We don’t officially “school” in the summertime. But, this summer we are doing our animal/science studies. Why? Because it’s a lot more fun to study animals outside in the summer than in the dead of winter. In the summer, we can go to the zoo, a wildlife park, a farm or the backyard and find lots of animals to study. What a wonderful way to get kids excited about science!
Here are our favorite hands-on animal activities (so far).
Digging in the dirt.
There is a whole other world under the dirt, rocks and logs. Let your kids explore it. They might find beetles, roly-poly bugs, worms, ants, spiders, millipedes….who knows! Have the kids determine what kind of animals they find. Get library books. Take pictures. Let their curiosities take them beyond the text books.
Explore the zoo
Now, I don’t mean just walk through the zoo and gawk at few animals and leave. I mean EXPLORE the zoo. Make a list, a scavenger hunt of sorts, of animals and animal facts to find. Have them take photos and make sketches to put in a project or lap book later.
Don’t just look at the animals. Learn about them. Ask the keepers about certain animals you are studying. Normally, they love talking to people about their animals! Use the zoo as a source of info, not just a cool place to visit.
Take a hike
When we take a hike for animal study, it’s not about how fast we can get to the end of the trail. It is about what we see on the trail. I might have the kids stop and sit on the trail and just listen. After a while, we discuss what we’ve heard. As we walk different parts of the trail, I point out the difference in vegetation and in animal life found in those parts. Sometimes, we take notebooks or cameras and sometimes we take nothing. Sometimes, we go in search of certain kinds of animals. Sometimes, we go hiking just to see what we can see.
Often, the kids will discover something on a tree of on the ground that makes them wonder. I make a note of that and we might spend a day online or at the library searching for answers. Kids learn so much from their own questions.
What do your kids like to explore outside? Do you make it a learning experience? It’s so much fun to watch them learn when they don’t even know they are doing it!
Hands on Homeschooling: Science is written by homeschool mom, Marci
I love how intentional these activities are! Kids are great about finding things that fascinate them. Your suggestions help encourage that discovery! We love to spend time outside, and our toddler is at the great stage of exploring all kinds of things wherever we go.
Good advice. I never realized as a kid all those hours I spent wandering around the woods and along the creekbank were so good for me. Now, these sorts of things are some of our family favorites, too, even though I stick a little closer to my kids.