Nature Activities for Kids – Page 4

Inchworm, inchworm…you’ll go far!

by Jodi Valenta

Inchworms seem to be everywhere in the sping and summer and youn children are often mesmerized by them. I remember when I was a kid I used to catch them by their silken thread and watch them “inch” along on the palm of my hand. I never thought much about them beyond that, except that I had one I used to ride. Remember those?

I also remember a song I used to sing about an inchworm that went like this (written by Danny Kaye in 1952):

Two and two are four

Four and four are eight

Eight and eight are sixteen

Sixteen and sixteen are thirty-two

Inchworm, inchworm,

Measuring the marigolds,

You and your arithmetic,

You’ll probably go far.

Inchworm, inchworm,

Measuring the marigolds

Seems to me you’d stop and see

How beautiful they are.

What exactly are those tiny little green worms? Once when my daughter asked me, I was stumped and had nothing to say except “it’s a little green worm.” How lame an answer was that! After a lifetime of seeing them I had never done the research to figure out what their role is in the ecosytem

I recently Googled “inchworm” and was very interested in what I learned. According to Wikipedia inchworms are the larvae of the Geometer moth. They are green, grey, or brownish and hide from predators by fading into the background or resembling twigs. Many inchworms, when disturbed, stand erect and motionless on their rear legs.

Armed with this information, my kids and I went outside to search for them. I explained that the tiny caterpillar eventually turns into a moth. We were enthralled by watching them flying on their silken string threads wondering where they would end up.

Bugs are always a great way to connect children with nature. They are easily accessible and are interesting to watch. It is amazing how something so tiny can be the subject of hours of play and learning…for both of us!

Nature Activities for Kids

Bring the Outside In

by Jodi Valenta

There are those days when going outside to play just isn’t in the cards. That has been the case for my children these past few days. My daughter is recovering from a stomach bug and it is just too darn cold for my son to be outside. When the temps are in the single digits and the wind chill is fierce, his little fingers become icicles in a matter of minutes. Needless to say, we are are going a little stir crazy and could use a breath of fresh air.

In my quest to connect my children with nature, I was thinking about how I can bring the outside inside on days like this. So, I went to the cupboard and rooted around for all the collections of various natural materials we stored in boxes after the summer and fall. At the time, I was tired of picking them up of the floor and finding them hidden all over the house. Now, I was relieved to see our stone and shell collections as well as the acorns, leaves and sticks we stored in boxes. I knew an art project using these items would keep them busy for a while.

I covered the kitchen table with newsprint and combined the natural materials along with the art supplies we have on hand such as contruction paper, paint, markers, glitter, pom-poms, cotton balls, popsicle sticks, paste and old buttons. Without providing much direction, I told my kids to create something using the materials we collected. I winced, waiting for the complaints about how “boring” my idea was and all the excuses about why they should watch a movie instead. When I opened my eyes, they were both busily working on their masterpieces. “Wow, I thought, “this nature thing works inside too.”

Thirty minutes later…no I am not kidding — an entire 30 minutes…. they were still enjoying the activity and created beautiful works of art that are now adorning our refrigerator.

No doubt, the winter weather makes it challenging to keep kids connected to nature. It is much easier to connect them to the TV or computer. As I look ahead at the cold months that lay before us, I think about how I am going to do it. You are probably thinking the same thing. Well, I am here to offer help. My plan is to try to get them outside for at least 20-minutes on the more mild days, which I consider 25 dregrees and up (and includes buddling up in layers and snowsuits). On the bitter cold days, when it is too cold to go out, we will have to connect with nature in different ways. No doubt it’s going to take some creativity to do it. My formula will be to combine trips to the local nature center (we have a terrific one close by that has many great indoor activities) with reading books, going for drives and doing many, many art projects!

I invite you to join me as I attempt to overcome the overuse of electonic media to entertain my children during the winter months. I have many great ideas for indoor and outdoor activities. I would also like to hear your ideas, so please share!

Birds

Join the Great Backyard Bird Count February 12-15

by MCC

As a follow up to my previous post, here is a wonderful outdoor activity you can do with your children. In that post, I listed “feeding the birds” as an easy activity to use to encourage them to go outside. Well, this one will help you take it one step further because it will help you teach them about nature.

Consider participating in the National Audubon Society’s Great Backyard Bird Count coming up in a few weeks. At the end of this post, I have included the official press release from the National Audubon Society, which includes all the information you need to participate.

