All Change!

Key Stage 1; year 1

Take a journey around our Gardens and discover through observation, hands-on activities and role play how the changing seasons impact on the plants and animals in our grounds. There’s definitely something to see all year round!

Learning Outcomes

Pupils will be able to:

  • Observe changes across the 4 seasons
  • Observe and describe weather associated with the seasons and how day length varies
  • Work scientifically to see the impact of changes in daylight on the growth of plants in the Garden.
Activities

A day’s programme does not necessarily include all the listed activities and can be adapted to suit individual needs and requirements. Normally we fit in four to five activities during your visit.

Activities Description and learning objectives
Bud hunt (Jan-March) Make careful observations about the changes occurring to plants in the Spring. Can you spot the buds, leaves and flowers?
Colour palettes Look at the different colours present in nature during the changing seasons. Which colours are easy/difficult to find? Why might that be?
Leaf match Carefully observe the similarities and differences between the leaves from our common trees. Can you work out which are from evergreen and deciduous trees? What are the clues?
Leaf sort Collect a wide variety of leaves. How might we sort them? How about shape, colour, size, and type (evergreen/ deciduous)? Anything else?
Mirrors Let’s take a closer look at our trees; the bark, branches and leaves. Reflect on the how a bird might view the world from the top of the tree and make its home there.
Season hoops How do we know that the seasons are changing? How do the plants and animals know that too? Let’s explore how the weather impacts on us all.
Bird’s breakfast Let’s find different seeds and explore their shapes and colours in Autumn. Mother nature has come up with some inventive ways to attract and deter animals!
You’ve been framed Let’s go on a treasure hunt and see what leaf litter we can find, then use it to create a picture on the ground.

Prefer a day with some cross-curricular activities? Take a look at our other Year 1 programmes and we’ll plan the day accordingly.

Suggested pre-visit activities
  • Discuss the changing seasons and the signs in both our behaviour and what happens in nature to tell us of those changes
  • Observe, record, and discuss the changes in day length over a period of time
  • Observe, collect, record, and discuss the amount of rainfall over a period of time.
Suggested post-visit activities
  • Collect seeds from your trip (Autumn) and see how they compare and differ. Save them to plant later on in the year
  • Make a collage of some leaf litter collected from either your school grounds or your local environment.
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