Help Kids Discover the Many Wonders of Nature
Welcome to Duke and Daisy’s Kid’s Nature Adventures. They realize that playing, exploring, and discovering nature is the best activity they can share with kids. So come along, grab your children, and enter nature’s enchanting world.
Intellectual Benefits. The natural world is a giant, open-ended learning laboratory.
It promotes creativity and imagination. This unstructured style of play also allows kids to interact meaningfully with their surroundings. As a result, they can think more freely, design their own activities, and approach the world in inventive ways.
Emotional Benefits. Being outside feels good.
It builds kid’s confidence. The way that kids play in nature has a lot less structure than most types of indoor play. There are infinite ways to interact with outdoor environments, from the backyard to the park to the local hiking trail or lake. Letting your child choose how he treats nature means he has the power to control his own actions.
Social Benefits. When children play outdoors, there may be opportunities to interact with new and different playmates.
Living close to and being in nature can buffer children’s social skills and improve pro-social environmental attitudes. For example, high levels of exposure to outdoor green space may improve children’s pro-social behaviors such as cooperating, sharing, and comforting. In addition, children report increased social connectivity and decreased peer conflict after engaging in greened schoolyards.
Physical Benefits.
It gets kids moving. Most ways of interacting with nature involve more exercise than sitting on the couch. Your kid doesn’t have to be joining the local soccer team or riding a bike through the park—even a walk will get her blood pumping. Not only is exercise good for kids’ bodies, but it seems to make them more focused, which is especially beneficial for kids with ADHD.
Enviromental Awareness.It teaches responsibility. Living things need proper care, and entrusting a child to take care of the living parts of their environment helps them learn how to care for the natural world.
Duke and Daisy’s found some great books to inspire kid’s interest in getting outdoors.
Great Things to Do Outside by DK
Your kids will never be able to say they’re bored once they’ve picked up this book. Easy to follow instructions let kids tackle a slew of fascinating projects, from building a bug hotel to designing a garden. Even parents will want to join in!
(Ages 5 – 9)
The Nature Adventure Book by DK
Have a child whose hands are always in the dirt? Does your son or daughter love to collect leaves and rocks? Then grab The Nature Adventure Book and head outside. Simple activities and crafts will turn afternoon walks into nature-filled adventures and will guarantee a summer of fun.(Ages 5 – 9)
Up in the Air by Zoe Armstrong. Illustrated by Sara Ugolotti
Kids spend a lot of time playing on the ground, but this book encourages them to appreciate things in the sky. With beautiful illustrations and a unique perspective on the natural world, Up In The Air introduces young children to meteorology, climatology, ornithology, and more in age-appropriate and entertaining ways.
(Ages 7 – 9)
Maker Lab: Outdoors by Jack Challoner
Think you need fancy equipment to conduct scientific experiments? Think again! Using nothing but what you have around the house, you and your kids can dive into 25 experiments that will teach you about everything from waterpower to magnetism, and you’ll definitely have fun doing it!
(Ages 8 – 12)
Young Adventurer’s Guide to (Almost) Everything By Ben Hewitt, illustrated by Luke Boushee
Do you have a child who loves to camp or hike? If so, they need this book. Packed with step-by-step illustrations and useful information, including how to survive in the woods, navigate without modern technology, and build a shelter with only natural materials, this is a must-have roadmap for a summer of outdoor exploration.
(Ages 8 – 12)
The Outdoor Scientist by Temple Grandin
Temple Grandin is known for her compassion, intellect, and deep curiosity. In The Outdoor Scientist, she encourages children to use their questioning minds to become careful observers of the world around them and join the ranks of citizen scientists around the globe who collaborate to collect data on everything from weather patterns to animal migration. Filled with fascinating projects, this is a book the whole family will love.
(Ages 8 – 12)
Available from: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, Target, Walmart
