Free to download · one pack now, the other six by email
Free Learning Resources
Seven printable nature and science packs: a story, a page for grown-ups, an experiment that works and a Did You Know? page.
The seven packs
Choose where to begin
Free to download
One now, the rest by email
The packs come out of the same workshop as the toys: the trees, the woods and the water in the stories are the ones we cut, sand and float every week. They are free, and they are for any family that would like them.
Each pack is a short set of A4 pages to print at home, in colour or black and white: a story to read aloud, a page for grown-ups, the science, one experiment that works and a Did You Know? page. Choose the pack you would like to start with and it comes to your inbox now; the other six follow by email, one a week, each with its own story and experiment. You can stop them at any time.
The oak in these packs
Why Action Oak
Grandfather Oak and his rings, the mushroom village under an old oak's roots, the oak leaf that cooks sunlight, Grandad's oak boat: the oak runs through these packs because it runs through our workshop. It is also a tree in trouble. Action Oak brings together more than thirty charities, landowners and research institutes to find out what is making this country's oaks ill and how to help them. The packs are free; if you feel able, a small donation alongside them goes to that work.
You don't have to. If you feel able, a small donation to Action Oak helps make sure the oaks are still standing when the child this pack is for has children of their own.
How to use them
Print on A4, in colour or black and white; ordinary paper is fine. Read the story first, then the page for grown-ups, which says what to gather and carries the safety notes. The ages are a guide: most packs suit three to eight, Wood Remembers four to nine, and the Stone Fruit and Charcoal packs are best from six, younger children with help and a grown-up at the heat. Each pack has one experiment, and it works.
The seventh pack · Ages 3–8
Will It Float?
Grandad found a fallen oak branch after the storm, and all winter he whittled it by the fire. By spring it was a boat: a tiny hull, a matchstick mast and a sail cut from an old hanky. “It’s heavy,” said Rosie, weighing it in her hand. “Won’t it sink?” Grandad just smiled. They walked down to the stream, and Rosie set it on the water. It bobbed. It turned. It sailed off round the bend, as light as a leaf.
The one for any season: a bowl of water, a few things from around the house, and a question every child asks.