We follow a curriculum from Raising Little Shoots called Exploring Nature with Children. Each week of the year has a different, seasonal theme to base your nature study around.
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- If you are on Pinterest you might like to check out my ENWC Pinterest board here.
- This blog post gives you some resources you may find helpful for each week in September.
- As always these posts get added to each year as we go through the cycle of the curriculum again.
- Lynn from Raising Little Shoots has free, monthly ‘Joy’ pages you might enjoy here.
You can find out more information about the curriculum here but you don’t need to follow the curriculum to utilise these resources. Here are some of the basic bits of equipment and resources we use for the curriculum as a starting point.
This post will get added to through the month of September. Latest update 3rd September 2026.
Exploring Nature with Children September Blog Post Contents
September 2026 Exploring Nature with Children Dates
You can find the full calendar of dates for the year here. Under the ENWC dates you will find other dates you may wish to consider as they fall into these weeks including awareness days.
1-6th September 2026 Seed Week
- Ginger Cat Appreciation Day – 1st September
- International Primate Day – 1st September
- World Letter Writing Day – 1st September
- National White Cat Day – 5th September
- International Vulture Awareness Day – 6th September
- National Hummingbird Day – 6th September
- Read A Book Day – 6th September
7-13th September 2026 Minibeast Hunt Week
- Emergency Services (999) Day – 9th September
- National Iguana Awareness Day – 13th September
14-20th September 2026 The Autumn Equinox
- World Manta Day – 17th September
- International Day of Peace – 21st September
- Autumn Equinox – 23rd September
21st-27th September 2026 Harvest Moon Week
- Save the Koala Day – 26th September
- Harvest Moon – 26th September
- National Wildlife Ecology Day – 27th September
- Fish Amnesty Day – 27th September
- World Rivers Day – 28th September
- International Rabbit Day – 28th September
- World Heart Day – 29th September
Exploring Nature with Children Seed Week
This is one of our favourite weeks of the Exploring Nature with Children curriculum. The great thing about the curriculum is that you repeat it each year but you get to decide exactly what you look at. This allows you to go back over or build on what you’ve learnt in previous years.
Life Cycle of a Seed
When our daughter Floss was younger we looked at the life cycle of a seed lots. We’ll recap this again using Grow Tall Sid! by Debra Wellington. This is the perfect book to see the full cyclical nature of plant to seed. Another reason we’ll be using this book is because we always like to add an arty, creative element to our studies. Debra Wellington gives wonderful inspiration for collage work; think modern Eric Carle!
Life Cycle of a Dandelion
A resource that we’ve returned to over the years is the dandelion life cycle from Gabitat Emporium. We love the style of Gaby’s printables.
Seed Dispersal
As Floss is now older she likes to delve further into the world of nature. Therefore we’ll also be exploring seed dispersal. I’ve made some seed dispersal activity and information pdf sheets that we’ll be using – free download below.
Seed dispersal is the way by which seeds are spread away from the plant they grew from to new locations. It helps seeds spread out so there is less competition for the things the seeds need to grow into new plants.
Seed Dispersal Matching Activity and Facts
The activity sheet gives a matching activity where you match the image with the seed dispersal method and name the plant. There’s also a seed dispersal facts sheet. This sheet gives you the answers to the matching sheet as well as information about each type of dispersal.
How to use the Seed Dispersal Matching Activity Sheet
With each image you could discuss what could be a possible method of seed dispersal. Lots of seeds have more than one method of dispersal so do allow for discussion around this. For example a blackberry is more likely to be eaten by an animal and therefore it is a good example of animal dispersal from internal ingestion (and therefore the answer I’ve given). However, blackberries do fall from the parent plant which would be gravity dispersal. They could also be carried by water!
Seed Dispersal Word Origin
As a family we enjoy finding out about the origins of words. Thus there is a word origin sheet which gives you the origin of the proper names of seed dispersal. It’s a fascinating read for children and adults alike.
Seed Dispersal – Seed Week – Free Download
Seeds Spotter Hunt Tick Sheet – Free Download (New September 2026)
There’s two versions, one is more colourful and good for using on a phone or tablet and the other is more suitable for printing.
