Exploring Nature
What will you discover outside?
Goal:
Goal:
What can you find in nature where you live? Click through the slides, and follow the directions. You’ll go on a nature walk and collect some things. Then, you will observe and classify what you found. When you’re all done, you can make an art project with one of the items from your walk.
Go on a Nature Walk
Take a walk in a park or somewhere else outside. As you walk, ask yourself these questions:
- What is happening in nature now?
- Are leaves falling? If so, collect many different kinds.
- Are flowers blooming? If so, take or draw pictures of the different kinds.
- What is similar and different about the objects you found?
You can use other objects as well. If you live near the beach, for example, you could work with seashells instead of leaves or flowers. Collect different kinds of things on your walk.
Observe Your Collection
Look at the items you collected on your nature walk. How do they look close up? Use your magnifying glass to see more details. What makes each one different? What colors are they? Do you know the names of everything you found? Look at pictures in a book or online, and find out the names of the items you found.
Sort Your Collection
Lay your collection on a table. Separate the different objects you have collected. This is called classifying. Classify or sort them by color, size, or shape. Do some fit into more than one group? What other ways can you sort your nature items?
Nature Art Project
Now, complete this art project. You will need an adult to help you.
- Cover your workspace with an old sheet or towel.
- Place a flat item from your collection like a leaf or flower between two pieces of wax paper.
- Iron over the paper to preserve the leaf or other item.
- You can hang these wax paper projects in your window!
Question
What are some ways you can sort things?
You can sort things in lots of ways like color, size, and shape.