Spring has sprung! With longer days and more sunshine, it is the perfect time to explore the changing season as a family.
Hands-on outdoor learning experiences cultivate your young learner’s investigation skills, curiosity, and creativity. Here are some fun, interactive ways you can explore the outdoors with your children this spring.
1. Become a Nature Scientist
Explore your local trail, park, or backyard. On your journey, collect, observe, and sort natural objects like flowers, sticks, leaves, or rocks. What do you notice about these objects? Do they change or stay the same across the seasons? Take samples and keep scientific records in a nature journal.
2. Experiment with Wind
Wake up your spring senses by exploring wind! Take time to listen, smell, and even feel the air. Think about the properties of moving air, like how fast it travels or how it affects other materials like leaves or paper. Ask questions, make predictions, and test your ideas.
3. Explore Water
Spring is the perfect time to learn about the water cycle. Practice asking questions about where rain comes from or where it’s going, then investigate in your own backyard. Observe droplets as they fall from the sky and measure the rainfall. You can even learn about the names of clouds and search for rainbows.
4. Watch for Wildlife
Learn about animals and their life cycles. Search for robins’ nests, make a bird feeder, or go bird watching. You can even look under rocks and logs for insects and animal tracks. Explore, observe, and research wildlife together as a family. Don’t forget to discuss your observations and ideas together!
5. Picnic with Pages
Spring is the perfect time for a picnic. Bring along your favourite spring-themed books and read together as a family under the shade of your favourite park tree.
