Bird spotting

Get the kids to see if they can spot more birds than you, and how many different types they can find? You don’t need to know what they are – ‘look, there’s a spotty one’ works just fine. Keep a tally.

Keep an eye out for a flock of starlings (fantastically entertaining and naughty) or sparrows hiding in a hedge.

Take seeds, nuts or other food with you and see if you can tempt them to eat some.

Look for fallen things

Great for parks at this time of year. Keep your eyes on the floor and see who can find the best ‘fallen’ things. Look for ghost leaves, old conkers, acorn shells, feathers, coloured leaves, flowers (you can’t pick – that’s the game!), fluffy things and cool sticks.

When you have a good collection see what you can make. Pictures show up well on muddy February ground!

Play with a tree

Who can find the best tree to swing on? Or the best one to climb? Maybe you can hang off one and ring it like a church bell?

It took me ages to work out playing with trees is all about finding the right tree. Low branches are great but so are big old trunks with nooks and crannies you can hide things in. Play ‘hide the pebble’. Put your nature detective hat on and see if you can work out what sort of tree it is. Are there leaves? What’s on the floor round it? Does that give you a clue?

Have a scavenger hunt

Give the kids a list of things to spot and dare them to see how many they can get. Pictures can help. You can spend ages putting clues together but a simple list works well enough.

Check out the ideas for scavenger hunts page if you need a bit of inspiration. Main thing is to make sure that whatever you put on the list is in the area you’re going to.

Make a boat and float it

Great if you’re going near a river or a stream or just somewhere with a lot of muddy puddles.

See who can make the best boat from what you can find lying around. Sticks and leaves do very well. Who can get their boat to go furthest? Does it help if you blow on them?

If you can’t find things to make them from and have a bit of paper on you, you can always make an origami one.

Play with shadows

One of the pluses of the low winter sun is it makes great shadows. Which ones can you spot? Can you make some with your hands? How about with a stick or a leaf?

Can you walk only on the shadows? Who has the biggest shadow? Can you look like a monster?

Play with driftwood

Beaches in February have one addition you don’t find in summer. Lots and lots of driftwood which the council hasn’t had time to clear up yet.

You can make a den; have sword fights; use them to dam up streams; climb on it; walk along it or simply search it to find the best stick ever.

When you’re done, find a good drawing stick and make some pictures in the sand.

Follow footprints

What different footprints can you find? Where have they gone? Are they still there? Can you see a bird or a dog making them?

Make your own trails. Play footprint hide and seek (one person runs and hides and the other finds them by following their footprints).

On the way look out for lugworm coils to step on and sink sand to play with (carefully).

Make the best sandcastle ever

It’s not too hot and you’ve probably got the beach to yourself. What’s stopping you? How big can you get it? Can you decorate it? Whose going to make which bits? If the tide is coming in, can you get the tide to fill the moat for you?

The only logistic is working out what sandcastle making equipment you’re willing to carry with you!

Make a den in the garden

You’ve got all week and the garden is probably full of stuff that needs to be chopped down or ‘tidied’.

Where are you going to make it? What will you use? Can you decorate it?

We generally use the old Christmas tree and cut down willow sticks. Trampolines can be great hosts (though it does make them messy!) Can you find a tree or a wall to lean it against? See if you can structure it right so that it’s still standing when the rain stops.

Have a go at navigating

A bit like wayfinding but with a compass. Give the kids one and tell them which direction you want to go.

It’s very different in the city from the country but fun in both. You can change the direction (ie, ten steps to the north, three to the north west, etc); work out what direction you have to go to get to one point or just let them roll with it.

Find a lambing event near you

You don’t have to settle for looking at lambs appearing in the fields. There’s almost certainly a lambing event happening somewhere near you. Farm parks are the obvious place to look.

B is averse to these as last time we went we actually saw a lamb being born. She says she’s scarred for life but it was certainly educational!