Outdoor Exploration
Activities

These easy-to-lead activities require few or no supplies—just some alert senses!

One Sense at a Time
Have your child lie down on a comfortable place outside. Ask him to close his eyes and "observe" nature using his other senses. Then repeat, having him cover is ears, then again by holding his nose, then again when standing up.

Classification
Have your child collect objects on a nature walk (stones, leaves, pieces of sticks, etc.). Once you return home, have her classify the objects by putting them into piles, based on various characteristics she decides (all the big ones, all the smooth ones, all the green ones, all the round ones...).

Get to Know a Tree
Blindfold your child and take her to a tree. Ask her to use her senses of touch/smell/hearing to learn all she can about her tree. Then lead her back to the central starting point, take off the blindfold and have her find "her" tree.

Investigating Spider Webs
Using a spray bottle of water, gently mist a spider web to highlight its threads. Have your child observe the web with a magnifying glass. Talk about why the spider made the web and ho it will catch other insects to eat (predator-prey).

Who's Been Eating Me?
Collect acorns, hickory nuts and pinecones from around the yard. Using a magnifying glass, have your child look for evidence that organisms have been eating the seeds (holes in the acorns, edges of pinecons chewed by chipmonks, etc.). Small "worms" are often found in the nuts; these are beetle larvae.