Reception Life and living things worksheets
What colour are your eyes?
Let’s find out which eye colour is the most common amongst your family and friends! You can record your results on this pictogram.
Make your own wormery
Fancy some pet worms? Discover the amazing life of worms by making your own wormery.
Introduction to habitats: animal homes
There are many different animals living all over the world.They all like to live in different places; some animals like it hot, some like it cold, some like it wet and some like it dry. Cut out the animals on the next page and stick them back into their home environments. Why do you think each animal is suited to living in its home?
I am growing!
In understanding that living things grow, it is fun for children to observe how they themselves have grown and changed. Children are usually very enthusiastic about talking about all the things they can do!
Grow a grass head
It’s easy to make your very own grass head. You can keep your head on the window sill, and you’ll be amazed at how fast it grows!
Find the right mother
Can you draw a line to take each baby to its mum?
Who’s living in your tree?
Put a large white sheet under a tree or a bush and give the tree a good shake. Lots of little bugs living in your tree/bush should fall onto the sheet for you to look at carefully under a magnifying glass. Can you draw some of the bugs you can see? Can you identify any of them?
Tree treasure hunt
Play a game with all the different trees in your garden or a park. First, walk around the garden with an adult. What is the same about the trees and what is different? Now try to complete these challenges.
On-the-ground investigation
Throw a hoop or a circle of string around an area of grass and look really carefully at all the different things you can see there. Make a list or draw pictures of all the different things you can see. It might include bugs, different types of grasses, soil, flowers and stones. You can also do this with a friend to see if they can find different items to you.
Observing the seasons: winter
As the seasons change, take the opportunity to go on an observation walk to see what’s happening! Here are some great ideas for hands-on winter fun!
Observing the seasons: summer
As the seasons change, take the opportunity to go on an observation walk to see what’s happening! Here are some great hands-on fun activities for summer!
Observing the seasons: spring
As the seasons change, take the opportunity to go on an observation walk to see what’s happening! Here are some great hands-on Spring fun ideas.
Observing the seasons: autumn
As the seasons change, take the opportunity to go on an observation walk to see what’s happening! Here are lots of suggestions for fun things to look for on your autumn work.
Investigating bugs
Arm yourself with some small containers (see-through if possible) and a magnifying glass and find out what bugs live in your garden. Lift up stones and logs, look in dark corners near sheds, dig around in the soil and find cobwebs on the window sill. See if you can catch some bugs in your containers and talk to an adult about what each bug looks like.
Be a poo detective
Poo is always a fascinating subject for children and definitely gets their attention! Why not go for a nature walk and find out which animals have left their smelly remains then answer these questions?
Animal guess who game
Think of an animal. Draw a picture of it on a sticker and stick it on another player’s forehead. The person with the sticker has to ask questions to find out which animal they are. Take it in turns to be the person with the sticker!
All about worms
Go into your garden and dig up two earthworms. Put them next to each other and see if you can find things that are the same about them and things that are different. Look at their length, their patterns, their colour Can you draw pictures of them both, showing the difference between them? You could also try building your own wormery.
Match the baby animal
Introduce your child to the names of baby animals and help them to match them to the pictures of adult animals.
Morning and evening routines
A prompt to discuss with your child what they usually do in the morning and evening. Encourage them to write and / or draw to record this.