There is nothing more precious to me than spending time outdoors with
my kids. They all love nature so much and can be kept occupied for
hours just exploring a hiking trail, picking up trash along a creek
area, turning rocks over or looking for bugs. But sometimes it’s fun to
come up with something a little more organized for your kids, and
that’s where these ideas come in …
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Start small. Head to the garden store and pick up some clay pots in
different sizes. Also grab some soil and seeds. When you get home,
decorate the pots with paint, googly eyes, glitter glue and whatever
makes your kid happy! Once the pots are dry, put soil in each and plant
some random seeds. Your child will love to see his very own flowers,
herbs and maybe even a tomato or strawberry plant pop up! -
Stay small. It’s easy to make a little fairy garden using any old
container, some soil, rocks, tiny plants and flowers and seashells.
Then find tiny furniture and fairy-size things, and you’re all set for
the fairies to come! -
Learn about life cycles. I’ll never forget the year my boys found a
couple of caterpillars on the parsley plants on our deck. I bought a
couple of glass gallon-size jars at the hardware store, along with some
cheesecloth to go on top of them. Once I got home, we made a butterfly
habitat complete with sticks, grass, parsley and drops of water. Then
we put the jars in a place where they would not be disturbed and
waited. It took a few weeks, but one day we noticed we had two
gorgeous, blue butterflies that were ready to be set free. -
It’s a bug’s life. How long has it been since you’ve seen an ant
farm? These are fun, easy and low maintenance. Purchase the ant farm,
put in the special sand that comes with it and the ants (you often have
to order them, so think ahead), then feed and water them. Take pictures
of their tunneling progress! -
House the birds. If you aren’t crafty and/or don’t have a woodshop
in your basement, you can simply purchase a birdhouse kit online or at
your local hardware or home improvement store. My own kids love
painting and repainting their birdhouse after it’s built, then watching
the birds from inside our house. -
Feed the birds. We love making pinecones with peanut butter and
birdseed. Don’t have any pinecones lying around your neighborhood?
Easy! Just grab a cardboard toilet paper tube, attach a string to it,
coat it with peanut butter and roll it in birdseed, just as you would
have done with the pinecone.
