The arrival of the space probe Juno to Jupiter is tremendously exciting. How about another planet? Kids can play and connect to Earth’s nature. This week some special instruments were turned on, including Juno’s eyes. For today’s space activity, pretend to turn on your child’s eyes. Go outside and check what those eyes see on Earth.
Look up and down, and all around.
In the sky, between, and on the ground.
Just looking at the sky can be a great way to connect with nature. From one day to another it never looks exactly the same. Are there any big, white, fluffy clouds where you live? Maybe the clouds are all stretched out and look flat. The clouds can be high, low, or in between. There’s lots to see when we take the time to look. In our area we’ve been diligently checking the sky to see if there’s any break in the gray clouds. This afternoon, there’s more than a patch of blue sky, for a while we had a rainbow.
Urban areas have nature in pockets or patches. Is the ground dry or damp? Any puddles? At this time of year there are likely bugs and other critters in the grass or undergrowth. Little Sister said she saw a rainbow beetle. In the garden, Big Sister found a zucchini big enough to pick asked if she could bring it in for lunch.
Between the sky and the ground, there are some cherries still left on the neighbor’s tree and red clumps of berries on the mountain ash trees along the street. The leaves are still green. The summer flowers are bright and colorful. Have any dandelions turned into cotton fluff for blowing? While the blackberries might not yet be ripe, they are starting to show hints of red. They need some warm sun.
A walk or play-time in the backyard or park can give a child so much opportunity to connect with Earth’s nature. Earth is an exciting planet too.