A little whittling

This practical outdoor activity introduces learners to safe whittling using potato peelers, providing a fun and accessible introduction to woodworking. Whittling encourages creativity with natural materials while developing fine and gross motor skills, hand–eye coordination, spatial awareness and responsible risk management. Learners can design and make simple projects such as wands, decorations or toasting sticks, linking craft and design technology with nature-based learning.

© Learning Through Landscapes. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Activities (15+ min)
EYFS
Physical Development
Expressive Arts and Design

Preparation

What you need
  • The little whittling activity guide resource below
  • Potato peelers
  • Sticks of green wood such as willow, about a forearms length, and a thumbs thickness
Location

Outdoors

Useful guidance

Resources

LtL A little Whittling Activity Guidance.pdf 488.75 KB

Step by step

  1. Download the little whittling activity guide
  2. Read the guidance for step by step instructions for each activity

Examples of what you might whittle include:  

  1. Wands – for role play and story telling
  2. Little people –for imaginative play  
  3. Christmas decorations - for enterprise
  4. Skittles – for number bonds
  5. Animals – for adaptations and habitat
  6. Toasting sticks – using tools safely to serve a purpose  
  7. Tent pegs – a sustainable and useful resource for shelter building

Curriculum links

This activity can be used to support curriculum knowledge and skill development in Expressive Arts and Physical Development, alongside enhancing nature education, with age appropriate adaptations.

Thumbnail image: © Learning Through Landscapes. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0