Trash? Or a Child’s Treasure?

13/06/2021

I hope everyone’s had a lovely weekend, full of fun and sunshine 😀☀️

Today was my furbaby’s first birthday so in between enjoying the sunshine I made a doggy birthday cake. It seemed to go down well! 🐶🎂🎉

12/06/2021

Happy Saturday 😀 it looks like we’re in for a weekend of lovely weather! ☀️

For those of you taking part in with how are you getting on?

I’d love to hear about some of the wild activities you’ve been doing and see photos if you have any.

Today’s ‘Random Act of Wildness’ - CREATE A WORK OF ART

With your child, collect any natural items found on the ground and be creative! You could arrange them to make a picture or you could stack them to create a sculpture!

Have fun ❤️

08/06/2021

Absolutely this! ❤️

A perfect example of ‘trash’ being turned into ‘treasure’ ♻️

The possibilities for a cardboard box are endless! 📦

CARDBOARD RACE TRACK

Wow! What a great way to use cardboard! What are some fun ways your children have used cardboard lately?

More fun recycled ideas here: https://instagram.com/recycleandplay

08/06/2021

Good morning all! 😀

Who’s taking part in with ?

🍃🌺🪵🌼🍁🐛🪱🐝🕷🕸🐌🐿🦔🐾

How are you getting on?

Here are some ‘Random Act of Wildness’ to keep you going for the rest of the week!

Have fun ❤️

07/06/2021

Sticking with the theme of here is a seaside themed Treasure Tin!

🐚 🌊 🚤 🐟 🏖

£23 - including Royal Mail 2nd class postage.

Includes a secondhand book with signs of wear, fabric off cuts, 10 shells, 10 blue glass gems, mini message in a bottle, wooden shabby chic lighthouse, stone, a piece of drift wood, dolphin paperweight, 4 fish buttons, a fire and rescue boat and a shell box (the box has some shells missing but still a curious item for children!).

**As many items are second hand, hand-made or recycled there may be imperfections.
PLEASE NOTE THAT WHILE THESE ARE ITEMS I WOULD USE IN MY CLASSROOM, THE ITEMS HAVE NOT BEEN SPECIFICALLY TESTED FOR USE WITH CHILDREN - BUYERS MUST ENSURE THEIR OWN RISK ASSESSMENTS AND SUPERVISE AT ALL TIMES - SMALL PARTS CAN BE A CHOKING HAZARD. NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN UNDER 3 YEARS OR OLDER CHILDREN WHO STILL PUT ITEMS IN THEIR MOUTH.

07/06/2021

Did you know today is ?

🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊

Our oceans cover more than 70% of our planet and they produce over 70% of the planets oxygen!

So it is vital we all do our bit to look after and keep our oceans clean and healthy.

This week World Ocean Day for schools website (https://worldoceanday.school) is celebrating with four days of activities, ocean lessons, live-streamed workshops and creative projects to dive into.

Take a look with your child/children or class and see what you can learn about the ocean and how to better care for it. You would take part in some activities too!

Enjoy ❤️

05/06/2021

Today’s ‘Random Act of Wildness’ - SHOWCASE ON A NATURE TABLE

🍁🍃🌺🌼🪵🪨🐚

Go for a walk and take a basket or bag with you. Encourage your child to look for and collect a selection of natural items - leaves, petals, twigs, stones, feathers, shells, anything else nature and interesting! It is most eco-friendly to collect items that are on the floor.

When you get home arrange your finds on a table and talk about the shapes, colours, textures etc. Use descriptive language to help your child to develop their language. Compare items too!

You could extend this further by writing labels for the items, encouraging your child to use their writing and phonics skills.

They could also use the items to make a nature picture or they could practice observational drawing/painting skills.

Enjoy ❤️

05/06/2021

Good morning and happy sunny Saturday from the Derbyshire Dales 😀☀️🐶

Today is so wandering around such a beautiful environment definitely seems perfect this morning!

