We’ve always enjoyed the National Trust’s 50 Things To Do Before You’re 11¾. If you’re an outdoorsy kind of family, it’s a great list to work from and there are plenty of opportunities to keep children engaged. Living in Surrey with so many National Trust places to explore, we’ve ticked quite a few off the list over the years. But did you know there are a whole host of fun activities that can be completed while on lockdown? Here are 20 of our favourites.
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No. 1 Get to know a tree
Nine-year-old POD has always enjoyed climbing trees and while she’s not able to do that in the garden, we do have some she’s been able to take a closer look at. Whether it’s investigating the textures, hunting for minibeasts or looking upward to see branches, buds or flowers.
No. 3 Camp outdoors
We went camping as a family for the first time last summer which you can read about on our travel blog POD Travels. With the weather being so great and not being able to go anywhere, we pitched our tent in the garden over Easter weekend and its kind of become a permanent fixture!
No. 9 Eat a picnic in the wild
We’ve been so lucky with the weather over recent weeks, haven’t we? While we haven’t spent as much time outdoors as we would have liked, due to homeschooling, we’ve had some great picnics and BBQ’s. Granted they’re not completely wild but far more preferable being surrounded by nature.
No. 12 Have fun with sticks
We’ve done a fair bit of gardening over recent weeks (haven’t we all!) and doing so have discovered sticks galore. Whether they’ve come from trees, shrubs or old bamboo screens, they make for great activities. There might not be room to make a den but there’s certainly the space for making trails, arrows or a wand!
No. 13 Make a mud creation
There are lots of things kids can do with mud in the garden. Whether it be mixing it with paint, making a hotel for birds or insects or mixing it with sticks and leaves to make a mud pie. Making a hedgehog might be next on our list.
No. 16 Wear a wild crown
We don’t seem to get many daisies in our garden although that’s largely because JD loves to mow the lawn. We managed to get out for a walk near our house recently and found a patch of lawn covered in daisies. POD couldn’t remember how to make a daisy chain so we sat for a time and made one. She wanted to make a bracelet but we could have easily made a necklace or crown there were so many daisies around.
No. 17 Set up a snail race
We’ve been tidying up our flowerbeds at home and seen loads of snails in the process. Less over recent weeks as it’s been so lovely but setting up a snail race is definitely on the list of things to try.
No. 18 Create some wild art
Wild art is such a great activity whether you’re doing it indoors or out. POD has already got creative with leaves and using the patterns of different kids of leaves to make prints. She’s also made art with flowers, pine cones and sticks but the joy of this activity is that you can use whatever you can find.
No. 20 Go paddling
I suspect most of us of dreaming of walking barefoot in the sand and feeling the waves lap over our toes or doing a spot of wild swimming. For now, we’ll just go with paddling in a pool in the garden, fishing leaves out of it with a fly swat and watching the birds attempt to drink from it without falling in.
No. 21 Forage for wild food
It’s too early for most fruits but if you’re lucky, you might have herbs or plants ready for foraging. Think dandelions and clover rather than blackberries for now.
No. 23 Get up for the sunrise
Getting up to watch the sunrise can be magical. While it’s not necessarily something you’d do in the garden, it could easily become a memorable moment. If you’re able to get the kids up and out of bed that is! We were awake early when we slept in the tent for the first time and listening to the birds singing is quite remarkable.
No. 25 Join nature’s band
The sounds of nature coming from our garden are wonderful at the moment. Granted we’re not usually at home so much but it genuinely does feel like there are more birds around. From robins, blue tits and starling to larger birds such as doves, wood pigeons and magpies.
No. 30 Go on a scavenger hunt
We’ve discovered a number of resources and great experiences while we’ve been homeschooling, one of which is Twinkl. There are downloadable scavenger hunts featuring bugs, birds and butterflies or you can make your own tick list to discover what’s in the garden.
No. 31 Make friends with a bug
POD has befriended a number of bugs over recent weeks. She’s not kept any of course but she loves to watch and chat to them whether it be ladybugs, worms or snails. In the house, it’s spiders. Our house is over a hundred years old so we’re always finding them.
No. 33 Go cloud watching
This is an activity you wouldn’t necessarily think of doing but it’s fascinating if you just sit and look up. Especially when the sky is blue and you can feel the warmth of the sun on your cheeks. The past couple of days have been wet so let’s hope the warmer weather is back with us soon.
No. 36 Make a home for wildlife
Initially we wanted to make a house for a hedgehog but with limited workwork skills (mainly mine, JD was working), we kind of cheated a little. We bought a small DIY bug hotel and made it ourselves. It’s now attached to our fence next to a tree so we’re keeping an eye on what might occupy it. We’ll keep you posted!
No. 38 Bring up a butterfly
We’ve had a butterfly kit before and they’re fantastic. The Insect Lore sets are widely available and you can order teeny caterpillars in the post and watch them grow into beautiful butterflies. It’s a fascinating process although seeing them head off once they’re ready to be released is magical.
No. 41 Help a plant grow
With more time on our hands, and in a quest to make homeschooling more varied, we’ve been doing a fair amount of planting in the garden. It’s been amazing to see some of the seeds we planted start to grow – flowers and a little veg. The beds are being watered regularly so we’re looking forward to watching the initial shoots grow.
No. 44 Watch the birds
We had no idea when we filled our bird feeder with fat balls we’d have so many visitors to the garden. As it happens we’ve seen so many different birds now – many of which come daily. The ivy that’s climbing the side of our house at a rate of knots has had birds nesting in it. We’ve heard the most amazing noises and been able to watch the birds heading back and forth to feed their babies.
No. 48 Keep a nature diary
This is something we’re definitely going to be doing when we can head out on family adventures in Surrey again whether it be words, pictures or a combination of the two. Until then, it’s nice to take a moment to appreciate what’s in our own gardens. Here’s to enjoying all those special places in a few weeks time. Stay safe and well everyone.
