Activity recipe: Bird nests

Play England is a registered charity, no. 1150216, and is hosted by the National Children’s Bureau.

What the kids say‘I’ve never been as muddy as this in my whole life!’

‘I didn’t want to get my hands in that mud- urrr look at me now!’

‘This is ace, can I make another one?’

Exploring Nature Play

Difficulty: Easy.

Age range: Any age (some children may need support from an adult).

How many can do it? Groups of six to eight.

Where can you do it? Outdoors.

Why we like it? A messy activity that inspires imagination

and creativity!

IngredientsPaper bowls, access to mud or soil, water, leaves, twigs, pine cones

and other natural resources.

Method1. Take a bowl each.

2. Have a good look around the outdoor area for suitable materials to make

a bird’s nest.

3. Start collecting the materials in the bowl.

4. Work mud or soil and water into the natural material to bind it together.

5. Once you have a gooey mix of materials, make a hollow in the centre to hold

the eggs.

6. Put to one side to set.

7. Once set, carefully take out of the paper bowl and enjoy!

Top tips1. Enjoy a nature walk through your local woodlands to collect some natural

resources if you don’t have any on your site. Check Play England’s play map to

see if your woodland is on there – and if it isn’t, why not add it at

www.playengland.org.uk/map.

2. Take the opportunity to talk about how birds build their nests, why they build

them where they build them and the different types of nests you can find.

3. For older children, encourage them to weave their twigs and leaves to

more realistically represent a bird’s nest.

4. Go on a nature walk to see if you can spot any nests in local

hedgerows or trees but be careful not to disturb them.