Rainbow flower hunt
Head outside for a gentle colour matching adventure, spotting flowers and tiny natural treasures.
NOTE: This is a great activity for talking about biodiversity and caring for our environment. Encourage your child to gather mostly fallen petals, leaves, gumnuts, and other loose treasures, picking only a few wildflowers if needed. Tiny choices like these help keep our bees and butterflies happy! 🌼💕
This simple nature play idea adds a spark of magic to any park visit or neighbourhood walk.
Before heading out, give your child an empty egg carton and invite them to decorate each cup in a different colour using markers or paint. This becomes their “Flower Collector” - a special treasure box for any flowers, leaves, gumnuts, grass, or colourful nature finds they discover along the way.
Once you’re outside, kids immediately slip into explorer mode: matching colours, spotting tiny details, and proudly filling their cups with whatever catches their eye. It’s the kind of play that keeps them meaningfully busy while grownups get a chance to move slowly, chat with a friend, or simply enjoy being outdoors.
It’s screen-free, low-prep, and endlessly joyful, whether you’re at the park, on a playdate, or strolling around the block.
Materials
Prep
Step 1:
Colour each "cup" of the egg carton in a different shade each - you can use paint, or go low fuss with markers or dot stickers.
(Let the cartons dry if using paint.)
Step 2:
Head outside with your collectors!
Play
Step 1:
Go for a walk and match nature treasures to the coloured cups.
Step 2:
Talk about biodiversity and caring for our environment. Encourage your child to gather mostly fallen petals, leaves, gumnuts, and other loose treasures, picking only a few wildflowers if needed. Tiny choices like these help keep our bees and butterflies happy!
Step 3:
Take your time and enjoy the opportunity to slow down. Look closely, explore slowly, and notice tiny details.
Step 4:
Celebrate any finds and chat about colours, shapes, and textures.
Step 5:
Bring the full carton home to explore, sort, or use for more play.
Extend
Rainbow Hunt: Try to find one item from every colour of the rainbow.
Nature Sort & Count: Sort objects by size, texture, or colour.
Craft Time: Use the collected treasures for nature collages or stamping.
Mix in maths: Practice counting how many treasures you've found, and sorting them into groups to count
