42 Nature Study Ideas

Spending time in nature has a plethora of proven health benefits. Nature is soothing to the soul. It's also a great way to incorporate more science into your homeschool day. Time spent outdoors, surrounded by nature, encourages children to learn about and care for the natural world, and it's fun too!

Here are some simple nature study ideas to try:

-Raise caterpillars and observe the process of metamorphosis

-Build a compost bin and learn about soil

-Go bird watching

-Make a Weather Tree

-Learn about bird eggs

-Collect fall leaves and compare their different shapes, sizes, and colors

-Collect some pond water and look at it under a microscope

-Dissect an insect

-Photograph spider webs

-Make nature art

-Collect pine cones and compare the different types that you find

-Start an ant or earthworm farm

-Make a Phenology Wheel

-Photograph spring wildflowers

-Build a shelter out of natural items that could protect you from the elements

-Build a backyard weather station

-Plant a garden

-Learn about local edible and medicinal plants

-Learn to start a fire with sticks

-Collect dandelions in their various life stages (bud, blossom, seed head)

-Go rock hounding and try to identify the rocks and minerals that you find

-Learn about why rivers don't run straight. Experiment with how water moves around various objects in a sandbox

-Build a dam with rocks or sticks in a creek

-Collect or photograph insects and then try to identify them

-Make a sundial

-Learn about bees and visit a local beekeeper

-Use leaves and flowers as stamps and make art

-Collect various seeds and compare the different types

-Watch a thunderstorm and record the intervals between the strikes and the thunder

-Collect various types of leaves and sketch them in a notebook or do crayon rubbings

-Take a nature walk and describe something beautiful you see in a notebook

-Photograph fungi and try to identify them

-Learn about different types of clouds and try to identify them when you see them

-Study animal tracks and look for tracks on your nature walks

-Forge for berries and other edible plants

-Look at snow flakes under a microscope. (Tip: you'll want to pre chill your microscope and slides to keep your flakes from melting)

-Take a nature scavenger hunt. Make a list of various natural items and have your child try to collect as many as they can find

-Take a geology hike

-Try making primitive tools with natural items like sticks and rocks

-Start a sea shell collection

-Learn about The Lost Ladybug Project and hunt for lost ladybugs

-Observe and learn about the phases of the moon

What are some of your favorite ways to study nature?

If you enjoyed this post, check out:

-Backyard Math: Activities Using Nature Items as Manipulatives

-Nature Journaling- How to Get Started

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