Seeds Montessori Style ID Cards – Seed Week – Free Download (New September 2026)
Print off two copies of this sheet. Cut one copy so that you detach the image from the words. Now you have a Montessori style matching opportunity.
Just to note that for simplicity we’ve gone with the typical names most families use when discussing seeds. Fore example acorns and sycamore “seeds” are technically fruits containing seeds. Blackberries contain seeds in the fruit and burdock hooks are found on the burr rather than the bare seed.
Seed Identification Audio Quiz – Free Download (New September 2026)
Download the Seed ID cards above to accompany this short audio quiz – just under 6 minutes long. How many can you locate from the clues.
Useful Blog Posts for Seed Week
- Sunflower Crafts – Spring & Summer Creative Play Ideas
- Gardening with Children – Ideas and Tips for Planting with Toddlers and Kids
Creative Projects
- Sunflower Macrame Bracelet – including video instructions
- Iris Folding Sunflower – fully illustrated or video instructions
National Hummingbird Day – 6th September
One for adults or older children this Mexican inspired tin art creative project would be lovely to have a go at for National Hummingbird Day.
Exploring Nature with Children Minibeast Hunt Week
Minibeast Learning Pack Free Download
This pack has suggestions on how to use.
- Minibeast match
- Types of minibeast
- Key minibeast vocabulary explained
- Venn diagram for seeing relationships between minibeasts
More Minibeast Downloads
Bees and more – Minibeast Week – Free Download
Caterpillar, Moth and Butterflies – Minibeast Week – Free Download
Minibeast Audio Riddles – Minibeast Week – Free Download
Download: Minibeast Riddles here ⬇️Downloaded 5578 times
PawPrint Family Free Downloads
You can find their free resource download library here. The Action for Insects Challenge Pack might be the perfect resource for this week in Exploring Nature with Children.
Useful Blog Posts and Resources for Minibeast Week
- Minibeasts Topic – Nature Explorers – Ideas and Resources
- Iris Folding Free Bee Pattern Template – World Bee Day
- Gabitat Emporium is offering a free download for a limited time on minibeasts here
- Yuval Zommer’s ‘How To Draw Bugs’! Free download from publisher Thames and Hudson is a great creative activity for this week. It’s based on Yuval’s incredible book The Big Book of Bugs.
Audio Content
- Often on Borrow Box
- Yoto
Emergency Services (999) Day – 9th September
Check out the People Who Help Us post here for ideas and resources to explore this date.
Exploring Nature with Children The Autumn Equinox Week
Useful Blog Posts for Autumn Equinox Week
- Autumn Nature Table and Equinox Celebrations with Children
- Iris Folding Lantern
- Waldorf Inspired Autumn Lanterns
- Autumn Books for Children and Families
- Handcrafted Autumn Small World Woodland Play
World Rivers Day – 28th September
An otter iris folding project would be a perfect project for World Rivers Day. Find out how to make the sweet otter card above here. We’re also totally in love with making Eugy models likes this adorable otter.
International Rabbit Day – 28th September
This sweet little iris folding bunny would be a lovely craft for celebrating International Rabbit Day.
Exploring Nature with Children Harvest Moon Week
In 2026, the Harvest Moon falls on September 26, reaching full illumination at about 12:49 p.m. EDT/ 5:49 p.m. BST.
This is a great little printable for showing the phases of the moon as a free download. If you haven’t already tried the cookie moon phases activity below it’s always a winner. Oreos work well but we use a free from alternative.
Man on the Moon Story Sack
Check out this post for exploring the book The Man on the Moon and
More Free Autumn Downloads
Woodland Trust also have some brilliant printable resources that are perfect for Autumn leaves week. You can find them here. They do simple activities such as spotting different leaves but also fact sheets like why leaves change colour in Autumn.
Wildlife Watch have several autumnal downloads and they have a very pretty leaf and tree identification resource. You can find their free printables here.
Raising Little Shoots Autumn Leaf Week Blog Post
Here’s Raising Little Shoot’s blog post for Autumn Leaf week.
More Nature Resources for September
Exploring Nature with Children through the Year
You can find more resources for different weeks in the ENWC curriculum by clicking on the links below: