Curriculum overview
Natural thinkers
From birth to 11 years
Introduction
This curriculum overview has been written by a group of Lambeth teachers, to support
schools in implementing natural thinkers across all key stages. The overview has been
divided up into 5 main categories:
1. Tools – Children have opportunities to use tools which support them in engaging
with the natural resources around them, e.g. a child may use a saw to make an
object out of wood.
2. Natural Investigation – Children have opportunities to engage with and find out
about nature, they may use their senses to investigate familiar and unfamiliar
materials found outside.
3. ECO- Children have opportunities to tune into the world and its natural resources.
ECO activities encourage children in being environmentally friendly and not wasteful,
such as collecting rainwater to be reused.
4. Living Things – Children have opportunities to garden and grow their own produce.
They engage with mini beasts and the wildlife that surrounds them.
5. Natural art – Children have opportunities to use natural objects to create their own
interpretations in both permanent and transient art activities.
The activities that support each aspect of learning are then divided up into 3 terms/seasons
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Autumn
Winter
Spring/summer
The overview is just a suggestion and activities can be taught in any order. The overview
was designed to support schools who wish to implement natural thinkers across the whole
school in an organised approach that scaffolds learning from pre-nursery to year 6.
The activities are not written in detail as it is hoped that many of the activities are self
explanatory and supported by practitioners attending the natural thinker training. Where
possible, links have been made to the EYFS and Primary Curriculum. However due to the
range of activities suggested a cross curricular approach and coverage of subjects is easily
achievable. Schools may wish to use the same format to write their own curriculum
overview.
Contents
Section 1
Overview of activities for 0-2 years in The Early
Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
Section 2
Overview of activities for children 2-5 Years in The
Early Years Foundation Stage
Section 3
Overview of activities for children in Key Stage 1
Section 4
Overview of activities for children in Key Stage 2
Section 1
Natural Thinkers Curriculum Overview
EYFS – 0-2 YEARS
Aspect of learning
Tools
Autumn
Babies:
-Treasure baskets
(leaves,
vegetables)
Toddlers:
-Treasure baskets
PD - Moving and handling (pine cones,
conkers)
-Brushing leaves
Natural
Babies:
investigations
-Touching,
smelling leaves
Links to the EYFS –
Links to the EYFS –
Toddlers:
-Crunching and
kicking leaves
- Watching 'wind'
e.g. smoke,
bubbles
UW- The world
Maths - numbers
Eco
Links to the EYFS –
UW- The world
PSED – Managing
feelings and behaviour
Babies:
- Mashing root
vegetables to eat
and explore
Winter
Babies:
-Filling containers
with snow
-Keeping warm in
front of fire
Spring / Summer
Babies:
-Exploring textures
with feet
(sand, grass,
moss)
Toddlers:
-Snow angels
-Shovelling snow
Toddlers:
-Buckets, spades,
watering cans
Babies:
-Touching/hand
prints in snow
-Reflections in ice
-Jumping in
puddles
Babies:
-Exploring
treasures (scent,
herb bags)
Toddlers:
-Exploring ice
baubles,
- Catching the
wind (streamers,
windmills)
-Boats on puddles
- Feed the ducks
Babies:
- Observing
nature, listening to
birds
Toddlers:
Toddlers:
- Collecting leaves - Following animal
for the compost
tracks, observing
nature, using
binoculars,
magnifying
glasses, listening
to nature
-Planting bulbs
Toddlers:
-Collect natural
treasures in egg
boxes
Babies:
- Exploring water in
the water tray
Toddlers:
-Filling watering
cans from water
butts
Growing/Gardening/ Babies:
living things
- Watching
wildlife, a trip to
the farm, observe
squirrels in the
park or birds at a
bird feeder
Babies:
- Exploring mud
with hands
Babies:
- Explore flowers
and scents
Toddlers:
- Mud pictures,
mud bombs
Toddlers:
- Pick herbs, talk
about the names of
different plants and
their smells
Babies:
-Make natural
mobiles with
sticks, leaves
acorns etc , for
babies to watch
whilst on the
changing mat
Babies:
- Make natural
shakers for babies
to explore. Use
water bottles filled
with
 Water and
petals
 Stones
 Sand
 Shells
Toddlers:
- Leaf prints, bark
rubbings, looking
at leaves for
colour and feeling
textures
Links to the EYFS –
UW- The world
CL- Listening and
attention
Understanding
Speaking
PD- Health and self-care
PSED – Making
relationships
Self- confidence and selfawareness
Natural Art
Links to the EYFS –
EAD- Exploring and using
media and materials
Being imaginative
Maths- Shape, space and
measure
Babies:
- Piling leaves in a
builders tray
Toddlers:
- Leaf printing
- Painting pine
cone
-Corn on the cob
painting
Toddlers:
-Make natural
snow flakes with
lollypop sticks and
cover them with
greenery, add
them to a
Christmas
decoration
Toddlers:
-Painting shells
and stones
-Placing and
arranging petals
and flowers
Section 2
Natural Thinkers Curriculum Overview
EYFS 2- 5 years
Aspect of learning
Tools
Autumn
- Whittling:
(Vegetable peelers)
Peel carrots
/potatoes
-Fire:
Wood collecting, fuel
types
Suggested links: UW
–talk about fast
burning and slow
burning fuels, e.g.
fast burning, kindling,
straw, slow burn –
hard wood, thicker
sticks
Natural
investigations
ECO
Winter
- Whittling:
(Hacksaw/peelers)
Make bug hotels and
necklaces from Elder
wood
-Fire:
Feeding the fire, hot
chocolate, charcoal
collecting from the
ashes
-Collecting: (colour/
smell/ texture)
crowns, book marks,
bracelets, treasure
boxes
- Snow, ice, frost
-Den building for small
animals (you could use
teddy bears)
- Mud kitchen
Suggested links: UW,
collect natural
objects, according to
texture, colour, smell
etc.
-Harvesting
-Clearing beds
-Composting
Suggested links: UW –
for examples of mud
kitchens go to
www.muddyfaces.co.uk/
mud_kitchens.php
-Collecting rain water
-Clearing beds
-Filling up compost bins
Spring / Summer
-Sawing: (bow saw)
Make wooden discs,
flower press,
castanets
-Fire: cooking
(dampers), mint tea,
marsh mellows
Suggested links: EAD
– music. Playing
castanets, What other
musical instruments
could we make?
-Collecting, flower
presses, petal perfume
Classifying plants and
trees
-Life cycles, e.g.
butterflies
-Signs of Spring
(photos)
- Talk about not
picking blossom or
spring flowers
-Who pollinates
flowers?
Suggested links: CL –
use signs of spring to
promote talk and
interest
Growing/Gardening/
living things
-Planting- Broad
beans, parsnips,
cabbage, herbs
-Harvesting
-Cooking
-Protecting soil
-Planning planting (crop
rotation)
-Indoor sowing
seedlings
-Daisy chains
-Pizza garden
-Exploring flowers and
plants
-Mini Beast hunt
-Life cycles- e.g.
hatching chicks
Suggested links – PD
– Health and selfcare, thinking about
healthy eating
Natural Art
-Transient Art – Look
at art attack on you
tube.
-Make a skeleton out
of leaves and sticks
-Leaf printing and
sculptures
Suggested links: EAD
–Explore and
investigate using
senses
-Sculpture – snowmen
-Muddy masks
-Flower arranging using
evergreens for a xmas
table decoration
-Painting snails
-Make natural dyes
-Make scent bags
-Use food dyes for
painting faces
Section 3
Natural Thinkers Curriculum Overview
KS1
Aspect of learning
Tools
Natural
investigations
Autumn
 Whittling –
Using peelers
vegetable/fruit
and make
vegetable soup






