10 Outdoor Learning Ideas for Days It is Too Nice to Be Indoors

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When the weather’s nice, staying indoors and getting work done is hard. I live in a northern state where I spend most of the year cold. So when the cold days of fall and winter start moving into warmer spring and summer days, we want to be out. That’s an excellent time to start incorporating fun outdoor learning ideas.

Outdoor learning is an excellent way for kids to explore their surroundings, learn about nature, and get some exercise. It can also help them develop problem-solving, teamwork, and self-confidence.

So, let’s look at some outdoor learning ideas for kids.

Fun Outdoor Learning Ideas to Do with Kids

One thing homeschoolers learn at some point along their journey is that learning doesn’t need to take place inside a classroom. Instead, learning can take place all around them, even outdoors, in unconventional ways.

Let me show you what I mean!

Nature Walks and Scavenger Hunts

So this may be an obvious outdoor learning idea, but it is a great place to start. I put scavenger hunts with nature walks because sometimes kiddos, depending on your age group, may complain it’s boring. It always helps to have something to do.

You can take a walk in the park, the woods, or even your backyard. Kiddos can look for different plants and animals and talk about what they see.

With a nature scavenger hunt, make a list of items kids need to find. Then, here is where you can quickly adapt it for various ages.

For instance, younger kids can have a picture scavenger hunt, while older kids can have a more challenging hunt.

All kids can look for different types of leaves, rocks, insects, or flowers. You can also include more challenging items, such as animal tracks or bird nests. Older kids can also be required to look for specific types of trees or insects.

Overall, you can adjust it to your individual needs.

Besides the types of items you search for, you can vary your walks and hunts in other ways. For example, you can make it a fun stroll or have kids race to see who can find the most items on the list first. But, again, it is a good idea to mix things up.

Educational Benefits of This Outdoor Learning Idea

There are several educational benefits to nature walks and scavenger hunts, making them such a great outdoor learning idea.

Learn about various plants (trees/flowers/shrubs). For example, you can do a plant study where younger kids learn to identify the different plants. Kids a little older may like to dissect flowers and learn about the various parts. While even older kids can learn about edible and medicinal plants in your area.
Discover different types of insects. Kids can learn what insects you have in your area. You can also study certain insects more in-depth or learn how certain insects impact your local area (gardens, buildings, etc.)
In-depth study of the types of rocks in your area. Are you studying Earth Science? Kids can collect rocks from their backyard and learn if they are sedimentary, igneous, or metamorphic rocks. It can give kids insight into your area. You can also see what minerals you may have in your state.
Learning to be observant. Being observant can help in so many ways.

One thing kiddos can do with all their new outdoor knowledge is record it in a Nature Journal.

Not only does it keep a record of their outdoor learning, but all their outdoor adventures.

Kids can draw pictures, write about what they saw and did, and collect leaves, rocks, or other natural objects to add to their journals.

Outdoor Learning Idea- Camping

So, do you think of education when you think of camping?

Most probably don’t.

However, camping has so many great learning opportunities. Believe me. As a former Cub Scout Leader and now a Scoutmaster, I’ve learned camping is a great outdoor learning activity.

Now, you can go camping in the woods, at a campground, or even in your backyard.

Kids can learn how to read signs in nature. One fun resource is The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs: Use Outdoor Clues to Find Your Way, Predict the Weather, Locate Water, Track Animals―and Other Forgotten Skills (Natural Navigation). It teaches a lot of great skills.

Of course, camping allows kids to have a lot of fun exploring the outdoors. I think we’ve all heard of the health benefits of getting outside.

Besides all that, kids can learn different outdoor recipes, cooking methods, and techniques. For instance, you can find recipes to cook on a wood fire, propane camp stove, or charcoal grill. You can also learn to cook in a Dutch oven, use foil packs, or cook on a stick.

So, camping teaches many life skills that are just as important as academics.

Educational Benefits

So, to sum up, the educational benefits of camping are:

Life skills, life skills, life skills! Meal planning, cooking, packing.
Reading signs in nature.

Learning with Hiking

Hiking is one of my favorite things to do and one of my favorite outdoor learning ideas. My kids and I plan to incorporate this into our summer learning.

Going for a hike in the woods or on a nature trail has many of the same benefits as a nature walk. Kids can learn about different types of plants and animals and get some exercise at the same time.

Though with hiking, kids can keep a record of distance traveled, elevation, and locations. Then they can even graph the distance hiked over the year, and the different heights of the places hiked.

You can even teach kids to set goals. For example, kids can plan how many hikes they want to do or how many miles to accomplish in a certain amount of time.

Another thing that makes this an excellent outdoor learning idea is that kids can learn mapping skills. You can teach kiddos how to read a map. Kids can learn how to read latitude and longitude, the US grid system, determine distances on a map, and read elevation.

Oh, and don’t forget to add in compass skills. Teach kids how to use a compass to figure out directions but also how to use it with a map.

Educational Benefits of Hiking

As you can see, hiking is a great outdoor learning activity.

Incorporates math with recording and graphing distance and elevation.
Meets physical education requirements.
Map and compass skills.
Teaches goal setting.

Again, hiking teaches many life skills and helps build life-long physical fitness habits.

More Fun Outdoor Learning Ideas- Nature Art

Next to hiking, nature art is another one of my favorite outdoor learning ideas. It is so much fun having kids use natural materials, such as leaves, flowers, or sticks, to create art projects. This is a fun and creative way for them to express themselves and learn about nature.

Kids can use rocks to make bugs, sticks and leaves to make people, or make cute mobiles with flowers and leaves hanging from a stick. We’ve even collected flowers, leaves, and grasses to make Nature Bookmarks. They came out great.

summer craft for kids, outdoor learning ideas

Over at The Craft Train, they share 27 Ways to Create Nature Art. Take a look if you need some inspiration.

