- Crayons/ Colored pencils
- Your senses
- Your imagination
What to do:
Find a natural spot outdoors to explore. You donít have to look far, a
great nature spot can be as close as your backyard or your local park. Visit
this spot once a week or so, and write down the things you observe there. Remember
to always let an adult know where youíll be. Here are some ideas to
get you started.
Using as many different adjectives as you can, describe the area you are
in. Adjectives are descriptive words like brown, magnificent and soft. Be
sure to use more than just your sense of sight. How do things smell? What
sounds do you hear?
Sit very still and close your eyes, try to stay like this for at least
three minutes. Listen to all of the noises and sounds you hear around you.
Open your eyes again, and write down or draw pictures of what you heard.
Using a crayon and a piece of your journal paper, make leaf and bark
rubbings of different trees. Then go to your school or local library and
find a book about trees. See if you can identify the trees from the rubbings
Come back to the same spot at different times of the day, such as early
morning, noon, dusk and night (with an adult, of course). What is different?
What is the same? Write down or draw what has changed and what has remained
the same. Try this again under different weather conditions. What changes
and what remains the same when it is rainy, sunny, cloudy, windy, cool,
warm, cold or hot outside?
How many different kinds of plants can you find? Draw them! What features
do the plants have in common? How do they differ? Check out a book about
local plants from your library and see if you can identify the plants youíve
Get those creative juices flowing. Sit quietly in your outdoor spot and
write a poem about the natural world around you. There are many types of
poetry for you to write. Remember, poetry can rhyme, but it doesnít always
have to. Who says that your words have to be in straight lines across the
paper. If youíre writing a poem about a flower, try writing the words in
the shape of a flower. Try a haiku, this form of Japanese poetry consists of
three lines: the first line has five syllables, the second has seven, and
the third has five. Hereís an example.
I see a small leaf
Softly gliding on the wind
It drops to the ground
Always make sure an adult is either with you, or knows exactly where you
Keep a safe distance from wild animals. If an animal feels that you are a
threat to its home or its family, it will attempt to protect what is theirs,
and might feel that it needs to attack you to do so. Remember, wild animals
are not pets, they are not tame.
Make sure you know what poison ivy looks like, and stay away from it!