Gentle, hands-on nature learning for curious children
Seasonal activities for ages 4–8, made for home educators and families who want simple, low-prep ways to explore British nature together.
Some days my daughter will happily spend an hour outside. Other days, getting out of the door is the whole lesson.
Choose what works for your family
The Nature Curious Box and Digital Pack contain the same seasonal activities. Choose the format that suits your family, your week and where you live.
Nature Curious box
Activity sheets, wrapped and posted to your child anywhere in the UK.
Best for families who want everything ready to use, with printing, packing and postage handled for them.
£20 per box · sibling box £25 · posted UK-wide
Want one each season? See the Box Membership.
Digital Nature Packs
The same activities, ready to download and print at home.
Best for families who want to start straight away, print one activity at a time or live outside the UK.
£5 per pack until end of September, then £10 · under 85p per activity · available worldwide
Explore the current Digital Pack
Want a new pack each season? See the Digital Membership.
Explore what’s happening in nature right now
Each Nature Curious collection follows the season, with activities built around the wildlife, plants, weather and questions children are likely to notice outdoors.
See the current Nature Curious BoxExplore the current Digital Pack
Why families choose Buttercup
Low-prep for real family life
Made with neurodivergent learners in mind
Flexible across ages and energy levels
Made by people, not generated by AI
Keep exploring through the seasons
Choose the way you want Nature Curious delivered. Both memberships include a new seasonal collection four times a year, plus access to the private Nature Curious Club.
Nature Curious Box Membership
A new printed Nature Curious Box delivered to your door four times a year, with seasonal activities ready to pick up and use. UK delivery. Full of activities to get your child outside, looking closely and asking questions. It’s the nicest kind of post to get.
Nature Curious Digital Membership
A new seasonal Nature Curious Pack four times a year, ready to download and print whenever you need it.
Included with both memberships.
The Nature Curious Club
A home ed nature co-op, hosted online
Your membership also gives you access to our private online community for Buttercup families. Share ideas, ask questions and connect with other families learning outdoors, away from the noise of social media.
Hello, I'm Rachel — the person behind Buttercup
I'm a mum, an educator and an animation lecturer, and I make everything here myself, alongside a small team of illustrators I trust completely.
I develop the activities myself and work with a small group of illustrators I trust. Everything is designed to be flexible, sensory-aware and easy to use in real family life.
What families say
Feedback from home educators and families using Buttercup at home.
Beautiful poster, high-quality print and paper, and it created lots of lovely conversations about the different bees.
Lovely images. Suitable for young children. The animation brings a new dimension to learning making it fun for all. Excellent!
I like the poster because it tells you the different bee types.
Buttercup are doing the vital thing of bringing together technology and respect/understanding of our natural environment. All of this in a fun and captivating way for young minds to learn.
“Receiving these parcels is always an exciting day and the beautiful packaging makes it an extra treat. The topics are fab and there’s so many different activities each time that there’s always plenty to do.”
As a home-educating mum, I’m always looking for hands-on resources that are interesting but don’t take ages to prepare. Buttercup’s Plant and Animal Partnerships Box was a real hit with my eight-year-old, especially the ant and aphid activity and the oak gall matching. He enjoyed it so much that he asked to take our magnifying glass out on a walk the next day. I also loved how easily the activities fitted into science, nature study, storytelling and literacy, and the fact that everything felt thoughtful, creative and neurodivergent-friendly.
Try Buttercup for free first
Start with something simple and see whether Buttercup suits your family.
A free Curiosity Journal page
Download a printable journal page matched to your child’s age band. No sign-up required.
Download a Free Page
Sensory-Friendly Outdoor Ideas
Simple, flexible ways to explore outside, including ideas for low-energy days and children who prefer to take things at their own pace.
Get the free guide
MORE FROM BUTTERCUP
The Buttercup
Blog
Nature activities, seasonal ideas and practical support for families learning outdoors.
The Nature Family Facebook Group
A friendly space for home educators and nature-loving families to share ideas and encourage each other.
— Jo, parent and Forest School leader
Before you go — a few quick answers
How do the Nature Curious memberships work?
Boxes can be bought one at a time, or on a quarterly or annual subscription, £20 a box, with a new one posting each season. Digital packs work the same way: buy a single pack, or subscribe quarterly. Pause or cancel any time from your account, no explanation needed
I’ve got two children. Will this work for both?
Often, yes. Families regularly stretch these from three-year-olds tagging along to ten-year-olds still getting stuck in, because nothing is timed, ordered or marked. And if you’d rather each child had their own set, the sibling box doubles the sheets for £25 a box, or £90 for the year.
Do you ship outside the UK?
Boxes post UK-wide only, but the digital packs can be bought anywhere in the world and are yours the moment you download them.
Is it too structured for unschooling, or too loose if we like a plan?
Everything is open-ended by design, so you can follow the sheet closely or just let your child pick whatever catches their eye. Either way works.
Will the activities help with home education records?
There’s no requirement to show evidence of learning in the UK with work samples. That said, plenty of families keep the finished sheets, pressed flowers and made things as a natural record of what they’ve explored together, and when you write a report for your local authority, they make that much easier.
More questions?
More questions? Read the full FAQs.
The Nature Family newsletter
Seasonal ideas, free downloads and simple outdoor prompts for families who want nature learning to fit around real life.