This cross-curricular fun activity celebrates BIODIVERSITY DAY today. It is great way to get children excited about maths and nature. Children will have to look for certain materials found in nature, count them, record their results and communicate their mathematical thinking. By bringing maths into everyday experiences, like exploring in the garden, children can practice their mathematical skills in a meaningful way. This type of activity will deepen their understanding of mathematical concepts as well contribute positively to their wellbeing: spending time in nature has a very positive effect on our mental and physical health.

Consider the biodiversity of your environment (the variety of living things around us). This week we are celebrating biodiversity across Ireland and all over the world: it is International Day for Biological Diversity on 22 May. We can also celebrate biodiversity right at home. Today’s activity will inspire you to explore and discover what is at your doorstep

INSTRUCTIONS

Create a list before you head out, choose as many items as you like. Check out our template below for ideas. Children may like to be involved in this process – brainstorm what natural materials and wildlife you expect/hope to find in the garden.

As an extra challenge you could extend the scavenger hunt to another location and then add the two together. For example, the front garden and the back garden or the local park and the beach.

Children may like to collect some samples (10 – 20) for an art activity later. Please be considerate of the natural environment and only gather objects that have already fallen to the ground.

How to Play:

1. Once you have devised a list, take note of the time on the clock, and then head outside.
2. Begin by looking for the first object on your list. Count how many of those items you see. For example, there are 3 trees in the back garden
3. Write down that number. Or if there are lots of those items it may be a good idea to keep a tally instead (just put marks on a piece of paper but the 5^th mark is drawn across the previous 4 marks (see below)
4. You may wish to collect some of the natural items for further analysis later (between 10 and 20 items) e.g. sticks, round pebbles, fallen leaves, blades of grass, flower petals, shells)
5. Continue through the list, searching for each of the items. Record how many of each kind you find. Take some sketches, tree rubbings or photographs.
6. Don’t forget to take your time and look around – you may see some other interesting items that weren’t on your list. What other maths can you see around you?
7. When you’re done, look at the results. Which natural item did you find the most of? The least? Which stick is the longest/shortest/thickest/thinnest etc.
8. Record the time on the clock again. How long did you spend scavenging?

For: Primary Children

What you will need:

• Pencils
• Hunt list
• Clock

In these difficult times, you may not have all the material suggested. You may need to adapt these activities to suit your needs and materials available. For instance, you could draw out the cards. Maybe your kids could think of ways of adapting and improvising. This is valuable skills development.