Green Mountain Club

Maintaining & Protecting Vermont's Long Trail Since 1910

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Kids’ Nature Activities Round-Up

April 9, 2020 by Kristin McLane 1 Comment

With a lot of working parents on the GMC staff, we know how hard it is to suddenly be homeschooling and working from home at the same time.  But so many organizations are stepping up to offer ideas and activities for young kids to do, and we wanted to share our favorites with you here.

Nature Story Time with GMC

Every Friday at 10 AM, join a GMC staff member on Facebook Live for a nature-focused storybook reading.  Go to the GMC Facebook page at that time to watch the video live, or catch the recording later.  (See the first two here and here.)

National Park Service Junior Rangers

Connect to a national park right from your home!  Not only can you find your “virtual” park, but you can also become a Junior Ranger online, play games and challenges, and do special interest activity books, exploring topics like angling, caves, and the night sky.

Leave No Trace’s Indoor Nature Activities for Kids

Learning outdoor ethics is good for all ages!  From learning hand motions to remember the seven Leave No Trace principles to using stuffed animals to learn how to watch wildlife, LNT has lots of fun activities to get our next generation of stewards started.

Vermont State Parks Activities for Distant Socializing

Vermont State Parks has some great ideas for socially distant things to do right in your own home or backyard: finding a sit spot, birding, citizen science projects and more.  Even adults can get in on the fun of free play adventures.

Audubon Adventures for Kids

Learn about birds and their habitats with the National Audubon Society!  There are so many resources for both kids and educators to choose from, and plenty of home-learning ideas from Audubon Vermont.

North Branch Nature Center Online Programming

NBNC is a frequent partner in GMC’s educational offerings, and we love their programming!  They are now offering resources for families and teachers with Pre-K through 8th grade students, plus lots of other online workshops, presentations, and activities.

Vermont Institute of Natural Science Virtual Events

VINS is providing video investigations, wildlife encounters, and other online events, all to help you learn about our natural world.  They also have educational resources for Pre-K through 12th grade.

North Country Animal League’s “Quarantivities”

NCAL has been posting quarantine activities on their Facebook page, and there are lots of great ideas!  Try out a backyard scavenger hunt, an arts and crafts caterpillar race, yoga with animals, nature journaling, and more!

ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain Science & Stories Online

Every Wednesday at 11 AM, ECHO‘s Youth Programs Manager will read a different book focused on the seasons and exploring the world around us, followed by sharing a hands-on activity you can do at home!

Mad River Path’s Nature-Based Fun with Your Little Ones

According to Mad River Path, just getting outside is the best activity, and we agree!  They share some great pointers for changing it up and having a successful outdoor adventure with your kids.

 

Other Activities:

Try Out a New Podcast

There are plenty of kids’ podcasts out there to learn all kinds of new things, but we like the nature-themed ones, like The Earth Rangers Podcast, where a wildlife biologist explores the mysteries of nature, and Animal Sound Safari, where you can learn interesting animal facts from around the world.

Learn Some New Songs

Songs with hand motions are especially fun! A couple of nature-based songs include Good Morning, Dear Earth and A Little Seed (which could be combined with planting a garden).

Arts and Crafts

Who doesn’t love creating?  You can find rocks to paint, collect sticks to build with, color nature scenes, and even make salt dough to sculpt your own nature art!  (Salt Dough Recipe: 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup salt, 1 cup cold water. Mix flour and salt together in a bowl. Slowly mix water, a few tablespoons at a time, into flour mixture until dough is smooth and easy to handle. Make some fun shapes! Preheat oven to 250 degrees and arrange your creations on a baking sheet. Bake until dry and hard, about 2 hours.)

Take a Virtual Field Trip

So many parks, museums, farms, and zoos are now making it possible to visit them virtually.  Check out this list and get traveling!

 

What activities are getting you through our stay at home time?

Filed Under: Education

Trackbacks

  1. Ways to Celebrate Our Earth - Green Mountain Club says:
    April 22, 2020 at 3:32 pm

    […] to foster your kids’ love and passion for the Earth? Check out all of these online kids’ nature activities.  And, make sure to download our Long Trail Activity Book, with creative drawing inspirations for […]

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Ask a Science Teacher: Why is the Long Trail so Muddy?

March 27, 2023

Vermont — and especially the Long Trail — is known for being sort of muddy. We even have an official fifth season, "mud season." Why is Vermont (sometimes known as "Vermud") and the Long Trail so muddy? Why is the Long Trail so muddy? To answer, we asked Joe Bahr, newly minted author of the … Read more

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Mission

The Green Mountain Club is the founder and maintainer of the Long Trail - the oldest long distance hiking trail in America. Established in 1910 to build this trail stretching the length of Vermont, the club now also maintains the Appalachian Trail in Vermont and trails in the Northeast Kingdom in its mission to "make the Vermont mountains play a larger part in the life of the people." Read more...

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