• Home
  • About
  • Homeschool
  • Activities
    • Sensory
    • Fine Motor
    • Alphabet
    • Art & Crafts
    • Science
    • LEGO
    • Math
    • Nature Study
  • Farm
  • Shop
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

Stir The Wonder

Charlotte Mason Inspired Learning

  • Home
  • About
  • Homeschool
  • Activities
    • Sensory
    • Fine Motor
    • Alphabet
    • Art & Crafts
    • Science
    • LEGO
    • Math
    • Nature Study
  • Farm
  • Shop

Book Lists Nature Study Preschool Science

Saturday Science: Nature Exploration & Book Suggestions

Welcome to the Saturday Science Blog Hop & Link Up co-hosted by Little Bins for Little Hands, P is for Preschooler, Lemon Lime Adventures, Suzy Homeschooler, The Joys of Boys, The Usual Mayhem and yours truly!

We haven’t been doing many science experiments this spring and summer other than the Carrot Top and affiliate-links-2Birdseed experiments. But that doesn’t mean we haven’t been learning anything science related. I’ve just been letting learning take its natural course and believe it or not, we’ve learned a lot about nature this way, through child-led exploration! Otherwise known as natural science. 😉

Saturday Science: Nature Exploration | Stir the Wonder #kbn #childledlearning #natureWe’ve seen a lot of critters in our yard now that we live in New Hampshire that we would have probably never got the chance to investigate living in Rhode Island. Each time we come across a new animal we spend some time looking it up on the internet and learning interesting facts.

Eastern Red-Spotted Newt

The first critter we came across in our yard was a newt, an Eastern red-spotted newt to be exact! This is the coolest little critter we have found! Did you know it lives part of its life on land and adult newts live in the water? They also completely transform from an red-orange salamander looking creature to an olive-green tadpole-like critter! After learning that they move from land to water, we walked down to a nearby pond and found some more aquatic dwellers! It was so neat to find both forms of this animal!

Check out this Red-Spotted Newt felt board activity from Fireflies & Mudpies!

felt-board-sceneThis Spring we also got to witness baby Robins go from tiny blue eggs in a nest, to teeny featherless baby birds, to big baby birds in a crowded nest! Caden excitedly checked the nest below our deck each day! It was so neat to watch the birds grow from such a close vantage point! And now there are three more eggs to watch!

Baby Birds

Each time Caden has taken an interest in something, I make sure to pick up some books on the topic at the library! We’ve read a lot about bugs this summer, but we’ve also checked out books on birds, frogs and turtles! Here are some bird books we read:

We have also found two different turtles in our yard! The first one Caden spotted from a window on the second floor of our house and said “hey look! a big beetle!” upon a closer look we discovered a good-sized painted turtle in the front yard! It really did look like a beetle from the second floor!

Painted TurtleWe immediately ran down the stairs, hopped in our boots, grabbed some gloves and my camera and went outside to investigate! Boy was that little turtle mad that we disturbed him! He peed all over the place! It’s a good thing Daddy grabbed his gloves! After checking him out for a few minutes we put him back down and he headed for the trees! Then we went back inside to look him up on the internet and make sure we correctly identified him.

Nesting TurtleThe other turtle who decided to visit our front yard was a huge mama snapping turtle, doing some nesting. She had dug a hole in our front yard and we thought she was laying some eggs. We briefly went outside to get a closer look, but didn’t stay long so as not to disturb her. After she left, we investigated the nest site, but discovered there weren’t any eggs. It has been suggested that she was just testing the site. We probably failed the test by being too nosy… oh, well. Below you will find some interesting books about turtles.

We have also spent time exploring ponds and rivers. There is a big pond near our house that we have walked to several times. It is always interesting to check out the pond. Since ponds sustain so many animals, there is always something to see there! We always see lots of dragonflies, but we’ve also seen a duck, some fish, newts and water bugs!

Ponds & Rivers

We also spent one morning with a homeschool group at a local river! It was so fun to wade in the shallow water and build boats out of natural elements and watch them slowly float on by. Here are some great books about ponds and rivers!

And now it’s time for the Saturday Science Blog Hop & Link Up!

Saturday Science Blog Hop 2

Saturday Science Top Picks from P is for Preschooler

 

Saturday Science Pinterest For more ways to explore, play and wonder please follow  Stir the Wonder on Facebook, Twitter, Google + and Pinterest!



© 2014 – 2017, Stir The Wonder. All rights reserved.


12 Comments

« Sensory Bin Challenge: Child-led Water Play
Playing Pirates! Intro to Poppins Book Nook July Theme »

Comments

  1. Emma @ P is for Preschooler says

    July 5, 2014 at 8:40 am

    I want to come visit your yard! 😉 It’s such a natural way to learn by following up on the creatures he sees and learning more about them. I love the turtles!

    Reply
    • Samantha says

      July 6, 2014 at 7:58 am

      You are welcome to visit anytime Emma!

      Reply
  2. Ashley Moore says

    July 15, 2014 at 9:22 am

    You all definitely found some awesome things on your exploration!

    Reply
  3. Kat Reader says

    July 15, 2014 at 11:08 pm

    You live in such a beautiful place!!! I want to come explore and learn in your back yard 😉 I’ve never seen a newt, so that was really cool to see up close in your picture. I can only imagine the fun your little boy has exploring such lovely nature.

    Reply
  4. Science Kiddo says

    August 4, 2014 at 10:45 pm

    They say that exposing children to nature early and often gives them a solid foundation for science learning later. I’m totally jealous of what you have found in your own front yard!

    Reply
  5. Helena @ babyfoote says

    January 2, 2015 at 4:43 pm

    I am jealous! What a brilliant place to live. Great yard 🙂

    Reply
    • Samantha says

      January 2, 2015 at 6:24 pm

      Thank you for stopping by! I would be jealous too! We moved here last Spring & I can’t image going back to the postage stamp yard we had before.

      Reply
  6. Cheryl | TimeToCraft says

    January 6, 2015 at 10:57 am

    We had a nest of robins in the shed this year. The children loved watching them. Thought I was going to get my shed back, but the robins decided on a second brood! Your garden seems to be teeming with nature. Best way in the world, I think, to encourage an interest in nature, is by noticing the creatures on your own front door step.

    Reply
    • Samantha says

      January 6, 2015 at 2:44 pm

      Thanks for commenting! That nest had 3 broods in it last spring. It was neat to watch!

      Reply
  7. Leila - Mud Mud Marvellous Mud says

    January 14, 2015 at 3:11 pm

    Wow, you have such awesome wildlife in your backyard! What a fantastic place to live. Thanks so much for sharing with the Outdoor Play Party. Hope to see you again from Friday 🙂

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Our Preschool at Home Plans - Stir The Wonder says:
    September 3, 2014 at 6:00 am

    […] on giving him new experiences. Just this summer we’ve moved to a new state, saw all kinds of wild animals in our backyard, picked wild blueberries on top of a mountain and went camping, among other […]

    Reply
  2. The Salamander Room Sensory Bin - Stir The Wonder says:
    September 5, 2014 at 6:00 am

    […] fun all summer long exploring nature in our own backyard! Click the link here to read all about our Nature Exploration & Book Suggestions […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Stuff We Recommend

Join the Steve Spangler Science Club “”
Subscribe:

Favorite Baby Buys for the Second Time Around

Amazon Associates

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Copyright © 2025 · Divine theme by Restored 316

Copyright © 2025 · Divine Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in