5 nature-inspired summer activities to consolidate learning

Land art, also known as Earth art, is an artistic movement that involves the use of natural materials or sites. A nature walk in the park or forest is a great opportunity to teach your child about this form of art. Arts education is key to academic success, as it allows children to learn more about themselves, develop critical thinking skills, and build self-esteem.

You don’t need much to make beautiful land art. Anything you find in nature, such as pebbles, branches, and leaves, can be used to create amazing works of art. To make the activity even more engaging for your child, you can do the following:

• Give them a theme (e.g., spirals, recycling, shades of grey)
• Help them find works of art online for inspiration
• Provide guidelines (e.g., the work must contain one green element)
• Encourage them to invent stories based on their art
• Etc.
   

Mushrooms grow everywhere. Whether they’re big or small, white or colourful, in the earth or on trees, they’re truly fascinating—and sometimes a bit gross! Only an expert can determine which ones are edible. But any mushroom can be observed! There are plenty of ways your child can learn from mushrooms:

• Take pictures of different specimens (e.g., to show family members or for further research)
• Go online or find books on fungi to learn more about the mushrooms they find
• Write down each mushroom’s characteristics (e.g., name, colour, shape, whether it’s safe to eat) 
• Draw the most beautiful mushrooms
• Count the number of mushrooms growing in a single area
• Etc.
   

Ask your child to collect small rocks in a basket or bag. Then, they can use them to play math games! To get started, you can do the following:

• Make two small rock piles
• Ask your child to add or subtract the two piles
• Confirm the answer by gathering the remaining rocks into a third pile
• Etc.
   

Studies have shown that keeping your child’s brain active can prevent summer learning loss. So, encourage your child to do some mental gymnastics! One way is to play nature-inspired guessing games. For example, go outside and describe an object that’s in clear view. Ask your child to figure out what the object is.

Need some suggestions to get started? Here are just a few:

• I’m small, brown, and prickly. What am I? (Answer: a pine cone)
• I’m bright yellow and delicious in salads, but some people call me a weed. What am I? (Answer: a dandelion)
• I only travel in one direction and I grow when it rains. What am I? (Answer: a river)
• Etc.
   

Ah, the sweet smells of summer! We appreciate some more than others, of course. The next time you’re outside with your child, consider playing a smelling game. It’s an easy way to help them enrich their vocabulary and, consequently, improve their writing skills.  Fill some jars with different items from nature (e.g., moss, dirt, grass). Then, ask your child to sniff them one at a time and describe what they smell. If they get stuck, you can help them out:

• Ask questions (e.g., Does it smell good or bad? Does it remind you of something you like? If so, what?)
• Suggest adjectives they can use (e.g., sweet, peppery, earthy, fresh)
• Ask them to think of synonyms (e.g., grass and lawn, scent and fragrance)
• Etc.