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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...

20 Simple Winter Hygge Activities for Children from Daisy Ducklings Childminding.

We have always spent our days in nature, appreciating the natural world around us, but since we became Hygge Accredited in 2022, we have slowed down even more. We spend our days being calm and mindful, practicing yoga, being in nature or exploring the provocations or invitations to play in our indoor environment.

Winter is such a magical season. We love nothing more than wrapping up warm and exploring, feeling the crisp cold air on our cheeks. Then coming back to our cosy home from home setting for a snuggle under a blanket and a warming hot drink.

Here we share some of our favourite Winter Hygge Activities to inspire you:

1. Winter Crate Shelfie

Wooden crates are very verstaile - use them to set up a little nook with a book, some fairy lights and nature and watch the children get stuck in.

 2. Shadow Play

Re-enact favourite stories in the dark with blankets, handmade stick puppets and a torch.

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 is one of the most beautiful times of year. 

Here we share 50 play activities for you to get inspiration from. Some wonderful ideas for your left over pumpkins too - not just for Halloween!

You can also find weekly nature planning ideas and invitations to play in my Rewilding Nature Study Programme

1. Make conker tea - provide charity shop tea pots and utensils for children to make their own nature afternoon tea!

2. Try Apple Bobbing! A classic.

3. Decorate pine cones.

4. Pumpkin Wash station.

5. Play Pumpkin or apple skittles!

6. Spider Web sensory tray using masking tape to create a web. Add conkers and tweezers.

7. Pumpkin hammering.

8. Autumn painting.

9. Apple printing 

10. Pumpkin ring toss.

11. Weighing pumpkins.

12. Spider printing.

13. Skeleton bone dig.

14. Pumpkin Tea! Open the tops and let the children scoop out the seeds and flesh for their pumpkin tea or pumpkin soup creations.

15. Web painting.

16. Make your own nature paint brushes.

17. M...

Little Nature Tots is a nature-inspired play group for toddlers, preschoolers & babies, set in a beautiful woodland in Moorgreen, Nottingham. We aim to promote child-led play, in a natural environment that enables children to develop early foundations for learning and ignite a love for the outdoors. 🌳

Here are some of our favourite nature-inspired activities to inspire you this Autumn - with a Halloween twist...

For more support on your nature based planning please also check out our Rewilding Wanderlust Nature Study Programme

Pumpkin Hammer

A fun way to encourage children to develop their fine motor skills. Golf Tees are perfect for little hands and using miniature real hammers they will feel very independent. Why not extend this activity by removing the golf tees and then letting the children poke sticks into the holes.

Pumpkin Patch

We love to visit or set up a pumpkin patch with straw and bales of hay - placing the pumpkins in amongst for the children to find. Add wooden cr...

Create your own rock pool in your setting to explore. This is one of the ideas shared in my Rewilding Wanderlust Nature Study Programme. 

You will need;

• sensory tray (any tray will do)

• sand

• pebbles

• shells

• sea creatures - paint rocks if you don't have any

You can lay out the items required for the children to create it themselves or do it as a collaborative task.

1. Simply add sand to your tray creating a circular space in the middle to pour your water

2. Add pebbles

3. Add water to the centre where there is no sand. The water will soak into the sand surrounding but this is totally natural.

4. Add shells

5. Add some sea creatures or perhaps children could make some rock painted crabs or fish to add? 

We added blue food colouring to the water to give it a more blue ocean colour but you don't have to.

Tag me on socials if you give this a go.

Find out more about my courses on my website.

Try these Hygge Nature Crafts for Children. Some wonderful nature-based craft ideas to inspire you.

1. Make a stick nest

Add a pine cone bird - pine cone with feather for a tail and wings

2. Clay or playdough Faces

Use homemade playdough or air dry clay to create creatures and faces on the bark of trees.

3. Bark Rubbings

Create bark rubbings or leaf rubbings then use them in your other craft activities - perhaps on your nature bracelet or wand?

4. Flower Pressing

Flower pressing has long been a wonderful nature craft activity. If you don't have a press just use heavy book lined with paper to press your flowers. These can then be used in crafts later in the year - perhaps on a Cosy Hygge Jar with fairy lights inside?

Or, create an air dry clay trinket bowl with your pressed flowers stuck on with a layer of pva on top to protect them.

Or, add them to candles to decorate them.

5. Leaf and Stick Butterflies/dragonflies

A cute nature craft using nature.

6. Hessian R...

Lavender is a versatile herb with numerous properties beneficial to health, wellness, and everyday life. Its calming aroma, therapeutic benefits, culinary uses, and role in personal care and household products make it a valuable and widely appreciated plant.

Lavender can be grown from seed and is a great sensory ingredient to explore. It attracts pollinators like bees and butterflies, making it a beneficial plant for your garden. Add it to playdough, potions, make lavender perfume or dry it and add sachets to your room indoors to create a beautiful calming scent. Lavender oil has antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties, making it useful for treating minor burns, insect bites, and skin irritations. You can also use it in cooking and natural cleaning products. Lavender has a calming effect, relaxing you, aiding sleep and reducing stress and anxiety.