Environmental educator Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon has been developing and leading programs of kids for years, and has come up with a number of fun, educational, nature-based activities that kids love. Here, Rainbow Wulfeck Pharaon shares a few of her favorite nature activities for kids.
Go for a Hike
Exploring the natural world is a fantastic activity that allows kids to self-direct their own curiosity. Just going for a walk and observing what you see, hear, smell, and feel is a great way to get kids asking questions about nature and interested in learning more.
Identify Animal Tracks
This is an especially great winter activity (particularly in places with a lot of snow), but you can identify animal tracks in mud and dirt as well. Check out a guide to animal tracking from the library or look for an online resource, and see which animals you might be looking for in your area. Then, have kids see if they can find and identify tracks! Don’t forget to take pictures.
Nature Crafting
The environment is a fantastic source of material for crafting. Kids might enjoy preserving leaves in wax, making a picture out of bits of twig, or creating a sculpture out of rocks and stones. As kids pick up the pieces of nature they’d like to integrate into their art, see if they can identify where their materials are coming from! Create a nature scupture, take a picture, return to see if the scuplture is still there on the next visit.
Spotting Plants
Plant life is everywhere, and knowing what the plants are can be a lot of fun. Learn about the plant life of your neighborhood, and then go exploring with your child to see what they can identify. Take that knowledge with you, and point out whenever you notice a plant that both of you know the name of! Plants are habitat for many creatures. Use the plants to increase your search for wildlife.
Hang or Build a Bird Feeder
A bird feeder in the backyard can draw in tons of animal life that’s lots of fun to identify and observe.
Reuse and Recycle
You can teach kids sustainable habits by making them fun. See what “junk” you can turn into something else by recycling used jars, papers and bags, egg cartons, boxes - anything you would have otherwise thrown out! This is a great way to inspire kids’ creativity while also teaching them the value of preventing the waste of precious resources.
Looking for other fun nature-based activities to do with kids? Check out some of the following online resources:
http://rainbowwulfeckpharaon.blogspot.com/
http://www.slideshare.net/rainbowwulfeckpharaon
http://www.willwulfeck.com
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