Polly Pocket Best Day Ever

‘The Best
Day Ever’ with
Activities
In ‘The Best Day Ever’ game on the Rainbows website, Polly Pocket and Olivia had an
amazing day out of doors with the Rainbows. They hunted for insects, talked about the
environment and had a picnic.
These activities explore the themes of the game. Why not try them with your Rainbows?
Save the planet
Reduce, reuse, recycle. Have the Rainbows
heard about these three simple ways of
helping their planet?
You will need:
a collection of items to
help you discuss how
waste can be reduced,
such as plastic bottles,
old cans, newspapers,
an apple
paper and pens
Before the meeting, find out about recycling facilities in
your area. If possible, get pictures of the places and the
different sorts of recycling bins or bags that are used locally.
As a unit, talk about why we should try not to create too
much rubbish.
 Rubbish is ugly.
 Rubbish can harm creatures and plants.
 The more rubbish we make, the more land we need, to
make landfill sites to dispose of it.
Talk about the items that you have
brought in and how they can be
reduced, reused or recycled.
 Reduce the number of carrier
bags that are needed by using
heavy duty ones or taking your
own bags to the shops.
 Reuse waste in as many ways
as possible, such as making
notepads from scrap paper or
decorating boxes to make pretty
containers.
 Explain what recycled paper is
used for, or tell Rainbows that
some pencils, rulers and even
clothes are made from recycled
plastic cups and bottles!
The Rainbows can then design a poster
for their home showing different aspects
of reduce, reuse and recycle.
Busy bees
This game will get the Rainbows busy buzzing!
The Rainbows should run around the room,
buzzing like bees. A Leader calls out ‘Busy
bees stick together in...’ and then a number.
The girls have to get into groups of that number.
Any Rainbow who isn’t in a group is out. Keep
playing till the Rainbows are tired!
You could make this harder by calling out
different instructions, eg: ‘Busy bees stick
together with their right arms.’
You will need:
Ladybird hunt
This is a colourful way to enjoy ladybirds.
1. Each Rainbow colours her ladybird template,
or decorates it as a collage. Explain that both
halves of the ladybird should be the same, but
the Rainbows can choose the number of spots
they put on it. You may need to tell them that
their ladybird will be cut in half.
2. C
ut each ladybird in half.
Hide one of the halves
around the meeting area or
in an area outside.
3. G
ive each Rainbow one half
of a ladybird and tell them to
find the other half.
Ladybird template
a collection of items to
help you discuss how
waste can be reduced,
such as plastic bottles,
old cans, newspapers,
an apple
paper and pens
collage materials,
such as coloured paper
and glue
a ladybird template for
each Rainbow
Talk to the Rainbows about how
ladybirds are loved by gardeners
as they eat bugs and insects that
harm some garden flowers.
Bug action
Get the Rainbows warmed up with this
lively game.
1. E
xplain the different bug actions to
the Rainbows (see list). Get them to
practise each one in turn.
2. T
he Rainbows find a space to stand.
Each time the name of a bug is called
out they should do the right action.
Raise everyone’s heart rate by calling
out the names quite quickly!
Ladybird lodge
Build a home for nature’s
best pest controller!
Bees: Buzz around with small arm movements for
the wings.
Butterflies: Sit cross-legged on the floor and use
your bent legs to mimic butterfly wings.
Caterpillars: On your tummy, move by stretching
your arms out with your feet and legs catching up.
Centipede: In groups of four, hold each other at
the waist and walk together in a chain.
Daddy-long-legs: Walk on all fours like a crab.
Dragonfly: Fly about with big arm movements for
the wings.
Grasshopper: Do bunny hops.
Ladybird: Lie on your back and wave your arms
and legs in the air.
Millipede: Like the centipede, but the whole
Rainbow unit forms the chain.
1. H
unt around your garden or local park for
pieces of bark. Don’t pull any bits off trees,
and take care not to disturb anything that
may already be living in or on the bark!
large detergent bottle
(thoroughly washed)
strong scissors
string
cardboard (corrugated
is best)
pieces of bark
2. C
arefully cut
off the top of
the detergent
bottle.
3. M
ake two small
holes in the side of
the bottle. Thread
some string through
the holes and tie in
a loop.
5. F
ill the bottle with
the bark pieces.
4. L
ine the
bottle with the
cardboard,
leaving the
open end
clear.
You will need:
6. Hang the ladybird
home facing north
(out of direct morning
sunlight) on a tree or
post near a hedge,
some plants or a
vegetable patch.
Leave it undisturbed
– ladybirds like a
peaceful home.
You will need:
Bug badges
Rainbows can make a badge with a difference!
1. Cut a circle of tissue paper slightly larger than the
bottle lid.
2. Put glue onto the outside of the lid and inside the
rim. Cover the lid with tissue paper and push the
edges inside the lid. Leave to dry.
