Playing in the backyard can also be educational. Here are some quick games that the homeschool teacher can play with their wards to help them better understand nature.
The Hunt for the Different Backyard Bugs
Have your homeschool students slow down and look for bugs in the backyard. These could be in the grass, on the flowers, in the mud, or even on the rocks. Make them describe the bugs in as much detail as they can. Then help them to identify the bugs. Common ones such as ants, grasshoppers, earthworms, dragon flies, house flies, mosquitoes, and lady bugs should be covered in the homeschool classroom before they step out to explore the yard. Have them see pictures of the different types of bugs that they may be expected to see in the yard. Then have them understand exactly how bugs can help us or harm us. They may even keep a few bugs as pets for a while to learn how they feed.
Plant Seeds for Quick Growing Herbs
Getting a potting mix ready and planting edible seeds is a great way to enhance the connection with nature for little homeschool students. Allow them to add the cocoa peat to the mud and water it down. Play with the wet mixture with their hands and feel the right consistency for planting. Squelching mud between your fingers is as therapeutic as it is playful. Study up on the fast growing edible plants that will grow in this season. Then get the seeds to germinate overnight before you plant them so that the seedlings come up faster. Look into the various fertilizers, natural and organic if possible, which will allow a quick and healthy plant to blossom.
Painting With Vegetables
Use different vegetables as the stamp for dipping into paints and pressing them into a design on paper. The cross section of a lady finger, the decorative crisscross of a potato cut in half, the layers of the onion, the outer shell of a bell pepper, and so much more can be used. Get regular acrylic colors and dip the cut vegetables in the paint. Allow the masterpiece to dry and then pin it up on the homeschool notice board.
