Backyard nature activities are a fun way to teach your kids about the plants, animals, and habitats that you can find in your own backyard.
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The summer is a great season for backyard nature activities. Kids can learn about plants and animals, get messy in the dirt, and do experiments that teach them about the world just outside their back door. We’ve collected over a dozen fun learning ideas. Most are open-ended and are perfect for all ages.
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Butterfly lifecycle
Teach your kids about the monarch butterfly lifecycle with this lesson from Fireflies and Mud Pies. This lesson includes everything you need to know, tips for raising butterflies, and additional activities your kids will enjoy.
Bird watching
Do you know which birds live in your area? Get started bird watching with kids with these tips from One Mama’s Daily Drama. Learn how to attract birds and identify them in your backyard.
Fairy houses
Build a fairy house with all natural materials with this cool idea from Red Ted Art. Have your kids collect sticks, leaves, and rocks from your backyard. Then get creative to build a house, accessories, and even a few tiny fairies!
Frog habitat
The Craft Train has everything you need to create a frog habitat in your backyard. Create a home to attract real frogs or just for playtime with toy ones. This is a fun way to learn about habitats, the lifecycle of frogs, and caring for wildlife.
Nature goop
Nature goop is a fantastic way to have messy fun! This sensory experience at Happy Hooligans is a creative variation on oobleck and includes tips for getting just the right consistency, plus a few play ideas.
Nature slides
Do you have a light table at home? Where Imagination Grows has a fun idea for making nature slides. It’s easy to do and could lead to hours of learning and fun. Plus, you can do this activity at a sunny window too.
Learning with sticks
For an easy no-prep activity check out this idea for learning with sticks from Toddler in Action. You can have your child help collect the sticks before doing the activity. Older kids would enjoy this too by making it more detailed.
Animal tracking
Find out which animals are visiting your backyard at night by doing this animal tracking experiment at Creekside Learning. This is a great hands-on activity that you can do all summer long. Learn how to identify prints and keep a log of what you discover.
Dirt exploring
Set up a fun experiment to find out what lives in your backyard dirt. Visit Go Science Kids for everything you need to do a dirt exploring science experiment. Your kids can even try this activity a few different times a year and compare it to see how the answer changes.
Measure rainfall
Build a rain gauge with instructions from Sixth Bloom, then keep track of how much rainfall you get at your house. This is a pretty simple science activity that you kids of all ages can help with using supplies you probably have at home.
Testing rocks
Kids love collecting rocks, so why not do an experiment? Visit Rainy Day Mum to learn how to test rocks and identify them. Make a rock testing kit, do simple experiments, and learn about the types of rocks you can find in your backyard.
Ant food observation
Chances are your child has dropped food in the backyard, only to have it covered in ants in minutes. This ant food observation experiment at Gift of Curiosity will answer the question ‘what do ants like to eat?’
Plant Identification
Do some backyard plant identification with your kids. Start with a local plant guide or an app like Garden Answers and find out the names of the native and planted items in your yard. For extra fun, make a map to label the trees, bushes, and other things you discover.
Make your own rainbow
Rainbows are easily seen after a rain, but you can make your own rainbow any time with a few items. Learn what causes rainbows and how to do this experiment from Rookie Parenting.
Catching fireflies
After the sun starts to set in the summertime, keep an eye on the backyard. Kids will enjoy catching fireflies and observing them. Get all the tips on the right way to catch them and let them go via Firefly Conservation and Research.
Learning doesn’t stop just because the school year is over! Add a few of these backyard nature activities to your summer plans for learning fun.
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