Environmental & Science Games

Learning about the World Around Us

The natural world offers many opportunities to learn about the environment through science games and activities. For many parents the word 'science' conjures up memories of brain numbing chemistry or physics lessons but for young children science games can simply involve learning about plant or animal cycles or other fun activities. With more and more emphasis on caring for our environment, our kids are never too young to learn about protecting and nurturing our flora and fauna.

Nature Table
I have set up a nature table in our living room so that any special items that my kids find go on display. The table is changed as the seasons change, thus the children become more aware of the cycle of the seasons and how the plants and trees change as well. Kids love to pick things up when you are out for a walk and items like pine cones, autumn leaves and pods all help them to understand the changing of the seasons.

Bark Rubbings
A great way to help your kids learn about the texture of objects, and improve their vocabulary at the same time. Using thick pencils or crayons have your children take rubbings of objects in your backyard or local park. Your kids may think of other items to 'rub'- coins, the soles of shoes... They can then cut out their patterns to make a textured collage.
Bark Rubbings for hunting. Using crayons take some bark rubbings without your children knowing. You can rub any textured object you find in your backyard. Show the rubbings to your children and see if they can find the objects that were used. They can do some of their own rubbings and test each other. Challenge them to find other surfaces to 'rub'- car tyres, bricks...

Camping Out (At Home!)
This is something we used to love doing with our neighbours when we were kids. It felt really grown up and exciting even though we were still in our own backyard.
All you need is a tent and some willing kids. Shouldn't be too hard to find! The kids can spend the night hearing all of the animal sounds that they never knew existed.
You can extend this activity by having a campfire but will need to supervise it. Even without the fire, some hot chocolates, marshmallows and scary stories will make it a night to remember.
Depending on the age of the children they might want you to camp out with them. Once they reach 7-8 years old they probably won't want the adult supervision.

Our Neighbourhood
Using chalk, draw out the features of your local area. Discuss them with your kids as you all draw- different features will be of significance to them. They can then use it to drive their play cars on, or walk their dolls. As you go on more walks you can find different features to add to the next version of 'your neighbourhood'. This is a great way to teach your kids map reading skills and also to learn where they fit in terms of scale.
A more permanent version can also be done indoors on a length of white vinyl using coloured permanent markers.

Word Games
A great way to develop your child's vocabulary is to play word games when you are out and about. When you are at the park find an object that is smooth and ask your child to find something opposite- maybe a piece of bark. Then find something soft, wet ..... once they have the idea they will want to play it all the time!

  Related Pages   

Plants and Gardening    Animals in Nature

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