Creative Family Fun

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Nature Activities for Kids

Tips for Observing Nature With Small Children

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Since we are going to be spending so much time exploring nature, I thought it was important to teach the girls how to observe nature.

We recently took a trip to a local nature center and had some incredible opportunities for observation.

We saw turtles and geese and heard frogs and many varieties of birds.

We were very lucky to have chanced upon the goose in the picture above, who let us watch him for quite awhile before swimming away. Of course, he wouldn’t have stayed around for as long if we hadn’t been following some simple rules for observing nature.

When relaying these tips to children, you need to tell them why they are following these rules. They are much more likely to be good observers of nature if they know the reasons behind the rules.

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Tips for Exploring Nature

1. Be Quiet. This one is absolutely essential. Talking in whispers and quiet voices can sometimes be okay, but other occasions need absolute quiet. Why? Animals, birds, and even insects are naturally afraid of humans. We need to respect them and show them that we won’t hurt them. Remaining quiet will help ease the fear.

2. Be Still. Any quick or sudden movements will frighten wildlife. Why? This is the same reason why we remain quiet. We don’t want to frighten the animal. Slow, quiet motions are best. Find a spot to sit; it’s much easier to stay still while sitting.

3. Stay a safe distance away. As the adult, it’s up to you to use your common sense. For the safety of your kids and the wildlife, you need to stay a safe distance away. If you want a closer look, use binoculars. We were observing geese and turtles, both animals that would not harm us if we stayed a safe distance away. Other animals are best observed at zoos or other controlled environments.

4. Use all your senses. Teach the kids to not just use their eyes. Your ears and nose are also important tools to observation. What kind of sounds does the animal make? What do you smell? Observation is more than just seeing.

Observing birds is a great way to teach young children the rules of observing nature.

Practice observing the different characteristics of the bird. What do they look like? What color is the beak? The head? What kind of noise does the bird make?

Record the characteristics and then use a bird guide to determine what kind of bird you are looking at.

Learning to observe nature is an important skill to have because the best way to learn about nature is through observation. What are your best tips for observing nature with young children?

**Many thanks to my mom for providing the two goose pictures.**

10 Ways to Learn About Birds

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We’ve been enjoying our time learning about birds this week.

Birds are all around and fun to learn about.

They’re fascinating and so different from me or you, or even the family dog.

If your kids are interested in birds, I’ve compiled 10 fun ways to help your kids learn about birds.

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1. Observe birds. We are fortunate to have been able to visit the National Eagle Center and observe eagles up close. Through observation, we’ve learned size, color, sound and the impressive wing span of an eagle. Unfortunately, it’s not always practical to be able to observe birds at a location devoted to them. Luckily, birds are everywhere! Take a trip to a local lake, river, or hiking trail. Or, even better, just walk out into your own backyard. Having Fun at Home shares a creative way to observe and keep track of the birds that visit their backyard.

2. Listen to birds. While you’re observing, use your ears. What do birds sound like? Can you identify a bird by it’s call? ENature.com has an amazing collection of bird calls that you can listen to for free. Listen to all the different calls. Amazing, isn’t it?

3. Feed the birds. Learn about the different food that birds eat and create a bird-friendly yard. We made Cheerio bird feeders and Glittering Muffins made simple bird feeders out of cardboard tubes. You could also make some fun Cookie Cutter bird feeders like these from Kitchen Counter Chronicles.

4. Read a book about birds. There are many books written for kids about birds. You should be able to find one at any age level. We’ve enjoyed A Nest Full of Eggs (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science, Stage 1) by Priscilla Belz Jenkins, The Bird Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallotta, and About Birds: A Guide for Children by Cathryn Sill. Your local library is sure to have a collection of bird books for children.

5. Learn about nests. We were recently able to study a real bird’s nest. But, if you don’t have one, you can make your own! Sun Hats and Wellie Boots made nests from mud and twigs. Mommy & Me Book Club made large nests from branches and twigs. Get hands on and learn how a nest is put together.

6. Help a bird build a nest. While you won’t actually be able to work side-by-side with a bird, you can provide them with materials to help build their nests. Paint Cut Paste shows you how to make fun nest zests and Inner Child Fun shows you how to make colorful bird nesters. Learn about the materials used to build a nest and help the birds at the same time.

