Nature Activities for Preschoolers: Where to Start

Sixty printable sheets, a maths programme, a plant guide and a set of teaching notes, all for children under six. That is a lot to arrive at cold, so this page puts it in an order.

If you have ten minutes and no plan

Start with one of these three. Each needs nothing you do not already have.

Birdsong Pause sits two minutes outside listening for a bird. That is the entire activity and it is the foundation of everything else here.

Garden Colour Basket Hunt gives a child a basket with a colour on it and lets them go. Twenty minutes, no preparation.

Herb Garden Smell Hello is a thirty second routine done daily. Four pots, four smells, and within a term children recognise all four blind.

If you are setting up for a term

Read Twelve Plants to Start a Preschool Garden first. If you have no outdoor space at all, read A Nature Corner With No Outdoor Space instead, which is written for exactly that situation.

Then Your First Ten Minutes Outdoors, which is the routine that makes every session after it work.

The three things that go wrong

Children who will not touch soil. When a Child Will Not Touch Soil.

Parents who think it is not real learning. Getting Parents On Board With Outdoor Learning.

The garden dying in the holidays. Making a School Garden Survive the Holidays.

Maths before counting starts

Nature Math, Pre-K is the sorting, matching and comparing layer that comes before number. Nature Math, Kindergarten follows it. Both are free and need no maths confidence from the adult.

Plants safe enough for the youngest children

Lemongrass

Butterfly Pea

Pandan

Aloe Vera

Frangipani

Banana

Papaya

Coconut

Touch Me Not

Hibiscus

Rice

Sweet Potato

Curry Leaf

Rambutan

Every sheet for under sixes

Sixty worksheets, from babies through to kindergarten.

Gentle Garden Hello (Ages 0 to 2)

Barefoot Texture Path (Ages 0 to 2)

Water Pour for Thirsty Plants (Ages 0 to 2)

Leaf Basket Fill and Empty (Ages 0 to 2)

Birdsong Pause (Ages 0 to 2)

Flower Smell and Breathe (Ages 0 to 2)

Shade Sun and Breeze (Ages 0 to 2)

Gentle Hands Garden Helpers (Ages 0 to 2)

Rice Touch Basket (Ages 0 to 2)

Water Moves Through the Rice Tray (Ages 0 to 2)

Harvest Grain Shake (Ages 0 to 2)

Herb Garden Smell Hello (Ages 0 to 2)

Jungle Fruit and Seed Basket (Ages 0 to 2)

Plant Story Basket (Ages 0 to 2)

Strong Smell Gentle Smell (Ages 0 to 2)

Find the Soft Leaf (Ages 0 to 2)

Coconut up High Coconut Down Low (Ages 0 to 2)

Rice from Mud to Bowl (Ages 0 to 2)

Herb Basket Point and Pause (Ages 0 to 2)

Flower Colors we can Find (Ages 0 to 2)

Garden Color Hunt (Kindergarten)

Nature Shapes Search (Kindergarten)

Seed to Sprout Story (Kindergarten)

Five Senses in the Garden (Kindergarten)

Worm and Soil Detective (Kindergarten)

Weather Watch for Plants (Kindergarten)

Kind Garden Helpers (Kindergarten)

Bug and Bloom Scavenger Hunt (Kindergarten)

Rice Planting Sequence (Kindergarten)

Rice Field Water Watch (Kindergarten)

From Rice Plant to Lunch (Kindergarten)

Herbal Garden Helpers (Kindergarten)

Jungle Seeds and Fruit Hunt (Kindergarten)

Plant Story Match up (Kindergarten)

Which Part Helps (Kindergarten)

Rice Terrace Picture Clues (Kindergarten)

Garden Helper Picture Match (Kindergarten)

Coconut up High Coconut Down Low (Kindergarten)

Jungle Fruit Finder Board (Kindergarten)

Garden Color Basket Hunt (Ages 2 to 4)

Seed Scoop and Sort (Ages 2 to 4)

Mud Kitchen Measure and Pour (Ages 2 to 4)

Bug Looker Observation Page (Ages 2 to 4)

Banana Leaf Pattern Play (Ages 2 to 4)

Frangipani Petal Counting (Ages 2 to 4)

Rainy Day Puddle Paths (Ages 2 to 4)

Garden Helpers Choice Board (Ages 2 to 4)

Plant Rice with Your Fingers (Ages 2 to 4)

Watch Rice Drink Water (Ages 2 to 4)

Rice Harvest Scoop and Count (Ages 2 to 4)

Healing Plant Smell Match (Ages 2 to 4)

Jungle Fruit Finder (Ages 2 to 4)

Plant Helper Picture Match (Ages 2 to 4)

Mosquito Season Garden Helpers (Ages 2 to 4)

Garden Things we can Find (Ages 2 to 4)

Coconut Tree or Ground Sort (Ages 2 to 4)

Rice Planting Picture Order (Ages 2 to 4)

Plant Helper Match up (Ages 2 to 4)

Jungle Fruit and Seed Finder Board (Ages 2 to 4)

Mosquito Helper Match up (Ages 2 to 4)