Nature Play Day ideas for OSHC
53 DIY activities for a nature play day at before and after school care or vacation care, usually run around October or Spring. Pick and mix, or build a balanced day in one click.
Back to Nature Day
Children spend the day outdoors making nature collages, building cubbies and taking leaf rubbings with found materials.
Bird Watching Day · Nature Play Day · Outdoor Explorers +3Backyard Bird Count
Children sit quietly outdoors for a set time and count the birds they see and hear, contributing to citizen science.
Gardening Day · World Bee Day · Bug Day +3Bee and Butterfly Garden
Children plant pollinator-friendly flowers, then watch and record the bees and butterflies that visit over the term.
Bird Watching Day · Nature Play Day · Music and Dance Day +2Bird Call Matching Game
Children listen to recordings of local bird calls and match each one to a picture, tuning their ears to birds in their area.
Flying High · Bird Watching Day · Nature Play Day +1Bird Nest Building
Children collect twigs, grass and wool and weave them into a nest, learning how birds build their homes.
Cubby Day · Camp Out Day · Nature Play Day +2Broom and Stick Cubbies
Children lean old brooms and long sticks together with sheets to make outdoor cubbies.
Bug Day · Gardening Day · Nature Play Day +3Build a Bug Hotel
Children fill a box frame with sticks, pinecones, bark and leaves to create a home for insects in the garden.
Messy Play Day · Nature Play Day · Backyard Play Day +2Bush Mud Kitchen
Children cook up mud pies, leaf soups and potions in an outdoor kitchen of old pots, pans and utensils.
Gardening Day · Autumn Leaves · Nature Play Day +3Flower Pressing
Children collect flowers and leaves, press them in heavy books and later use them to make cards or pictures.
Life Skills Day · Gardening Day · Sustainable Superstars +2Garden Jobs
Children help weed, water and mulch garden beds, learning how to care for plants.
Gardening Day · Farm to Table Day · Fruit and Veggie Day +3Gardening Club
Children prepare a garden bed, plant strawberries and sunflowers, and share the care through a watering roster.
Gardening Day · Nature Play Day · Science Week +1Grow a Grass-Hair Buddy
Children draw a face on a small pot, plant grass seed and watch their buddy grow green hair they can trim over the following weeks.
Nature Play Day · Science Week · Raw Art Day +3Homemade Natural Paints
Children make paints from kitchen ingredients like turmeric, beetroot and herbs, then test the colours on paper.
Tiny Things Day · Enchanted Forest · Dinosaur Day +2Jar Lid Miniature Worlds
Children build tiny fairy, dinosaur or nature worlds inside jar lids using moss, pebbles and small figures.
Camp Out Day · Nature Play Day · Enchanted Forest +3Leaf and Flower Crowns
Children collect fallen leaves and flowers and attach them to card bands to make nature crowns.
Autumn Leaves · Nature Play Day · Animal Theme +3Leaf Animal Creatures
Children collect fallen leaves and arrange them into animals and creatures, using shape and colour imaginatively.
Gardening Day · Autumn Leaves · Clay and Pottery Day +2Leaf Clay Impressions
Children press leaves into rolled clay to make textured tiles that show off the patterns of veins and edges.
Nature Play Day · Autumn Leaves · National Tree Day +2Leaf Rubbings
Children place leaves under paper and rub crayons over them to reveal veins, edges and shapes.
Autumn Leaves · Nature Play Day · Seasons Day +3Leaf Sort and Classify
Younger children collect leaves and sort them by shape, size and colour, building early science and maths skills.
Bug Day · Gardening Day · Nature Play Day +3Magnifying Glass Bug Safari
Children hunt for minibeasts with magnifying glasses and record their finds on a tally sheet, building curiosity about small creatures.
Milk Day · Bird Watching Day · Recycle Day +3Milk Carton Bird Feeder
Children turn empty milk cartons into bird feeders, then hang them outdoors and watch for visitors.
Sustainable Superstars · Bird Watching Day · Recycle Day +3Milk Carton Bird Feeders
Children turn clean milk cartons into bird feeders, fill them with seed and hang them outdoors to watch for visitors.
Gardening Day · Enchanted Forest · Fairy Tale Day +3Mini Fairy Garden
Children design a tiny fairy garden in a pot using moss, pebbles and small natural or recycled bits.
Nature Play Day · Messy Play Day · Backyard Play Day +1Mud Kitchen Cooking
Children cook pretend meals with mud, water and leaves in an outdoor kitchen, using their imagination to plan menus.
Messy Play Day · Nature Play Day · Raw Art Day +2Mud Painting
Children mix mud to different thicknesses and use brushes, sticks and fingers to create earthy paintings outdoors.
Messy Play Day · Nature Play Day · Backyard Play Day +1Mud Pie Bakery
Children shape, decorate and serve mud pies in an outdoor mud kitchen, using leaves, petals and stones as toppings.
