Outdoor Summer Fun

As the school year winds down, and gearing up for summer begins, here are some ideas to keep your young students engaged in the natural sciences through outdoor discovery and play!  Whether you have a whole day or just a spare hour, including outdoor activities into the routine can help to keep the mind and senses tapped into the natural world around us.  According to the National Association for the Education of young Children (NAEYC) some of the benefits of outdoor play are:

• It invites children to learn science
• It creates opportunities for social interaction and collaboration
• It promotes physical health
• It invites new contexts for learning
• It promotes better sleep
• It gives children a chance to take appropriate risks
• ​It supports STEM skills

Getting outside can involve going to a near by park or green space, or simply stepping outside your own front door to see what you can see.  Keep a journal of notes or drawings to track changes you see over the summer.  This is called phenology.  Watch our "Making Observations" video series on YouTube to learn about what kind of observations we can make. 

​And here are some other simple, fun outdoor activities from various partners and organizations across the country!

Get Outside:

• Backyard Plant Dyes
• Biodiversity in Your Own Backyard
• Calculating Cloud Cover ​
• Leaf Rubbing Art
• Making a Solar Oven
• Nature Paintbrush
• Nature Tic-Tac-Toe
• Picture a Tree
• Outdoor Belly Hike
• Scavenger Hunt
• Shapes in Nature
• Start a Pollinator Garden

​
Check out our Education page for more activity ideas!