3. Decorate with a bug design, using the pens.
4. Attach a pin or brooch back to the rim of the lid
with glue.
plastic tops from milk
or water bottles
coloured tissue paper
felt-tip pens
brooch back or safety
pin
PVA glue
Safety note: Be careful with the
sharp points on brooch backs and
safety pins.
Be safe
Mini bug trail
This quiet game can be played indoors or
outdoors.
1. Draw or find pictures of six to eight
different types of insects (see ‘The Best
Day Ever’ activity sheet for Rainbows on
the Rainbows’ website for pictures). You
will need a copy of each type of insect for
every Rainbow, plus one extra, so it may
be quicker to photocopy the pictures. Put
a set of insect pictures into each envelope.
Stick one picture of an insect onto the lid of
each plastic tub.
4. When a Rainbow finds a tub she puts
the right picture inside and moves away
so no one knows it’s there. Tell the girls
that it’s important to be quiet so as not to
disturb the insects!
5. The winner is the first girl to find a home
for all her insects and come back with an
empty envelope.
You will need:
6–8 empty margerine
tubs with a picture of an
insect on the lid.
an envelope for each
Rainbow with one
picture of each insect
inside
2. Hide the tubs around the meeting
place or outside area.
3. Give each girl an envelope with a
set of insect cards inside. Then give
the Rainbows ten minutes to move
quietly around the area looking for
homes for their insects.
Safety note: If you do this activity outside
you must do a risk assessment. Check
for litter or fouling by dogs. Position your
adult team so that all the tubs can be
seen by them but not by the Rainbows.
Be safe
‘The Best
Day Ever’ with
Activities
Polly Pocket has joined Olivia’s Rainbows,
and they’ve had the best day ever! Share the
fun with these activities.
Butterfly
Ant
Minibeast hunt
Polly and Olivia hunted for minibeasts.
Worm
Snail
Minibeasts are small creatures without a
backbone or skeleton. Butterflies, moths,
centipedes, spiders, snails and worms are
all minibeasts that you might find. They are
everywhere!
With an adult you know, find a patch
of grass in a safe area. Lay a hoop on the
Centipede
grass and see what minibeasts you can
find inside it. If you have a magnifying glass
you can take a closer look, but don’t touch
minibeasts or pick them up. If you don’t
know what they are, use these pictures to
Try putting your hoop in other
help, or look in a book.
places – under trees, on some mud,
even on the beach! Do you see the
same minibeasts?
Litterbugs!
Polly, Olivia and the Rainbows talked about putting
their rubbish away so that it doesn’t become litter.
Litter makes the environment look untidy and can
be dangerous to people and animals.
Have you heard of ‘Reduce, reuse, recycle’?
‘Reduce’ means not throwing so much rubbish
away. ‘Reuse’ means using things again, like using
an empty jar to keep your pencils in. ‘Recycle’
means turning rubbish into other useful things.
If everyone did their best to reduce, reuse and
recycle, there would be less rubbish and litter.
When you have finished, make sure
you recycle the leftover litter.
Wood louse
Spider
Hi! I’m Polly
Pocket.
Ask an adult to get you
a selection of clean litter,
like plastic bottles, small
cardboard boxes or foil
containers. Use the litter
to make a litterbug! It can
look however you want it to.
Maybe it will have two heads,
eight legs or a funny face!
Polly’s picnic
Polly, Olivia and the Rainbows had a picnic on
their day out. Why not try these easy recipes
and have a picnic of your own?
Spider cakes
Cut the strawberry laces into eight
short lengths.
Turn the chocolate teacake over
and use chocolate spread to stick eight
laces onto the flat side.
Picnic pinwheels
Cut the crusts off a slice of bread.
Flatten the bread with a rolling
pin. Spread it thinly with the filling
of your choice. Carefully roll the
bread up so it looks like a Swiss
roll. Cut the roll into four slices.
You will need:
a chocolate
marshmallow tea cake
strawberry laces
a knife
chocolate spread
two small sweets or
raisins for eyes
Turn the spider
over again and put
it on a plate. Use
chocolate spread to
stick on two eyes.
You will need:
a slice of bread
a knife
a rolling pin
sandwich filling
(something soft like
cream cheese)
Fruity lollies
Rainbow kebabs
Ask an adult to cut up the
vegetables and fruit into
bite-sized pieces. Push
them onto a skewer with
the cheese cubes to make
a tasty no-cook kebab.
Peel a banana and cut it in
half. Push a lolly stick into
the flat end. Dip it into the
yogurt and then roll it in the
crushed cornflakes. Eat
your lolly straight away!
You will need:
You will need:
raw vegetables, such
as cherry tomatoes,
cucumber and different
coloured peppers
cubes of cheese
canned or fresh fruit,
such as pineapple chunks
wooden skewers
a banana
a knife
lolly sticks
yogurt in a bowl
crushed cornflakes
on a plate