Winter’s a great time to look for animal homes, past and present. Can you see old bird nests in the trees? The lumpy leaf nests of squirrels? Look for holes in trees, mounds in the snow, and lodges on the water. Can you guess who’s inside?
If you find some animal homes make sure to look only and not disturb their home.
Gather twigs from three (or more!) trees outdoors. Twigs are the slender new growth at the end of a tree branch. You’ll see that they can be shiny or hairy, thin or stout, with branches opposite or alternate, and so on. Pass them out to the kids in your group and go on a treasure hunt to see if they can find a tree that matches each twig.
1. Midwinter is the perfect time to collect twigs. Use garden shears to cut them carefully from the end of the branch.2. Don’t worry if you don’t know what kinds of trees you’re sampling. When you get home, you can use the original set of twigs to identify the trees in a field guide.3.Start a tree journal. Tape each twig to a piece of paper and write the name of the tree on that page. Sketch out the tree’s shape on another day. Come spring, you can add a bud and a leaf!
Stand in the middle of the woods and listen quietly to the sounds coming from the forest for three minutes. What do you hear? Were there animals or just the sound of wind moving through the trees?
You can walk into different spaces to see if you hear different types of sounds.
Younger kids can just tally plants vs. animals but older ones can identify the different types or sizes of the plants and animals.
Look carefully and you'll find something of virtually every color out in nature! Give it a try and see what you can find. Take turns picking colors and pointing them out in nature.
Go ahead and let the little'uns pick green. They'll have fun.
Make friends with one spot in nature for a whole year. See how it changes each month. You can each talk about your spot at the dinner table. Do your spots change at the same pace?
Give your kids an example by taking time in your own nature space.
Here’s a fun way to get your kids out on a cold day. Sneak outside with a dozen or so of their stuffed animals and hide them in your yard—up in trees, inside shrubs, on top of logs, and so on. Now tell them it’s time to go on a wild animal safari! They’ll be surprised and delighted to find their beloved wild creatures in these unfamiliar places. And who knows, maybe they’ll stumble across some real wild creatures while they’re at it!
1. Don’t forget to dress everyone in nice warm layers.2. Outfit each child with a pair of binoculars.
Make a list of some common things and a few rare ones that can be found outside near your home or in a park. You can includes things like: acorn, pine cone, flat rock, etc. Pass the list out and give your kids 20 minutes to find as much as they can.
Your neighbors might enjoy this too. Invite some local kids and parents to join you.
Hide a surprise in the backyard. Make a map and have the kids find the surprise. Draw in trees, bushes and walkways to help them along the way. X marks the spot!
Watch a pirate or treasure themed movie or TV show for fun before you do this.
When it's hot outside, play in the sprinklers. It's cool and no one is too old for that.
Don't forget to put on some sun-block. | Go ahead and put on your bathing suit, or just run outside in your casual clothes for some spontaneous fun. | Check for any rocks or sticks to protect your bare feet.
If conditions are right, build a snow den with your kids. Pile snow, excavate a wide entrance, and shovel out a space to sit. You may find it’s even warm enough to sit inside for a few…well, minutes!
1. Have the kids jump on the snow mound before you build to be sure the snow is packed tight.2. Put foot-long sticks into the top of the mound before you start excavating. When you hit a stick, you know you’ve dug far enough (you want walls that are thick enough to be strong but not so thick they could harm someone if they collapse).3. Make snow furniture for your cave!
Who says snowmen are the only things you can make out of snow? Turn your winter backyard into a wildlife wonderland by making snow animals.
1. Consider making a rabbit, a beaver, a fox, a squirrel, or other animals you really could see at this time of year.2. Can you find the tracks of any real wintering animals outside?
Help area birds make it through the winter by making simple bird feeders. Try rolling pinecones in peanut butter and sprinkling with birdseed. Or fill orange halves (minus the fruit) with birdseed and hang from tree branches.
1. Hang your feeders near a big window so you can keep track of which ones visit your bird feeders. 2. Have your kids draw pictures of the visiting birds in their own bird journal.
