Play a garden memory game

How long will it take?

At least 20 minutes - longer if the children enjoy it. This project can be done at any time of the year.

What you will need

• a selection of leaves, flowers, conker, acorns etc from the garden
• an empty table
• a cloth

Step-by-step guide

1 Ask your children to choose a selection of items from their garden. Start with about five items, they can repeat this game with more when they are good at it.

2 Put the items on the table and talk about them with the children. Tell them the plant names, encourage them to count their petals, look at their shapes and notice which one is next to which.

3 Give them a few minutes to remember the things they find out.

4 Cover the items with a cloth. Leave the cloth on for two or three minutes. They mustn't say anything!

5 Ask them questions about the things under the cloth and test their memory.

6 Finally, remove the cloth and see if they remembered everything!

Tips and advice

• It is best to start with just a few things. Build up the number as the children become more successful.You'll need to work with the children for this activity; expect to do all the recall work orally.
• With slightly older children you can move on to drawing as a means of testing their memories, but it's as well to leave written words until you are certain they are confident in their ability to write.
• The game is about plants, things that can be found in the garden and memory rather than spelling ability! You can select a random group, such as garden items or plants, or even take a theme, like weeds, trees, favourite plants, colour or plants you can touch.
• For inspiration look at our Plants to try section.