Are you looking for a fun and educational activity for your children? Why not encourage them to do some bird spotting? Not only is it a great way to spend time outdoors, but it’s also a wonderful opportunity for them to learn about nature and develop observation skills. As we know, being around nature is hugely beneficial to children and outdoor play is important.
To help you get started, we’ve created a free PDF poster featuring 40 British birds that children can try to spot and identify. Whether little ones are in the garden, park, or countryside, there are plenty of opportunities to see these beautiful birds in their natural habitat. Children can even try to spot birds when they’re simply looking out the window — this is quite an accessible activity.
So why not download the poster, print it out, and head outside with your children? Instructions are given underneath the preview image shown below. Who knows, your little one(s) might just discover a new passion for birdwatching and nature!
Bird Poster Preview:
Bird Poster Download Instructions
The poster is supplied as an A3 Acrobat PDF file and is less than 5MB in size. Click the large preview image above (or this link) to download the poster file. Depending on your device and web browser settings, you can usually left-click to view the poster on screen or right-click to save the file, then view it by opening it in Acrobat Reader ∞. If printing, ideally print it to high quality A3 paper, or ‘reduce to fit’ if your printer only prints to A4. Viewing on screen is also recommended as the images are high resolution — you can zoom in to see the detail, even on the tiny inset images.
Teach Respect for Wildlife
Remember that the birds you’re observing are wild animals and should be treated with empathy and respect. Stick to designated trails or paths. This will help protect fragile habitats and minimize your impact on the environment. Teach children to avoid disturbing habitats, making loud noises, or getting too close to birds and other wild creatures. This is especially important when the time comes for young birds to leave their nests; they should not be disturbed and, generally speaking, their parents will know where they are even if you/your children cannot see them nearby.
With our free PDF poster featuring 40 British birds, you and your children can embark on an exciting adventure of birdwatching. Tick off each bird as you spot and identify them, and see how many of the 40 you can find over the course of the year. You might be surprised at how many different species you encounter!
An Outstanding Nursery & Preschool in Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley
We hope that our poster helps you and your family to start exploring the wonderful world of British birds! We love nature at Little Acorns and always encourage little ones to make the most of natural environments. It’s one of the many reasons we are also a Forest School setting.
We are an outstanding nursery/preschool in Clayton-le-Woods, offering the very best childcare service to babies and children under five. We support the Government’s free childcare funding schemes for eligible families too. If you’d like the very best start for your little one, enrol them for a place at Little Acorns and we’ll bring out the very best in them. We’d also welcome a visit, so why not arrange a tour and we’ll show you around and answer any questions you may have. Please select an option below to get started:
A Word About Safety:
While birdwatching is a fun and educational activity, it’s important to prioritise safety. Here are some tips to keep in mind while you’re out in the field:
- Pay attention to your surroundings and any potential hazards, such as steep drops or bodies of water. Always keep a close eye on children and make sure they stay within your line of sight.
- Make sure to wear comfortable, weather-appropriate clothing and footwear. Bring sunscreen and insect repellent if appropriate. Don’t forget some water, so you all stay hydrated.
- Binoculars can be a valuable tool for birdwatching, but ensure they are used responsibly. Children and adults should avoid aiming them directly at the sun and be aware of surroundings while looking through them.
By following these safety tips, you can ensure a fun and enjoyable birdwatching experience for the whole family. So head outside to discover the wonderful world of British birds!
Little Acorns is a nursery and pre-school located in Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley, in Central Lancashire. We are also conveniently close for those families living or working near Clayton Brook, Clayton Green, Thorpe Green, Pippin Street, Buckshaw Village, Whittle-le-Woods, Farington, Bamber Bridge, Lostock Hall, Euxton, Leyland or Penwortham.
Are you are a parent or carer of a child under five? If so, you could learn a lot about childcare, parenting and early years learning and development by following Little Acorns Nursery on social media. We’re active across multiple social channels including Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram and share high quality content useful to parents of under-fives. That includes parents of children at Little Acorns although, actually, parents anywhere will find the content educational and useful. Our high quality content includes unusually informative ‘early years’ articles and information. For example, a whole range of guides, the findings from various studies, suggested activities for kids and overviews of things like childcare funding schemes with eligibility guidelines. Also, of course, the social media channels include posts relating to the exciting activities happening at the nursery in Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley.
