Image of a parent in a garden with their children, enjoying learning about nature together.

40 Nature-Based Home Education Activities to Try

ByLee Hill Updated on

Nature offers a rich and diverse learning environment, perfect for home education!

Below are 40 great nature-themed activities, each with key suggested steps. These are all aimed at supporting learning through hands-on experience, observation, creativity, and play.

Outdoor Exploration & Observation

Sketch style image of a home education family setting out on bikes to explore nature.

1. Nature Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger hunts are a classic for a reason! They make outdoor time feel like we’re on an adventure.

Key Steps:

  • Make a list of things to find (e.g., something smooth, a feather, a yellow leaf).
  • Head outdoors with baskets or bags.
  • Collect, tick off, or take photos of items.
  • Talk about the finds afterward and sort them by type, colour, or size.

2. Tree Identification Walk

Learning to identify trees turns everyday walks into discovery missions. You and your children will quickly realise just how diverse the trees around us are.

Key Steps:

  • Bring a simple tree guide, or app.
  • Look at leaves, bark, and shape.
  • Try to name at least 3–5 trees.
  • Take leaf rubbings or collect fallen leaves to label later.

3. Run a Bug Safari  

Kids love creepy crawlies, so why not make it educational? Whether your rural or inner city, there are insects all around to learn about.

Key Steps:

  • Bring magnifying glasses and bug pots.
  • Search under logs, in grass, on leaves.
  • Gently observe and identify insects.
  • Release them and draw what you found.
  • Link the bugs you’ve found to further learning about food chains.

4. Make a Weather Diary

A simple activity with potential to expand. Noticing the weather helps children to build an understand patterns and seasons. 

Key Steps:

  • Use a notebook or printable chart.
  • Record daily weather symbols and temperature.
  • Add notes about clouds, wind, or rainfall.
  • Compare across weeks and months or variations, linking this to learning about seasons and even climate change.

5. Build a Mini Den or Shelter

There’s something special about making your own secret space outdoors. Something that feels like you’re part of nature, not just observing it.

Key Steps:

  • Gather sticks, branches, and leaves.
  • Choose a safe corner of the garden or park.
  • Build a lean-to or tipi shape.
  • Test its sturdiness and play inside.
  • You can even leave it up to see how well it stands up to a storm, giving your kids a handy bit of bonus knowledge gain about engineering.

6. Cloud Watching & Sketching

This one’s a calming way to tap into both science and creativity.

Key Steps:

  • Lie on a blanket and look up.
  • Talk about the shapes you see.
  • Sketch or paint your favourite cloud designs.
  • Learn cloud names like cumulus or cirrus through online research, or using books from the library.

7. Explore a Nature Trail

Every walk you and your child take can be turned into a mini expedition with the right mindset.

Key Steps:

  • Choose a local woodland, trail or park for the walk.
  • Pack a notepad to journal what you find.
  • Along the way, stop to observe plants, fungi, or animal signs.
  • Add an journal entry for what you find. You can research these findings afterwards to identify and learn about the different things you find.

8. Rock Balancing or Stacking

This simple task can be lots of fun and surprisingly meditative. Its also great for building motor skills.

Key Steps:

  • Collect rocks of various sizes.
  • Try balancing them in towers.
  • You this challenge as an opportunity to discuss gravity and balance.
  • Photograph your creations to check back against next time. See if your children can beat their last record!

9. Watch a Bird Feeder

You’ll be surprised at how quickly a bird feeder can turn your garden, balcony or windowsill into a wildlife observation station.

Key Steps:

  • Set up a feeder with seeds or fat balls.
  • Watch quietly and note which birds visit.
  • Identify them with a bird guide.
  • Graph which ones visit most often.

10. Night Sky Watching

A magical way to explore astronomy, no telescope required.

Key Steps:

  • Choose a clear evening.
  • Try to find a dark spot away from streetlights if possible.
  • Spot constellations or the moon’s phases.
  • Use star apps or books to name them. These can even help you spot other planets in our solar system!

Science & Discovery Activities

Image of a parent in a garden with their children, enjoying learning about nature together.

11. Make a Wormery

This activity gives kids a fascinating look at the underground world and how worms help soil to stay healthy.

Key Steps:

  • Find a clear jar or plastic bottle (larger is better) and layer it with soil and sand.  
  • Add a few earthworms and some food scraps to the surface.  
  • Cover the outside with dark paper and keep it slightly damp.  
  • Remove the paper occasionally to see the worms movement and how they mix the layers.

12. Grow a Bean in a Jar 

Watching a bean sprout is a great way to learn about plant life cycles in a really visual way.

