Engage and Ignite Curiosity
Give your children gifts that make a difference. Especially the gift that can last a lifetime and echo through generations: A Love of Nature.
Begin by exploring the nature in your own backyard with your children or grandchildren. Even the smallest discovery there can lead to something big: Your child’s life-long connection with the natural world.
Introducing Your Action-Packed and Infinitely Amazing Backyard!
Think small and get close!
There’s the visible and easily-identified residents like birds, squirrels, chipmunks and rabbits. But, wait! There’s so much more going on in your backyard that needs closer observation.
Bugs! There’s a lot to look at, think about and connect! Insects are a food source for animals, but they’re so much more. Literally, many are busy doing work that contributes to human food sources, too. A native insect population is an important part of your healthy backyard and ultimately, part of a healthy planet.
- Read ‘The Secret Life of Backyard Bugs‘ together.
- Life Cycle figurines – Ladybugs, Frogs, Butterflies and more
- Outdoor Discovery Kit and a Nature Journal.
- A Critter Case helps bring the action closer and gives younger children more time to study.
Next level: Continue learning about Native Pollinators, like Butterflies, Moths, Bees and Bats. Get ready for interesting questions! Read Bringing Nature Home, Douglas Tallamy. And the next, next level? Grow native flowers and other plants that support and attract pollinators.
Empower and Encourage Action
Start a backyard habitat
Help your child start a backyard micro-habitat for wild birds. A habitat starts with just three humble elements, no matter the scale, budget or level of effort in the way you provide them. It’s food, water and shelter. Even the smallest effort made by the smallest hands contributes to making a difference for generations of wild birds. (To find out how every micro-habitat contributes to a better future, see our resource: Food + Water + Shelter = Habitat.)
The Backyard Naturalist’s goal: Keep it simple for you and make it fun for them! Tell us about the birds you’re seeing in your backyard, the ages of your children and your budget. We’re here to help you every step of the way.
- Window Feeders – for the best up-close view of the action
- Deck Mounted Bird Baths – great view and easy for maintaining, especially during winter.
Ownership and Responsibility
Next level: Go full hands-on and get kids fully-engaged with DIY build-your-own kits. After all, The Backyard Naturalist store was inspired by one build-your-own feeder! See how Debi and Mike started a habitat that became a store!
- Build a Bird Bistro Kit: preassembled wood feeder with hanger includes paint 4 colors and a brush. (Ages 3 and up).
- Build a Wren House Kit. Very easy assembly and comes with hanger.
- Garden Stepping Stone Kit. Make a garden stone with their name and handprint.
- Garden Stone Painting Kit. Encourage creative additions to the habitat, too!
Next level: Learn more about feeding birds. What they need to eat to be healthy (and why to never feed bread!)
When the weather keeps kids indoors, help them identify their visitors and find out more about individual species.
- Binoculars or a Little Birder’s Set
- Recommended guide for juniors: The Young Birder’s Guide to Birds of North America
- Audubon Singing Birds for the youngest birders
- Practice bird calls together! The Cornell Lab has a wonderful website, All About Birds, to help you identify birds by their sounds.
What’s UNDER your backyard?
Last, but not least by any means, there’s still an infinite world to explore! Leave no stone unturned! Spark the interest of a future geologist or junior rock hound!
- Inspire the start of a collection with an unusual crystal or mineral specimen.
- Further a fascination with geology with rock science kits, like Amazing Rocks! and Rocks of the U.S.
- Experiment with a Grow Your Own Crystals Kit.
- Fossils! A specimen of Coprolite (Yes, it is the real stuff — fossilized dinosaur poop! Ask us, we’ll show you.) along with some dinosaur action figures, is guaranteed to start an interesting conversation and some leaps of imagination.
Even the smallest effort is the beginning of something bigger!
Tell children how their micro-habitat is contributing to make a global difference. See ‘Every Effort is Making a Difference‘. It’s also part of The Backyard Naturalist’s Mission Statement (on our homepage.)
It’s Also About Discovering the Unique Nature of Your Child
Furthermore, playtime together can reveal much about the unique nature of your child and help give you a direction to develop specific interests. We are here to help you at every step of the way with personalized recommendations for books, games, puzzles and activities suited for age and interests.
