Nature Lessons in Your Backyard

Try these five nature lessons out in your own backyard.

1. Backyard Plant Identification

Can your kids find five different kinds plants? How about three different kinds of flowers? Can they tell the difference? Think about the colors of the leaves or petals, the shapes of the branches or stems, and how tall or short they are. Can they find an item that’s a circle, a triangle, or another shape? To make this even harder, cut shapes out of a piece of paper and have your kids try to match the shape to something in nature.

2. Backyard Art

Make cardboard picture frames, then ask kids to collect items they’d like to put inside, creating pieces of art. Don’t have cardboard? Cut up a cereal box or tape a few pieces of newspaper together to make a frame. Make sure to set guidelines that they should only pick up things that are on the ground, and shouldn’t pick anything that’s growing.

3. Backyard Ecosystem

Take a white or a light-colored sheet outside and lay it on the ground, under a tree. You can use towels or an old t-shirt, too. Shake the branches, lightly, to see what comes out. Are there seeds? Are there leaves? Is there pollen? Are there bugs? Why do you think there are more bugs in one place versus another? If you did this in the fall, what would fall onto the sheet? (This is a great chance to talk about seasons.)

4. Find Life in the Backyard on a Micro hike

On a micro hike, kids can pretend to be small and explore an ecosystem: a biological community of living things interacting with their environment, in this case, your backyard. Create a circular habitat somewhere in the yard using a hula hoop or a piece of string. Have family members surround the micro-ecosystem and point out everything they see. The goal is not to hike far, but to explore your yard at a “micro” level. Focus on the life that lives under rocks, logs, and our feet. Have the kids pretend they’re ants; encourage them to shrink down really small and get close to the ground to explore! Discuss the importance of using all five senses in looking for small things. If you want your kids to explore a new part of the yard, consider throwing a bean bag or frisbee to a spot and have the kids explore the area around where the object lands.

5. Backyard Painting

Using watercolors or any kind of paint and scrap paper, have the kids pick out a scene in the backyard and paint it. For a challenge, let them try to paint it with their eyes closed! What are the most distinct things they remember about the area? Is it the tall trees? The feisty squirrels? The fluffy clouds? When they’ve finished their painting, have them give it to someone else and have them guess what part of the backyard you painted.

If you have acrylic paint, consider having them painting your masterpiece on a rock you provide them. When it’s dry, encourage them to put it outside in the yard or garden so they can visit their painting anytime.

Final thoughts: learning about nature is as easy as walking out your door and training your mind, and your eyes, to see the nature around you.  In fact, we would encourage you to teach your children to engage all of their senses while outdoors. What do they see? What do they smell? What do they hear, and so on.  It is our hope that through these experiences they will gain, not only an understanding of this world we live in, but a greater appreciation for it.

Sequoia’s Treehouse