Young children are naturally curious about everything around them, so it is easy to explore nature with them. Whether it is a cold winter day or a warm spring morning, there is always something to discover. Here are a few suggestions:
- Catch snowflakes on a thicker piece of black paper (covered in clear plastic if is warm, wet snow) and look at them through a magnifying glass. Do they have spiky shapes or more feathery softer shapes? Are they all the same shape and size?
- Look at the base of conferous trees for piles of cones. How did the piles get there, are they simply cones that have fallen from the tree, or have some of them been eaten by an animal? How can you tell? Talk about the squirrels and chipmunks that eat the seeds inside the cones. Did they store the cones there and come back to eat them later? See if you can find holes in the piles where the animals have dug through their stash.
- Look for other signs of animals in the snow, such as bird tracks around a bird feeder or Snowshoe Hare tracks around shrubs. Can you find where the hare has eaten the bark off the branches, or even its brown round droppings? Find a story book about these animals so you can learn more about them.
- As the weather warms in the spring, look for insects and other invertebrates emerging from their wintering areas. You might see tiny dark blue springtails that jump, on the snow around the bases of the trees, or ladybug beetles among fallen leaves. Count the number of spots on the ladybugs’ shell, which is actually two outer wings. Do they all have the same number of spots? Follow where it is going without disturbing it. Talk about what it eats – aphids and fungus under the leaves, and how the bright red colour warns othe animals that it can be poisonous to eat.
- Take a closer look at spring or summer flowers, whether in your garden, an open field or in a shady forest. How many different colours can you find? Can you see any insects or spiders on the flowers? If so, what are they doing? Bees will eat the nectar inside the flower whereas spiders and ladybugs might be hunting for insects to eat.
- Look under a rock to see if there are any small creatures hiding under it. Explain that these animals live there because it is cooler and wetter than out in the open. What happened when you moved the rock? Where did the animals go? Be sure to put it back in its place so that the animals can go back to their home after you have left.
Remember that while exploring nature with children, you don’t have to know all the names of every flower or insect that you might find. The most important thing is spending the time together outdoors making memories.
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