Playing games is the best way to teach children and now the weather is so lovely it's even better to be out in the garden or park while you are learning. Here are some matching and sorting ideas to try out with grasses and seeds for you to find.

1. Pick some grasses and see how many you can hold without dropping!
2. Match the grasses: Find grasses with feathery seeds and interesting leaves. Try to get 2 of each sort.  Lay them in a line and see if the little ones can pair them up, matching the same 2 grasses together.
3. Counting: Count the grasses together.  Take a few away and count them again.
4. Put the grasses in order according to their length.  Sort them by size and line them up to see the size differences.
5. Sort the grasses by shade and colour (if you have some green, some brown, some dark green).
6. Blow: Hold each grass and see what happens when you blow them.  Do seeds fly off, do they bend or break?
7. Bug hunt: Sit and watch the grass for a while and see how many bugs and spiders you can spot scurrying about.
8. Shhh: Sit down and listen to the noises you can hear: cars, buzzing bees, laughter, a siren.
9. Picture: Take the grasses home and make a seed and grass picture with them.

As a follow-up diary project, put some seed into a pot of soil and watch over the next few weeks to see if the seeds germinate and grow into new plants?

This weekend is dedicated to our garden birds - the country’s biggest survey takes place with families all over the country grabbing pens and paper to record what birds come to their gardens.  Teach your children about the different birds to be seen in your garden, talk about the different colours and how to identify each type of bird.

To participate in the bird survey, simply go out into your garden or to a local park and sit for an hour (quietly!) and watch for birds. Note down what species you see and count them as you spot them. They must land in the garden or park rather than fly over.

When you have observed for an hour, and have your results, simply log your findings on the RSPB website (www.rspb.org.uk). There is a handy print out sheet on the site too to help identify the birds and, you can get a copy of last year’s results too.  Why not have your little ones draw a picture of your garden or the park with the different birds they have seen too?  Try making a map to show where you spotted each bird.

This event has been taking place for some thirty years. There have been results from nearly 280,000 gardens which gives experts an idea of how bird numbers are diminishing.

It is also great fun, good number practice and you'll feel part of a great effort to keep our local birds.  Happy Twitching!

With summer seeming almost a distant memory, it's easy to feel that there's nothing to do at weekends but to cuddle up at home and entertain the children with craft and games.  There are, however, plenty of attractions and days out that remain open throughout the year, and visiting such places on a fine autumn or winter day can be very rewarding.  Tourist numbers are undoubtedly down, so you can gain a richer experience visiting attractions that remain open.  Smaller crowds also mean it's less frantic with your baby and young children.  If you don't have children of a school age, then you'll find that the weekends outside of school holidays and half terms are quietest of all.

Attractions with animals invariably remain open all year round because even though the crowds may be small, the animals require just as much as care and attention as they do on a busy summer day!  Animal attractions include zoos and farms, also animal sanctuaries and wildlife parks.

Whilst the majority of National Trust and English Heritage properties close over the winter months, many privately owned country houses, stately homes and castles remain open.  These can offer a wonderful place just to 'get away' and enjoy lovely outdoor walks.  Many such properties offer garden and grounds only tickets which often suit younger children who may not endure a traipse around a stuffy home!

Lots of towns and cities have local museums that also remain open throughout the year.  If you are looking for something different to do in your area, try to discover a new museum that you perhaps didn't know existed before!  Use the internet to search for attractions new to you nearby.

Wherever you live, you're never far away from some 'great outdoors', perhaps a National Park, a country estate, a local park, the coast, a wildlife sanctuary, reservoir or industrial space such as docks.  All of these can make for a fun place to walk and explore no matter how young your children.

Exposing your children to interesting places from an early age will impart a curiosity for interesting places and learning in later life.  Just because the traditional tourist season is over, don't write off the idea of great days out in the autumn and winter!

Tweeting is bird-watching and some people are obsessed!  They travel the country for a sighting of a rare hawk or a possible glimpse of a migrating finch.  However, tweeting with children can be great fun and a good way of introducing wildlife to them.

We've been obsessed with birdwatching for centuries.  There are shelves of books in the library all about the birds that reside in different regions of the country and those that migrate and spend just the summer or winter in certain places.  There are also lovely birdy books for children with a smaller selection of birds illustrated and presented in an accessible way.

So, how do we go about staring birdwatching?

At this time of year, its easier than ever to spot birds because there are no leaves on the trees!  This means they can't hide away as easily as in the summer.  Winter also brings migrating birds through, so you might spot more unusual ones!  Start in your own garden or around your home.  Even cities have a great selection of birds that roost in the buildings or in parks.

What equipment do we need?

If you have a bird watching book that's great.  Take it along to the local countryside or park and use it as you look for birds.  If not, jot down the characteristics of the birds you see and you can look it up in the library or on the internet when you get home to find out what it is called.  Older children might want to scribble blocks of the colour that they see on each bird and you can then look up birds with those colours and confirm their sighting with pictures.

Do we need binoculars?

If you have binoculars, it adds to the  fun so take them with you!  If not, make the play the part and make some pretend binoculars with kitchen roll tubes, stuck together and some string attached to hang around you child's neck.

What do we do?

Simply sit still in your garden or in the park and wait!  You'll probably hear the birds before you see them.  Then just watch!  See what the birds do, observe their colours, are they in a flock or alone.  Try to identify them if you have a book with you, show the pictures to the children and ask them if that is what they see.

When you get home try to draw them and find our their names.  You could even log your sightings in your ToucanLearn diary, noting what you see and where you see them.  Happy watching!

Lots of families visit local parks frequently during the summer months.  Keep things fresh and exciting by playing some new games.  Take along a kite to fly or maybe a boat to float on a pond.  Throw pebbles into the water or try to hit leaves of plants on the opposite side of the river bank.  Make a 'secret camp' in the bushes.  Don't forget the ducks - take along any stale bread and give the ducks a feast.  Or, take along a picnic and enjoy your own feast.  Perhaps try something new: pitta breads, or wraps for a change from sliced bread.  Hunt for different leaves or special pebbles or pine cones, collect them up, take them home and make a collage from all the different things you find!