BAND Blog

1: Visit a museum There are lots of museums in Bristol. In the centre you have the Mshed and Bristol Museum both run touring exhibitions as well as their main collections. This...

2: Build a dam  Do you know of a shallow stony stream? If so get the wellies on (do a risk assessment) and get building. Experiment with stones and sticks to see...

3:Walk 2 miles There are a lot of green spaces in Bristol so get out and walk. The council have maps for walking routes in parks all over the city, take a...

4: Create a secret code There are lots of ways to do this: writing words backwards; substituting numbers for letters, pig latin, symbols. See who can crack the code – they could...

5: Jump in puddles Is there any greater joy than jumping in a really big puddle creating a huge splash? Make sure people are kitted up in wet weather gear (or have...

6: Fly a kite If you fancy building a kite to fly, look at the BAND Pinterest board – kites. There are paper bag, classic diamond shape and more unusual shaped kites...

 7: Climb a tree Find a good woodland with a range of climbable trees – you will need different trees for different sized children. The tree that suits the child is the...

 8: Paint a rock Children decorate rocks with paints, Sharpie pens or nail varnish, and then leave them lying around, partially hidden in places where other children will easily find them. It’s...

9: Make a grass trumpet Amaze your friends with this lost art. Find a long fat blade of grass and hold it between your thumbs at the bottom and top. Make sure...

10: Bake a cake There are so many cakes out there. Help us celebrate by cooking big cakes or cupcakes; chocolate cake to courgette cake; Decorated cake to plain delicious cake. What’s...

11: Make a bug house Insects are really important for the environment and some of their natural habitats are threatened. So we can help them by building a bug house. Find a...

12: Play Pooh Sticks After reading a few Winnie- the-Pooh stories , have fun playing this iconic game. Best played with 2 or more people. Find a fast flowing river with a...

13: Build a den Everyone loves den building and we love going up to Leigh Woods to find some sticks to build with. Use branches, twigs, leaves and even mud to make...

 14: Climb a Hill Yes, Bristol is full of hills so you can take your pick. The feeling of achievement when you get to the top and can see for miles is...

 15: Make a daisy chain Wait till the daisies are nice & big and pick enough to make whatever size chain you need. Start with one daisy and using your thumb nail...

16: Make a den inside  There is no limit to what materials can be used for an indoor den. The classics are: the blanket/sheet/old curtains den; the cardboard dens; the piles of...

17: Grow Some Cress  Fill a container (a small pot or tray) with potting soil. Or you can use a few moist paper towels on a tray. Scatter the garden cress seeds...

18: Make a picture in a stream  Find an area with very shallow water (such as the Trym as it flows down through the gorge at Blaise Castle. Find lots of pebbles...

19: Make a trail with sticks Find a wood and split your group into two. The first group goes out and lays a trail using sticks to make arrows on the ground...

20: Hunt for bugs Get out the magnifying glasses and get really close to the ground or trees and bushes and see what you can find. You could collect some bugs (gently)...

21: Find a Gromit Gromit Unleashed 2 is coming, from Monday 2nd July until Sunday 2nd September 2018, over 60 decorated sculptures will descend on Bristol raising money for Bristol Children’s Hospital...

 22: Build a S(B)andcastle From a simple bucket castle to an elaborate sand sculpture you can make what you want. For best results use fine damp sand and keep wetting it and...

24: Have water balloon fight Have your balloons ready for a nice warm day. You can buy small water balloons or you can use ordinary party balloons (party balloons are more likely...

23: Make a Robot Make a robot. This could be anything from the classic cardboard box and silver paper to junk bots made out of old electronic items for the more technologically...

Have a water fight 24. Have a balloon water fight. Have your balloons ready for a nice warm day. You can buy small water balloons or you can use ordinary party balloons...

25: Paint with ice Paint with ice. Put different colour paint in an ice cube trays and add water & mix. Start freezing, half way through put a lolly stick in each...

26: Play Hide & Seek  Play hide and seek. It’s the best game as you all know. Play it inside, outside and on trips. It’s important to establish a boundary to play...

