Exploring Nature with The Kids! – Part II

Little Harvard has made a list of some fun activities that will help the kids all year around to explore and learn from the outside!

Here are some more fun ideas:

Look for Flowers – Find as many flowers as possible that are different from each other. Now ask the kids to close their eyes and smell the flowers. Ask your child to describe each individual smell. Kids have great imagination, and the answers will certainly surprise you!

Follow an ant trail – Kids love this one! Finding and following an ant trail can be very exciting for them! Look up and look down, look all around, and feel free to crawl on the ground. Place a small piece of food nearby and watch what happens. Discuss with the kids about the ‘ants house’: how they live, what they do,

Observe outside throughout the seasons – Change of season has great impact on the way nature looks! Get the kids outside and start observing everything: leafs and flowers bursting in the spring, insects buzzing in the summer, leaves changing colours in autumn, and trees losing leaves during the winter… kids will love it! Go even further and ask them to make a ‘nature journal’ with their findings: the little ones can make drawings and older kids can make notes!

Press flowers and leaves – Find flowers and let them dry, pressed between the pages of a heavy book. Once they are dry, use them to make arts and crafts activities. During the autumn, try the same with leaves: find orange, yellow, red or brown leaves, and keep them in the ‘nature journal’ or let the kids use their creativity!

Teach respect for nature – Plants and animals improve our quality of life and bring joy to our lives! We can teach children the importance of caring for creatures and treating them with compassion. Kids who learn the importance of respecting animals and plants will grow up to be respectful and happier adults. Teaching them how to care for pets and look after a garden is a great start!