— Creative Fun With Foraged Leaves
Today we follow up last month’s leaves scavenger hunt and explore some wonderful creative activities that children can undertake using leaves they have foraged. It’s great timing too, with Autumn having arrived during September. While last month’s article focused on scavenging and learning to recognise different leaves, today’s activity highlights how children can use some of those leaves to get creative and use their imaginations. Such activities combine aspects of Forest School with art, design, and mark-making, so they will be fun, educational, and help children develop various skills. This is also a great way to bring the results of an outdoor, nature-based activity indoors. And, with featured activities including leaf pressing, leaf rubbing, collage, painting, and more, what’s not to love!
Let’s get creative with leaves in the first of our suggested activities for children: leaf printing.
Printing With Leaves
| What’s needed: children will need some leaves with attractive shapes and well-defined structures (e.g. sycamore, oak, maple/acer, beech), some paper, a medium-sized paintbrush, and coloured poster paints. A little hand roller will also help, if available. |
What to do: Printing with leaves is simple, quick, fun, and effective. All children need to do is paint the most textured side of each leaf and then, while the paint is still wet, turn the leaf over, lay it carefully on a paper sheet, and press all areas of it against the paper. That’s where the little hand roller may be useful, if available, otherwise it can be achieved by hand or by dabbing a wad of tissues or fabric against the back of the leaf. Then, carefully peel off the leaf to reveal an intricate leaf print. It’s almost like magic, and the results are often fabulous! Children can experiment with multiple leaf prints, different colours, various leaf shapes and sizes, and generate different designs. Encourage them to experiment to get their creative juices flowing.
Leaf Pressing
| What’s needed: To press leaves, children will need a selection of attractive leaves and something to press the leaves between, e.g. sheets of paper, newsprint, or indeed the pages or a large notepad or book. One or two books will also be useful as weights, although any other reasonably weighty object that has a flat underside will do. |
What to do: Place each leaf, or indeed small flowers, individually between the sheets of paper. Loose newsprint or paper sheets can work, but perhaps the easiest way is to use a large notepad or book; these lend themselves to multiple leaves being pressed at the same time via the double-page spreads within. Lay the closed book (or pile of sheets) on a table and place a flat weighted object on top (an adult may need to supervise young children for this part). Such an object can be anything that’s reasonably weighty and has a flat underside — books are a natural contender for such a purpose. After a few days or a week, your child can check to see if the leaves have dried and flattened. If not, they should check again a few days later. Once flat and dry, your child’s leaves are ready! They are now in a long-lasting state, so make wonderful mementos like bookmarks, and indeed can be used as the key elements for our next activity suggestion below.
Make a Collage with Leaves
| What’s needed: Your child will need some sheets of paper, some child-safe glue, and some leaves. The leaves can be freshly-foraged, although dried and pressed ones are also an excellent choice and may glue more efficiently. |
What to do: The challenge with this activity is for the child to make a nice design on the paper using leaves. So, they could be arranged in an attractive pattern, or as a picture to depict a scene or object. Each leaf simply needs to be glued carefully in place. Designs can also be augmented with extra details using things like twigs, flowers (dried or pressed ones will last longer), leaf stalks, or even extras like lichen or moss. The only limits are the child’s creativity and imagination. Check out some of the examples on this page for inspiration — and get started.
Painted Leaves
| What’s needed: Children will need some reasonably flat leaves, some coloured poster paints, and some paper. |
What to do: This is an easy but effective activity where children simply paint one side of each leaf with coloured paint. Once painted, they look very attractive as art objects but can also be used, once the paint is dry, as part of a picture, display, or collage. This activity is a great opportunity for children to experiment with mixing colours, making new ones, and learning how to choose colours that either contrast or complement one another. Children will soon discover that whichever colour palette is chosen can give the final result a specific mood and feel, whether happy and sunny or muted and cool, for example, depending on the colour combinations.
The Magic of Leaf Rubbings
| What’s needed: This activity requires one or more leaves that have a well-defined structure, ideally with raised ‘veins’ and well-defined surface textures. Children will also need some sheets of thin paper plus either soft pencils, wax crayons, charcoal sticks, or oil pastels. |
What to do: Working on a flat surface like a table or desk, children should lay a leaf, with its most textured side uppermost, under a sheet of the thin paper. Then, bearing in mind the location of the leaf under the sheet, the child should shade from side to side repeatedly over the top to reveal the texture and structure of the underlying leaf. A soft pencil will give better results than a hard one, and using the side of the drawing tip rather than the point will also be easier. Even better is using the side of a stick of charcoal, wax crayon, or oil pastel, as more area can be covered in each single stroke. A variety of colours will help enrich the results, but black and white results are also highly effective. Children can experiment with different media in this way, try using different pressures, different colours, and differently shaped leaves. This task is a particularly good way for children to hone mark-making and fine motor skills.
