Backyard Nature Fun activities are quick-and-simple ways to explore nature in your own backyard.
This weekend, The Big Explorer’s elementary school held its annual Back to School Picnic in the school garden. I’d volunteered to coordinate the event, so you might not be surprised to discover that a garden scavenger hunt was on the agenda.
The Big Explorer helped me create a hunt tailored to our garden space, one which included not only things to look for, but things to smell, touch and listen to as well. (You can download the garden scavenger hunt we created here.)
I’ll admit, seeing some 50+ kids running around exploring the garden was pretty exciting. Even better was that The Explorers and a few of their friends asked me to accompany them on their hunt.
We were on the lookout for large leaves, the biggest tree, fruits, vegetables, bugs, spider webs and more.
The garden scavenger hunt required us to roam the entire space – we even had to find a good hiding place.
At one point during our search, a butterfly floated by and we chased it across the garden until it landed on a flower. When the butterfly flew away, we sniffed the flowers ourselves (flowers The Big Explorer’s class had planted from seed last spring).
The best part about any garden scavenger hunt is that the adventure will change from one season to the next as different items take up residence in your space.
Take-Home Tips
- Print the garden scavenger hunt on thick paper. It’s easier to cross items off the list if the paper is firm, so I printed ours on cardstock.
- Explore a new-to-you garden. After trying the garden scavenger hunt in your own backyard, take it to a local community garden, a neighbor’s garden or a children’s garden.
5 More Ideas for Getting Outside This Week
- Search for signs of fall & capture them with a camera.
- Go on a stick hunt.
- Chase butterflies.
- Ride bikes.
- Decorate the sidewalk with a drawing of a favorite tree.
Happy Exploring!
