A lesson starter activity that gets all children talking and thinking about the questions posed. Questions more suitable for Upper KS2 children.

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 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.

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 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!

Here is the first list of ideas in my series of Creative Writing prompts. The purpose of these writing prompts is to encourage both children and adults to get outside, be inspired by their natural surroundings and start writing. These prompts focus on Trees.

Here is a selection of interesting writing prompts for you to use and enjoy. Let’s find a cool way of writing about the outdoors and sharing our interesting ideas with others. My website (http://www.garethmate.com) will eventually have more information about this.

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.

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.

Be creative, get outside and Photograph Nature. Look at what you find outside and all around you, then capture it with your camera and then write all about the experience. This is a resource that can be shared with others and the outcomes discussed in detail.

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.

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.

Weather Diary for any age range in KS1 or KS2. This simple resource allows the children to record the daily weather on a record sheet. They can match the weather to the specific day and record the results through writing and also pictures.

This is a Playground Project activity I have used many times before and adapted it to suit the needs of the age group and audience. I have provided a wide variety of tasks which will hopefully allow all children to develop creativity in their presentation skills and writing tasks. I have used this as an after SATs activity and it worked pretty well.

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.

English resource for improving the quality of your sentences. Ideal for KS2 children. It can support work completed in class or it can be used as a homework activity.

This a Peer assessment Power Point presentation for Primary aged children to use in class. It can also be used by teachers to provide positive feedback in the form of two positive comments Stars and one area to improve Wish. The Power Point provides an appropriate explanation and also an activity for children to complete. It can be edited to to suit the age of the children or teachers needs.

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.

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

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