Steps:

  • Line a glass jar with damp kitchen roll.  
  • Place a dried bean between the glass and paper.
  • Keep in a sunny spot and mist regularly.
  • Track its growth stages and label root, stem, and leaves.

13. Make a Homemade Sundial

This one’s a fun way to learn how the Sun moves across the sky, while also practising a bit of DIY.

Key Steps:

  • Find a sunny spot and stick a pencil upright in the ground or in a base.
  • Mark the tip of the shadow with stones or chalk every hour.
  • Label the marks with the corresponding time.
  • You can also keep it check at different time of the year to see the Sun’s position changes with the seasons.

14. Build a Solar Oven

A sunny day science experiment that shows how sunlight can be used for cooking!

Key Steps:

  • You’ll need a pizza box, some foil, and plastic wrap. There a great video on putting the oven together here on Youtube.
  • Line the box to reflect and trap sunlight.
  • Place a marshmallow or mini snack inside.
  • Set in the sun and observe it heat up.

15. Dissect a Flower

This is great as a gentle introduction to plant anatomy, using real specimens and a bit of detective work.

Key Steps:

  • Pick or use a fallen flower like a lily or daffodil.
  • Gently take apart the petals, stamens, and pistil.
  • Identify each part with a diagram or online resource.
  • Sketch and label findings.

16. Run a Composting Experiment

Great for learning about decomposition and witness sustainability in action.

Key Steps:

  • Fill two jars: one with compost-friendly items and one with plastics.  
  • Observe what breaks down over time.  
  • Discuss the differences and talk about waste and recycling.

17. Rainwater Harvesting

Collecting and us of rainwater is a great activity to begin teaching about water conservation. Plus you’ll get free water for plants. It’s a win-win!

Key Steps:

  • Set up a container outside to collect rain from a roof or garden area.
  • Place a mesh over the top of the container to keep debris out.
  • After rainfall, measure how much was collected (you can link this back to weather report
  • Use for watering your garden or plants.

18. Build a Simple Terrarium

Mini ecosystems are a great way to explore water cycles and plant care on a small scale.

Key Steps:

  • Use a clean jar or container.  
  • Add pebbles, charcoal, soil, and small plants or moss.  
  • Mist with water and seal with a lid.  
  • Watch condensation and growth over time.

19. Soil Testing Activity

Soil isn’t just dirt, and this activity can help you proves it to your children!

Key Steps:

  • Collect samples from different areas.
  • Test texture by feeling: sandy, clay, or loamy.
  • Use vinegar (for carbonate) and water jars (for sedimentation layers).
  • Compare results and discuss what might grow best where.

20. Pollination Role Play

A lively way to understand how bees and other pollinators help plants grow food.

Key Steps:

  • Make paper flowers with “pollen” (powdered chalk or flour).
  • Use a cotton ball on a stick as a bee.
  • “Pollinate” flowers and talk about why this process matters.
  • Expand into a garden visit to find real pollinators.

Creative & Crafty Nature Projects

Image of colouring pencils, lined up in a rainbow colour pattern.

21. Create a Nature Collage

This is perfect for those of you with children who love collecting and crafting.

Key Steps:

  • Collect leaves, petals, bark, etc to use for the collage.
  • Arrange on cardboard or paper.
  • Turn it into a scene, face, or pattern.
  • Stick down with glue to attach.
  • As an extra step, you can add drawings for that extra bit of creativity, or note on the types of materials used.

22. Pressed Flower Art

This one preserves natural beauty and helps teach patience.

Key Steps:

  • Pick flowers to use (not from protected areas).
  • Place between paper and press in books.
  • Leave for a week to dry.
  • Use the dried flowers to create bookmarks, cards, or framed art.

23. Nature Weaving

Weaving natural materials connects a child’s creativity with fine motor skills.

Key Steps:

  • Create a basic frame with sticks and string.
  • Collect grasses, leaves, flowers, which you can then use to weave through the strings, creating patterns.
  • Display or hang up the finished weave.

24. Stick Painting

Nature meets art studio, no canvas required!

Key Steps:

  • Collect smooth sticks or twigs.
  • Paint with bright patterns or faces.
  • Use the painted sticks as wands, decorations, or in games.

25. Make Leaf Prints

Printing leaves it great at encouraging kids to observe shapes and textures closely.

Key Steps:

  • Collect a few different leave types from outside and paint the backs of them.
  • Press onto paper like a stamp.
  • Try overlapping colours.
  • Label types of leaves used.

26. Create a Nature Mandala

This mindful art form helps develop symmetry and focus.

Key Steps:

  • Collect symmetrical items like leaves, stones, cones.
  • Arrange in circular patterns on the ground.
  • Photograph your design.
  • Discuss shapes and patterns.