As followers of my page will know my play sets are eco-friendly; consisting of reused, repurposed and second-hand finds, plus some natural, recycled and hand made bits too! ♻️

I’m really passionate about the benefits of learning through play and believe that through the use of authentic and open-ended resources children can develop many, many key skills, whilst the planet is supported too! 🌎🌏🌍

In addition, as an extra way of being eco-friendly I try to package orders using packaging I have saved from my own deliveries or cardboard boxes that can of course be recycled.

Once my brown packing tape has run out I plan to move over to eco-friendly tape too!

How do you try to be as eco-friendly? 😀

If we all do a bit it will go a long way 🙌🏼

04/06/2021

Today’s ‘Random Act of Wildness’ - THREAD A DAISY CHAIN

You could extend this activity further by making a nature bracelet. Make a cardboard bracelet and attach some double sided sticky tape. Then collect fallen leaves or flowers to stick to the double sided tape!

You could also collect a selection of fallen leaves and flowers, as well as other natural items (twigs, stones etc) and create a transient art picture.

Transient art basically means that the items are not secured, and can be moved around and placed in many different ways. This type of art allows children to be highly creative and to explore shapes and patterns.

It is most environmentally friendly to use natural item you can find on the floor, rather than taking bits of plants or trees 😀

🌼🌸🍂🍁🍃🪨🪵

Enjoy ❤️

03/06/2021

I hope everyone’s having a lovely Thursday! 😀

Today’s ‘Random Act of Wildness’ was to find creepy crawlies.

Following on with that theme I thought I’d showcase these two minibeast themed play sets I have available.

- Minibeast Treasure Tin £20 including postage 🕷🐞🪲

- Butterfly Basket Treasure Trove £18 + £3.20 postage 🦋

**As many items are second hand, hand-made or recycled there may be imperfections. PLEASE NOTE THAT WHILE THESE ARE ITEMS I WOULD USE IN MY CLASSROOM, THE ITEMS HAVE NOT BEEN SPECIFICALLY TESTED FOR USE WITH CHILDREN - BUYERS MUST ENSURE THEIR OWN RISK ASSESSMENTS AND SUPERVISE AT ALL TIMES - SMALL PARTS CAN BE A CHOKING HAZARD. NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN UNDER 3 YEARS OR OLDER CHILDREN WHO STILL PUT ITEMS IN THEIR MOUTH.

03/06/2021

Today’s ‘Random Act of Wildness’ - FIND A CREEPY CRAWLY

🪱🐛🦋🐌🪳🪲🪰🐜🐞🦟🦗🕷🐝

Identify and name the creepy crawly you’ve found. Watch how it moves. Does it have wings? How many legs does it have? Find another creepy crawly and compare the two.

You could extend this learning by creating a home made bug hotel using recycled materials. I have added photos of bug hotels made using old bricks, plastic bottles, tin cans and old plant pots.

You could use the internet or minibeast books to research what kind of materials to put inside your bug hotel.

Enjoy ❤️

P.S. check out my page story to see the minibeast play sets I have available 😀♻️🙌🏼

02/06/2021

🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼 WEDNESDAY WISDOM 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼

Every Wednesday I share an idea for how an everyday household item can be reused/repurposed/recycled or upcycled to make an interesting play item for under 3s 😀

This week’s idea is a bit more adventurous than normal and more suitable for children 2+ but with the wonderful weather I thought it perfect to share an outdoor idea.

A DIY MUD KITCHEN! 🙌🏼

Ready made mud kitchens can be expensive and of course they can be easily ruined with the nature of messy play.

Instead you could make your own using old bricks, wooden planks and some screws or hooks. Then add old kitchen utensils and pots and pans!

Check out the link below to see more information about this DIY mud kitchen.
https://www.learnwithplayathome.com/2014/03/make-your-own-simple-backyard-mud.html?m=1

If you don’t have a muddy area in your garden you could create a ‘Nature’s Kitchen’ instead. Just add twigs, shells, stones, leaves, flowers, chopped herbs, real fruit or veg etc and let your child explore!

Enjoy ❤️