Also, one of my favorite art programs is Nature Art Club by Lily and Thistle. I bought it to learn how to do nature watercolor paintings. However, I love Nature Journaling 101, Birding 101, and nature crafts.

Educational Benefits of Nature Art

Nature Art has many benefits.

Encourages creativity.
Counts as an art class.
Teaches observation and problem-solving.

Outdoor Learning with Gameschooling

Many homeschooling families have found that gameschooling is a great way to learn and have fun! So, instead of being inside, play games outside.

Many fun games can be played outdoors, such as tag (freeze tag, TV tag), Mother May I, or Simon Says. These are great ways to teach younger kids to follow directions, but they also get exercise and have fun at the same time.

Another way to incorporate outdoor learning is by making your own outdoor games. But, boy, creating your own game can be HARD. Kids need to develop rules and objectives for the game, which can be a challenge. Maybe they invent a new tag game or new rules to hide and seek. The sky’s the limit.

If kids aren’t up to making up their own games, they can remake a large-scale version of a familiar game.

For example, my kids and I made an outdoor board game in the driveway. We drew the board with chalk and made a large die with a box.

Another fun idea for little kids is to make a large grid to practice specific skills. For instance, I would draw a grid 4X4, 4×6, etc., on the driveway and draw shapes randomly in each box.

I’d call out a pattern, and the kiddos would need to hop from square to square to make that pattern. You can also do this with numbers and letters. With older kids, put the answers for multiplication or division facts.

Another fun outdoor learning idea for younger kids is to put a masking tape bracelet, sticky side out, on each kid’s wrist. Then they search for nature items of a particular color and stick them to their bracelet.

On Mess for Less, you’ll find 25 Outdoor Learning Games you’ll love!

Educational Benefits of This Outdoor Learning Idea

Outdoor learning games are great.

It makes learning fun, so kids are more involved in learning.
Motivates kids to want to learn.
Can work on various educational skills in a game format that gets kids up and moving.

Outdoor STEM Activities: A Fabulous Outdoor Learning Idea

If you’ve followed me for some time, you know that I LOVE STEM activities. I have a variety of STEM activities and challenges. I even have a couple that are great outdoor learning activities.

One really fun STEM activity is making solar ovens. Kids learn about solar energy AND make some yummy treats. Check out these 3 Solar Oven Projects for kids.

Another great outdoor learning idea is building a bird nest! Kids will have a great time collecting materials and learning to build a nest like birds. But it isn’t as easy as it seems.

If your kiddos like STEM challenges, they will have fun with a STEM hammock challenge. Kids use materials in nature to make a hammock.

outside STEM challenge, outdoor learning ideas for kids

Educational Benefits of STEM

Problem-solving skills
Creative thinking
Learning skills in science, technology, engineering, and/or math and applying them in a different way.

Want a GREAT STEM journal to help kids work through all these STEM challenges? Take a look at this STEM journal, along with extra STEM Worksheets to help with ANY STEM activity or challenge.

I NEED this!

Learning with Bird Watching

Bird watching is an easy way to make learning fun. You can go bird watching in your backyard or at a local park.

Kids can learn about different types of birds, and they’ll have fun identifying the birds they see. You can even teach kiddos to identify birds by their songs.

Fortunately, there are apps to help you identify birds if you need some help. I’ve used the Merlin Bird App from Cornell. You can find it for iPhones and Android devices.

One fun thing you and the kids can participate in is the Great Backyard Bird Count. It is an event that takes place once a year to help researchers get a snapshot of the bird population. In 2023, it took place in February.

To help attract birds to your backyard, you can make birdhouses, put out bird feeders, or plant flowers to attract birds. It makes it easier to study them that way.

Later, you can take things further and do a bird unit study based on the birds you’ve discovered.

Benefits of Birdwatching

Learn about the birds in your region.
Better understand how birds interact with the environment.

Stargazing

Stargazing is an outdoor learning idea you can do in your backyard, at a local park, or someplace with not a whole lot of light pollution. Kids can learn about the stars and planets, and they’ll be amazed by the beauty of the night sky.

You can teach kiddos of all ages how to navigate the sky. You can find star maps, stargazing apps, and websites to help you identify the different constellations.

As you star gaze, you can share stories of the constellations from different cultures.

You can also track a constellation over a month and discuss how it changed over time.

Educational Benefits of Stargazing with Kids

A fun way of learning astronomy.
It makes learning meaningful.
Discover different constellations and planets in the sky.

Get in the Garden

Gardening is a great outdoor learning activity. You can plant a garden in your backyard or pots on your porch.

Kids can learn about the importance of growing their own food and have fun watching their plants grow.

You can incorporate math skills in recording data, such as how long it takes for various plants to sprout and heights at different intervals.

Plus, you need math in planning your garden. You need to measure your garden space and plan the spacing of plants and rows. But, you also need to plan out WHEN to plant them depending on their growth period.

You can also incorporate organic gardening skills, food preservation, and recipes.

Learning Benefits of Gardening

A valuable life skill.
Use math and science in planting a garden.

Outdoor Learning Idea #10: Environmental Cleanup

Each year, around Earth Day, our family or scout troops do a roadside clean-up in our community. It’s a great way to help clean up a local park or beach.

While doing so, kids can learn about the importance of protecting the environment and how to make a difference in their community.

It is also an excellent opportunity for kids to learn about important environmental issues in your community (local, county, or state).

Outdoor learning is an excellent way for kids to learn and grow. It’s also a lot of fun! So get out there and explore the great outdoors with your kids. After all, there are so many great outdoor learning ideas to give a try!

Happy Homeschooling!

10 Outdoor Learning Ideas for Days It is Too Nice to Be Indoors

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