Things You'll Need:
- A nice warm day
- Observable location
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Step 1
Watch the weather forecast and choose a bright sunny day for your nature experience. Insects and animals tend to move around more when the weather is warm and sunny.
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Step 2
Choose an area you and your child wish to explore. Have your child get involved in researching what you might find in a chosen environment, even if it is in your own backyard. Teaching a child about nature can also include learning about plants, the weather and landscapes.
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Step 3
Go to the selected area you have chosen to explore. Direct your child to an area that may be inhabited, such as a bush, a tree, the ground or the sky.
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Step 4
Look for insects, such as butterflies, grasshoppers, ants, beetles and spiders. Look in the trees for birds or squirrels or look for other mammals that might be in the area. Have your child take notice of the weather or the landscape, and notice how the weather might be effecting the surroundings.
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Step 5
Ask your child to identify some of the things that they have observed. How many insect or animals species can they identify? Can they identify some of the species that they researched? Are there any species that they have never seen before? What kind of plants and flowers are in the area? Why are these things important to the area?
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Step 6
Return to the area at a future date if possible to observe any changes that have taken place since your last visit. Teaching your child about nature can be an educational experience for anyyone, and children can learn how they too can be a part of helping to protect and preserve the natural environments that surrounds all of us.
Comments
Meadowlark said
on 7/14/2008 Thank you for your comments and imput.
vallain said
on 7/13/2008 These are good ideas to conteract nature deficit in our children. 5 stars.