Archive: outdoor activities

Ant and Worm Activities for Kids

Mom Trusted put together a few fun ideas for critter-crazy children. These will help them expand their scientific knowledge and have a great time. Here are some bug activities for kids. Some are educational and others are even tasty:

Invest in an ant farm. Your kids will have fun for hours watching the ants dig mazes.

Eat dirt for dessert! Make some chocolate pudding, following the instructions on the box, and pour it into small, plastic cups. Then crumble chocolate cookies on top of the pudding. Stick a few gummy worms in each cup. You can even add green coconut shavings (dyed using a few drops of food coloring) for grass if you want to get extra fancy.

Make a worm hotel. All you need is a big glass or plastic jar and some worms. Fill the jar with dirt, stick a few worms in and watch them wiggle through it. Note: the worms will be happiest if you alternate dirt and sand every few inches. Make sure to return them to their natural habitat after a few days.

Make compost in your own backyard. Gather veggie kitchen scrapes, some leaves or cut grass and place in a large pale with a lid. When it starts to decompose into dirt, add a few worms to help the process along.

Feed the ants and watch how much they can carry. Be sure to do this activity far away from your home! Grab some lunch leftovers and take them out to a field with a few ant hills. Drop the food in large chunks and watch as tiny ants come to take away pieces many times their size.

Sources:

-“Bugs and insect activities for kids” Pinterest

-“Creepy crawly activities for kids who love bugs” education.com

-Photo courtesy of antpkr/freedigitalphotos.net

10 Snow Activities for Toddlers

1. Snow painting:

Grab some empty spray or water bottles. Fill each with water and a few drops of food coloring then head out into the fluffy stuff. Let your toddler spray the snow, making rainbow pictures. But remember that food coloring stains so get down their old, tattered jacket from the attic for this activity.

2. Pick up pinecones

And pine tree branches and any other wintery craft supplies. Then, head home to sip coco and make wreathes or table centerpieces with them.

3. Build a snowman

Keep it classic. Snowmen never go out of style. Recreate your whole family and have a frozen flock of them in your front yard. Let your little one create the faces with buttons, carrots, candy or anything else you have lying around the house.

4. Roll around in the snow

Snow’s best quality is its fluffiness. Let your kiddo run wild and rejoice in the fact that the soft snow will work as a cushion and eliminate any bumps, bruises and scrapes that rough housing would usually result in.

5. Tracking

If you live in the suburbs or a more remote area, try tracking. Your little ones will be fascinated by the different marks of birds, bunnies and deer. Plus, this is a great learning activity to spark interest in basic science.

6. Snow Sketching

Think of your backyard as a giant sketchpad. Show your tot how to use their creativity to traces pictures in the snow. Then, use your whole body to add to the pictures. There’s nothing like a classic snow angel.

7. Blow bubbles

Take bubbles into below freezing temperatures and see if they freeze.

8. Footprint Tag

This game is for kids on the older end. The person who’s “It” isn’t allowed to make footprints of their own. They can only follow in other people’s tracks. This simple game is fun and a great way to even the playing field between older and younger children.

9. Sledding

When in doubt, stick to the basics. Sledding never gets old.

10. Snow Castles

Imagine your own tropical vacation by pretending the snow if sand. Take a break from building snowmen and build a snow castle instead. Scoop the snow into buckets, pack it tight and flip it over to make towers or bricks for the castle. Grab some of the leftover snow paint from activity #1 and add a splash of color to the castle.

SOURCES:

-Lindermans, Candace. “Snow Day! 10 activities for toddlers.” January 10, 2010.

-Wilson, Laura. “Winter Snow Activities for Toddlers.” 

-Levine, Joni. “Let it Snow!” 

-Brown, Stephanie. “Readers Respond: Fun Activities for Snowy Days.” 

-Photo courtesy of Tina Phillips/freedigitalphotos.net