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12 of the Best Summer Outdoor Learning and Play Lessons and Activities for KS1
Help children have fun in the sun either side of the summer holidays with these lesson plans, ideas and activities to ensure they're engaged in learning in the natural world…
1 | Sunshine and sandwiches
A class picnic can provide ample educational opportunities from food science to event planning, and of course you get to eat, drink and be merry too.
Planning, preparing and experiencing a picnic offers opportunities for learning across the curriculum for all year groups, and this lesson plan allows children to use descriptive language to describe a sumptuous menu, use budgeting skills, research what foods to buy and make and expand their culinary tastes.
Get this lesson plan here.
2 | Great books for exploring outdoors
The natural world is a place of adventure and excitement, so step out of the front door and take your class into the great unknown with these fiction-inspired activities from Carey Fluker Hunt.
Check out the list here.
3 | Colour all around us art lesson
In this lesson, children will explore the visual and tactile elements of a garden, learn about great artists inspired by nature and make links to their own work, and experiment with line, shape, colour, tone, pattern and texture with a range of materials.
Get this resource here.
4 | Bees, pollination and honey
We share our world with so much wildlife and minibeasts are easy to spot.
This lesson focuses upon bees to give an insight into the complexity of insect life and to explore the beneficial effect of bees on humans and the environment.
5 | Beyond the school gate
Fieldwork and local area studies feature prominently in the KS1 geography curriculum. In fact, most schools very sensibly make this their first geography topic, since children need concrete and direct experiences of familiar locations to form a firm basis for future place knowledge.
This lesson plan from Ben Ballin sets out some practical ideas for exploring the world beyond the school gate.
Download it here.
6 | Go on a seed safari
In this lesson children will understand that plants grow from seeds and understand that there are living and non-living things in the world around them.
They will also discover that seeds can be dried, stored and planted another year; create and design their own seed packet; and write clear sowing instructions.
7 | Tunes on the tarmac
Many teachers and practitioners recognise the benefits of reintroducing singing and action games at breaktimes to improve behaviour and social interaction, encourage active play, and combat obesity.
So, pat-a-cake doesn’t have to be passé – singing in the playground is inventive, active, and catchy riffs spread like wildfire.
8 | Plan a school fruit and veg garden
In this lesson children will understand that eating fruit and vegetables is an important part of a balanced healthy diet.
They will also explore the range of fruit and vegetables grown in our own country, explore seasonality and plan a school vegetable garden.
9 | Teach geography through Michael Rosen’s Bear Hunt
It’s a wonder the poor old grizzly hasn’t been hunted into extinction, such is the frequency of bear hunts in primary schools. But the popularity of this ursine search is hardly surprising when you consider the ease with which it can be tied to different areas of the curriculum.
Geography activities are particularly well suited to Michael Rosen’s tale of make-believe adventure as children can re-create the landscape of the story outside of the classroom, and then draw a map to represent the journey made.
Geographical understanding thus becomes embedded as pupils transpose the images in their heads onto the physical world, using directional language as they do so.
10 | Wildlife and habitats
From the tiniest insect to burrowing badger, we share our environment with a wide range of wildlife.
Encourage your young learners to explore the world around them, think about the impact humans have on wildlife and what we can do, as compassionate citizens, to protect them.
These activities introduce pupils to the concept of gathering evidence on different animals’ and plants’ habitats through investigation.
Part 2 encourages pupils to think about how animals are suited to a particular environment.
11 | Make mini-rainforest shelters
In this hands-on survival lesson, children will use teamwork, communication skills and lots of creativity and imagination to build mini rainforest shelters from outdoor stuff found in your school grounds.
Rainforests are one of the most valuable resources on the planet, home to some of the most exotic plants and wildlife; all united in a quest for survival in the most challenging environments on the planet.
12 | Sun safety
And finally, this assembly presentation from Boots Soltan Sun Ready helps to introduce a whole-school approach to sun safety for pupils aged 5-11.
If you’re heading outside, it pays to keep safe from the sun.
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5 learning activities for summer weather
The great outdoors becomes the best classroom, art studio and dining room ever with these summer learning ideas from Juno Hollyhock from Learning through Landscapes . Remember the sunscreen!
Super sundials
A great activity for this time of year is making your own sundial . It’s ridiculously simple and can keep children occupied for hours – literally!
Choose a nice robust stick and place it upright in the ground somewhere where it can sit for a while without getting in the way. Once the time hits the hour, place a stone, make a mark, chalk a number or otherwise note the position of the stick’s shadow at that time.
It’s up to you how often you want to mark; every hour is usual but we have seen sundials marked out in 15-minute blocks with different-sized markings and they look just great!
Claim A FREE Summer Brain-Boosting Challenges Pack!
- 30 exciting challenges
- Weird and wonderful facts
- Keep them busy the whole summer holiday!
Scorchio pictures
Safety rules apply with this one! Please make sure that children are supervised and that you are doing the activity on a surface that will not catch fire (an old plate is ideal). Keep a bucket of water handy just in case the paper catches fire and ensure you talk the children through the activity carefully first.
Using a simple magnifying glass train the sun through the glass onto a piece of paper until a scorch mark appears. Move the glass around to create shapes and patterns . A little practice will be needed to make marks that can be seen without burning holes through the paper!
