Are your kids out of school yet for the summer? We’ve still got a couple of weeks to go, but I’m already getting ideas for summer learning. We like to keep the learning going all summer long in order to stop summer slide in its tracks. And, what better way to learn than to take advantage of all that summer has to offer by learning in nature.
If you’ve ever grown a garden in the summer, you’ve seen what a great learning experience it can be. Simply planting a seed and watching it grow can teach a child so much. Have you ever thought about extending that learning?
Get out in the garden this summer. Look for bugs, observe some worms, explore the plants from bottom to top. Keep learning this summer while doing some science in the garden with one of these activities.
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Learn With Plants
Observe a plant from seed to harvest. Try planting one of these Quick Growing Seeds for Kids at Rainy Day Mum to see the growing process.
Combine literacy and gardening by planting a book-inspired garden. Kitchen Counter Chronicles has plans for gardens inspired by Peter Rabbit and Growing Vegetable Soup.
Track how long it takes your plants to grow. You can track your results with this free printable garden log at Teaching Mama.
Which garden environment will help a specific plant grow the best. Try this plant science experiment from Inspiration Laboratories to find out.
Learn about the parts of a flower by taking one apart. Try this simple Dissecting Flowers lesson from Playful Learning.
Have a little fun and use your observation skills with this fun Garden Scavenger Hunt from Fantastic Fun and Learning.
Sprout seeds in a unique way by making your own Seed Paper from Outdoors Mom.
There are so many ways to learn with a fairy garden. EdVentures With Kids has some great ideas for STEM Activities in your Fairy Garden.
Can you turn food scraps into soil? Observe the process of composting with this Sandwich Bag Compost activity at CBC Parents.
Tiny Creatures in the Garden
Add some elements to your yard to attract butterflies so you can observe them all summer long. Outdoors Mom has all the hints you need.
Raise your own butterflies. This kit from Insect Lore has everything you need to observe the transformation of a caterpillar to a butterfly.
Observe the insects that live in your garden. Kitchen Counter Chronicles has a great Insect Investigation Worksheet to help guide your observations.
Attract those insects to your garden by building an insect hotel. Find the instructions at Babble Dabble Do.
Build a habitat for roly polys (pill bugs). I was so fascinated with these little creatures when I was a kid. Wouldn’t it be fun to really observe them? Find all the details at Fantastic Fun and Learning.
Worms are an important part of a healthy garden. Have some fun observing worms by building a wormery. Science Sparks will show you how.
Stop summer slide before it starts by planning some fun learning activities in the garden. Which one do you want to try?
You may also like one of these nature activities:
10 Ways to Learn About Animals