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Posts tagged as:

family activities

Nature Scavenger Hunt

by Derek Markham on May 18, 2009 · 3 comments

The kids I nannied LOVED when I planned this for them. They were all so different in their likes and dislikes but they ALL enjoyed this.  You can make it as elaborate or as simple as you would like.Depending on the age of the children, how long you would like to spend outside, and how long you have to prepare is what should determine how you should plan out the hunt.Think of things you would like them to see (and take a picture of or draw a picture of in their own notebooks)

  • Pinecones, dandelions, seeds.
  • Insects, such as a butterfly, dragonfly, grasshopper, and beetle.
  • A spider web.
  • Leaves from an oak or maple tree.
  • Frogs, toads, and lizards.
  • Wildflowers.
  • Mushrooms.
  • Wild berries (do not eat them unless they’ve been identified as non-poisonous!)
  • If you’re by the ocean, look for seashells and seaweed.

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Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Activity

by Derek Markham on February 18, 2009 · 3 comments

Any container that I do buy I either recycle or look for a way to reuse.  We have mountains of carrot juice bottles that I am always trying to find ideas for. This was a very fun simple activity to do and will help me when my daughter needs something quietly to play. I have been keeping it in my purse, and it has gotten me out of a few tantrums all ready.

Take the plastic bottle, clean and dry it out very well.

We collected anything from around the house that we thought could fit in the bottle from old bottle-caps to charms to stickers.

While adding the objects to the bottle we kept a list going. When we used a sticker we just rubbed whatever substance we were going to fill the bottle with (sand, rice, beans) on the back side so it would not stick to the edge of the bottle. [read the full article...]

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