Take a walk through any backyard and you will see bugs. Bugs and insects fascinate many children, and are a great way to help them learn while having fun. Give your children magnifying glasses, jars with hole-punched lids and an index card or other utensil for scooping up bugs. Tell them to find as many different types of insects as they can. Examine the bugs through the jar with a magnifying glass. Talk about how they look and what kind of bug they might be. Use a book or the Internet to classify the bug and learn a little about it. Be sure to remind children that bugs are living things and need to be returned to their environment for safety.
Another way for children to learn science in their backyard is by studying the weather. The most basic activity is simply walking through the yard and talking about the temperature, whether it is cloudy or sunny and if there is any precipitation falling. However, kids can also build their own weather station for more in-depth study. Help children collect basic weather gauges such as a thermometer, rain gauge, wind vane and a journal. Each day have them take readings from the gauges and record the results in their weather journal. To study the changing seasons, children pick a tree or bush in the yard. Every month, have the child sketch a picture or take a photo of that same tree. After a year, they will have a record of how that tree has changed throughout the seasons.
Bird watching can be an enjoyable learning experience. To attract birds to your yard, make a few simple bird feeders. Help your child spread peanut butter on pinecones. Sprinkle birdseed over the peanut butter, tie a string to the top of the pinecone and hang it in the trees where it is easy to see. Use binoculars to watch the birds that come into your yard. Talk with your child about what the bird looks like. Is its beak large or small? Does it have any unusual markings or colorings? What sound does the bird make? Keep a bird journal by taking photos or sketching the birds you see. Write the date, time of day and where the bird was when you saw him.
Summer is a great time to experiment with water in your backyard. Teach your child how important water is to plants by letting them water the garden. Place ice cubes on the patio and see how long it takes them to melt. Do this at different times of day and notice the difference in melting times. Discuss what temperature is needed for water to freeze and what the forms of water are. If you have access to a pond or lake, collect a water sample. Use a microscope to view the pond life and algae that is contained in the water. Going swimming? Pools are a great place to learn about buoyancy. Have your child hold onto a float or wear a life jacket. Discuss what buoyancy is and how a life jacket works.