We love nature study in our family. The opportunity to freely explore God’s glorious creation abounds when you step outdoors for a hike — and the fall season is one of the best times to do so!
Some of our favorite learning opportunities happen when we are able to take a close look at simple things in nature. Leaves, tiny flowers, bugs and insects, rocks, tree bark, pond water — all small things that often go unnoticed can be some of the most exciting finds!
We often take along a list for a scavenger hunt to help keep us focused on looking around for certain items. In the fall — pine cones, leaves of different colors, an abandoned bird’s nest, acorns, and rocks are among our favorite finds. My son loves practicing his photographic skills by taking pictures for his nature journal. He took the photo above on one of our hikes. It was the first yellow leaf of the season. Sometimes, wee might bring along colored pencils for some sketches of our treasured findings.
A couple of years ago, we discovered a super cool tool, called the Discovery Scope. It’s a small, hand-held magnifier — like a miniature microscope — magnifying objects 25x. We have carried this tool with us all over the place — the backyard, the local park, the beach, and even on a trip to the Florida Everglades. Having this tool to look closer at small objects has given us a new appreciation for the intricate details in God’s design of all things! Take a look at what Ben saw when he looked at a clover bloom! Who knew, right?
I encourage you to gather your kids this fall season and take a hike. Go to a local park or even just your own back yard and practice observing the little things. Grab a magnifying glass, some containers for collection, some colored pencils, maybe even a camera, and explore. You will be amazed at what you find!
To help you along, I’d love for you to have this Nature through the Seasons printable I created for our nature hikes. It contains pages for all 4 seasons of the year, with scavenger hunts, journal pages, and other activities. It’s my gift to you. Enjoy!
Download your free copy of Nature through the Seasons.
Wow! Tell Ben his pictures are great! This is one of the things we seldom do and need to more often, especially since there are trails here in our new location we have not even explored. Thank you for the printables. They look great!
I will tell him!
Saving your scavenger hunt for my son’s birthday party in two weeks — we’ve got three wooded acres for the kids to run around.
What a fun idea!
WOW, Great pics!!!! We need to go on scavenger hunts for often. My girls would LOVE it.
thank you! scavenger hunts are so fun!
love those printables. I need to look into that scope. That would be great for our nature hikes.
YOU would love that scope! Great Christmas gift, too!