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🌿 Feeling overwhelmed by the pressure to constantly plan activities?

What if children didn't need more activities, but more time to wonder, explore and simply be?

In my FREE 30-minute training, I'll share the three simple Scandinavian-inspired shifts that helped me create calmer days, happier children and a more joyful way of teaching.

✨ Watch the free training here.

Perhaps it's because as a teacher, summer felt like a chance to finally breathe. Or perhaps it's because some of my happiest childhood memories happened outdoors, with very little planned at all.

I remember long days building dens, making potions from flowers and spending hours outside until someone called me in for tea. Nobody worried about whether the activity was educational. Nobody had printed a worksheet. We were simply allowed to be children.

Now, as a mum to Oliver, I find myself wanting the same thing for him. We lean towards the Scandinavian summers we've experienced (Read more about that here)

Not a summer...

Dandelions are beautiful, fascinating plants! Attracting Bees and little hands a like. There is nothing sweeter than blowing a dandelion clock and making a wish! They're known for their bright yellow flowers that turn into fluffy, white seed heads. Despite being considered weeds by many, they have several interesting characteristics. For example, their seeds are dispersed by the wind, which is why you often see them popping up in unexpected places. Additionally, dandelion greens are edible and nutritious, containing vitamins A, C, and K, as well as calcium, iron, and potassium. Some people even use dandelion roots to make tea or coffee alternatives. Overall, they're resilient and adaptable plants that have found their way into folklore, cuisine, and even herbal medicine.

1. Dandelion Biscuits
   
   Baking together is a lovely activity, working together and sharing what you have made.

   

2. Dandelion Playdough
   
   Add dandelions to your homemade playdough mix for a spring dough.
   
   

3. Loose Parts
   
   Wh

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With Easter upon us shortly it's easy to get back into the habit of dressing each area of provision for the celebration. 

Instead focus on leaving a few hooks in your adult initiated sessions that will grab your children's interest and lead them curious to know more. It could be sharing an Easter story for instance and then having one or two areas of your provision with provocations in linked to this. This then invites the child to explore and learn more. It also means that children that don't want to explore this can still head into the areas of provision to develop their own lines of enquiry or take the lead on their own child led play. 

Taking this approach also frees you as an adult up from spending so much time filling every area of provision with resources and instead can really prioritise your time and focus your efforts on the things that will make the biggest impact. 

With this in mind I wanted to take the opportunity to share some of the provocations and hooks that I h...

The beautiful white, frothy elderflowers tend to bloom in late May, turning to elderberries in late August. Prime picking time is in the morning, on a sunny day (before insects have taken the pollen). Once regarded as one of the most magically powerful of trees, elder is a forager's favourite and its flowers are the scent of summer. The flowers and berries are the only edible part of the Elder Tree. They are mildly toxic and have an unpleasant taste when raw. Cooking destroys the toxic chemicals.

Here are a few activities to explore:

1. Make delicious elderflower cordial or gin!
2. Add them to cakes or biscuits 
3. Try them deep-fried to make tasty elderflower fritters 
4. Make elderflower jam
5. Add them to homemade Playdough 
6. Add them to your mud kitchen and potions
7. Paint Elderflowers using a cotton bud to create a spray of white flowers - or splatter the paint to see what effect you get.

Find out more about Hygge in the Early Years here.

I don't know about you but I just love the snow! Waking up and seeing the snow flakes falling brings so much excitement. I also love the softness that we experience when it snows and the way everywhere seems to quiet. Taking a walk and hearing the crunch underfoot, perhaps hearing the tweet of the birds in a nearby tree and noticing the snow sitting carefully on the branches. 

I have been very fortunate to go on some wonderful adventures to Northern Finland and Canada and even as an adult the snow has truly fascinated me. Like the way it sticks to the trees in the -10 temperatures! I loved how in Finland the streets were given a cosy glow in the middle of winter with candles dotted in the snow lighting the way.  So when it was snowing here in Bradford today I just couldn't wait to bring in some of that joy of snow into our day. 

In today's blog I wanted to share three ways you can embrace some open ended snow play this winter. 

Set up a snow kitchen

Here we take the good old ...

Here at Little Nature Tots we aim to provide inviting invitations for babies to play, explore & investigate.

Within our play we use lots of natural materials which we forage & enhance using other sensory objects.

Our stations are planned and set up to ignite sensory development within the 5 senses: See, Hear, Taste, Smell & Touch.

1. Bauble water play

Fill a tray with water & add different coloured baubles. Then add some fir or pine tree to add colour and texture. Allow your baby to look at, touch, roll & explore the objects in the water.

2. Winter rice play

Fill a tray with rice and add festive objects & colours. Here I also added some sticks to make patterns. Your baby will love to feel the rice with their fingers and toes.

3. Mud kitchen sensory play

Collect crunchy leaves & evergreens from around the garden. Add some small pots and pans. Your baby will love to explore the smells and textures.

4. Winter sensory tray

Using a foil blanket as the base, add a variet...

Here are 30 delightful winter-themed books for children, some of our favourites, that capture the magic and wonder of the season:

1. "The Yule Tomte and the Little Rabbits: A Christmas Story for Advent" by Ulf Stark - This charming and funny Christmas story of a grumpy tomte and the hopeful little rabbits is told over twenty-five chapters -- one for each day of Advent.
   
   
   

2. "The Snowflake" by Benji Davies - An enchanting and timeless winter tale from one of today’s most celebrated picture book stars.
   
   

3. "Pick a Pine Tree" by Patricia Toht - Pick a pine tree from the lot – slim and tall, or short and squat! Long straight limbs or branches bent... Mmm! Just smell that piney scent!
   
   
   
4. "Snow in the Garden: A First Book of Christmas' by Shirley Hughes - This beautiful Christmas anthology contains winter adventures, seasonal poems, festive recipes and easy-to-make craft activities as well as Shirley Hughes' trademark warm and classic illustrations. 
   
   

5. "The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats - A clas

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At this time of the year it’s so tempting to head inside as soon as it gets dark and get all cosy. But have you ever thought of adding twinkly lights to your mud kitchen area and letting the play continue into the late afternoon/ early evening? ✨

As it gets dark outside let your children still play outside. Everything changes as we get to dusk, more shadows, different sounds which offers children a different sensory experience. There is so much joy to be had. 

The night sky is one of our weekly themes in our Rewilding Wanderlust Nature Study Programme. Night time offers a great opportunity to explore dark and light. Perhaps by going on a full moon walk, laying beneath the stars, searching for the Northern lights or seeing what wildlife comes out at night. Have you ever looked under a log or stone at night to see what you can spot? Or what about shining a torch into a pond at night to see who’s awake!

Here are three more ideas to try tonight!

1. Night Time Mud Kitchen

We've had s...

Autumn Leaves and Conkers Please - Conker Activities from Gemma's Childminding, a Hygge Accredited setting.

'We love to incorporate natural, eco-friendly and recycled products into our play. Our activities are very much child-led these days rather than adult-initiated. I find that being around nature whether this is outdoors or bringing nature indoors really supports the children's learning and wellbeing.

I've noticed some real changes in the children since adapting to a more 'Hygge' based environment and embracing a slow pedagogy.

Some snapshots of how we have enjoyed incorporating conkers into our everyday play this season.'

Woodland Theme Autumn Display

We set up a small display of interest for the children to explore. Lots of natural resources including conkers, pinecones and leaves. We incorporated various lights and some magnifying boxes for them to identify the different textures and colours up close.

They especially loved feeding the conkers to the woodland animals.

Pl...