Families: get ready for World Wildlife Day! On 3rd March each year, we celebrate UN World Wildlife Day, an important event that is all about protecting nature’s flora and fauna. At nursery age, little ones are naturally curious and eager to learn more about the world around them. World Wildlife Day is therefore the perfect opportunity to inspire a greater love for nature and wildlife in our young. Exploring the wonders of plants, trees, and the animal kingdom teaches them more about the world and also helps children develop key skills like language, creativity, and empathy. Whether through outdoor play or wildlife-themed activities, engaging with nature’s wildlife can therefore create valuable early learning experiences. With that in mind, today’s post outlines some simple activities that children, including those under five*, can take part in to celebrate World Wildlife Day. We also highlight some of the benefits of nature to children towards the end of the post.
Wildlife-Themed Activities for Nursery Children
Getting outdoors is the best way to see wildlife, especially if your family lives near a park or the countryside. Rambles, picnics, and simple walks are all obvious options and, of course, wildlife sanctuaries are a good choice if you have one nearby. That said, while such outdoor options are amongst the best ways for children to connect with nature, sometimes they’re simply not possible. However, when that’s the case, there are plenty of other possibilities including bringing the wonders of wildlife into your nursery, home, or garden. Here are some engaging, age-appropriate activities that will allow children to take part in World Wildlife Day whatever their circumstances:
Animal Mask Craft
Encourage little ones, under supervision, to make their favourite animal masks using paper plates, paint, and string. Children will love the finished result! What’s more, they are sure to take on the characters of animals once they wear their creations, for example, with a roar from behind a tiger mask. Not only does this activity spark creativity, but it also allows children to role-play, learn about different creatures, and immerse themselves in different imaginary scenarios.
Wildlife Art
Most children naturally take to drawing, so encouraging them to draw wild animals, plants and birds will be a popular suggestion, especially around the time of World Wildlife Day. For example, they could try drawing British mammals like rabbits and squirrels, jungle animals like elephants and tigers, or sea creatures like dolphins and whales. To make it easier, perhaps give them some visual reference to inspire them. They could choose from a variety of media, be it pencils, crayons, paints, or collages — or something entirely different. Playdough or salt dough models are also an option. Children naturally love to create and, once complete, perhaps display their pieces to encourage future progress.
Wildlife Spotting
Wildlife is all around us, even in cities like London. From pigeons, robins, bats and urban foxes to ladybirds, millipedes and ants, there are lots of creatures to see if you know where to look. To help with such activities, check out our free, downloadable wildlife reference sheets. We have one for birds, another for mammals, one for minibeasts and a lovely one for butterflies. They’re all totally free – simply download and print.
Wildlife Story Time
Reading books about wildlife will introduce children to new animals and habitats. Great options for younger under-fives include ‘Dear Zoo’ by Rod Campbell and ‘Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?’ by Bill Martin Jr. (author) and Eric Carle (illustrator). Also, of course, children and families have the option to tell each other made-up stories. They’re a great way to encourage creative thinking and can be approached in a number of different ways. For example, a parent could tell a story first to give the child an idea of how to approach storytelling, or one family member could start the story and then another could make up the next part and so on. In this way, the story would evolve in surprising and unpredictable ways!
Bird Feeder Fun
Try making some simple bird feeders with your children. There are lots of easy ways to make them as outlined in our dedicated guide, bird feeder ideas for children. Hanging these outside allows children to observe birds up close and learn to recognise different species. What’s more, children will adore it when birds come to visit their creations. That said, teach children to be patient; birds can take a while before they begin to trust anything new.
Animal Yoga
Turn movement into learning by encouraging children to mimic animal movements. For example, they can hop like a frog, prowl like a cat, bounce like a kangaroo, or try to slither like a snake. Such activities will be fun and help them develop strength, coordination, and body awareness.
Nature Scavenger Hunts
Create a simple scavenger hunt using pictures, words, or our free nature hunt sheets to encourage children to find different natural objects like leaves, feathers, and pine cones. This activity builds children’s observation skills, gives them deep insights into nature, and instils in them a better appreciation for the environment. Currently, free reference sheets are available for an autumn nature hunt, a winter nature hunt, and a leaves scavenger hunt. Also check out our Exploring Spring with Under-5s activity idea, which is a similar concept (new reference sheet to follow later this year).
Sensory Nature Play
Fill a tray with natural materials like leaves, pine cones, wheat ears, and sand, and let age-appropriate children explore the different textures. You could even play a game where they close their eyes and try to guess what they’re touching. This hands-on experience aids sensory development and fine motor skills while also encouraging children to appreciate the finer details of natural things.
Wildlife-Themed Songs and Rhymes
Another simple way for under-fives to celebrate World Wildlife Day is to sing songs and rhymes about animals. Examples include 5 Little Ducks Go Swimming One Day, Incy Wincy Spider, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Mary Had a Little Lamb and Old MacDonald Had a Farm. This activity helps reinforce language development and introduces children to different wildlife in a fun and engaging way.
Simple Science with Plants
Engage children with easy science experiments, like planting seeds and watching them grow or observing how water moves through a flower’s stem using food colouring. Such activities are fascinating for children and help them understand basic biological concepts in an interactive way.