Salt script
You will need some dark-coloured paper or material for this activity.
Dissolve a few teaspoons of table salt into a cup of water and use this as paint to make patterns on your paper. Leave to dry in the sun and you will see beautiful salt trails where the water has been. The more salt you dissolve, the more effective this will be.
A great game for the beach, and so simple to do!
Find some dark-coloured stones and some light-coloured stones and use them as markers for a game of noughts and crosses. The playing space can be marked out in lines on the sand or with larger stones on shingle. This technique can be adapted for draughts or checkers as well.
Pretty paperweights can be made by painting patterns on larger stones and then, when the paint has dried, painting over the designs with PVA glue. This will leave a shiny, hard surface to protect your art work. Equally, why not try pasting delicate pieces of seaweed or leaves to your stone for a more natural look?
Fruitilicious frozen fruit
Summer is a great time for eating soft fruit fresh from the garden or the fruit stall at your local shop. But not all children want to eat fruit and the frozen lollipops available often contain high quantities of sugar and colouring.
Try freezing the fruit as icy treats instead. Grapes, blackcurrants, raspberries , blueberries and blackberries all work well as icy, tasty snacks and are packed with valuable nutrients that aren’t spoiled by the freezing process. Even apple pieces can be frozen (blanching them by putting them into boiling water and then cold water first will help them to retain their colour).
Exercise caution with very young children as small, frozen pieces of fruit can be a choking hazard.
Outdoor learning fun, whatever the season
Cloudy day? Look through our selection of spring learning activities for some cooler options, or plan ahead for the colder months with our autumn learning ideas and wintery learning tips .
Learning through Landscapes specialises in outdoor learning and play through education. They aim to enable children to connect with nature, be more active, be more engaged with their learning, develop their social skills and have fun.
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Top summer holiday activities for primary
Tes resources team.
Imaginative challenges, activity packs and creative ideas to stimulate summer learning
School’s out for summer, but that doesn’t mean that children stop learning! Whether they are experiencing natural learning environments or understanding more about the world by taking part in fun, engaging challenges, there are always opportunities to develop skills that they have learnt over the academic year. So, what are you waiting for? Check out this hand-picked selection of activities and share them with your class today.
KS1 End of year Summer Activity Booklet
Summer Reading Bingo Challenge
Summer Maths Year 1
Summer Play - Booklet
FREE Draw a Picture Bingo. Summer Holiday Activity. Draw it then talk about it. Inspires Imagination
Child friendly cooking recipes
30 Days Activities Challenge
Summer holiday diary writing
Summer Holiday Homework Ideas
All About Summer PowerPoint!
This resource helps you to order the seasons and months of the year, observe seasonal changes in nature, describe the weather associated with summer, find out about how the day length varies and learn about summer around the world! Visit the Twinkl website to download and discover thousands of teaching resources to save you time! #summer #summerteaching #teaching #teacher #teachingresources #powerpoint #twinkl #twinklresources #education #primaryschool #seasons
More like this.
Summer Planning Activities
A collection of early years (EYFS) / key stage 1 (KS1) activity ideas that are ideal to use in the summer term. This section includes fun craft activities, beach related games and lots ideas relating to this topic that you can try in your classroom or early years setting. You may also be interested in our Seaside/Beach section and Under the Sea section .
‘Let’s Play Shadows!’ Poem
Bags of Bunting Craft Activity
Beach Themed Number Track
Blowing Bubbles Activity
Coloured Sand Jars Craft Activity
Crazy Crabs Poem
Everlasting Sandcastles Craft Activity
Flower Windows Craft Activity
Golden Oranges Summer Poem
Homemade Lemonade Recipe
Ice Cubes Activity
Imaginary Ice Cream Sundae Craft Activity
Pastry Lunch Basket Recipe
Picnic in a Pot Recipe
Sand Art Craft Activity
Sand Dough Craft Activity
Sand Sculptures Craft Activity
Seaside Bingo
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Keep your KS1 students engaged and impart effective teaching with the help of our summer-themed activities. Have some fab fun with these Summer Worksheets.
A fantastic end-of-year summer activity pack for KS1 with a selection of games and craft ideas that are perfect for the last few days of term.
12 of the Best Summer Outdoor Learning and Play Lessons and Activities for KS1 · 1 | Sunshine and sandwiches · 2 | Great books for exploring outdoors · 3 | Colour
Hunt for minibeasts in the garden, go on a camping trip or to the seaside, learn about and enjoy the flowers in your summer garden, or grab an ice-cream! Here
5 learning activities for summer weather · Super sundials. A great activity for this time of year is making your own sundial. · Scorchio pictures. Safety rules
In this video, Twinkl Teacher explains how to use the KS1 Summer End of Year Activities Pack: https://www.twinkl.co.uk/l/1k0pq4 .
It also includes time saving, no prep, print and go activities that children will have fun completing whilst also learning all about summer.
Share this. Primary School Book Outdoor Learning Activities During Summer Holidays ... KS1 End of year Summer Activity Booklet.
May 29, 2019 - With this ready-made Signs of Summer for Kids PowerPoint, you can help your KS1 children understand the summer season and how to spot the
Summer Planning Activities · 'Let's Play Shadows!' Poem · Bags of Bunting Craft Activity · Beach Themed Number Track · Blowing Bubbles Activity · Coloured Sand Jars