Understanding the World (UW) is one of the four specific areas of learning in the EYFS framework. It involves making sense of their physical world and community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology, and the environment.

Here are some ideas for you to try!

Go for a seasonal walk and look for the signs of Autumn. Compare this to the other seasons. Can you take a Spring selfie or collect some Autumn items?
 

Explore your own garden at home – you could go for a ‘bug hunt’ (be very careful not to hurt the little creatures!), make windmills using paper or kites using plastic bags, make windchimes using noisy items from around the house or make and blow bubbles using washing up liquid.
 

Collect some natural items from outside and create a ‘frozen nature sculpture’ - put them into a cup, fill with water and pop it in your freezer.
 

Create a representation of something you have observed – this could be a leaf form your Autumn walk, your house whilst sitting outside, a bird or a bug you found in your garden or other things around you.
 

Have a look at some animals in Edinburgh zoo – if you time it right you can watch the zoo keepers feeding them! Compare and contrast them. Talk about what they look like, what they eat and their habitats. Do some research on your favourite animal using google.

Visit the National Trust website for some ideas – adapt some of the activities and complete them in your garden or during your daily exercise.
 

Use Google Maps to look at the world around you which you might not be able to get out and see at the minute! Children love navigating their way around the streets of Darlington, looking at their own houses, at school, people walking in the street, making observations on how things have changed. This might be especially helpful now that we are staying indoors more. Have a go and see what you can find, here is the ‘street view’ of Harrowgate Hill Primary School to get you started:

Can you make your own map of the route you went on your walk today? What did you see? What colours did you see? Did you spot any rainbows – how many? What could you hear? Were there any smells?