All this sun gives is the perfect opportunity to teach our toddlers how the sun moves throughout the day and how better to show this than by making a giant sundial?!  Start by making a few signs of things that you do throughout the day.  Draw a picture each for breakfast, lunch and tea.  Draw pictures for snacks that you take regularly, then draw some pictures for other things that you do as part of your daily routine - do you always go outside at a certain time, or do a school run for older siblings?  Do you have a set story time, song time or maybe a time when you let your children watch a bit of television?  Make a bright sign for each of these and any other routine things that you do.

Now find two garden canes and cut them into lengths about two foot long - you can use short straight branches if you don't have canes to hand.  Attach one of your little one's drawings to each of the canes, securing them with tape.  Leave one piece of cane plain without any picture.  If there's a chance of rain over the next few days then attach a see through sandwich bag over each sign to protect it.

To make your sundial, take the plain cane and stick it in the ground in your garden.  Then as each of the different points of the day passes, go outside and look at where the shadow of your cane is sited.  Stick one of your cane's into the ground at the tip of the shadow.

As the day progresses, the sun moves in the sky and the tip of your shadow will move.  By the end of the day, all your homemade signs will be sited in an arc around the original pointer.  Explain to your toddler that the sun moves throughout the day and that this causes the shadow to move.  You might be able to explain to older children how the earth moves around the sun and that this is the reason why the shadow moves.

Leave your sundial out for a week and look at how the shadow points to the right sign for the different things going on in the day as the sun progresses.

Celebrate summer and being outdoors with a garden sing song, there are lot's of fun songs that you can sing with your babies to enjoy in the summer sun!

Garden Songs

Mary, Mary Quite Contrary

Mary, Mary, quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle-shells,
And pretty maids all in a row.

Round and Round the Garden

Round and round the garden, like a Teddy Bear.
(trace your finger in a circle around your little one's palm)

One step, two step
(walk your fingers up their arm)

Tickle you under there!
(tickle them under their chin or arm)

Creepy Crawly Songs

There's a Worm at the Bottom of the Garden

There's a worm at the bottom of my garden,
And his name is 'Wiggly Woo'.
There's a worm at the bottom of my garden
And all that he can do
Is wiggle all day and wiggle all night,
The neighbors say what a terrible fright!
There's a worm at the bottom of my garden,
And his name is Wiggly Woo!

Incy Wincey Spider

Incy Wincy spider climbed up the spout,
Down came the rain and washed the spider out,
Out came the sun and dried up all the rain,
Now Incy Wincy spider went up the spout again!

Animal Songs

Five Little Speckled Frogs

Five little speckled frogs
Sat on a speckled log
Eating the most delicious grubs.
One jumped into the pool
Where it was nice and cool
Then there were four green speckled frogs.

...then repeat with 4, 3, 2, 1.

Old Macdonald had a Farm

Old Macdonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O
And on his farm he had a cow, E-I-E-I-O
With a moo-moo here and a moo-moo there
Here a moo there a moo
Everywhere a moo-moo
Old Macdonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O

...and repeat for different animals

Five Little Ducks

Five little ducks
Went out one day
Over the hill and far away
Mother duck said
"Quack, quack, quack, quack."
But only four little ducks came back.

...repeat until all of the ducks have flown and then...

Sad mother duck
Went out one day
Over the hill and far away
The sad mother duck said
"Quack, quack, quack."
And all of the five little ducks came back.

Getting active with the children is not always as easy as it sounds: how can you fit any more activity time in an already busy day? Here are some simple ways to increase the activity levels in your family. Remember, every little bit counts, so keep a note of all these activities and work out your daily total of minutes spent being active.

• Music Time - turn on some groovy music and have a good old dance together!
• Encourage your toddler to walk up the stairs or to the car rather than being carried.  For older children, encourage them to tidy up after themselves or put away toys or washing at the end of the day.
• Walk to the shops and post box rather than take the car.
• Get the little ones involved with household chores: digging in the garden, sweeping the floor, washing down the garden shed.
• Go for a walk as a family - find somewhere with woods and climb up the trees or balance along fallen tree trunks.
• Have a time limit on TV watching.
• Think about some old fashioned games that are fun to play outside: hop skotch, skipping, chase, hide and seek, hoolahoop, flying a kite.

Children should do about an hour of physical activity each day.  See how close you are and praise them each time they want to do something physical.  It is so good for them to start out actively as children, because then they are more likely to stay active as they grow older.

Birds are wonderful to watch and with a little encouragement can become part of your the family!  If you don't fancy a dog or a cat as s pet, then, why not care for some wild birds instead?  Children will love spotting them, naming them, watching them feed, looking at their different colours and you can even draw some together.

How to invite the birds into you garden
Fix a bird box into a hedge or tree depending on which sort of box you buy and what type of bird you wish to attract.  There are some 5-6 million bird boxes in the country now and as birds' natural habitat declines they are relying more and more on our help.

Bird boxes
They need not be expensive.  There are about 200 different types of bird box on the market.  Some even have hidden cameras so you can spy on the resident of your bird box.  However, you can pick up traditional boxes from garden centres or you can try and build your own if you are handy!  Once in place, you then have to watch the box and see who moves in!

Bird feeders
There are all sorts of bird feeders available.  If you have squirrels in your area, you may have to opt for a squirrel-proof feeder as they can be very crafty and manage to get away with all the bird feed!  Many birds will come on to feeders even if situated close to you house.  So if you don't have a garden, then put a couple of feeders at the window or on your balcony and you may still attract visitors!

Naming the birds
Once you are getting birds into the garden, you can start spotting them and finding out what they are called.  You can go online and discover the breeds, or buy a children's spotter book or a sticker book.  See how many different types of birds there are in your garden and keep a note of  what you see.

Interesting facts about some common garden birds you'll see

1. Blackbirds

• Male are black and female are brown
• Blackbirds eat worms from the lawn and scratch around in leaf debris for insects
• They have a lovely tuneful song

2. Blue Tits

• Blue tits eat caterpillars, nuts and seeds
• They nest in trees and bird boxes
• They usually stay up in the trees rather than down on the ground

3. Robins

• Male and female both have red breasts,  young are all brown
• They are normally found alone rather than with other robins
• They love to sing
• They eat worms, seeds and insects

4. Sparrows

• Brown, black and white feathers, if they have a black bib, they are male
• They live near humans and eat seeds and scraps
• They are less common now than they used to be

Out and About
Taking interest in birds is great for children.  Even when you take them out and about, keep an eye of for birds you recognise and ones that are new to you!  Try look at the colour of their feathers and then draw them together when you get home.