Clay woodland faces

Press a handful of clay onto a tree trunk and sculpt a face for it — the fastest route into imaginative play there is, and every tree ends up with a personality.

How it goes

1. Give each child a ball of soft clay (about tangerine-sized).
2. Choose a tree and press the clay firmly onto the bark at child height.
3. Sculpt a face — then raid the woodland floor: acorn-cup eyes, twig eyebrows, seed teeth, moss hair.
4. Walk the 'gallery' together and let each child introduce their tree character.
5. Return the clay to the kit at the end (or let natural clay weather away).

Kit

• Air-dry or natural clay
• Collecting pots for found materials