Explore the Backyard

You and your kids will need a backyard for this activity. Even if you live in an apartment, chances are there is some small patch of trees and/or shrubs and maybe even a bit of grass. Don’t discount that patch of greenery.

Oftentimes, we overlook the things closest to us, and that includes nature. Granted a patch of grass shaded by a tree isn’t the same as local conservation land with paths leading you through acres of forests, fields, or wetlands, but you can still explore.

• Give kids a magnifying glass for getting an up close view of insects, seeds, soil, leaves, flower parts, etc.
• A collection jar with holes doesn’t cost a lot of money (check dollar stores) and gives kids the chance to hold onto insects, worms, and small frogs for a short period, giving them the opportunity to examine the creature. Keep the creatures out of direct sun and release them after ten-or-fifteen minutes.
• A white pillow case or piece of fabric will allow kids to set their discoveries – including crawling insects – on the ground while providing maximum contrast.
• Paper and crayons, markers, or watercolors encourages children to take a closer look at their discoveries as they create a journal entry or create a picture.
• A digital camera also encourages exploration, particularly if you challenge a child to take a certain number of photographs of their surroundings.
• With kids ages 8-or-9 and up, you might want to supply some “First” field guides that can help the children to identify the trees, flowers, or insects around them. Trying to identify aspects of nature is something like solving a mystery – can the children notice enough clues that will lead them to the correct conclusion.

Don’t worry if kids don’t stay “on task” by accomplishing some specific exploration. Get them outside with a hook, “Can we find any caterpillars in the garden?” and then watch them discover the things that most interest them.

Backyard Nature Fun

Whether your child loves collecting rocks or looking at insects, you don't have to travel far to encourage their interest in nature. By looking at the nature in their backyard, kids learn that nature is all around them and that it isn't limited to rainforests and polar bears that they can watch on television.

Below are links to explorations, games, and craft projects that kids can do in their own backyard, some on their own and other activities with at least one other child (or adult).

Play This Magic Square Nature Collection Game
Go Bug Collecting for Outdoor Fun
Make a Stone Cairn
Nature Memory Games
Backyard Games that Get Kids Playing in Nature
Activities for Kids Who Collect Rocks
How to Discover What Worms Need to Survive

Backyard Summer Fun

Although summer brings family vacations and camp experiences for some children, kids may best enjoy the simplicity of spending time in their own backyard. Whether kids are getting together with siblings, neighbors, or friends and relatives who are over the house for a play date or a party, there are an endless number of ways kids can have fun right at home.

Cool Summer Fun with Icy Kids' Activities

Backyard Games for Active Kids

Games Played with Sticks for Indoor and Outdoor Fun

How Kids Can Invent Fun Games to Play Outdoors

How to Make Bubble Blowers

Water Balloon Games

Backyard Camping for Kids and Families

Sun and Shadows

After a few rainy days, the sun is out, the sky is cloudless (for now), and the buds on shrubs and trees are opening into flowers and leaves. Two rabbits were hopping through the backyard this morning and my husband was lucky enough to catch sight of a coyote in the forest behind where he works. It turns out the coyote was snuffling around for the rabbit that revealed itself – and then got away (at top speed) from the predator.

I’m listening to birds singing, but it is harder to see them in the interplay of light and shadow up in the trees. Now it will be safe for them to start building nests that will be shielded by leafy shadows.

On a sunny day, take your kids outside and with chalk, trace their shadows on the driveway. Repeat thirty minutes later, and thirty minutes after that. For fun comparisons, the first time, trace around their feet and then trace the shadow. Every time after that, kids stand in their footprints before you trace their shadow. Even if kids are old enough to understand that the position of the sun in the sky alters the shape of shadows over the day, this is a fun activity.

After tracing three or four silhouettes, kids can color in the images, changing the color chalk they are using each time they have to cross a line – the end result is colorful and crazy, sort of like the child has become tie-dyed.

For more fun ideas, check out Shadow Art and Shadow Activities for Kids.

Puddle Science for Kids

If there’s a puddle, most kids will gravitate toward it. A few kids will hold back but oftentimes that is because of fear of mom or dad’s wrath with wet or muddy clothes. Pull out some old, stained, or never-quite-right clothing from your child’s wardrobe and designate them outdoor play clothes if, as mom or dad (or the adult who hands kids off to mom and dad) you are concerned with seeing grass stains and mud across the knees of a pair of jeans.

