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| Find Fun Things to do at Home © Katrena |
Stuck at home this summer? You can turn your own backyard into an adventurous safari with a bit of help from nature. It's easy to miss the plethora of animals right outside one's door in the rush to getting the kids ushered off to school and yourself to the daily work grind. Summer might offer several days without a strict agenda. These are the days for fun memories!
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| Fun Summertime Activities for the Family © Katrena |
Those who have no yard might take advantage of a porch or balcony, planning and planting a container garden, or you may find a nearby park where you can hunt for living treasures. Those with a yard might reap huge benefits if the area attracts a wide variety of wildlife.
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| Learn About Nature in the Back Yard © Katrena |
When going outside, stop and listen. You might even have everyone sit and close their eyes. Perhaps you might hear a bird or cicada calling or a rustling in the nearby grass or bushes. As you look around, you might notice animals all around, from a busy ant to a motionless granddaddy spider.
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| Make Learning Fun © Katrena |
One of the best parts of going on a backyard safari is the element of surprise. In the last week, my kids have been surprised to see a peacock, a juvenile hawk, a rabbit, and a turtle. You might see a whole new crew of animals at dawn or dusk. My kids love to sit and watch fireflies grace the evening with their dainty light show accompanied by the symphony of crickets with a bullfrog bass.
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| How to Encourage Kids to Enjoy and Protect Wildlife © Katrena |
You can turn this backyard fun into a great educational opportunity by learning to identify the various animals using your own experience or a field guide. Check out some books or audiobooks from the local library to learn more about them. Hunt for online pictures and articles featuring common animals in your area. Learn about life cycles, camouflage, defense mechanisms, etc.
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Hang some feeders and attract birds or other animals. Experiment with different types of food to see if some animals prefer one type over another. Notice how the animals eat and move from place to place. Add a birdbath and fill with recycled water if possible. Talk about conserving resources and how we might protect these animals for this and future generations. Research local and national news articles about conservation efforts and threats to wildlife.
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| Back Yard Safari - Learn About Animals © Katrena |
Create a chart of common animals and watch for an hour, recording a tally mark for each one seen. We use a web site called
Create a Graph to design fun graphs. Encourage math skills by comparing or adding the numbers or having the kids to convert some to fractions or percentages. If children can see math at work in one's life, they may be more likely to understand and retain the information.
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| Enjoy a Staycation with the Kids © Katrena |
Practice writing and imaginative skills by encouraging the kids to write a story about what they saw or did, or have them create a whopper of a tall tale by exaggerating the experience or animal on paper. Hone artistic skills by encouraging the kids to draw or paint animals they saw, perhaps creating a family collage. The family might try to create models of the animals with clay or shadows or design new, unique animals.
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Your own back yard might be the perfect backdrop for a mini family vacation. It may also provide an inexpensive, fun educational opportunity and a way to unwind and connect with the family. Turning off electronic devices can help this time to be uninterrupted and special for everyone. Who knows? This simple excursion might be that day that you and the kids remember and cherish for years to come!
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