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 Outdoor Activities February 25, 2005 7:30 AM

Playing outdoors in all kinds of weather is great fun for kids of all ages! The natural world provides countless learning opportunities, and helps children develop an appreciation for beauty, and life in all it forms.  Here are few basic ideas to start.

Take a nature walk.  Point out wildflowers, animal prints, bugs, fungus.  Keep a journal of what you see.  If you can't identify it,  get a book from the library and look them up together. 

Count birds or wildflowers.  Try to identify as many as you can.  Keep a journal of the different birds/flowers you see. 

Count Stars.  point out the moon, and constellations if you can.  Read about stars, what they are made of...how they got their name.

Plant a garden.  give your child there own space for a small garden.  Let them chose there own flowers and vegetables. Let them plant dandolions if they want to.   My son began planting seeds at 2,  you can start at any age.

Dig for worms.  See how many you can find.  count them, name them, measure them if you want...but be sure and replace them.  Explain to your child how worms help to breakdown natural materials into fertile soil. 


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Create a Nature Area for your Children and the wildlife April 17, 2005 3:04 PM

This Article came from Harry Q. from  the backyards habitat group, but i thought it was a great article and wanted to share. 

Backyard Biodiversity

The space around our homes provides us with places to play and relax. To local wildlife, however, expanses of lush, green grass might as well be asphalt. Lawns provide animals with no shade, shelter, or food, and the runoff from fertilizers and pesticides applied to lawns can contaminate wildlife habitats. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that approximately 20 million acres of land in the United States are dedicated to lawns—more than is used for any single crop.

Instead of cultivating a sea of grass, consider incorporating some of the following elements around your home to create a landscape that is not only beautiful but also promotes a variety of animal and insect life.

Plants

  • Go wild. Convert a section of your lawn to prairie or wildflower meadow. This not only reduces the amount
    of grass you have to maintain, but also creates more natural space in which local animals and insects may reside. See the links below for details.
  • Choose native varieties. Native plants are naturally adapted to the local climate, and generally provide the best food and shelter for wildlife with the least amount of maintenance. By contrast, non-native (or invasive) plants can crowd out native varieties and deny local wildlife the habitat they need to survive. If you’re not sure what plants are native to your area, ask your local garden store or consult the USDA PLANTS database (see link below).
  • Imitate natural habitats. Plant in clusters and build overlapping layers of tall trees, small trees, shrubs, and smaller plants.
  • Provide food sources. Plant shrubs and trees that produce fruits and berries for wildlife such as birds and butterflies.
  • Create curves. Because there is a greater amount of biodiversity in the area of transition between habitat types, create a larger transition zone by shaping planting beds with curved or irregular borders.

Fencing

Fences can be barriers to wildlife, restricting access to food and shelter. If you have a tall fence, create some small gaps along the bottom through which animals can pass. Or consider alternatives such as a low rock wall or, better yet, a living fence of trees and shrubs. Both options not only provide wildlife with access, but shade and shelter as well.

Water

Clean, fresh water is important to wildlife, especially birds, insects, and amphibians. Not all animals can access a tall pedestal birdbath, so consider installing a low, ground-level birdbath or small pond.

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living playhouses April 17, 2005 3:36 PM

Children love playhouses and forts.
i've seen some really neat forts created by planting those really tall sunflowers really close together in the shape of a circle or square. Let your child take part, by planting the seeds and seedlings or creating the shape. Once sunflowers begin getting really tall, they'll probably have to be staked. Leave a little space for the door and let your child enjoy their 'special space'.

Sunflower/bamboo teepee. Plant 4 sunflowers, one for each pole or use Bamboo poles. Once Sunflowers begin to come up and are a few inches tall, plant morning glories or moonflowers next to each sunflower. Once sunflowers get tall, use twine to tie them all together at the top, like a teepee. The flowers grow up each of the poles to form a beautiful living teepee canopy. You can also string some twine around three sides of the teepee, so the flowers climb and fill in a bit.

You can build a simple shelter using premade garden trelliss panels. (not sure what else to call them). You can build an actual playhouse, and then use climbing plants to 'give it life.' You can also use two, and lean them against each other and secure them with twine, so you have sort of an A-frame. Then you can grow a climbing flower, or even create a small garden spot next to it and allow your child to plant veggies that will climb it. Like scarlet runner beans, peas, tomatoes, etc.
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Create a Toadstool Garden April 17, 2005 3:52 PM

i got this great idea from family fun magazine. It has some really neat ideas in it.

What you need is a few wooden or metal bowls, some tree stumps or cut logs. Waterproof craft paint, a few nails and a hammer.

You'll want to drill a few holes in the top of each bowl to start. Just big enough so your nails don't split them. Let your child decorate the bowls to resemble toadstools.
Nail the finished bowls on to your tree stumps or logs.

i've attached a picture of a few we made yesterday. We need to get some bigger bowls so he can sit on them.




You can even make a cute Toadstool table and chairs for toddlers. Use a old pizza pan as the table. Use large bowls, or old pie pans to make the seats.  i'm going to visit the goodwill this week and see if i can find some old bowls and pizza/ pie pans, so we can make a table.
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 April 18, 2005 4:28 AM

that looks great! i like the table and stools idea. you should post a picture if you make one. looks like fun!  [ send green star]  [ accepted]
 
 April 29, 2005 3:41 PM

I LOVE YOUR IDEAS TREE, I AM INTO THE OUTDOORS MYSELF! SO IS MY DAUGHTER. SHE WOULD RATHER BE ANYWHERE BUT IN THE HOUSE. I TAKE HER TO THE ZOO AND TO THE NATURE CENTERS ALOT. WE GO HIKING AND SWIMMING. I LOVE TO GO ANYWHERE AND WALK, SEE NATURE AND CAMPOUT.  [ send green star]  [ accepted]
 
 May 10, 2005 2:57 PM

Hey folks!
  i finally got around to making the toadstool table and chairs and wanted to share a picture. My son absolutely loves to eat breakfast outside at 'his' table.

For this i used an old pizza pan for the table and a pie tin for the chair.



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i love it! May 11, 2005 9:30 AM

Tree, I LOVE that toadstool table and chair!!  You are so creative   Sequoia is getting so big too...I'm sure he's lovin' being outdoors again.

Beth 

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