Draw (or Paint) a Leaf
| What’s needed: Children will need one or more leaves as visual reference (the more attractive the better), and some paints or coloured pencils. |
What to do: The idea of this activity is simply for children to try to draw or paint their own representation of one or more leaves. They can position the leaves somewhere close, like on their desk or table, and see if they can draw them accurately on a sheet of cartridge or sketch paper. It’s a great way for children to practise their powers of observation and hand-eye coordination. How accurately can they accomplish their picture? Alternatively, how well can they achieve different styles of art in their representations? Perhaps showing them some examples of art styles from the Internet or from an art book may inspire them.
Endless Creative Opportunities Using Leaves
The possibilities are endless when it comes to creating art and design inspired by leaves. As well as making attractive designs with leaves, it’s also possible to take things a few steps further. For example, can your child find a leaf shaped like a heart and use it as the key element in a Valentine’s Day card? Can they make an attractive birthday card using leaves arranged to look like a big flower?
Can they incorporate leaves into a collage depicting a scene in a park, with leaves upturned as trees, moss as grass, a flower as the sun, and little twigs or pencil lines added to represent stick people? Can children use pressed flowers to make a lovely bookmark or keepsake for a friend or relative? The list of possibilities is immense! It’s also all great fun and highly creative, while helping children master new skills, use their imaginations, and support multiple areas of the EYFS. And, as we said in last month’s post, it’s something different for children to do indoors, yet still involving nature and elements of Forest School.
Nursery Places for Under-5s in Clayton-le-Woods
High-Quality Weekday Childcare Near Chorley
Little Acorns is a fabulous childcare nursery in Clayton-le-Woods, near Chorley, Lancashire. We cater for children from 3 months to primary school age, and give babies, toddlers, and pre-schoolers a wonderful start in life. Attending this high-quality childcare setting ensures that children are as school-ready as possible by the time they leave us — ready for success!
Little Acorns Nursery has a ‘Good’ Ofsted rating and supports funded childcare hours for eligible children as young as just 9 months. Forest School sessions are popular at Little Acorns Nursery, as are our comprehensive facilities that include a brand new Sensory Room. The nursery opens early, at 7:30 a.m., and stays open until 6:00 p.m. — very convenient for working families.
Register for a nursery place today, or simply get in touch with any queries or to arrange a guided visit with your child:
Little Acorns is a childcare nursery in Clayton-le-Woods, near Chorley, representing a convenient choice for anyone living nearby in towns and villages that include Clayton Brook, Clayton Green, Penwortham, Farington, Bamber Bridge, Whittle-le-Woods, Lostock Hall, Leyland, Pippin Street, Buckshaw Village, Thorpe Green and Euxton.
Summer and autumn are particularly good seasons for children to get outdoors, breathe in fresh air, and enjoy all the benefits of the natural world. Nature is incredibly important to children, and it’s one reason why Little Acorns Nursery runs 
Children may already be familiar with some of the leaves featured on the poster. They may be able to identify oak leaves, for example, especially when acorns are growing amongst them. They may also be able to identify ‘conker tree’ leaves from horse chestnut trees, and perhaps even those from their close relatives, sweet chestnuts — but ensure they’re careful of the spikey sweet chestnut cases! Sycamore leaves, ivy leaves, and hawthorn leaves may also be fairly easy for children to recognise — or soon get to know.
Some types of leaves may be more challenging for children to differentiate between than others. However, that’s all part of the fun and the educational challenge. Hazel and Lime leaves are similar to each other, for example, although unlike hazel leaves, lime leaves have a sheen and the incredibly beautiful seed fronds that you can see on the poster in the third row. Elder and Ash leaves are also similar to one another, although the quite different number of leaves per stem will help children identify which is which (see the first row). Acers (a.k.a. Maples) are often found growing in gardens and parks. Their leaves are very pretty and come in a variety of colours, from deep burgundy or bright green to golden yellow depending on the variety and time of year. Our acer example in the first row should give children a good idea of what kind of shape to look out for in the main, although some acers are even more fancy!
