We follow a curriculum from @raisinglittleshoots called Exploring Nature with Children. Each week of the year has a different, seasonal theme to base your nature study around. If you’d like to discover more search the hashtags #ENWC and #ExploringNatureWithChildren.
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This blog post gives you some resources that we’ve made or purchased and enjoyed that you may find helpful for each week in September. 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 2024. Latest update 17th September 2024.
Exploring Nature with Children September Blog Post Contents
- Exploring Nature with Children September Blog Post Contents
- Exploring Nature with Children Seed Week
- Exploring Nature with Children Minibeast Hunt Week
- Exploring Nature with Children Harvest Moon Week
- Exploring Nature with Children The Autumn Equinox Week
- More Nature Resources for September
- Exploring Nature with Children in October Resources
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
To find out about the latest resources uploaded and for more ideas to explore nature join our Facebook group:
Busy Busy Learning Facebook Groups
Click on the links below to join groups. You will get access to the password for free members content on the site too.
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
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
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
Exploring Nature with Children Harvest Moon Week
2024 sees a Super Harvest Moon Partial eclipse that will be visible in many places across the globe. The Sky at Night Magazine has a great article to tell you what you need to know.
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 other great moon books.
Exploring Nature with Children The Autumn Equinox Week
Useful Blog Posts for Autumn Equinox Week
- Autumn Nature Table and Equinox Celebrations with Children
- Waldorf Inspired Autumn Lanterns
- Autumn Books for Children and Families
- Handcrafted Autumn Small World Woodland Play
More Nature Resources for September
Exploring Nature with Children in October Resources
This post will give you ideas and resources for the October weeks of the ENWC curriculum including Autumn Leaves, Autumn Ponds, Autumn Trees and Pumpkins.
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:
- January
- February
- March – coming February 2025
- April – coming March 2025
- May – coming April 2025
- June – coming May 2025
- July – coming June 2025
- August – coming July 2025
- September
- October
- November
- December
