Bringing the Outdoors In

Learning themes are the best place to start. 

Evaluate your upcoming themes. 

Do you have nature-based themes planned? 

Spring, Bugs, Gardening, Farm, Ocean, Weather, Apples and Pumpkins…these are common themes that offer excellent opportunities for nature-based, hands-on learning and exploration!

However, I realize that schools and childcare centers utilize themes differently and this will impact on how you are able to incorporate nature into your classroom. 

If you do, then try to incorporate at least two nature themes every month. The great thing about nature is that it is everywhere! Themes that you initially would not consider “nature” worthy can be imbedded with nature learning in easy and surprising ways! 

For example, if you have an upcoming transportation theme…students can explore terrains used by transportation like grass, water, mud, sand, gravel, ice, etc. Students can also explore how weather impacts transportation and what forms of transportation we choose to use and not use in varied weather conditions. 

If you have no room to change themes, I suggest creating a specific day each week to share nature.

 “Today is Nature Wednesday!”

Why not use your science center to spotlight nature learning and activities? 

This could be an option that would still allow you to follow your employer’s themes accordingly. 

Perhaps, with your students’ growing curiosity and fascination with your nature-based science center, your employer will see and agree that nature-based learning is AMAZING! 

You have two upcoming themes planned for the month of January: Snow & Ice and The Five Senses. 

Let's add nature to the learning!

In the sensory station, bring nature inside for exploration by providing pinecones, pine needles, bark, twigs, stones, leaves, chunks of ice, and snow. Add magnifying glasses, tweezers and tongs, winter animal figures, journals, and writing instruments to promote curiosity and discovery. Students will observe nature in winter, enjoy tactile exploration, learn concepts of cold, frozen, melting, smooth and rough, and sort/compare natural materials. 

For art activities, students can paint with ice (frozen cubes of paint), paint ice chunks with watercolors, or spray paint snow (spray bottles filled with water and food coloring). Students can create winter scenes using cardstock, twigs, white puffy paint for snow, etc. Students can create animals that thrive and live in snowy environments (ex: foam cup snowy owls, splat painted polar bears, paper plate penguins, handprint arctic foxes, etc.) 

Offer white playdough with winter/arctic animal figures, sticks, leaves, bark, and stones. Students can create animal footprints, twig and leaf imprints, and/or build homes for the animals.

Use salt (a.k.a snow) to fill writing trays for letter, number, shape, and name writing practice.

Winter scavenger hunts are always a fun learning activity. Students can search for animal tracks, pine trees, birch trees, a cardinal, an icicle, a pinecone, a black bird, a bird nest, a squirrel, etc. Have students search for frost on leaves or grass. Have students listen to the outside sounds: the wind, birds chirping, snow crunching, twigs snapping, etc. 

Incorporate science discovery by having students freeze water with twigs, pinecones, and pine needles. Have students predict what will happen. Freeze animal figures in ice and have students rescue them using water and pipettes. How long will it take to save them? Put ice in the sun and ice in the shade. Which will melt faster? Sprinkle salt on ice and snow. Observe the changes to the ice and snow. Why did this happen?

Discuss animal survival in the winter. Talk about the importance of blubber for animals in the arctic and how most animals’ furs thicken during the colder months to keep them warm. Discuss how food habits change for many animals during the winter weather to help them conserve energy.

Share books about snow, ice, animals in winter, the arctic habitat, etc.

Create visual aids, matching games, and strip puzzles for students to explore (arctic animals, forest animals, trees and plants in snow).  

This theme may seem difficult at first to embed with nature, but trust me, you can make it happen!

Explore colors and patterns…Take walks to find colors, shapes, and patterns in nature (green leaves, cloud shapes, bug patterns, etc.)

Nature collages…Have students collect items (leaves, grass, twigs, flowers, etc.) and have students make collages based on the colors they observed.

Color mixing…Have students paint with mud or have students make paint with ground up leaves, flowers, and grass mixed with water.

Nature Walk…Have students find specific sounds in nature (bees buzzing, birds chirping, water running in a stream, leaves crunching, etc.) Have students journal the sounds they found with drawings.

Make nature instruments…Have students collect rocks, leaves, and sticks and challenge them to make music. Students may use sticks against a log or stone to make drum sounds or rustle a handful of leaves for a soft sound or click rocks together for a sharp sound. 

Your students will be very creative in making sounds and be very proud of their musical achievements!

Nature Scent Collection…Have students collect items that have strong scents (orange peels, flowers, pine needles, berries, herbs, pinecones, etc.) Have students share what they found with their peers and sort the scents by the scent strength or by favorite and least favorite or by sweetness to sour.

Nature Scent Jars…Collect natural items with strong scents and put in jars (cinnamon, flowers, crushed leaves, soil, herbs, honey, etc.) Have students smell the jars and describe them or blindfold the students to see if they can identify the items by their scent.  

Texture Hunt…Have students find natural items with varied textures (bumpy bark, smooth rock, sharp twig, soft leaf, etc.) Have students share their finds and work together to sort the natural items into specific textures.

Sand, Water, & Mud…In a sensory table or in a mud kitchen, have students explore the varied textures, feelings, and temperatures of sand, water, and mud and how textures change when mixed.

Bark Rubbings…Collect varied examples of tree barks (smooth, veined, bumpy, scaly, etc.). Using unwrapped crayons and white paper, the students make rubbings of each bark type and discuss the differences in textures.

*Use caution with tasting and be aware of student allergies

Herb Taste Testing…Have samples of fresh herbs for students to taste (basil, mint, lavender, dandelion) and encourage students to describe the tastes (bitter, sweet, spicy, etc.) Which is their favorite? Which is their least favorite? 

Seed Tasting…Have students taste varied seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, chia, flax) and describe what they like about the seeds and what they do not like (taste, texture, color, etc.) 

Build a Salad…As a cooking activity, have students create a green salad or a fruit salad to eat. If possible, utilize fresh greens and fruits from a school garden, allowing students to pick the food, wash and prep the food, and enjoy.   

WE DID IT!

We added nature to two common themes through engaging, hands-on learning experiences! 

You can do it too!