Making Leaf pictures

We went out in the garden to collect leaves and I showed the children how to put them in a pattern. This activity completely absorbed the children, they spent ages finding leaves, talking about the colours, sizes and shapes of the leaves. Im learning to step back more and allow the learning to take place, led by the children which is one of the fundamental ethos of Forest School. The children all chose their favourite leaves to bring inside and we made pictures out of them.

Messy fun

I think this was one of the first ever messy play activities I did as a childminder and it has remained a firm favourite. Nothing could be simpler- Corn flour and water and hands getting stuck in. Children (and grown ups!) of all ages love feeling the texture of this strange mixture and watching how it changes and moves. I do then have a film of white powder over everything for a while but it cleans up really easily so its really worth it!