Mathematics

• use the Get It Sorted activity to encourage learners to explore their natural surroundings by collecting natural objects and sorting and classifying them into different groups, allowing children to connect to the natural world and make sense of the world around them.  
• 10 ways to measure a tree supports learners to explore measuring objects in the local surroundings through non-standard units of measurement. Learners can try measuring a tree by looking through their legs.
• everything we use must turn into dirt! This activity is written for older learners but can be carried out with Early Years learners by burying a banana peel, leaf, cardboard or a plastic cup. Learners can compare their appearance over a number of weeks, predicting which object will decompose (turn to mud) quickest and which will take the longest. This can also work as an open-ended enquiry, with learners choosing two objects to bury and check on each week.  
• it can rain a lot in the UK and dressed appropriately, puddle splashing is an excellent learning experience. Learners can measure the depth of puddles with a marker on their welly boots or test which equipment is best for transporting water from place to place. Discover more activities with Puddle potential.
• investigate how water moves up through a plant. Place celery sticks in water and add different coloured dyes. After a short period of time, you can see the solution moving up through the celery (can be done with white-petalled flowers too).

Nature Park highlight

• Model making: using natural materials (or craft materials) to create a ‘3D map’, learners are challenged to think about how they can represent different features and spaces, thinking about appearance, scale and distance.