Rock and Gem Day · Raw Art Day · Art Through the Ages +2Natural Pigment Mural
Children grind soft rocks, clay and earth into natural pigments, mix them with water and paint a mural outdoors.
Nature Play Day · Mindfulness Day · Outdoor Explorers +2Nature Mandalas
Children arrange leaves, petals and stones in circular patterns to create calm, colourful nature mandalas.
Nature Play Day · Raw Art Day · Art Attack Day +1Nature Paintbrushes
Children bind leaves, grasses and twigs onto sticks to make paintbrushes, then test the marks each one makes.
Nature Play Day · Outdoor Explorers · Trail Blazers +3Nature Scavenger Hunt
Children search for natural items such as a smooth stone, a forked stick or a feather using a checklist.
Treasure Hunters Day · Nature Play Day · Outdoor Explorers +2Nature Treasure Hunt
Children use a picture or word list to search the yard for natural treasures like a feather, a smooth stone or something yellow.
Earth Day · Nature Play Day · Outdoor Explorers +2Nature Walk Bracelets
Children wear masking tape bracelets sticky-side out and collect small leaves, petals and seeds on a nature walk.
Raw Art Day · Nature Play Day · Outdoor Explorers +2Nature Walk Sketching
Children sketch interesting plants, bark and textures on a walk. Slows them down to notice details.
Reconciliation Week · Rock and Gem Day · Silly Stories Day +2Painted Story Stones
Children paint their own simple pictures on smooth stones, then use them as prompts to make up and retell stories in small groups.
Park Day · Bug Day · Nature Play Day +3Park Bug Hunt
Children search under logs and leaves with magnifiers and tally the creatures they find. Hands-on science in a local park.
Photography Day · Outdoor Explorers · Treasure Hunters Day +1Photo Scavenger Hunt
Teams use tablets to photograph items on a list, like something round or a shadow. A creative way to look closely.
Earth Day · Bird Watching Day · Nature Play Day +1Pine Cone Bird Feeders
Children roll pine cones in a nut-free spread and birdseed to hang outside, then watch for visiting birds.
Messy Play Day · Wizard School Day · Backyard Play Day +2Potion Kitchen and Sand Bakery
Children mix magic potions with water, petals and sand, and bake sand cakes in an outdoor kitchen of donated pots and bowls.
International Day of Peace · Gardening Day · Book Week +2Pressed Flower Bookmarks
Children arrange pressed flowers and leaves on card and laminate them into bookmarks to keep or give.
Wet Weather Day · Messy Play Day · Nature Play Day +2Puddle and Mud Play
With gumboots, raincoats and spare clothes, children head outside to splash in puddles and play in the mud on a wet day.
Bird Watching Day · Recycle Day · Gardening Day +3Recycled Carton Bird Feeders
Children turn milk cartons into bird feeders, fill them with seed and hang them outside to attract local birds.
Rock and Gem Day · Kindness Day · Art Attack Day +2Rock Painting
Children paint smooth rocks with patterns, faces or kind messages to keep, display or hide around the garden.
Rock and Gem Day · Outdoor Explorers · Nature Play Day +2Rock Scavenger Hunt
Children search the outdoor area for rocks that are smooth, rough, sparkly, striped or tiny, then sort and compare their finds.
Nature Play Day · Cubby Day · Outdoor Explorers +2Stick Forts and Sculptures
Children build forts and sculptures from fallen sticks, string and natural materials.
Survival Challenge Day · Cubby Day · Camp Out Day +3Team Shelter Building
Older children work in teams to build a lean-to shelter from branches, rope and tarps big enough for the whole team.
National Tree Day · Nature Play Day · Outdoor Explorers +2Tree Bark Rubbings
Children rub crayons over paper held against tree bark to reveal and compare the textures of different trees.
National Tree Day · Science Week · Outdoor Explorers +2Tree Measuring Investigation
Children measure the girth of trees and estimate height using simple methods, recording and comparing their results.
Enchanted Forest · Book Week · Nature Play Day +2Under-the-Tree Storytelling
Children sit in a circle under a tree and build a magical forest story together, one sentence at a time.
Threatened Species Day · Nature Play Day · National Tree Day +3Wildlife Habitat Building
Children build a small habitat from sticks, leaves and natural materials for a threatened species, thinking about shelter, food and water.
Enchanted Forest · Wizard School Day · Magic Day +2Woodland Wands
Children collect fallen sticks and wrap them with wool, ribbon and leaves to create their own magic wands.
Gross and Messy Day · Bug Day · Gardening Day +3Worm Exploring
Children dig gently for worms in a garden bed, observe them on trays and return them to the soil.
Bug Day · Gardening Day · Sustainable Superstars +3Worm Farm Study
Children observe worms in a worm farm with magnifiers, learning how worms turn food scraps into rich soil.
Yarn Day · Craft Day · Nature Play Day +1Woven Wool Stars
Children wrap colourful wool around crossed sticks to make a woven star decoration, a craft found in many cultures.