ACTIVITIES There'sa m om enteveryautum n whena child spotstheirfirstconker,and som ething switcheson.Itdoesn'tm aterhow m any they've colected before -thatshiny,deep brown shelstilgetspicked up,turned over, and pocketed like treasure.The traditonal gam eisbriliant,butconkershavequietly earned a reputationasoneofnature'sbest freetoys,and there'sa lotm oreyoucando with a handfulbeforetheyshrivelup on the windowsil. 1.Conkersorting and counting. Foryoungerchildren,conkersarea briliant hands-on m athstool.Sortbysize,linethem up biggestto sm alest,orsim plycounthow m anyyou'vefound onthewalkhom e.No worksheetrequired. 2.Conkerpainting. Dab a conkerin paintand rolitaround insidea shoeboxlined with paper.The wobbly,unpredictabletrailitleavesisoddly satisfying -and a genuinelydiferentkind of "painting"forkidswho'vedoneeveryother version going. There'sm oreto Autum n'sfavourite find,than a string & a dare 3.A ConkerOlym pics. Setup sim plechalengesinthegarden or park:whocan rolonefurthest,balance them oston a spoon,orgetoneinto a bucketfrom a distance.Zero equipm ent, instantentertainm ent. 4.Conkercreatures. W ith a bitofhelp (and m aybea cocktail stick ortw o),conkersm ake surprisingly good m inianim als-add a few twigsfor legsand you'vegota hedgehog,a spider, orwhateverelseim agination decideson the day. 5.A ConkerTrailJar. Keep a jam jaronthewindowsiland add oneconkerfrom everyautum n walk. W atching thecolection grow overa few weeksturnsan ordinarywalkinto som ething to lookforward to.Thebestbit? Noneofthisneedsplanning,kit,oreven leaving yourusualroutetotheshops.Just eyesopen,pocketsready,and a wilingnes to stop fortwom inuteswhen som eoneshouts"found one!" Five Thingsto Do W ith Conkers W hetheryou’recounting,painting,com peting orjust enjoying,besureto havefun thisConkerseason! 18
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