Nature is incredibly important to human beings. Both children and adults experience an incredible array of benefits through spending time in and around the natural world — which is why we have 
In a follow-up to today’s leaf scavenger hunt, and in view of autumn beginning in September, we have also published a post that outlines some fun, highly creative activities that use leaves. From leaf painting and leaf rubbing to leaf collages, leaf pressing, and more, check out our wonderful 
Toddlers and under-fives are naturally drawn to electronic screens. From TVs and game consoles to tablets and smartphones, these amazingly powerful, colourful devices hold such wonder! After all, they’re rather magical to young minds and can entertain and captivate children in so many ways. However, there have been loud voices of concern lately over how potentially detrimental watching electronic screens may be for our little ones. Indeed, the UK Government has recently published new guidance around the topic, which we’ll explore in today’s post.
The Government guidance for under-fives follows findings and recommendations made by the independent Early Years Screen Time Advisory Group (EYSTAG), whose 
The EYSTAG recommendations, against which the new Government guidance has been made, also states some common sense suggestions for parents and carers around the topic of online safety. As one might expect, they include recommendations like using parental controls to limit access to potentially harmful content, ensuring that young children can’t access social media, avoiding access to AI tools, AI-enabled devices, and chatbots, and ensuring that children don’t see potentially harmful content on the phones of parents and carers. Should a parent or carer allow a young child to use their smartphone for a short while, then the EYSTAG recommendation is that they should watch the content with the child at all times to ensure suitability.
For most families, electronic screens are everywhere. Across the country, there are TVs in living rooms, with many households also having them in kitchens, dining rooms, and even bedrooms. Smartphone use is also prolific. Additionally, we have tablets, computers, game consoles, e-readers, and even wearable smartwatches that have screens. So, rather like the movie title, “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” electronic screens are nothing short of ubiquitous. But what effect does watching such screens have on people, particularly children? And is there an argument for taking a significant break from them once in a while? Today’s post explores the topic and explains Why Every Family Should Try a Digital Detox, whether for a day, a week, or significantly longer. Let’s dive in.
Common sense alone would dictate that spending hours watching electronic screens is, at the very least, unnatural for children. When you think about it logically, time spent staring at one spot, remaining physically inactive, cannot be good for young – or even old – brains and bodies. Indeed, studies have revealed some unsurprising findings relating to excessive screen use, especially for children, whose young brains and bodies are still in their infancy. Those under five are undergoing rapid brain development, so it’s a particularly crucial time for them. Indeed, 
A decrease in levels of stress, anxiety, and other emotional difficulties;
Unplugging from electronic screens has been shown to benefit families as a whole. Days and evenings together seem more relaxed and often feel significantly longer when screens are switched off. Then, families are soon likely to increase levels of connection and presence. Away from screens, there is likely to be more spontaneity and creativity too, with more talking, reading, playing, drawing, and making. Children will often display excitement about beginning each new activity, too. The overall family mood is often also improved, leading to a healthy and congenial atmosphere, with noticeably more laughter. What’s more, everyone becomes more aware of each other, engaging in group or sibling activities more readily, and being overall more attentive to one another. Then, when it’s time for bed, everyone feels more rested, and children will generally fall asleep more easily than ever before. Incredibly, all such benefits and this newfound quality time are achieved simply by stepping away from electronic screens.
When children and families unplug from electronic screens, it becomes natural for them to spend more time outdoors, closer to nature. That’s important because both outdoor play and a closer proximity to nature have incredibly significant benefits all of their own. To demonstrate that using just one example, studies showed that a mere 20 minutes spent closer to nature will improve a child’s happiness. In fact, nature boosts mental health so significantly that even just a view of nature through a window has been shown to boost academic grades, test results, and overall academic focus — incredible!
It’s wonderful for families when spring arrives: the coldest weather is behind us, the sun is out more often, and there is so much beauty to see outdoors. As spring progresses, more and more flowers appear, providing colourful displays, and all kinds of plants and leaves are sprouting forth. Following spring’s arrival, we’ll see more animals, birds and insects too. They’re likely to include delightful bumblebees attracted by newly-blossoming flowers, adorable snails and minibeasts on the look-out for food, and swifts flying acrobatically through the air, having returned to the UK after wintering overseas. Everywhere we look, nature is teaming with life once again.
With this in mind, it’s a wonderful opportunity to encourage children to get outside once more, enjoy nature and the fresh air, and embark on a Spring Nature Hunt. The activity is both fun and educational for little ones. Spending time in nature is also very good for children’s health and well-being. And the icing on the cake? Today’s activity comes with an attractive reference poster depicting 25 natural things for children to look out for — and it’s free for families to download.
There is an incredible array of names for parenting styles. You may have heard, for example, of names like helicopter parenting, velcro parenting, indulgent parenting, parent-led parenting, and mindful parenting, along with a myriad of other descriptions. Some styles are quite distinct, others are subtle variations of each other, and several have more than one name. No wonder it’s confusing!
