Playing this nature spotting game is really fun to do with children when you’re outdoors. It’s also great for natural learning and for taking time to notice nature, which is a particularly nice thing to do in winter when it can feel pretty bleak.

To play, you just need to take it in turns to think of a word that might describe something in nature and then everyone tries to find a match! It’s great for younger children who can choose simple adjectives like colours as well as older children who can pick more nuanced words.

You can make your own deck of cards to take out with you with a word on each card (and there are also several versions you can buy) but I simply have a list of words noted on my phone.

Here are some spotting words to get you started:

New

Round

Frilly

Shiny

Red

Green

Curly

Squelchy

Dried

Straight

Stinky

Old

Spiky

Concentric

Dry

Orange

Squishy

Delicate

Splosh

Wide

Slow

Broken

Crispy

Soft

Spotty

Fast

Yellow

Tiny

Bright

See through

Fluffy

Fast

Healed

Smooth

Rough

Tall

Hiding

Brown

Patterned

Thin

Bendy

Peeling

Fragrant

Amazing!

Author: Denise Hope, home educating mum of two boys

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