7. Learn about feathers. If you can, find a feather to examine. Feel how light it is. Fun your fingers along the side and feel the texture. Have some fun with the feathers and paint with them like this example from Mommy and Me Book Club. You can also try your hand at creating feathers, like we did with these peacock feathers or our feather stencils.

8. Learn to identify birds. What characteristics do you need to observe in order to determine the type of bird. Find a good bird book and learn about all the different types of birds that live around you. Inner Child Fun created this simple backyard field guide for an inexpensive, child-friendly option.

9. Get active! Learn about birds through active play. Flap your arms like a bird. Can you feel the breeze it makes? Pretend to glide through the air or land on a branch. Help your kids learn about birds and burn off some energy at the same time.

10. Do a bird craft. Do a quick search for birds on Pinterest and you’re sure to find many ideas. We made these cute collage owls. Toddler Approved made cute chicks using tape. Dilly-Dali Art made fun light bulb birds. Creativity My Passion made colorful birds from recycled tissue boxes. And this is just the tip of the iceberg or fun bird crafts! (Again, you can check my Birds Pinterest Board for more fun bird crafts.)

*Bonus Activity: You’re never to young to learn about birds! The Educators’ Spin On It shares some wonderful ways to introduce babies to the natural world and the wonders of birds.

What is your favorite way to learn about birds?

Exploring Nature: Bird’s Nest

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This past fall, we discovered a bird had built a nest in our garage on top of the garage door opener.It had been abandoned at some point (probably when the poor birds realized just how loud a garage door can be).

We pulled it down, showed the girls, then it was placed in a plastic bin and forgotten about.

When Lizzie requested that we spend this week learning about birds, I happened to spot the nest again.

Perfect! I got out the nest, took it outside, and we started exploring.

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We found the perfect book at the library to help us learn about this nest of ours, A Nest Full of Eggs by Priscilla Belz Jenkins. The book was written for young children and my preschool-aged child easily understood and enjoyed this book.

We learned about how birds make nests, lay their eggs, how birds grow from egg to adult, and the different kinds of nests birds build.

While we were reading, we examined the nest.

We looked closely to see what materials the bird used to build this nest and came to the conclusion that the bird must have gathered a lot of materials for a nearby farm.

We each held on to a side and tried tugging. We learned how strong a bird’s nest is since it didn’t come apart at all.

We felt inside and discovered how soft it is. We decided it would be a very comfortable spot for an egg to rest. I know that my girls learned a lot through our bird’s nest exploration.

We had fun, asked questions, drew our own conclusions, and now how more knowledge of the natural world we live in.

Feeding the Birds…

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We had a beautiful autumn day yesterday and we decided it was the perfect day to tackle #19 on our Fall Bucket List, feed the birds.

Set up was easy. I put together a bowl of cereal and a couple of lengths of string.I then tied one Cheerio to the end of each string so when the girls started stringing the cereal it wouldn’t fall off the other end.

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We settled in and started stringing.It’s an easy task once you get started, so I took the opportunity to read a few of the Halloween books we found at the library while the girls were stringing.

Do you notice the dog paws? Charlie, the dog, decided to join us for this project. Not because he thought it looked fun, mind you, but because he loves Cheerios. LOVES Cheerios.

Don’t despair, we did give him all the broken Cheerios… he was too cute not to!

When we were done, we took them outside and hung them on the branches of one of our little trees. I hope the birds love them!

Leaf Collecting…

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We’ve been working on our fall bucket list a lot this week and decided yesterday was the perfect day for leaf collecting. But first, we needed something to put those leaves in.

I took brown paper lunch bags and cut them in half. We were only going to use the bottom half.

I used a pair of my craft scissors to get the zig-zag pattern on the top. Then, we got out the markers and the girls started decorating.

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When they were finished, I opened up the bags, punched a hole in each side and added a long length of yarn. It was a windy day, so I wanted the girls to be able to wear them messenger-bag style.

And then, we were off!

We went to one of our local parks. It is full of trees and has several walking paths. I knew it would be perfect for leaf collecting.

We walked and picked up leaves, then walked and picked up leaves some more. Most were already brown and on the ground, but we found a few treasured yellow and red leaves while we were out.

We also stopped and examined the mossy wall. AJ loved touching it!

After a lengthy playground stop, we brought our treasures home. They’re now being pressed under heavy books, just waiting for us to have more fun with them!

Have you been doing any fall activities? What sort of fall fun have you been having?