There’s one global resource available to everyone at any time, all the time.

It’s the Great Outdoors!

Nature is healthy, safe, and free… perfect for kids to continue to grow and learn during these uncertain times.

Your own backyard is a great place for your child to get outside in play. In addition to swimming and playing outdoor sports, your child can use your backyard as a science experiment.

If you are interested in helping them achieve this, please familiarize yourself with some popular backyard activities, especially those focusing on nature and science.

Exploring your backyard is not only a fun activity, but it is also educational. Many fascinating living creatures can be found outdoors and plants and greenery are also filled with learning opportunities.

All children love exploring nature, but some may enjoy this exploration more than others. Those children are likely to be toddlers or elementary school-aged children. Since young children may need your assistance, you will want to pick backyard activities that you will also enjoy.

Backyard Science | Science Fun Disguised as Adventure!

One of the many ways that you can incorporate science into your backyard is by studying the plants that can be found in your yard. While all backyards are likely to have several different plants or flowers, yours may have more. For the best environment, you are encouraged to explore areas of your yard that have yet to be mowed.

Your backyard is also likely full of several different insects. Like plants and flowers, your child may enjoy examining these bugs. It is fun to see what bugs live in your backyard and exciting to learn about how they survive. There is also a good chance that your children may leave your yard with a new pet.

Even puddles are filled with potential learning opportunities.

In addition to the living things that can be found in your backyard, you and your child may also want to examine the weather and its impact on the yard and everything inside.

Backyard conditions change as the weather changes. By examining your backyard after a rainy day, your child may find that many of the plants, flowers, and bugs have either changed or retreated to safer grounds. Examining the effect the weather has on the things in your backyard is not only fun but educational as well.

You may want to consider purchasing some science supplies to make the most of your child’s next backyard adventure. These supplies may include, but should not be limited to bug containers, butterfly-catching nets, magnifying glasses, picture books, and bug identification guides.

If your child plans to capture a few insects, a small cage or breathable container may be just what they need. These supplies and others can be purchased from most retail stores or on Amazon.

To keep your exploration focused on education, science books and nature resource guides may be a nice addition to your child’s science collection. Many books and resource guides have a focus on insects, birds, plants, and flowers. Many of these resources will provide you with information and pictures.

We encourage parents to shop online or visit a local bookstore for a large selection of science and nature books.

Backyard Science | Books from Quarto Kids

When examining your backyard’s plants, bugs, and flowers, you and your child may want to document what you see. This can easily be done with a notebook or a camera.

QuartoKids has several excellent STEM and nature-based activity books for kids as well.

Bug Lab for Kids: Family-Friendly Activities for Exploring the Amazing World of Beetles, Butterflies, Spiders, and Other Arthropods by John W. Guyton, ED.D. (AGES 7-10)

Geology Lab for Kids-52 Projects to Explore Rocks, Gems, Geodes, Crystals, Fossils, and Other Wonders of the Earth’s Surface by Garrett Romaine

Outdoor Science Lab for Kids: Outdoor Science Lab for Kids: 52 Family-Friendly Experiments for the Yard, Garden, Playground, and Park by Liz Heinicke

Happy exploring!

What if you could “live” inside the pages of the children’s books your family reads? What if you could enjoy the same adventures as the characters?

Even before I was the founder and CEO of Audrey Press CEO, the term “BookJumping” was a term used weekly when my kids were little.

Don’t bother trying to find bookjumping in the dictionary! It is simply a made-up word coined by the Budayr household many moons ago.

In a nutshell, bookjumping is taking the solitary act of reading a book and transforming it into an event that can be shared with others. It’s the process of pulling books off shelves and stories off pages.

It’s making kids’ books come ALIVE by hypothetically “jumping” inside the pages.

After several decades of creating original and unique book-inspired activities and learning opportunities, I had amassed an impressive catalog of fun things for kids to do that also go them reading.

The result was an ebook brimming with the “Best Of” these adventures, experiences, and activities called The ABC’s of BookJumping: The Best of Jump Into a Book

This interactive ebook is a concept that lets parents, caregivers, homeschoolers, and educators use the books they have on their shelves to create moments of “learning by doing” and reading all rolled into one!

This robust literacy-based e-book contains over 150 hand-picked book reviews, unique book-inspired activities and recipes, book pilgrimages, facts about classic book authors that we all know and love, and many, many reasons to spend countless hours “unplugged” and revisiting classic stories.

Making reading an adventure for kids doesn’t feel like a chore and is a great way to help them increase their desire to learn.

Setting aside time as a family and selecting a summer reading list is a great way to not only make the idea of reading more exciting but also to involve kids in voicing their thoughts and options on what it is that they would like to read.

Re-ignite your child’s love of reading and encourage screen-free family time today.

Get the details here and grab your copy ASAP.