As your family explores the outdoors this year, get creative and make a nature bracelet at the same time.
This project is an easy and fun way to explore the many colors and textures available outside. Just make sure to familiarize everyone in your family with poison ivy and poison oak before you set out, and remind kids that unidentified berries should never be eaten.
What You'll Need
- Duct tape
How to Make the Bracelets
Step 1: Tape a piece of duct tape comfortably around your kids' wrists like a bracelet, sticky side out.
Step 2: Take a walk outside together, and search for small leaves, acorns, flowers, and other natural artifacts to adorn their bracelets.
Step 3: While you’re walking, look for birds, insects, and other wildlife. See how many different kinds of trees you can count.
The Science Behind the Fun
Studies show that kids are spending more and more time in front of screens and less and less time outdoors. Getting them out of the house and into nature, whether it’s wilderness, parks, or backyards, might be one of the best things for growing minds and bodies. Afterall, what can inspire an interest in science like the great outdoors?
Creative Enrichment Ideas:
- Bring a paper bag on your walk to collect leaves that are too big for your bracelet.
- Use a nature journal or science notebook to record what you see and hear on your walk.
- When you get home, try to identify some of the plants you’ve found, or birds you spotted.
You can find more experiments like this one at kitchenpantryscientist.com, and in my books Kitchen Science Lab for Kids (Quarry Books) and Outdoor Science Lab for Kids (Quarry Books).
© Quarry Books, 2016/Outdoor Science Lab for Kids
Featured Photos Credit: © Quarry Books