Let’s start with a style that’s often referred to as the ‘gold standard’ of parenting styles — authoritative parenting. For many years, experts have suggested that this particular parenting style has possibly the best overall balance in its approach. However, it’s important not to confuse authoritative parenting, which is fairly gentle, with authoritarian parenting, a far more strict style. Authoritative parenting is thought by experts to have a well-balanced mix of elements in its approach, resulting in good outcomes for children raised under its style. The style typically has the following elements in its make-up:
Gentle parenting is a style that’s been very prominent on social media in recent years. Many may not realise, however, that it’s simply a soft variant of Authoritative parenting. That said, though, it still retains clear rules and boundaries for the child to follow. It’s crucially important, however, not to confuse gentle parenting with permissive parenting (also known as indulgent parenting), which, as the name suggests, has far fewer boundaries — very few in fact. Not so, though, with gentle parenting if approached correctly.
Permissive (a.k.a. Indulgent) parenting is a style that prioritises a child’s happiness over virtually everything else. As such, it’s a warm, empathetic, and loving parenting style. However, rules, structure, and discipline are extremely thin on the ground. Parents and children prioritise fun and their close relationship. When under-fives go through emotional periods in their development, it’s true that this permissiveness can counteract some of their emotional turmoil, but it does come at a cost.
Authoritarian parenting (not to be confused with Authoritative parenting explained earlier) is the harshest of today’s parenting styles. As the name suggests, parents who use this parenting approach tend to be rather like dictators, whose rules must be followed … or else! With this parenting style, children must do what they’re told, often without understanding why, and the parent dominates them. There is no warmth or empathy for the child with this style. What the parent says goes. High standards are usually demanded, with stern discipline and punishments if children do not comply or achieve such standards. There is also no debate, so children’s views are not listened to or taken into account.
Also known as neglectful parenting, uninvolved parenting “does what it says on the tin” i.e. children are very much left to their own devices with this style. They receive no love, affection, or empathy from parents. There are no rules or structure to their daily lives. They receive no guidance, and parents are certainly not role models. Children just have do make to as best they can, unsupported by parents. There may be different reasons for this, of course (not all ‘neglectful’ parents are uninvolved by choice — for example, they may be physically or mentally unwell or be working three jobs just to survive).
Whether you’re planning a family, are already pregnant, or have recently given birth, it’s beneficial to obtain as much knowledge and information as you can so that you are fully prepared. So, when we spotted a comprehensive antenatal course that allows free* access to UK families, we naturally wanted to share the opportunity with parents, expectant parents, and our readers. With that in mind, today’s post introduces you to a Complete Antenatal Course. It’s a free, 8-hour online course, led by midwives, that you can access today. We have already investigated it for you and thought it was fabulous! Read on to learn more about the course contents, highlights, and easy access details to get started — all at zero cost!
Yes — the Complete Antenatal Course is currently free (correct at the time of writing, mid-February 2026). That assumes, of course, that you don’t choose to upgrade to premium options or sign up to other courses etc. We found it quick and easy to sign up without such add-ons — achieving virtually instant access to the course, without cost. That said, some families may consider paid upgrades if they so wish, for example, if they would like access to speak with midwives during the course, or get involved in Q&A sessions. It’s also worth pointing out that the main course is free because it’s funded through a commercial partnership — apparently saving £175! You may therefore see some short commercial clips during the course, but we found them minimal and unobtrusive.
You can currently 
We’re delighted to share some very exciting news: 
Our nursery is surrounded by 
Forest School is a child-centred approach to learning that takes place outdoors and encourages children to explore, investigate, and learn about the natural world through hands-on experiences. Sessions are led by trained practitioners and are carefully planned to be age-appropriate for under-fives. They allow children to learn about nature, build new skills, learn to assess risks, and grow in confidence and independence.
Forest School offers rich opportunities for learning across all areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage. As children climb, balance, build, dig, collect and create, they naturally develop physical strength, coordination and problem-solving skills. They learn to communicate with one another, take turns, share ideas and work together, supporting social and emotional development in a meaningful context.
Forest School is not limited to time spent outdoors for children at Little Acorns Nursery. The Forest School approach is also reflected throughout our nursery environment, both indoors and in our garden and grounds. Natural materials, open-ended resources and opportunities for exploration are woven into everyday play, allowing children to continue their connection with nature — whether indoors or outside.
For families already with us, Forest School adds another enriching layer to the care and education your child receives. For those considering joining our nursery, it’s one of the many reasons we believe our setting offers something truly special. Being able to offer Forest School — especially as a nursery that pioneered it locally — reflects our commitment to high-quality, thoughtful early years practice.
