Resources

An easy dough recipe that can be played with like playdough, but can also air dry. Add nature treasures, such as leaves, pressed flowers etc, or use their imprints. Leave plain and paint after.

Play dough is cheap and versatile. Children can make this recipe by themselves too, further helping skills develop. We use a recipe with a little salt to help to preserve the dough. Add colour, or not - its totally up to you.

Adding spices to your play dough provides an amazing sensory experience for children. We love adding cinnamon, ginger, mixed spice, you can also add orange essence. The spices add enough natural colour. The recipe adds paint, we omit this step.

Super easy and lots of fun. Just water, flour and mud. You can also add a dash of vegetable oil.  Mix to a dough consistency and enjoy! Don't try to save this dough, as it ferments. Use and dispose of.

Anything that goes fizz are so much fun and so educational too. Sone bicarbonate of soda and some vinegar or lemon juice and you can make the best witches potion or erupting volcano. We have had hours and hours of fun with this.

This is an amazing recipe for a bright white air dry clay, which is 100% natural and contains no plastics. It can be moulded into tea light holders, trinket bowls or rolled flat for decorations and tags. It provides a fantastic base for painting on.

There are a lot of alternatives to shop bought glue, which are more natural options that are far kinder if working in an outdoor setting.

Seed bombs are a great way to welcome Spring and prepare areas for the bees and butterflies. There are 3 main ways to make these: using soil and clay, soil and flour and paper and seeds.  If using clay, any clay is fine (potters, from the garden, natural cat litter). We opt for cheap cat litter clay with compost. 5 parts clay, to 1 part compost. Mix in water until you have a play dough consistency.

This amazing clay smells wonderful, it truly makes it Christmas. The clay dries a little lighter than the picture, as the salt comes to the surface a little, but its not a white clay. We prefer to leave these natural, adding star anise, cinnamon sticks and little biodegradable glitter.

Cloud dough is such a wonderful sensory experience. It forms into balls (or other objects) when compacted and is like sand without the pressure. There are two principal methods for making cloud dough, both produce great results, it just depends on the resources you have to hand. The picture links to one recipe, the button below to the other.

Twigs are amazing natural resources you can make so many things with, from picture frames, to tree decorations. They can be covered in twine or wool, they can be decorated with other natural materials, you can weave, add paint, add glitter....the list is almost infinite.

Easy, simple and fun. You just need to combine water, self raising flour, oil and a little salt. You can keep plain, or add herbs, garlic granules for a savoury twist, or sweet by adding some cinnamon sugar.

Ooblek is such an easy activity to make, yet one sure to wow and entertain children for hours. Its a non-Newtonian fluid, so its both fluid and  solid. Put pressure on it  - its solid. Hold it gently and it will flow. Its uses only cornflour and water.

Save your citrus peel ! Use cutters or scissors to make the peel into hearts, stars, or other shapes and thread onto a ribbon, or jute. Such a wonderful activity at Christmas time.

Pebbernødder are delicious small cookies that are very popular in Denmark at Christmas time.  They make great gifts too. 

A lovely winter activity. Collect pinecones, make a natural glue out of four and water, rill the cone in the 'glue', then roll in bird seed. Attach string and hang out.

Simple and effective, repurposing cardboard pieces you have. Cut into shapes, add a hole and thread twine, cover in 'natural glue' or a very thin layer of peanut butter, then sprinkle bird seed, or use a plate of seed and press down.

A knot we overlook and take for granted. This is used in everyday life and is such a great knot for all sorts of forest school activities. 

This is a more secure version of an overhand knot, making it more difficult to untie. It is simply an extension to the overhand knot. Very useful for connecting.

A great knot that can move up and down, to make the loop bigger or smaller. It creates a quick release knot.

This is a simple and reliable knot. This knot works well in many situations and will not come undone. Its very versatile, for both beginners and experienced users. Its great for attaching gear but can be difficult to untie after bearing heavy loads.

This is a versatile knot. Its used most often as a stopper knot. It prevents the rope from sliding through an opening such as a carabiner. It is also used at the end of other knots to prevent those knots from coming undone.  

This is a foundation knot, and is best known for its binding properties. Its a great knot for adding two lengths of rope together, or for holding items securely in place.

A strong loop knot that is very versatile. It can be used to attach gear to,  it can be easily used at the end of tarp with a tent peg, to secure your den. It is great to use around the trunk of a tree to anchor a rope ready for den building, for example.

A versatile knot that can also be used as the foundation of other knots, such as a bowline or a loop. Great for attaching to sticks, etc.  Great for making little ladders,