27: Write a song Write a song. There is bound to be musical talent in your club whether it is singers, musicians or lyric writers. You could start off by writing alternative...

28: Make a bird feeder Make a bird feeder. Encourage wildlife by making bird feeders. From a simple plastic bottle with a wooden spoons stuck through filled with seed, or make  fat...

29: Obstacle Course Obstacle course. This can be anything from sports equipment arranged to the contents of your loose parts box/shed. You can make it or you could let the children create...

30: Bubble Painting Bubble painting. Assemble some containers, a range of yoghurt pots, bowls, mugs and even trays. Put some paint, water and washing up liquid into each of them. Using straws...

31: Make junk drums Make junk drums. You can make drums out of almost anything! All you need is a hollow container (a cylinder shape is often good) and something to make...

32: Go on a treasure hunt Go on a treasure hunt. This could be big or small. You could do it in your outside area and hide treasure to be found, either...

33: Create a dance routine Create a dance routine. Lots of children love to dance, copying the latest dance moves and making up a few of their own. Challenge the dancers to...

34: Build a Windmill Build a windmill. Using thick paper or flexible card cut a square shape 20cm by 20cm is a good size, but you can have any size you want....

35: Tie Dye a t-shirt Tie dye a t-shirt. Get ready for the summer sun with a designer one-off t-shirt. For best results do this over a number of days with at...

36: Go Pond Dipping Go pond dipping. Just as much fun on a cold day as on a warm one. Get out the wellies, buckets, nets, pots/trays and magnifying glasses and find...

37: Put on a puppet show Put on a puppet show. Where to start with a puppet show? Is it making the puppets? Is it writing the story and songs? Is it...

38: Have fun with slime Have fun with slime. Make the classic gloop recipe from cornflour, water and food colouring. Solid one minute and liquid the next children love to experiment with...

39: Build the biggest rolled up paper tower Build the biggest rolled up paper tower. A team challenge. Using only paper and masking tape challenge them to build the tallest paper tower...

40: Make a giant 40 and take a picture Make a giant 40 and take a picture. Help us celebrate by making a giant 40. What way will you do it? Big...

Evelyn (Young in the 60’s, out and about in the 70’s) L iving in the country there was a lot of outdoor messing about in good weather, getting stuck in the mud...

Ellie (Young in the 80’s) I lived in a small cluster of houses in a little village in the New Forest and the thing I remember the most is a distinct lack...

Michelle (Young in the mid 70’s/early 80’s) We lived in cul de sac and lived in a terraced house. We used to play outside in the street a lot we had a...

Fenella (Young in the late 60’s/mid 70’s ) We lived in cul de sac in a large detached house with a three quarter of an acre garden which included a stream and...

Julie B (Freedom to roam in the 60’s) We lived above a newsagent sweet shop which was my parents’ shop. I remember nicking the sweets and weighing out the snuff, and reading...

Sarah (Young in the 70’s/80’s) I had an amazing library – things were very meticulously organised and everyone who came to the house would have to borrow a book! I still have...

Julie (Freedom to roam in the 60’s) We lived in a street of semi detached houses in a deprived part of South Bristol. We used to play outside in the fields a...

Jenny (Young in the 70’s, freedom to roam in the 80’s) I grew up in a suburb of North Bristol, living in a terrace of 3 houses in the middle of the...

Play throughout the ages 1900’s: In a stark contrast to today, in the early 1900’s children were expected to entertain themselves. There was no money for expensive toys, and the adults were...

Annie-Young in the 60’s We lived on Lodge Causeway in Fishponds which wasn’t a busy road then like it is now. Our house was a terraced one with an outside toilet. I have...

Is it time to let children play outdoors once more? Back in 2008 the decline in children’s play was laid bare when Government ministers admitted that one in four eight- to 10-year-olds...

What we remember – memories of play Compiled by Ellie @ BAND We all know that there are many, many articles about how children nowadays spend too much time indoors or on...