27. Build a Nature Themed Mobile

A decorative and tactile way to explore balance and beauty.

Key Steps:

  • Find a Y-shaped stick or hanger.
  • Hang shells, cones, leaves with thread.
  • Balance them and hang in a breezy spot.

28. Make Clay Nature Faces

It’s like outdoor sculpture, with a fun, silly twist!

Key Steps:

  • Flatten air-dry clay onto a tree trunk.  
  • Add leaf hair, twig eyebrows, pebble eyes.  
  • Let dry or remove after photos.

29. Bark & Leaf Rubbings

It’s a hands-on way to notice nature’s textures.

Key Steps:

  • Place paper on bark or a leaf.
  • Rub with crayons or pastels.
  • Compare patterns.
  • Make a rubbing collection.

30. Create a Seasonal Wreath

Celebrate the seasons with natural décor (a great one for festival times!).

Key Steps:

  • Use a wire frame or bendy branches to form a circular shape.  
  • Decorate with seasonal finds, such as blossom, berries, leaves.  
  • Hang on your door or wall, or gift to a family member.

Interdisciplinary & Play-Based Ideas

Digital art image of a family learning through play in a park setting.

31. Nature-Themed Storytelling

Spark imagination by weaving outdoor experiences into made-up stories.

Key Steps:

  • Sit outside or bring nature items indoors.
  • Choose a few found objects (like a leaf, feather, or stone).
  • Use them as inspiration for a fun, child-led, story.
  • Write or draw the story together.

32. Create a Nature Alphabet Book

A fun way to combine literacy with nature exploration, one letter at a time.

Key Steps:

  • Go on walks and collect or photograph items starting with different letters.
  • Create a page per letter: For example, “A is for acorn”, with drawings or photos.
  • Compile into a homemade book.

33. Design an Outdoor Obstacle Course

Use natural materials outdoors to burn off some of that endless energy that children have. This ones also good to help whilst boosting development of gross motor skills.

Key Steps:

  • Use logs, sticks, ropes, stones, etc. to set up a course.
  • Include balancing, crawling, jumping, and weaving.
  • Time each other or create team challenges.

34. Plan a Mini Wildlife Garden

This brings together science, design, and empathy for nature.

Key Steps:

  • Research plants that attract bees, birds, or butterflies.
  • Sketch a garden plan.
  • Choose a small spot to plant or create a container version.
  • Watch who visits over time.

35. Eco-Themed Puppet Show

A great mix of drama, storytelling, and environmental learning.

Key Steps:

  • Make puppets from recycled and natural materials.
  • Write a script about saving the planet, pollinators, or seasons.
  • Set up a “stage” using a cardboard box.
  • Perform for family or record a video.

36. Create a Landmark Diorama

Tie in geography and creativity by building famous landmarks out of natural materials, such as sticks, stones, and leaves.

Key Steps:

  • Pick a landmark to replicate.
  • Collect natural building materials.
  • Build a model on a cardboard base.
  • Label and display it with facts.

37. Make a Nature Soundtrack

This one’s great for exploring music and sound, using the natural world as your orchestra.

Key Steps:

  • Collect stones, sticks, leaves, etc.
  • Experiment with tapping, rustling, and scraping.
  • Use a device to record your child’s nature-themed rhythm or soundscape.
  • Share and talk about what the sounds remind you of.

38. Make a Nature-Based Board Game

Creating a board game is a fun way to recap learning and get creative with rules, design, and strategy.

Key Steps:

  • Design a path game where players move through nature challenges.
  • Use trivia cards, nature tasks, and handmade pieces.
  • Play and revise rules together.

39. Outdoor Poetry Writing

Capture the mood and magic of the natural world in words.

Key Steps:

  • Sit outside and quietly observe.
  • Jot down sensory details, such as sights, sounds and feelings.
  • Use these to create a poem.
  • Decorate the page with natural items or drawings.

40. Create a Nature Film or Documentary

This one taps into developing tech skills and storytelling, all through the lens of nature.

Key Steps:

  • Plan a topic, such as local wildlife, a season, or even the life of a single plant.
  • Film short clips during walks or garden time.
  • Edit into a short video to share or keep as a nature diary.
  • Narrate facts or add music for the finishing touches.

Home Education & Nature: Perfect Partners

Image of a natural forest canopy.

Nature is vital to all our lives, and so learning to understand nature can be incredibly valuable. We hope these activities help you to create rich, nature-connected home education experience for your child, full of creativity, discovery, and play.

To support you further, we recommend you also check out the following resources here at Greener Insights:

45 Incredible Nature Facts to Know

20 Project Ideas to Teach About Climate Change

20 Sustainability Project Ideas to Engage Students

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