Subhead: Why end up going stir crazy indoors when nature, in all its glory, awaits? SARAH SINGLETON picks up some ideas for getting children away from their screens

YOUNGSTERS across the land are looking forward to a glorious six weeks of freedom as the summer holidays approach.

But freedom can soon turn to complaints of having nothing to do, leaving parents and guardians wondering how to tear children away from their screens, get them into the great outdoors and keep them occupied.

One woman with plenty of ideas – and a mission to help get families into Nature – is Sarah Whiting, a Minety mum, blogger and Ordnance Survey Get Outside Champion who has a host of imaginative ideas. Not only are her activities fun and creative, they help foster a knowledge and love of the natural world. Neither are they expensive – and even if you can’t get out of town, a garden or park will often suffice.

“I think it’s important for health and exercise,” she says. “Being out in the sunlight gives us our vitamin B and improves our mood. It allows children to develop physically. It improves children’s coordination and motor skills – there’s quite a lot of research showing that toddlers climbing and spinning and moving is important for brain development.

“Why not build an obstacle course? You can do that in your house, or in a wood or park. Get them running around things and climbing and jumping.

“Being outside teaches them independence, so they are not scared of being outside. We talk about visiting nature, or going to nature, as though it’s something separate from us – and really we are part of it. It’s important for children to understand the environment they live in. They should be able to name plants and trees. It’s important to help them value the natural world – especially when we are hearing all these statistics about vanishing wildlife.”

Wild weaving

Take three or four sticks and tie them together, or a small branch with sticks growing from it, and wind wool between the sticks to create a nature loom. Now thread your nature finds – leaves, plants, petals and so on – through the wool.

You can create a large version if you are camping out and likely to be staying outside for a while, so you end up with a natural art display.

Nature cards

Take some small pieces of card and double-sided tape when you go out for a walk (or in your garden or park) and stick the tape on the card. Encourage children to create a piece of art by decorating the sticky part of the card with leaves and petals.

“This is brilliant for young children,” Sarah says. “You can do this when out on a picnic, or in a pub garden.”

Campfire cooking

If you’re in a location where the landowner is happy for you to create a campfire, why not try some simple campfire cooking? You can make a very basic bread mixing flour and water and flavouring it with some milk powder or cinnamon. Roll the dough into a sausage shape, and wrap this around the end of a stick. Cook it over the fire for five to ten minutes.

“It really does work!” Sarah says. “It’s back to basics cooking.”

Pond-dipping

Buy a cheap fishing net with a bamboo handle and visit a pond or stream, or even a watery ditch, and find out what creatures live within it. Put them into a jar or plastic container of water and see if you can identify crayfish, tadpoles, dragonfly larvae, water snails and minnows. At the end of the session, carefully replace the creatures back in the water where you found them.

Sarah also has a useful list of ten activities for children when you are out on a walk, and a whole host of other nature-related games and crafts, on her website craftinvaders.co.uk. The summer holidays are going to fly by.