Day 8: Kids Nature Exploration Kit with Me

Kids only need a few things to go exploring in nature.  To make the experience  exciting and authentic you can use simple items that you may find around your house.

• Toilet Tissue Roll Binoculars
• Magnifying Glass
• Notebook and Pencil
• Muffin Tin

Binoculars:  Use your imagination when preparing for this adventure.  With a masking tape, a hole punch, toilet tissue tubes and yarn you can whip up a set of binoculars for viewing.  You may already have a magnifying glass or two laying around your house,  kids would also love to be able to view specimens up close by putting them in glass jars.

We collected specimens in a muffin tin for further examination.  The live bugs stayed outside and were recorded as simply being found. We brought them inside and sorted them on a paper towel and talked about everything we found.  We talked about shape, size, color, texture, etc. and documented in our notebook details about our findings.  We snapped pictures to print of what we found to accompany our notebook and notes. 

Take a trip to your local library with your little explorer and notebook in hand and see how many items you can correctly identify.  Below are a few book recommendations for kids.

Leo the Lightening Bug by Eric Drachman

Sharing Nature with Children by Joseph Bharat Cornell

Wonders of Nature by Jane Werner Watson

The Reason for a Flower by Ruth Heller

Linnea's Almanac by Cristina Bjork

Insects Do The Strangest Things by Leonora and Arthur Hornblow

This little adventure could go on for hours...even days.

Thanks for stopping by.