Now for some fun in nature!!! Get out and explore a bit, collect some treasures along the way! Most of these activities are easily created using items likely already around the house, but you may need to plan ahead a bit to have supplies on hand! Check with your host family about getting supplies to use!
- How about creating a leaf painting mandala?
- Create a birdfeeder or make a suncatcher?
- Create texture stones with clay and found objects!
- Find some rocks, gather some painting supplies, and paint ladybug rocks to hide!
- How about a life sized bird’s nest?
- Build a bug hotel.
- Take part in a STEM build a nest challenge.
- How about creating a twig raft?
- Creating Nature Journals?
- Maybe a pocket sized nature collection?
- Print a photo scavenger hunt list and start looking for the items on the list!
So many great ideas! Check them out on the Au Pair in America Pinterest boards here!
Let’s Learn About:
- The Baltimore Oriole. From their brief taxonomic hiatus to their intense sugar cravings,
there’s a lot to know about these brilliant birds. - Make hummingbird nectar. Hummingbirds may be some of the smallest birds in the world, but fluttering those tiny wings can be quite a workout. Flapping away at up to 90 beats per second burns up calories fast; to maintain their momentum, hummingbirds need to eat—a lot! To satisfy their speedy metabolisms, these busy birds consume half their body weight in bugs and nectar, feeding every 10-15 minutes and visiting 1,000-2,000 flowers per day.
- Illustrator Johanna Basford teaches us how to draw simple birds.
Focus on History:
Rachel Carson, was a writer, scientist, and ecologist. She had a a life-long love of nature and the living world that Rachel expressed first as a writer and later as a student of marine biology.
Field Trips:
Check out Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center. They have a wonderful Fairy Lolly to play in and trails to walk along. Search for the Fairy Houses along the way! This summer, they are hosting an Enchanted Summer at the Garden. Admission is charged.
Historic St. Mary’s City walking trails are open year round. While the living history portion of the center is by admission, hikers can travel a rustic 3.2 mile path through 700 acres of natural areas without tickets. This trail travels through woods and fields at water’s edge along Milburn Creek and the St. Mary’s River. This hike offers numerous opportunities to discover the native flora and fauna of the tidewater region.
Virtual Field Trip Options:
The Nature Conservancy of Oklahoma: Escape the confines of your home and take a virtual field trip through Oklahoma’s vast wilderness by clicking through several 360-degree views of the Conservancy’s various preserves. You can also click on features of the landscapes to learn more about the unique prairie ecosystem.
Yellowstone National Park: Experience the main attractions of Yellowstone National Park from the comfort of your home! Feast your eyes on famous sights such as the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Mammoth Hot Springs and Mud Volcano. Scientists have also created 3-D models of some of the landscapes and geysers that are not to be missed.
Virtual dives:
You won’t need scuba gear to feel like you’re underwater with these stunning high-res 360-degree views of national marine sanctuaries like the Florida Keys, Monterey Bay and the Olympic Coast. You can even pair your device with a virtual reality headset for the ultimate immersive experience.
Webcams:
National Audubon Society Webcams: Explore a variety of webcam options, from Africa, farms, bears, puffins, wolves, honeybees, and even the Aurora Borealis.
Videos: Check out the cool videos at Bob’s Pennsylvania Wildlife Camera
Resources:
Consider joining in the Free Forest School near you! Free Forest School ignites children’s innate capacity to learn through unstructured play in nature, fostering healthy development & nurturing the next generation of creative thinkers, collaborative leaders & environmental stewards.
Books:
Check out your library (or Amazon) for great books about the outdoors! 
- Backpack Explorer: On the Nature Trail.
- My First Book About Backyard Nature: Ecology for Kids!
- Hiking Day, by Anne Rockwell. A little girl and her family go hiking up a nearby mountain for the very first time. As they climb up and up the path, they see everything from a friendly toad to a prickly porcupine, tall leafy trees to tiny red berries.
- Gator, gator, gator, by Daniel Bernstrom. A fearless little girl takes off in search of a giant gator–but she’s not going into that swamp alone! No way! She wants YOU, the reader, to come along. Off you go, peering through the lush landscapes, looking for that gator! But each time you think you see it? Oops! Just a fox. Or some ducks! Or a snake. Maybe you’ll never find the gator, gator, gator…
Photos by: Virginia State Parks {flickr}, rain0975 {flickr}, Nick Goodrum {flickr}, Fred Schroeder {flickr}, Cynthia Chan