Follow Little Acorns Nursery on Twitter. There, you’ll see links to some great topics that relate to early years education. You’ll also see regular tweets and posts showing the exciting play and activities that children are taking part in at the nursery.
On Facebook, we share our ‘bigger’ guides and articles from 
We love Pinterest! Its simple, pictorial approach makes it easy to just pick out something that interests you and save it to your own Pinterest pin board, so you can simply save it or share with others. We’ve got lots of pin ‘boards’ on our Pinterest profile, where we’ve pinned images and links to articles that interest us as early years practitioners. We think you’ll like them too. Board topics include nature activities, sensory activities for under-5s, early years parenting, Forest School, outdoor play, preschool, nursery school activities and, of course, Little Acorns Nursery itself.
If you’re on Instagram, check out our photo gallery on our own Instagram profile. It shows images of the children playing and learning at the nursery as well as featured images that link to our highly interesting blog posts.
Little Acorns Nursery is @LittleAcornsNurseryChorley on Google and;
If you have used our childcare service and were pleased, please 
We’re active here on our Little Acorns blog too. Here, you’ll find larger articles that tend to cover the ‘bigger’ topics that parents and carers of children under five will find useful. These are well-researched, detailed and often very educational articles that will keep parents well-informed. For example, we cover topics like 
October sees one of the year’s biggest traditions in the form of Halloween, which arrives on the 31st. Halloween, which is short, in effect, for “All Hallows’ Eve”, has it’s historical roots in Christian and, many believe, Celtic, Gaelic and Pagan festivals. Broadly speaking, these festivals were events to remember the dead, including saints (a.k.a. “hallows”). However, for virtually all children these days, it’s simply a traditional time for some themed fun. And what fun it can be! Today we’ll therefore take a look at the activities and opportunities that Halloween has for little ones at this time of year.
Halloween Costumes — Dressing Up Fun!
Edward Scissor Hands is another favourite. Try taping teaspoons or kitchen foil to your little one’s fingers to simulate Edward’s hands — but only if they’re old enough to be able to control movements so they don’t hurt themselves or others.
Halloween Parties
Parents and children can prepare for such parties, or when staying at home for the evening, with a range of Halloween-themed party food. This is also great fun and may even encourage little ones to eat foods they may not normally try (as appropriate for their age, of course). Try baking plain biscuits in Halloween themed shapes. Some can be made to look like pumpkins, bats and ghosts, for example, with suitable icing. Use whichever recipe is your favourite for the actual biscuits. Children will love the theming, which will make the food fun!
Carved pumpkins are, of course, a great tradition for Halloween and one that children will love. For the safety of little ones, though, parents/adults will need to do the carving. Children can get involved in emptying out the pumpkin flesh and perhaps saving seeds, which they can later grow into new pumpkin plants for next year. They can also get involved in decorating outside of the carved pumpkins with paint or Sharpie pens. Red or green food dye can also be used to paint the inside. A good hand wash will be needed after all of this. 
A lit candle (or an LED equivalent) can be placed inside by the adult and this will shine through and illuminate the design or face. Then the finished pumpkin can be placed somewhere safe — where little ones cannot endanger themselves if a real flame is used — for example out in the garden or on the front drive.
Pumpkin Picking Locally
Another pumpkin farm that’s open to families is also in Leyland, again less than 4 miles away from Clayton, at Moss Lane, Farington Moss, Leyland PR26 6QD. To pick your own pumpkin there (weekends only in October), call 07701 082 482 or get 
Trick or treating is the Halloween tradition of knocking on neighbours’ doors, shouting “trick or treat?” and hoping that some sweets or similar will be handed over to children by kindly neighbours. That would be the ‘treat’ element. The ‘trick’ element is more rarely used today, especially with the younger children. However, it still occasionally involves funny tricks being played on those neighbours who didn’t offer sweets. This ‘trick’ element is to be used only with particularly friendly households, though, and perhaps only with those that have been forewarned by the parents involved. If not handled with care, it can backfire and cause terribly bad feeling or even be thought of as antisocial behaviour. For that reason, forewarning neighbourhoods about any group trick or treat sessions is wise, including agreeing a way for them to opt out if they prefer.
