Our ancestors were far closer to the rhythms of the earth and the passing of the seasons than we are today. Historically, people worked close to the land and festivals marked the changing year: May Day, Easter, Harvest Home, All Hallows, Christmas – and before that, Samhain and Beltane. Whatever our faith, we still mark the passing of the years with festivals and celebrations. Central to the festivities are traditional crafts, games and activities such as those found on this website.

Many of us yearn to connect with the rhythm of the year and to dip our fingers in the textures of the seasons as they pass.  Whether our childhood memories are seasonal or not, they glow - and we want to recreate them for our own children.  Indeed, seeing things again through the eyes of a child is like experiencing the whole of creation with a sense of awe and wonder, in a fresh, exciting light.  The wheel of the year passes wonderfully when we add activities inspired by the natural world. Marbling warm hen eggs with onion skins in Spring, hunting for treasure on Summer shores; Autumn is marked by carving fleshy amber pumpkins for Halloween, and Winter means making glitter spangled decorations.

The passing of your year may be different – you may well live in a place where the seasons are less changeable than here on my English farm – yet the activities on this website are still relevant to your family, class or group.  The activities on this website celebrate the common interests of children all over the world. Using non-specialist and readily available materials, there are games to make, crafts to enjoy, and nature themed activities to open their eyes to the world of plants and animals.

Through these activities, your child will be learning new skills without even realising it’s an educational activity!  Craft activities develop fine motor skills – cutting, pasting and modelling.  Problem solving is encouraged – and you can enhance this further by asking questions as you carry out the activities together : ‘Which material could we use for this?  Can you think of a way to make this fasten securely?’ etc.

The use of colour and texture in the activities, in addition to the exploration of a variety of materials, will help to develop a child’s aesthetic appreciation and a sense of him or herself as an artist. Creativity is a fundamental skill for learning and making connections between different areas of learning.

The outdoor activities in particular will help children to develop knowledge and understanding of the natural world, and how it works. This area of learning is all about exploration and discovery, forming the basis for later work in science, technology, ICT, history, and geography. Activities have been designed to encourage observation, problem-solving, prediction of outcomes, discussion and critical thinking.  But most of all, carrying out the activities in this book will promote the development of a child’s self-esteem, as the child solves problems and can say “I did that!”

Don’t agonise over spending ‘quality time’ with your children – just make sure you have fun in their company.  The activities on this website have been designed to be fun for the adults involved as well as the children – no ‘worthy chores’ here!  Be prepared to offer your child help as necessary.  You know your child best, so if she is very young or finds a particular activity difficult (such as cutting) be prepared to step in and scaffold her learning.  Don’t be tempted to take over – just support her as her confidence grows.

We have also set up a forum so educators can discuss activities with one another. You can even give feedback on how the ideas here have worked - and share your own!  You can find the forum here.