Creating themed artwork from natural materials. Now is your chance to get outside and explore your local surroundings. Use what natural materials you find and reuse them to create an artistic masterpiece. This activity is suitable for any Primary age group and has really good potential to be extended into other areas of the school curriculum. Perfect for Writing lessons and Drama activities.

Forest Schools Presentation. Workable presentation I used to set up and develop my first Forest School. More information can be found on my website: www.garethmate.com

Experience the wonders of the Great Outdoors with this simple Colours of Nature resource. This resource is for use in the outdoors and also in a classroom setting. This resource is suitable for both KS1 and KS2 levels. It can be used as a stand-alone resource within a Forest Schools or Outdoor Learning context and can also support extended Literacy-based activities or Art. The resources develops great self-awareness and further interest about the wider world around us. Especially focusing on Nature’s diverse range of colours. It can also help to develop simple Literacy skills through descriptive sentence work and poetry. It also provides children with the opportunity to develop nature’s colourful pallete through painting and colour mixing. More information can be found on my website www.garethmate.com

A PowerPoint that can be adapted to suit your needs. This activity focuses on building and outdoor shelter and gives some structure on how to do this. Ideas can start in the classroom and build around writing and drawing tasks. Before all of those ideas are put into practice out in the field. Ideal for Primary age children.

This lesson plan is a comprehensive lesson plan for how to use your senses in the Great Outdoors. I have used this as a stand-alone lesson with a group of 8 & 9-year-olds. It can be adapted to suit any age group and of course can be changed to suit the needs of the group. I used a variety of learning strategies to develop curiosity and overall interest. It seemed to work! More information can be found on www.garethmate.com

Plan for your adventures in the Great Outdoors with this basic Lesson Plan template. This Lesson Plan is suitable for activities in both KS1 and KS2. More information can be found on my website www.garethmate.com

This Outdoor Exploration Trail is an activity I have used many times before for school insets and workshops. It is open-ended and builds on enthusiasm and creativity in the outdoors. It has a cross-curricular approach and supports all different subject areas, and can easily be adapted to suit the needs of your group. I have added a list of resources that might help to support this activity. For more information please get in touch!

This a simple and enjoyable activity based around going for a walk in the school grounds or further afield. It is a walk with a twist and a curricular focus that can have a wonderful educational impact on learning back in the classroom.

This particular lesson builds on the Senses lesson, and it is a great lesson that builds upon Forest Schools skills. It focuses on colour and texture and encourages young learners to be more aware of their outdoor environment by paying more attention to the finer details of the natural world all around The lesson is structured to suit the needs of the individual, enables children to work in groups and has suggested links to other areas of the curriculum.

This simple lesson focuses on how to use your senses in the Great Outdoors. It focuses on exploring Trees and developing work around them. I have used this as a stand-alone lesson with a group of 8 & 9-year-olds. It can be adapted to suit any age group and of course can be changed to suit the needs of the group. I used a variety of learning strategies to develop curiosity and overall interest. This resource worked well and generated a wealth of ideas for further use. More information can be found on my website www.garethmate.com

This resource allows you to create a very simple Sound Postcard. Maximise your time in the Outdoors by listening to the sounds you hear all around you. This is designed to used in both KS1 and KS2. A very simple resource. You can find more information on my website www.garethmate.com

An Outdoor Learning template for you to use both inside and outside of the classroom. This template can be adapted to suit your needs. It provides a great opportunity to develop an ongoing journal about thoughts and stories about the outdoors.

Outdoor Learning - Bug Hunt. This is a perfect little activity which encourages any pupil to get outside and simply explore their surroundings. The main focus of this activity is to look for all types of Bugs, identify them, draw them and complete a creative poster all about them. It is a lot fun and always has an interesting outcome. Thanks for looking at this resource. www.garethmate.com

Outdoor Learning - A selection of Outdoor Learning Games for children of Primary School and Elementary age. I have provide 3 games here, which are easy to implement in the outdoors and are a great deal of fun for all children involved. They can be adapted and added to and I hope to have more to come soon.

Leaves are pretty fantastic, all different shapes, sizes and colours. They can be easily used as the ideal resource, which can help with Speaking and Listening activities, as well as Creative Writing tasks. I feel the possibilities are endless. I have compiled a simple activity that helps promote Creative Writing in your class. It can be adapted to suit the needs of the audience or age group. I have even added suitable suggestions for integrating ICT and the use of the iPad or Tablet. This task has been ideal for my class of 8 & 9 year olds, but can be easily adapted and used in all age ranges.

This is my second practical outdoor learning guide, and it forms part of my Explore, Learn, Create series. It is made up from practical notes and advice for you to use in both the classroom and the outdoors. This addition mainly focuses on fire lighting, how to build a campfire and learning opportunities within the outdoor setting.

This is a great lesson plan I have used many times before, as an introduction to Forest Schools and additional follow on activities. It focuses on the senses and encourages young learners to be more aware of their outdoor environment. The lesson is structured to suit the needs of the individual, enables children to work in groups and has suggested links to other areas of the curriculum. You can always alter elements of the lesson to suit the needs of your group.

Noughts and Crosses Game. A very simple game to be played in the Outdoors, using a variety of different natural materials and based on the traditional game. Simple to set up and implement, loved by children of all ages. www.garethmate.com

Here is a list of simple outdoor activities that can be enjoyed during the Springtime. All of these are easy to implement and encourage children of any age to be creative.

A series of 10 exercises kids can do at home. All are very basic, but these simple exercises will allow kids to keep fit and stay healthy on a regular basis.