1. Bird spotting
ee & Butterfly Spotting
3. Search for Animal Tracks
4. Make a Den
5. Float a Boat
6. Go on a Ramble
7. Get into Photography
8. Obstacle Course
9. Have a Picnic
11. Hunt for Mini Beasts
12. Get Creative with Rocks & Stones
Whether on the beach or in the garden, it’s surprising how creative children can be with stones and rocks! Stones can be painted with lovely patterns or images, perhaps combined with simple words or as part of a ‘stone story’. Bigger rocks can be piled one on top of the other to form sculptures — these look magical. Children will love these and other creative activities that they can take part in outdoors, with simple stones and rocks.
In today’s post, we take a look at the importance of outdoor play for children in their early years. Indeed, there are many benefits, as we’ll see …
Playing outside is also a healthy release from things like TV, electronic screens and, potentially, from an otherwise more sedentary lifestyle. Away from the confines of the indoors, outdoor play allows children the freedom to move about more freely. Outside, they’ll learn to navigate spaces, obstacles and play equipment, all the time improving spatial awareness, coordination, balance and gross motor skills. These include running, jumping, climbing and so on. Their fitness levels will naturally improve too, as they build stamina, muscle and strength. This is all incredibly good for them.
At Little Acorns, we understand the importance of outdoor play. Little ones, from the age of two have access to our outdoor gardens and play areas — all under close supervision, of course. We have invested heavily in a whole range of exciting, stimulating and educational outdoor facilities for the children to explore, play with and learn from. As they do, they will not only learn but they’ll also hone fine and gross motor skills, improve coordination and balance, improve physical fitness, enhance social skills and build friendships. They will also soon become better at recognising and balancing risk, they’ll become more independent as they move around freely. They’ll also learn from mistakes. Their self-confidence and self-esteem will also naturally grow. These are all incredibly important skills that will stand them in good stead as they gradually approach the age where they’ll leave us to move on to school.
Taking outdoor experiences for little ones even further, Little Acorns regularly takes children on outings, including to local parks. More importantly, though, it was one of the first nurseries/pre-schools to introduce Forest School to Central Lancashire. This is the ultimate outdoor experience for under-fives and teaches them so much about the natural world — and also about themselves. As well as learning a huge amount about nature, flora, fauna, the seasons and about playing and learning in the Great Outdoors, Forest School helps them learn additional skills like problem-solving, working in teams, leadership, resilience, empathy, caring for the environment, personal responsibility and so much more. Learn more in 
All these outdoor activities also support the early years curriculum. Outdoor playing and learning covers many of the areas outlined in the Early Years Foundation Stage (‘EYFS’) learning and development framework, which is prescribed for all childcare settings in England. Specifically, outdoor play helps children in at least four of the seven key areas of the EYFS including:
Making bird feeders 
Seeded pine cone bird feeders 
Water bottle bird feeders.
Then, they can be partly filled with bird seed, or perhaps grated Cheddar cheese. Alternatively you can see that some of the designs could be used for drinking water, for example the one shown immediately on the left or at the very top of this article. Another variation even has a plastic spoon pushed into it, forming a convenient perch for the birds to land on and to feed from (see right).
Carton bird feeders
Monkey Nut Bird Feeders
If using peanut butter in your home-made bird feeders, ensure it is fresh, has no salt or sugar added and is not ‘flavoured’. Smooth or crunchy peanut butter is great for bird-feeders, though, and you can even stick extra bird seed to it once it’s been spread on your feeder e.g. pine cone or apple. There are also some peanut butter brands made specifically for wild birds, by the way.
Why Nature is So Important for Children
Providing food for birds is a win-win for everyone — humans and birds alike. Birds obviously get to eat much needed food without huge effort and children get to learn more about nature and perhaps individual bird visitors. (We even name our regulars! “Vern” is a tame blackbird, for example, having been named after a character in the famous movie Rain Man). By encouraging birds to visit, children will soon be able to recognise and name the different species of bird too, particularly if given some help from a parent or bird book. Visitors might include robins, blackbirds, blue tits, great tits, long-tailed tits (our favourite), thrushes, starlings and, if they’re lucky, more unusual, colourful birds like nuthatches, woodpeckers, bull finches and gold finches. As it gets colder, some species will travel to warmer countries to overwinter. For those that stay in the UK, however, food from a friendly young nature-lover will be a real lifeline.