Tampon Tax Community Fund – Quartet Community Foundation The Tampon Tax Fund allocates funds generated from the VAT on sanitary products to projects that improve the lives of disadvantaged women and girls....

The Big Lottery Partnerships The Big Lottery Partnerships funding make grants over £10,000 for organisations who share responsibility and influence with others, who have a shared set of goals and values, and...

Bristol Water   Bristol Water are giving away £500 every month to a community or charity to complete a local project. http://www.bristolwater.co.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Together-for-good-video.mp4   Let them know about your project on their FaceBook...

Stoke Park Group Friend’s Fund – Quartet The programme particularly welcomes applications for activities that help to integrate individuals with learning disabilities into the community, preventing them from becoming socially isolated; or...

FUNDRAISING BLOG: Big Thank you to Little Lives BAND would like to say a big thank you to Little Lives for kindly funding one of the BAND Makaton training courses. Little Lives are...

Fundraising Blog: Somerset Crimebeat Trust This grant programme is open for applications all year. Opening Date: Applications can be made at any time, but are awarded quarterly by the panel. Maximum grant...

Ford Britain Ford Britain Trust is committed to supporting local UK communities. Applications that are based near to a Ford plant or office location in the UK are awarded a higher weight...

Fundraising News: The Garfield Weston Foundation The Garfield Weston Foundation are excited to announce that on the 5th January 2018 they will be launching a new one-off grants scheme to celebrate the...

FUNDRAISING BLOG: UnLtd, Sport relief & Spirit of 2012 UnLtd, in partnership with Sports Relief and the Spirit of 2012, has announced that young people who want to start, grow or build...

Blue Spark Foundation B lueSpark Foundation is a registered charity which supports the education and development of children and young people by providing grants for educational, cultural, sporting and other projects. They will fund schools....

1) Music for All Many projects and initiatives take place throughout the UK that all aim to bring music to their community. Most would benefit from a “helping hand” to fulfil their...



Esafety News Here to help us in our quest to keep children safe online is the BSCB Esafety Newsletter. It’s hard to keep up to date with advice for children and their...

British Nutrition Foundation Healthy Eating Week takes place 11th-15th June and aims to increase knowledge about healthy eating and well-being, physical activity, food provenance and cooking.  A series of free resources and...

May 2018 is National Walking Month: why  not plan an event for your setting to take part?  As part of this, Walk to School Week is 21-25th May: why not encourage all...

Data Protection & GDPR- where to find advice Childcare settings need to comply with the new General Data Protection Regulations 2018 (GDPR 2018) which, in May 2018, will replace the Data Protection...

The Childcare Voucher Scheme, which would have closed to new applicants from 5th April has now been extended to 5th October 2018.  This means that parents/carers who meet the employment criteria and have not yet...

Please be aware there is a current outbreak of Scarlet Fever in Bristol.   If you have two or more cases of Scarlet Fever in your setting, you must contact Public Health...

Is it time to let children play outdoors once more? Back in 2008 the decline in children’s play was laid bare when Government ministers admitted that one in four eight- to 10-year-olds...

BANDNews-Back issues: Movement in Mind From MAY 2017 In recent years, we’ve heard a lot about the importance of playing outside and being able to run around for children’s development. Further neuroscience...

Safer Internet Day – 7th February saferinternet.org.uk Safer Internet Day 2017 will take place on Tuesday 7th February with the theme ‘Be the change: unite for a better internet’. https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/safer-internet-day/2017 Quick links:...

Early Years Designated Safeguarding Leads Network Meetings. These meetings will take place 3 times a year and will be organised on an area basis. Download the flyer here: EY Designated lead meetings...

Makaton Enhancement BAND still has spaces on the 6 session Makaton Enhancement course commencing on Wednesday 22nd February, 9.30am – 1pm at the BAND office. The other sessions will run on 8th,...

Friday, 22 May 2015 BAND visit the Play Bus Sensory Truck As part of our on-going  commitment to inclusion, BAND has run a pilot session with the  PlayBus Sensory Truck to see if  improving...