This winter, make your own holiday wreath by gathering boughs of greenery. Spread out the greens on mantels, tabletops, and banisters. Or decorate a wreath frame. You can also add berries, pinecones, ribbons, and more.
1. Do your collecting in your yard or on public lands where collecting is allowed.2. Your best bet is to collect fir, yew, boxwood, holly, or juniper, especially for indoor arrangements. Many other species dry out quickly and drop their needles. 3. Wreath frames are available at local crafts stores.
Winter’s a great time to pay more attention to the shapes of trees, especially deciduous species that have lost their leaves. Whether sitting inside or outside, your kids can make winter tree pictures with pencil and paper. See if everyone can pick which tree the other people in the group have sketched.
1. Try out some unusual art materials, like charcoal on white paper, dark string on white cardboard, or even black construction paper cut-outs. 2. Can you use the sketches to identify different species? Use a field guide to identify the trees you’ve drawn.
Help your kids make winter ice sculpture! Gather a bunch of beach pails or other containers. Fill the containers with water, let them freeze, then remove the ice blocks inside. Use the blocks to build castles, houses, towers, and more.
1. Spray the inside of the pails with non-stick cooking spray (it helps get the ice out).2. Ice cubes from the freezer make nice architectural details.
Your little explorer will have a great time creating a backyard or neighborhood map. Use any size/type of paper and pencil and start by drawing an outline or perimeter for the land. You can mark out where you find trees, plants, animals and more.
Older kids might enjoy doing this with the help of a compass to add N,W,S and E to the map.
If you find a pine cone in your backyard or on a walk, bring it back to the house for this fun task. Start this creation by tying wire or twine to the stem of the pine cone. Grab you favorite peanut butter from the kitchen and spread it all over the pine cone. Yes, this might be messy! Fill a container that is large enough to fit the pine cone with bird seed. Roll the pine cone in the bird seed so that the peanut butter has caught it. Now you're done and you can hang it up outside!
Lay some newspaper or paper towel out on the surface you are doing this on to catch some of the peanut butter and bird feed.
Look around outside for acorns, pinecones, sticks, or rocks. Bring your favorite ones inside. Grab some glitter, paint and glue and make some really great original sculptures. Perfect for bringing the outdoors in on a rain day.
Cardboard could be a base for the sculpture if you need one. Otherwise pinecones, sticks and rocks will do the trick.
Birds love to freshen up after flying all day and they're great to watch. Use some empty plant pots or even a frisbee as the bath. Take the container out to your yard and let the birds come to you! The best bird baths will have running water. You can turn an old soda bottle into a drip bottle as another do-it-yourself project.
Once birds start coming, watch with your kids and try to identify them.
Already have a garden? Let your child pick and plant a seedling in your garden and watch it grow from day to day. Measure how tall it gets every day or every week. What else can you track?
Go to a nursery and ask what an easy and quick growing plant would be for that season and climate.
Get you child ready for family hike with a cool walking stick. All she'll need is a dry (not green) fallen branch that's a little higher than her waist--and easy to grip.
Have fun one day by painting it or tying a ribbon around the stick to personalize it.
Do you have any pie tins lying around the house? Take your kids outside where there is some good looking mud and bring a mixing bowl and the pie tin. Get your hands in there and glop several handfuls of mud into the mixing bowl). Stir the mud concoction so that you get all the lumps out and it's as smooth as brownie batter. Pour the mud into a pie tin and leave out in the sun to dry!
If you have no true mud available, just do the same using sand or dirt and a cup or so of water.Put some grass or leaves on top of the dry pie as a nice garnish.Let your kids have fun experimenting with different types of pie: garden soil, dirt, mulch, sand, mud or a combination of all of the above.
find? Make a collection by gluing or taping the fallen leaves into a book and then writing the names below the leaf.
Easiest time of year to do this activity is definitely Fall because the leaves will be on the ground in abundance.
Feeling the wind through your hair is as easy as getting on a bike. Take your whole family. It doesn't have to be far, just right around your neighborhood or around your local park.
Make sure your bikes are in good shape.