If children do get involved in feeding wild birds, they’ll soon begin to realise how delightful the little beings are. They each have their own character, likes and dislikes. Children will get to appreciate this if they keep up the feeding and the birds will soon realise where to find the food each day. Children will get to understand the importance of nature and learn skills like empathy, understanding and responsibility as they nurture the wellbeing of these beautiful wild visitors. Animals, birds and insects are all individuals and it’s good for children to recognise this. By feeding birds and other animals, they will also be able to continue to appreciate nature and the natural world, just like they do in our 
There are many bird feeders available to purchase in supermarkets and local shops, although we simply buy ours as part of our weekly online supermarket shop. Many are quite inexpensive. From fat balls and filled coconut shells, to seed cakes, hanging dispensers and pre-filled seed feeders, the variety available gives parents and children a huge choice. In our own garden, we have found that 
Grated Cheddar cheese (mild and in moderation) will be very popular. Robins, blackbirds, sparrows, starlings, pigeons and doves adore it! Mouldy or ‘blue’ cheese should be totally avoided, though, as the mould could harm or even kill birds. Meanwhile, bread will fill birds up but it doesn’t hold much nutritional value for them, so only feed bread to birds in moderation. It’s incredibly important not to feed them mouldy bread too, or for it to be left to go mouldy once outside. Mould can greatly harm or even kill birds.
The RSPB provides 
Window recesses, higher windowsills and balconies will usually offer some kind of suitable site for feeding birds. Careful choosing of the site for your bird feeders is an important consideration, however, which could make or break your feeder’s success and the wellbeing of the birds you are trying to help.
A Word About Hygiene for Your Family & the Birds
Today we’ll look at the immense benefits of nature to children. While the long-term benefits of nature are reasonably well-known, it turns out short-term exposure to the natural environment also has1 clear benefits for people of any age. The benefits are even more beneficial, though, for young people during their early years, at school and in higher education.
One of the wonderful things about nature is that immersing oneself in it need not cost a penny. With so many proven benefits, it just goes to show that the old adage that ‘the best things in life are free’ really is true when it comes to nature. Exposure to the natural environment and green surroundings has been shown to have clear benefits …
The benefits of restored attention skills in themselves should not, of course, be overlooked. Interestingly, research6 involving cognitive tests on school children found that children who had undergone the tests after walking in a natural wooded environment were quicker to answer – and significantly more accurate in their answers – than those who had instead practised mindfulness in the classroom or who had spent time in the school playground during the break.
Almost Endless Benefits to Children
Greater empathy e.g. taking more care of other living things, plants, etc.;
Just imagine, then, how much children benefit from nature when attending a Forest School setting such as that available at Little Acorns Nursery, Chorley. At Forest School, little ones will spend significant time in local green and wooded spaces, so these findings show just how important Forest School is for youngsters. Why send your child to an ordinary nursery, then, when you can send them to 
Children living in England are very fortunate to have their early years childcare supported financially by a variety of Government funding schemes. The 3 most important, popular and widely-available schemes are:
Let’s look at each of the schemes …
Taking the above scheme a step further, eligible families are able to top up the standard 15 hours per week with an additional 15 hours of free childcare in specific circumstances. In effect, this can double the child’s free childcare hours from the standard 570 hours to 1140 per annum. These are usually taken as 30 hours per week over 38 weeks although, again, some childcare settings may be able to be flexible and to spread the hours out in a different way.
Under certain circumstances, children aged just two can have some of their childcare funded by the Government too. However, it’s much more restrictive for this age group. If successful, though, the Government will fund up to 570 hours of childcare for a two-year-old over the course of a year — that’s significant and could really help mothers or stay-at-home fathers get back to work sooner. As with the 3 & 4-year-olds, the 570 hours is usually taken as 15 hours per week over the course of 38 weeks, but some parents may wish to ask their childcare provider if it’s possible to spread it out in a different way.