Eco


Growing/Gardening/
living things

Natural Art







Leaf crowns
Collections of
natural objects
Leaf garlands
Leaf kebabs
Leaf patterns
Discuss nature
v man
Make bird
feeders/lard
cakes
Composting
Harvesting
Gardening
Weeding
Pick cabbages
onions
garlic
broad beans
Art - Neil
Buchanan Art
Attack you
tube videos
Tie dye with
natural dyes
Make acorn
men/animals
with acorns
and cocktail
sticks
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











Winter
Whittling elder –
Make;
Charcoal pencils
Jewellery
Elder candles
Large den
building shelters
Insulation,
keeping warm
Knot tying
Look at
differencesevergreens
Bark rubbings
Feed the birds
Collecting
systems for water
Collecting sticks
for fire
Protecting the
plants
Planting
Natural sculpture
Snowman
Leaf men book
Make Xmas
decorations with
willow and sticks
Clay faces
Valentine hearts
with clay and
mud bombs
outside
Spring/Summer
 Sawing – Make;
Wooden medals
(sports day)
 Drums
 Music sticks
 Wooden
sculptures
 Life cycles
 Finding similar
patterns/differen
ces, seeds
 Conkers
 Classifying
leaves and
trees
 Petal perfume
 Investigate stag
beetles
 Conservation
and lifecycles
 Precious insects
 Pollinators
 Composting
 Harvest:
Strawberries
Beans
Tomatoes
Courgettes
Salads




Flower pressing
Placing and
arranging
Daisy chains
Stone art and
making small
world
environments
Section 4
Natural Thinkers Curriculum Overview
Key Stage 2
Season / Area of
Autumn Term
learning
Tools
Skill: Whittling/drilling
Product: fans
Use vegetable peelers
to scrape outside of
sticks and flatten one
end/use drills to cut hole
and attach with another
stick/rope or split pin.)
Glue large leaves in
patterns onto stick to
create wings of the fan.
Suggested links: DT/Art
Natural
Investigations




