Nature Walk with Toddlers {Free Printables}

The little kids and I were invited to head down the shore (that's what you call the beach when you live in NJ) today with our friends. We had to decline because Lucas just started antibiotics for strep throat yesterday and he is not feeling 100% yet.   It was a beautiful day though so I decided it was ok to spend a little time outside before nap time.  What should we do?

You can read about the Nature Club last year in this post.

Last summer I started a Nature Club for my oldest daughter in an attempt to keep her from playing electronics all day, all summer.  This summer she goes to day camp so it is just the little kids and me.  So this afternoon was the perfect time for a leisurely nature walk.   The nature walk that I did last year was a little too advanced for my little ones this summer so it was time for a Toddler Nature Walk.

 We used the FREE printable pictured below for our nature walk.   It had just the right amount of items on it for the attention spans of my two little ones.  The pictures were also perfect since neither one can read yet.  Lucas particularly liked the boxes to check off when he found one of the items on the list. The kids felt very "big" carrying their clipboard and pen.

Free Printable Nature Scavenger Hunt for Toddlers found on Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT memberships are free)

We only spent about 30 minutes on the search but they had such a great time working together to complete the task.   By time we got home they were tired and ready for a nap!

 Still need more ideas?  Check out my Nature Club Pinterest Board!

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Nature Club for Kids with free Printables

 

My 8 year old daughter Sydney loves technology.  If I let her, she would sit on the couch and play her DS all summer long.  It is my goal to get her off the couch and to expand her mind this summer.

 I decided that starting a nature club would get her outside away from the electronics.  I searched my old standby "Pinterest" to get some free printables for our nature walk.   You can see all of my nature club finds on my Pinterest page.

We invited Sydney's best friend, Gavin, and his big sister, Eva,  to join us.  Nature hunts are not just for Earth Day. I grabbed some clipboards and pens and printed out one of these ABC Nature Walk free printables.

 

Free Printable ABC Nature Walk from Classroom Freebies

They searched throughout our neighborhood to find something in nature for each letter of the alphabet.  They did a great job of almost finding each letter.

I was even able to get my almost 3 year old involved in the fun.  We did a second (simpler) nature scavenger hunt.  This hunt did not require any writing.  Since Lucas can't read yet, he had some help from his "assistant"  Eva,

I printed these free printables and taped them onto brown paper lunch bags.  We headed down to the park to fill our bags.

Free Printable Nature Scavenger Hunt from Five Little Chefs

All three kids filled their bags.  We spent about an hour completing both searches. 

Since Lucas is only a toddler, he lost interest faster than the bigger kids.  He spent some time hanging out on the swings.   

Some of you may be asking, where was Ella (my 16 month old) during the nature walk?  She sat happily in her wagon and cheered on the nature hunters.  She also enjoyed a ride on the swings with my friend Eileen (Gavin and Eva's mom.)

I consider the day a success since that was one full hour with no electronics!  For our next meeting of the nature club, the kids decided they wanted to "take care of our earth."  That is their words!  They want to walk around our neighborhood and clean it up.   Check back to see if we end up doing that!