The Benefits of Connecting Young Children with Nature
Spending time in nature or learning about wildlife isn’t just fun—it has incredible benefits for early childhood development. To harness such benefits, families can incorporate nature-based learning into children’s routines in a variety of ways. Examples include organising outdoor exploration sessions, setting up small wildlife observation areas, and using nature-themed storytelling to engage the young learners. Connecting children with nature:
- Encourages curiosity and creativity. For example, observing bugs, leaves, or birds encourages children to ask questions and think creatively about the world around them.
- Supports language development. For example, talking about animals, their sounds, and habitats helps build new vocabulary and boosts communication skills.
- Enhances emotional well-being. For example, research shows that spending time in nature reduces stress and promotes calmness, even in young children.
- Teaches empathy and responsibility. For example, caring for plants, feeding birds, or learning about endangered animals helps children understand their needs more deeply and encourages greater kindness towards living things.
- Benefits children academically. For example, in studies, even just a view of green outdoor space has been shown to boost academic performance.
These are just a few of the many benefits that spending time in and around nature has for children. Learn more about the importance of nature and its many benefits to children here.
Make Wildlife a Natural Part of Children’s Lives
Incorporating wildlife into children’s activities doesn’t have to be limited to one day. Encouraging youngsters to notice the birds in the garden, look for insects on nature walks, or watch the changing seasons can gift them a lifelong love of nature. Parents and families can make wildlife observation a regular habit, perhaps by keeping a simple nature sketchbook where children can draw or glue in pictures of what they see, or by creating a wildlife corner at home with books, nature finds, and small child-safe plants. Even setting up a bird-watching station near a window can turn everyday moments into exciting learning opportunities. By celebrating World Wildlife Day, we can inspire the next generation of nature lovers—one little explorer at a time!
Children Love Nature at Little Cedars Nursery, Streatham
At Little Cedars Nursery in Streatham, we love helping children connect more deeply with nature — we understand how important it is to their learning and development. As well as having natural, open, spaces nearby, children also get to enjoy and learn from the nursery’s plant and vegetable area. There, they can nurture plants as well as harvest their own nursery-grown vegetables. They love seeing the fruits (and vegetables!) of their labour and it gives them an enormous feeling of achievement. In addition, such nature-based nursery activities teach children valuable lessons about empathy, responsibility, cause and effect, how their efforts can be rewarded, where food comes from, and the circle of life. It’s all just one small part of the wider early years education that children receive at Little Cedars Nursery.
If you are considering a possible nursery place for your baby or child at Little Cedars Day Nursery, Streatham, please get in touch:
Little Cedars Nursery is a wonderful nursery in Streatham, London SW16. The high-quality setting supports free childcare for eligible children under five and babies as young as 9 months. It is rated as a Good Provider by Ofsted. As well as serving Streatham families, the setting may also be a convenient choice for families from Tooting, Furzedown, Balham, Norbury and Colliers Wood.
* Children, especially the young, should be supervised appropriately by a responsible adult. Also, check out our safety tips for outdoor play.
Any successful storytelling nook needs to be warm, cosy, quiet and comfortable. That means choosing a corner or recess of some kind in the home that’s away from distractions like TVs and game consoles. Somewhere that’s not used as a thoroughfare by other family members will also help. Wherever you choose, it also needs to be warm. Therefore, somewhere away from draughts is required, so avoid being too close to entrances and exits to the outside. A corner of a quiet room or a tranquil alcove are therefore often ideal spots for your child’s storytelling nook.
Whether reading from a book or creating a new story off the top of one’s head, there’s something that really brings a story to life — being animated and expressive during storytelling, rather like actors might do. That’s true whether it’s the adult or the child telling the story.
Do consider adding a storytelling nook or reading corner to your child’s home. They’re great vehicles for escapism, are incredibly worthwhile, and offer potentially magical experiences for your child. And, if you go the extra mile to make them cosy, immersive and special, they will encourage your child to love reading and creating new adventures using their imagination. Storytelling nooks and reading corners can open up whole new worlds to your child and be a wonderful antidote to electronic screens, gloomy weather, and more limited daylight during winter months. What’s more, they’re a great way for all parties to grow deeper bonds through shared periods of exquisitely immersive, high-quality time.
Children and families, get ready for National Storytelling Week! For 2024, storytelling in the UK is officially celebrated from Saturday the 27th of January to Sunday the 4th of February. It’s a great opportunity for children and families to get creative and to entertain one another through the sharing of stories.
National Storytelling Week couldn’t come at a better time of year. As many across the UK have witnessed in recent weeks, January brings with it cold days, dull skies, and wintery weather. Even the daylight hours are short, limiting the number of activities children can undertake outdoors. With storytelling, however, families can be transported to any number of different locations, situations and climates, all in the blink of an eye. Indeed, storytelling can take children to places and scenarios that would simply not be possible in real life. Such is the power of this art form and the human imagination.
Stories stimulate imaginations;
Another great way to help children create new stories is to encourage them to be inspired by objects around them. For example, a teddy bear, toy character, or picture nearby may inspire them. This can be taken further by providing children with a basket of such props, for example, a toy animal, pine cone, toy crown, goblet, apple, and a rock. A ‘story scrapbook’ can be used by children in a similar way. Such things can significantly help children to become more creative and generate storyline ideas, sequencing, and plot twists.