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This week, take the class outside to identify all of the different trees around your school or playground. You can have the students draw the leaves in nature journals, or you can ask for permission to pick some of the leaves to take inside. Have the students search through field guides to identify the leaves. …

Depending on where you live, this weekend might be the season for berry picking! Check with your local farms to see what may be ripe and ready. Then head out with friends or family, and enjoy the fruits of your labor (literally)!    Featured image by wunee

Congratulations to all the amazing young artists who submitted their artwork into Outdoorosity’s Great Outdoors Art Contest! Be sure to view all of the entries in the gallery HERE.  The judges had a VERY difficult time selecting a winner. There were more than 50 entries — so many beautiful, artistic, creative pieces celebrating the outdoors …

Field guides are books used to identify animals, plants, minerals, or other things in the natural environment. They are available for purchase, although many can be found in your local library. This week, check out a variety of field guides for students to look at. Show them how to use the books for research by looking …

Before beginning, find out the weather forecast for the week. Have each student record this information or post it where the whole class can view it. Have the students keep a weather log for the next five days. Be sure to include the high temperature, the low temperature, and the amount of precipitation for each …

It’s spring, and the farmer’s markets are open! Shopping at a farmer’s market is a great way to get quality produce while supporting local growers. If you’ve never been to a farmer’s market before, check out 10 Etiquette & Shopping Tips to Help You Enjoy the Farmers Market.          

Outdoorosity’s Great Outdoors Art Contest will soon be coming to a close. But there is still time to enter! Students in grades 4-6 can send in their artwork by SUNDAY, APRIL 15.  Click HERE to enter.  Click HERE to view the gallery.  We can’t wait to see your artwork! 

This week, take students outside to hear what nature sounds like. Depending on your students, it may be a little hard at first to settle down long enough to listen well. But once they do, they’ll be surprised by just how much they hear.  Supplies Plain white paper Pencils A notebook or book to bear …

This weekend, head out at dawn or dusk to an area without much light pollution and watch the sky. Mostly likely, within 15 minutes you’ll catch sight of one of the more than 35,000 satellites orbiting the earth. Some are active satellites, though many are just space junk. They appear to be stars moving silently …

The other day, as we were opening the door to go out, my daughter, son, and I heard something screaming in the woods up the hill behind our house. It sounded a lot like a person, and she and I became quite alarmed. It didn’t seem to bother my son at all. “Did you hear …

This weekend, head outside after dark for a game of flashlight tag!  There are many variations of the game. Here’s the easiest way to play:  Designate one person as “it”.  Decide the boundaries for the game.  As “it” counts (to 30 or more), all other players hide somewhere within the boundaries. If it’s dark enough, …

Whenever I mow close to the house, I notice a number of insects moving out of the grass. Some go up towards the windows and hang on the screens. There will often be at least one or two praying mantises in the group, some large and some small. And each time, I’m amazed by these …

 If you’ve ever tended a garden, you know the satisfaction that comes from harvesting your own food. Imagine your students experiencing that same satisfaction as well. And in the process, they not only receive a hands-on science lesson, but you can expand it to include other subjects as well.    Getting Started Find a place …

This weekend, head to a favorite park or your backyard for a potluck picnic! Invite family and friends to join you and bring along a dish to share. No time to prepare any food? Ask guests to bring along a couple of sandwich items instead. You could even have a contest to find the most …

It’s Outdoorosity’s first art contest, and there’s less than a month to enter!  This contest is for students in the U.S. in grades 4-6. Find out all of the details HERE!  To view the gallery of entries, just click HERE.  We can’t wait to see what you love about the great outdoors!   

Today is the first day of spring, so we’ve come up with a list of some ways to celebrate its arrival! 1. The birds are chirping! Before all of the leaves appear, take some time to see how many different types of birds you can spot in an afternoon. Visit the Audubon Society for tips …

Nature journaling is a great way to start your students connecting with the outdoors. Not only do they draw pictures of what they see, they can also record any observations or thoughts they have. This helps them appreciate their natural surroundings and hopefully be more motivated to take care of them.  There are no rules for …

We love chickens at our house – not the fried kind, but the kind that wanders around the yard clucking, squawking, and eating insects. With two dogs, we can’t have roaming chickens anymore, but there was a time our chickens could go anywhere they liked. They even roosted high in the trees at night. That …

Spring comes each year with a predictable rhythm. Are your children or students feeling the drumbeat of its approach? Rather than letting spring fever take over, channel their excitement into observation of the outdoors. If you have a consistent commute with kids in the car, begin by pointing out the blooming flowers, shrubs, and trees …

Have you ever had a surprise guest to a barbecue or picnic? A few years ago we had a picnic in our backyard with lots of extended family. After eating, one of the kids needed to throw something away, so I told them to bring over a large garbage can. Imagine their surprise when they …