Rainy day fun & minibeasts

5 things to do on a rainy day

1. Go through the photo packets or digital files – the ones you’ve been meaning to sort out.  Select photos that show special events and places in the life of your child.  Print and then mount them with blue tack or glue stick onto poster size paper around a drawing of themselves and call it ‘About Me’.
2. While you’re at it, discard all those horror photos – the ones of bad hair days, googly eyes and blurred focus.  Cut up, reassemble and glue to make freaky aliens.
3. Children can create wonderful effects with autumn leaves.  Collect a selection of the brightest colours.  Fold a length of greaseproof paper in half (wax sides together).  Lay out the leaves in a pattern on one half.  Try a vertical pattern to create a window hanging.  Shave red, yellow and orange crayons over the leaves.  Cover the leaves with the other half of the wax paper and iron between two sheets of brown paper on newspaper.  This works equally well with flower petals to make pretty wrapping paper.
4. Decorate a treasure box!  Recycle old cardboard gift boxes, shoeboxes or chocolate boxes.  Paint with poster paints (mixing with a little PVA glue helps bind the paint to the surface).  Using scrap pieces of wrapping paper or brightly coloured paper, cut out shapes to make a design.  Glue any combination to the lid and sides – design limited only by imagination.
5. Nothing beats fresh air after a day cooped up inside.  Rug up, cover up , put on gumboots, grab an umbrella and go on a mini beast safari!

For more ideas try the rainy day survival kit at Our Little Treasure. 

Usborne 50 rainy day activities - Each pack contains 50 creative activities that will entertain and engage children. Every card has a separate activity illustrated with step-by-step instructions. $14.96 Available to order from Toybarn. 

MINIBEAST SAFARI in your back yard

Would you like to go on a safari to see all sorts of weird and wonderful creatures, filled with excitement and surprises?  A safari that leads you into the secret homes of bizarre and unusual creatures?  You can and in your own backyard.

Your backyard is like a private zoo filled with thousands of animals and mysteries waiting to be discovered.  With each blade of grass, under every leaf and tucked under bark is an exciting world of minibeasts.  Minibeasts are small animals such as slaters, stick insects, ants, beetles, lizards, caterpillars and spiders, just to name a few.

The best way to find minibeasts is to visit their homes.  Here are some you might want to check out:

• Under bark
• On leaves and branches
• Among flowers
• In the lawn and soil
• In the compost bin
• Around outdoor lights
• In cracks and holes in buildings
• In ponds and puddles
• Under rocks and logs

Don’t touch spiders, bees or wasps and make sure not to out your hands where you can’t see them – a ruler can be used to poke about.  It’s also a good idea to wear gardening gloves when you’re exploring the amazing world of minibeasts. A magnifying lens can help look at smaller animals.  Take a close look to see how they move and eat.  Now you’ve been on your first minibeast safari, try going at night with a torch to see the different animals that creep and scamper around.

Creature Feature – Praying Mantis

Praying Mantis have large eyes and are green, this helps them to hide in trees.  Their front legs are like traps that reach out and catch other insects.  They even eat each other!  When waiting for food to pass by, they look like they’re saying prayers.  Only the males have wings.

What is the Gould League?

The Gould League is Australia’s leading environmental education organisation.  It’s an independent, non-profit organisation that enables children, families, schools, corporations and community groups to be involved in enjoying and caring for the environment.  It welcomes membership and it’s proud, ninety-year history, has had more than million members.

Gould League publications are well known for their accuracy and high quality photographs.  They have been popular with teachers and children for many years as a resource for environmental awareness.

This article was first published in Australian Family Magazine, June 2000. Updated July 2009.