It seems most parents these days have some level of complaint about how children these days never seem to get out and about anymore. Most are happy to plant themselves in front of the television or their favorite digital device. Video games and Facetime have eliminated the need to actually have interactions in our.. interactions with other human beings. But exactly what are we doing about it? Here’s what we’re doing! We’re coming up with ways to make nature fun and educational for our children. Better yet, we’re leading the way. Taking them by their hands and leading them into the wide, amazing world that is our natural landscape, wherever we are in the world!
Nature Activities for Family Fun and Education
Look, nature absolutely rocks! Pun intended. So how do we convey that message to our children? We get their hands dirty.
Rewarding Education
You can come up with your own personal ideas that you know would intrigue your own children the most, but a few helpful ideas would include:
- A treasure hunt for certain leaves, flowers, or rocks that are indigenous to your area.
- Bird watching excursions.
- Checklist of nature walk items.
- Best nature photos.
The key element for the success in this endeavor is the reward. Remember too that you can always make that reward a ‘natural’ one, meaning an item that brings them once again out to nature, instead of back inside to the video games!
Experiencing the Natural Life Cycles of Trees
Because little people are impatient (and who are we kidding, so are big people) you’ll want to choose a fast growing tree for this experiment. Some of the fastest growing trees in the world are:
- The American Sycamore
- Weeping Willow
- Red Maple
and luckily, these trees are incredibly easy to find in most areas of the United States as seeds or saplings. In many cases, you can actually find your own brand new saplings in the woods and extract them easily. Have your family interact in the life cycle of the tree on everything from photographing it as a sapling, recording the growth with tape measures, noting any seeding or fruiting. Set a time to allow your tree to grow. The longer the better and if over a year, fantastic. Because after the time has passed, you’re going to cut it down and turn it into a habitat and from there you can truly begin to educate your children on the entire life cycle of a tree. Download the entire project here at Project Learning Tree.
Nature – Science for Kids
Don’t be afraid to combine nature and technology. The two actually go together hand-in-hand these days. Can’t get those little heads out of the tablet? Tune into these app ideas and turn the tables.
Trailhead by The North Face
Price: Free
This app will tell you the nearest hiking trails to your location using GPS tracking. You’ll be given great information about each trail to include local lore, photos, tips and trail length and direction.
WildObs Observer
iPhone and Android
Price: Free
If you’re in a place where wildlife is easily observed, you’ll want a quick, handy application to help you identify and even report your sightings. WideObs is that perfect app. Your own observations will show up on the National Wildlife Federation’s Wildlife Watch website! Now that’s a great interactive experience for your children.
WildLab
Price: Free
This application is part of a citizen science project that I thought was too neat to pass up. It’s technically for the NYC area and has been used by schools and organizations in that area since 2009. It’s definitely worth checking out!
Leaf Snap
Price: Free
A joint project by Columbia University, University of Maryland and Smithsonian Institution is helping people identify plants with a photo. Leafsnap uses facial recognition software for trees–all you need is a leaf and a white background and this application should be able to help you. The app currently covers trees of the Northeast and Washington, DC.
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