Summer Fun for the Family - Nature Walk Activities

Summer means kids out of school who are looking for new ways to be entertained. Even busy parents can utilize the options below to create positive quality time which is fun and educational with their children. These great activities help children explore their world and expand their powers of observation and creativity.

Collecting:flowers, leaves, rocks, insects, etc to be preserved or studied.

Art: drawing or painting pictures of what they see.

Writing: writing a story using the plants and animals they see as their main characters.

I Spy: the guessing game which starts with player one saying, "I spy with my little eye. . ." and then giving a brief description of something they see (usually one way by which to describe it such as a color or size). As the other players guess incorrectly, Player One may add more details one at a time, until someone makes a correct guess. The correct guesser then gets to be 'Player One'.

Bingo:make up bingo cards with pictures of things which might be seen on the nature walk such as clouds, the sun, stars (if going at night), the moon ( if going at dusk or night), a flower, a tree, a stick, a rock, a stream, etc. Players can use a crayon to cross off what they see as they go (calling out each item as it is seen for all of the players), or dry beans can be used as markers if the game is played while stationary. It can start as a simple bingo only, to be finished as 'blackout' with the final winner being the one who covers their entire card first.

Bird Watching and More: books from the local library can be carefully utilized on a nature walk to help identify the various birds, plants, and more which are seen. Educational, and fun for the kids to see how many birds or plants they can spot and then correctly identify. Be sure to bring along binoculars. Magnifying glasses can be useful, as well. More information and even free guides on identifying species may be created online, downloaded, and printed.