If you choose to participate with your children, I recommend taking them to the library to borrow a couple of bird identification books. You can browse through them and point out birds you are likely to find in your yard. Some easy ones are Northern Cardinals, Blue Jays, Black Crows, Black-Capped Chickadees and the Tufted Titmouse. Have them look at the photos or drawings and then read about each species’ habits such as what they eat, where they will build nests in the Spring, etc. Or you can browse the site www.allaboutbirds.org, courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, which includes a plethora of information about birds, how to attract them to your yard and birding basics. I also suggest practicing outside with them a few days before the bird count. This will give them some experience in looking for birds and confidence in their ability to find and name them. You could also purchase a set of binoculars to help them feel like official “birdwatchers,” but it isn’t necessary.

Next, go outside between February 12-15 and count. Then, enter your results at http://gbbc.birdsource.org/gbbcApps/input. Audubon, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Bird Studies Canada use the infromation to learn more about birds and how to protect them. Be sure to send me comments about what you spotted in your backyard. And lastly, have fun!

JOIN THE GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT

February 12-15

New York, NY, January 27, 2010 – Bird watchers coast to coast are invited to take part in the 13th annual Great Backyard Bird Count, Friday, February 12, through Monday, February 15, 2010.

Participants in the free event will join tens of thousands of volunteers counting birds in their own backyards, local parks or wildlife refuges.

Each checklist submitted by these “citizen scientists” helps researchers at Audubon, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Bird Studies Canada learn more about birds and how to protect them. Last year, participants turned in more than 93,600 checklists online, creating the continent’s largest instantaneous snapshot of bird populations ever recorded.

“Taking part in the Great Backyard Bird Count is a great way to get outside with family and friends, have fun, and help birds—all at the same time,” said Audubon Education Vice President, Judy Braus. “Even if you can identify a few species you can provide important information that enables scientists to learn more about how the environment is changing and how that affects our conservation priorities.”

Anyone can take part in the Great Backyard Bird Count, from novice bird watchers to experts. Participants count birds for as little as 15 minutes (or as long as they wish) on one or more days of the event and report their sightings online at www.birdcount.org. One 2009 participant said, “Thank you for the opportunity to participate in citizen science. I have had my eyes opened to a whole new interest and I love it!”

“The GBBC is a perfect first step toward the sort of intensive monitoring needed to discover how birds are responding to environmental change,” said Janis Dickinson, Director of Citizen Science at the Cornell Lab. “Winter is such a vulnerable period for birds, so winter bird distributions are likely to be very sensitive to change. There is only one way—citizen science—to gather data on private lands where people live and the GBBC has been doing this across the continent for many years. GBBC has enormous potential both as an early warning system and in capturing and engaging people in more intensive sampling of birds across the landscape.”

Bird populations are always shifting and changing. For example, 2009 GBBC data highlighted a huge southern invasion of Pine Siskins across much of the eastern United States. Participants counted 279,469 Pine Siskins on 18,528 checklists, as compared to the previous high of 38,977 birds on 4,069 checklists in 2005. Failure of seed crops farther north caused the siskins to move south to find their favorite food.

On the www.birdcount.org website, participants can explore real-time maps and charts that show what others are reporting during the count. The site has tips to help identify birds and special materials for educators. Participants may also enter the GBBC photo contest by uploading images taken during the count. Many images will be featured in the GBBC website’s photo gallery. All participants are entered in a drawing for prizes that include bird feeders, binoculars, books, CDs, and many other great birding products.

In 2010, Bird Studies Canada (BSC) joins the GBBC as the program’s Canadian partner. “Bird Studies Canada is delighted to be the Canadian partner for this extremely valuable program,” said George Finney, President of BSC. “Participating in the GBBC is an excellent way for Canadians to reconnect with their love of nature and birds.”

For more information about the GBBC, visit the website at www.birdcount.org. Or contact the Cornell Lab of Ornithology at (800) 843-2473, [email protected], or Audubon at (202) 861-2242 ext. 3050, [email protected]. In Canada, participants may contact Bird Studies Canada at 1-888-448-2473 ext. 134 or [email protected].

The Great Backyard Bird Count is made possible, in part, by generous support from Wild Birds Unlimited.

Photo courtesy the National Digital Library of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

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Inchworm, inchworm…you’ll go far!

Bring the Outside In

Join the Great Backyard Bird Count February 12-15

Take the 30-Day Outdoor Challenge