Spring and summer are great times of year to explore puddles because the weather is warmer and there is less chance of getting chilled. Rain boots are perfect for splashing around; although, an old pair of sneakers is fine as well. Raincoats can be hot and some kids are happier without a coat – if they can go inside and change into dry clothing after time outside, then kids don’t have to deal with the restriction of not getting wet.

Some kids will go outside and feel right at home exploring and playing in puddles. If your child is weather-wary, join them outdoors and guide them through a few simple activities.

Water Activities
If it is raining, watch the way the drops interact with the surface. Children will learn to look outside on a rainy day and predict how hard it is rainy by watching droplets hit the puddles.

Try floating leaves on puddles. Children will see how the depth of water affects the way the leaf boats can move.

Gather a collection of dry twigs (or use craft sticks) and measure the depth of a few puddles. Can the children hypothesize why some puddles are deeper than others?

Splash! Toss different objects into puddles of different depths. What reaction can kids get from a leaf, an acorn, a pebble, or even themselves! Watch for splash patterns. Kids may even want to measure the depth of water in a puddle after they’ve jumped into it.

Encourage children to come up with their own experiments and games – perhaps they will trace the edge of a puddle and measure by the day or hour how quickly it takes to evaporate. If kids haven’t spent a lot of time outdoors in the rain, they may range from timid to wild; try the experience a few times so they can get used to exploring the rainy world.

Shadow Art

Originally published 4/12/2011 at explorealongtheway.com

Have kids do this project on a sunny day that isn’t too windy. They can do this in their own backyard. They’ll need to start with a large piece of white paper and a pencil. They will also need a sturdy piece of cardboard that they can use as a drawing board and a couple of binder clips to hold the paper in place as they work.

Walk around outside looking for interesting shadows. It doesn’t really matter what is casting the shadow, they’re interested in the shadows themselves. Look for shadows on the ground as well as shadows that may fall on walls. Don’t worry if the entire shadow doesn’t fit on the piece of paper. Hold the paper so an interesting part of the shadow falls across the paper.

Work quickly to trace the shape of the shadow. If there is a slight breeze the objects will move a bit, so they should do as good a job as they can; this doesn’t have to be perfect. Because of the angle of the sun, a traced shadow won’t look like an outline of the object. This can be fun because people looking at the finished artwork won’t necessarily know the inspiration for the piece. After tracing the shadow onto the paper, the kids will want to get some other art supplies. For this project, they can use watercolor paints, colored pencils, pastels, marker, crayons, etc.

Tell the kids to color in the shadow(s) however they like, using a solid color or changing colors when they want. After coloring in the shape, they may want to cut it out and glue it onto a piece of colored construction paper for additional contrast.

Secret Squirrel

Originally published 4/09/2011 at explorealongtheway.com

You can have kids do this activity in your backyard on their own. (If you live in a city, you can take them to a park.) Ask them to spy on the local wildlife. By local wildlife, I mean squirrels, birds, snakes, lizards, spiders, or whatever other non-threatening animals the kids are likely to find in at home. If neither you nor the kids are certain what animals are out there, then the kids will need to go on a scouting mission.

Depending on your children’s temperament, they can transform themselves into spies, wildlife biologists, or nature photographers. They can decide what they will need with them to complete their mission.

Encourage the kids to dress in colors that will allow them to camouflage with the natural surroundings. Many diurnal (daytime) animals can see in color since daylight allows them to determine if food, such as berries, are ripe. Kids should also take a mechanical pencil (no worries about dull points) and notepad with them and/or bring their camera.

Now, if kids have only ever paid attention to wild animals moving around in enclosures and exhibits, they may not know what to expect from the critters in their backyard. Before heading outside, ask the kids how the animals would respond to a creature or two running around the yard and making a lot of noise. If the kids agree that everything, including a few amoebas, would go into hiding, then ask them how they should behave.

Sneaking, walking on tiptoe, walking slowly, freezing in place, hiding, using peripheral vision (looking out the corner of one’s eyes), being quiet, etc. are all good behaviors for encouraging animals to behave as if those wild humans aren’t suddenly going to start snacking on chickadees.

On a scouting mission, the kids’ job is to find out what animals are moving around in their yard during the day. They should sit or stand in one corner of the yard for five-to-ten minutes; afterwards, move to another corner. Kids should repeat moving to other locations as desired. Kids can take notes, describing what they see, where they see it, and what the creatures were doing.

Kids can use these notes for another expedition, this time focusing on one of the animals. Their goal for this more specific exploration is to observe and record five different behaviors of this animal. It is a bit of a thrill to get animals that normally shy away from humans to act as if you aren’t there and go about their normal activities.