Study the biodiversity in your own backyard. Children from preschoolers to teens can see what it is like to be a scientist in the field by observing the flora and fauna all around them. Set your child up in a comfortable place in the backyard and watch as he or she learns about the local nature.
Materials Needed for Kids’ Nature Activity
Parents should help their kids to gather together the necessary materials prior to beginning this project.
- Notebook or sketchbook
- Colored pencils
- Pens or markers
Nature Observation with Children
Before beginning this activity discuss the role of the scientist in observing and documenting animal behavior and plant life. Talk about famous people who worked in the ‘field’ such as Charles Darwin and Jane Goodall. Explain that most scientists observe, but do not disturb or disrupt, nature.
- Find a comfortable place to observe. Sit with your child under a shady tree or at a picnic table. Make this a parent-child activity and join in the observation yourself.
- Provide your child with a notebook or sketchbook. Although you can easily purchase one of these at a local school or arts supply store, it may be more fun to create your own. Cut two pieces of reused cardboard (e.g., a packing or cereal box) into rectangles approximately eight by ten inches long. Insert at least five pieces of white drawing paper or copier paper into the middle. Staple together or punch two holes, one at the top and one near the bottom, to bind the book together with yarn or string.
- Ask your child to quietly observe what he or she sees. Look at the trees, bushes, flowers and more. Remind him or her to also look up in the air and on the ground.
- Encourage note taking and drawing pictures. Use colored pencils, markers or even crayons. Younger kids, in preschool and the very early elementary years, may want to only write simple words such as ‘ant’ or ‘bug’, while older children can take detailed notes, writing in paragraphs research style.
- Make sure that your child tries to draw a few pictures to go along with written words. Add labels to the pictures for identification.
Nature Book Learning Extensions
Extend the activity into multiple seasons. Add pages to the note or sketch book for fall, spring, summer or winter. Ask your child to first predict how the natural area will change when the weather changes, then have him or her do some real world observations.
This project combines scientific discovery with writing/language arts and the visual arts. Use it for a school vacation activity or combine it with an in-class assignment for extra credit.
Erica Loop - I am a mother and a professional Arts Educator, teaching visual arts programs to children ages three and up in both museum and school ...
