I know, I keep saying it, but it’s true, I love being outside with my kids. Three little boys can get into a whole lotta trouble cooped up in the house! They can’t ride bikes and play with balls all day, though, and I like for them to have some peaceful time in nature, too. Now, there are some AMAZING ideas out there for richly layered educational nature activities, but I just do not have time for them on a weekly basis. (or even a bi-weekly basis!) These ideas are so simple, you could do one each week this summer and feel like a rockstar. (Which you totally are!)
Start a collection of nature materials such as pine cones, sticks, and rocks. Encourage your children to build with them to create unique structures. This is my intention for this summer. We have a fallen branch in the backyard which I have convinced my husband to use for “tree blocks” for the kids. I just need to find room in the garage to let it dry completely before he cuts it!
Play with water outside. Use any kind of bucket or bin and let them play sink/float with nature items. You could even bring out some animal figurines, especially fish to add another mode of play to the water.
Make a chalk scavenger hunt. This is so quick and easy, we did it twice the last couple of days. Use sidewalk chalk to draw some nature items for your little one to find in the yard. Twigs, leaves, flowers, rocks, insects. You can even draw different leaf shapes if you have them. If you need more chalk ideas, read back to this post with 10 things to do with sidewalk chalk!
Take a walk as far into nature as you can find. This week we went up to Rocky Ridge County Park. There is a lovely trail through the woods with an overlook and a pond. We saw huge dragonflies and tiny tadpoles in the pond. We chased three differently colored butterflies and listened to a variety of birds. We couldn’t have done all of that in our backyard! I think many families tend to stick to playgrounds for their kids, but truly my 2, 4, and 5 year old loved walking in the forest.
Take nature books outside with a blanket. It makes the information much more meaningful to the child. They may even be able to look for some of the items in the book. My favorite bug book for little kids is Bugs A to Z by Caroline Lawton. It’s simple and the pictures are wonderful. I also like the National Geographic nature books for kids like Seed to Plant.
Make some nature art with crayons and paper. That’s all you need! Put the paper against a tree and rub the crayon for interesting texture. Place leaves or flowers on a flat area, lay the paper on top and rub for their image. You could also lay them atop the paper and trace around them for older kids.
Well, there you have it! I hope you’re feeling inspired to have some meaningful but simple playtime with your little ones.
These are all such great ideas! It always does us good to get outside at least once a day when we can – especially this time of year! I’ve been working to make our outside space as kid-friendly as we can and we’re always looking out for new places around town to explore!
I like your idea of building with some of the natural materials they find!