Expeditions into the great outdoors are the perfect opportunity to sneak in summer learning, helping to avoid the summer slide. With the last week of summer upon us, here are a few activities we enjoyed at the park!

For a review of natural versus man-made, we sat down in the shade and Travis divided a piece of paper in half with a crayon. On one half, he drew things he could see that could be found in nature. The other half was for things that were man-made.

Once he brainstormed a few answers, the nature side filled up with trees, grass, and flowers. Man-made items included park benches and picnic tables. Depending where you are, this list could be quite varied and interesting.

Next it was time for verb review combined with gross motor skills! Pick a leader and everyone does whatever action the leader does, whether rock climbing…

…or walking with an apple, Travis’s impish answer since he loved the apple trees around us. This game is also great practice for turn-taking, a soon-to-be-needed skill in the classroom

Now it was time to review a different part of speech: adjectives! We played “I Spy” using adjectives on our nature walk. “I spy something small and purple,” Travis tried out.

You might even spy something exciting, like when the kids spotted a very cool insect.

Finally, it was time for outdoor math. Head to a place where your child can leave a footprint in the sand, whether a park, beach, or lakeside. I traced the outline of Travis’s foot with a stick, then we chose a rock as our unit of measurement.

His foot was 7 and 1/2 “rocks” long!

What outdoor learning did your family enjoy this summer? Please share in the comments!