Conkers
Animal tracking
Life cycles
Slush puppies
Suggested links: Science
Eco

Campaign hedgehogs
Winter Term
Skill:
Whittling/carving
Product: ‘bling’
(jewellery)
Tool(s): use pen
knife/whittling knife
to scrape outside of
sticks and carve
patterns/designs into
them
Skill:
whittling/carving/sandi
ng/
knots
Product: bows and
arrows
Tools: For bow – use
whittling knife to cut
down wood to desired
circumference. (The
thicker it is the harder
to pull back). Use
sandpaper to sand
down bow.
Suggested links:
History, Literacy (Wolf
Brother by Michelle
Paver), DT/Art,
Geography/PSHCE
(exploring other
cultures)
 Animal tracking
 Rocks and soils
 Slush puppies
 Christmas trees
Suggested links:
Science; RE;
Geography; History
(rocks/archaeology)
 Campaign –

hibernating
Spring/Summer Term
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


Tent pegs
Mallets
Timber framing
BBQ (fire)
Suggested links: DT/Art;
Science (Healthy
Eating/Fire);
Geography/PSHCE
(exploring other
cultures)
 Animal tracking
 Shelter building
(large shelters)
Suggested links:
Science; DT; PSHCE
(team building)
Campaign – bees


Living Things
Natural Art/DT
 Wormery
Hedgehog house
building
Bird feeders

Suggested links:
Science (animals/living
Suggested links: Science things; DT; Literacy
(animals/living things; DT; speaking/listening;
letters to MP;
Literacy
leafleting)
(speaking/listening;
letters to MP; leafleting)
 planting
 planting
 Ken and Barbie
 Wood carving
investigation – real 
Flower arranging –
estate design
wreath making
 Transient art – Neil
Suggested links: DT;
Buchannan and
Literacy
Andy Goldsworthy
(speaking/listening;
persuasive writing)
Suggested links: DT;
Science; RE; Art
Build bee hive
Suggested links:
Science (animals/living
things; DT; Literacy
(speaking/listening;
letters to MP; leafleting)
 planting
 Egg blowing
 Cave paintings
Suggested links: Art;
History; Science (Life
cycles)
Upper KS2
Season / Area of
Autumn Term
learning
Tools
Skill: whittling/drilling
Product: Whistles
Tools: use vegetable
peelers to scrape outside
of sticks, use drills to cut
holes at various intervals
down one side and
perhaps one at the back.
Winter Term




Totem poles
Didgeridoo
Fire signals
Xylophone
Suggested links:
History; Music;
Science; PSHCE
Skill: whittling/drilling
Product: Wind chimes
Tools: use vegetable
peelers to scrape outside
of sticks, use drills to cut
holes at one end and
string to thread through
the ends.
Spring/Summer Term
 Automatons
 Wooden minibeasts
 BBQ (fire)
Suggested links: DT/Art;
Science (Healthy
Eating/Fire);
Geography/PSHCE
(exploring other
cultures)
Suggested links: Music;
DT; Art
Natural
Investigations
 Rope bridges
 Classifications
 Rocks and soils
 Silk worms
 Fibonnaci sequence
 Lifecycles
 Animal tracking
(cement)
Eco
Living Things
Natural Art
Suggested links: PE;
PSHCE; science; maths
 Campaign – badgers
 Campaign – animal
welfare
 Hemp – economy
sustainable clothing
 Greenhouse
 Planting –
sustainability angle –
food miles etc.
 Natural spa – mud
packs and lip balm
and perfume
 Animal tracking
 Bird song/calls
 Animal tracking
Suggested links:
PSHCE; science;
maths
 Campaign – birds
 Campaign – climate
change
 Campaign – animal
testing
 Campaign – water
aid
 Hemp – economy
sustainable clothing  Hemp – economy
sustainable clothing
 Greenhouse
 Greenhouse
 Solar panels/water
butts
 Planting –
 Planting –
sustainability angle
sustainability angle –
– food miles etc.
food miles etc.
 Wood carving
 Young Apprentice –
design your own pot
puree bags, sell them
at summer fair and
most profit gets
hired…
 Flower Arranging –
sustainable angle
and linked with
Chelsea Flower
Show
 Stencils (onto hemp
clothing)
Thank you to the following Lambeth schools for their contributions towards this
document:
Christ Church Brixton CE Primary School
Heathbrook Primary School
Macaulay CE Primary School
Larkhall Primary School
For any further information about this document please contact Jacqui McDermid
(Lambeth Natural Thinkers co- coordinator) email: jmcdermid@lambeth.gov.uk