Nature is a powerful teaching tool. It inspires kids to ask new questions, explore things they have not seen before and spending time outside has been shown to benefit kids overall health and learning. I've pulled together a bunch of resources to help you teach your students outside this fall. From pumpkins and apples to leaves and twigs, scavenger hunts to garden harvests, you'll find all the ideas you need to provide a nature-rich learning experience for your classroom or homeschool.
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Observe Nature on a Scavenger Hunt
Get outside and put those powers of observation to good use. So many changes come with the turn of the season, there is a lot to see out there! Try one of these ideas:- Search for Lichen- its everywhere once you start to look!
- Go on a Funky Fungus Scavenger Hunt
- Look Up! Find a nest you didn't know was there!
Create Nature Art
Take advantage of those fall colors and the abundance of leaves that have dropped to the ground to create some great nature art. In choosing natural supplies for art pieces, students really take a closer look at these items than they might otherwise.
A great way to guide these projects is with this nature printables pack. You can see how we've used our copy here. It is awesome not only for creating beautiful art pieces, but also mastering early math skills like symmetry and patterning.
Study Animal Behavior in Fall
In the fall some animals migrate, some bulk up for the winter. Explore fall animal behavior with these ideas:- Woolly bear caterpillars have amazing adaptations to winter! Learn about woolly bear caterpillars here.
- Monarch butterflies are incredible migrators. Here are some Monarch migration lesson ideas for Pre-K through High School.
- Some birds begin their fantastic migratory journey this time of year too. Find out how you can study bird migration here.
- Learn more about spiders with these spider STEM activities.
Learn with Fall Leaves
Leaves are in abundance on the ground and changing colors on the trees. Try these activities with fall leaves.- Why do leaves change color? Try this leaf color science experiment.
- Do you wish you could save those beautiful fall leaves? Check out how you can by making a leaf journal.
Science with Pumpkins and Apples!
Experiment with some of nature's bounty this fall. Here are three easy inquiry science lessons that use pumpkins and apples!- Can you prevent an apple from rotting? Try this easy, open-ended apple science experiment.
- Discover a pumpkin in a new way this year! Counting, measuring, life cycles and more in this pumpkin STEM investigation.
- Don't throw out that jack-o-lantern! Investigate decomposition with Pumpkin Jack!
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