge benefit to children’s well-being. Childcare settings can also provide special equipment or adapt the environment to make it more accessible for children with specific physical needs.
Early years providers like Little Acorns Nursery adapt the individual learning and development plans and activities to suit each child. In this way, they’re custom-designed to meet the needs of every child individually, including those with special needs. This is done as a matter of course as part of 
Later, each child will similarly have an ‘EYFS profile’ completed during the final term of reception year. However, as we’re focusing this article on children under five, we’ll not go into detail about that here.
It may be useful for parents and carers to note that local authorities have a duty to publish what’s known as a ‘Local Offer’. This outlines the help available in the area for children with SEND, including how to access that support.
