To start with for summer science we gardened a bunch! You can get (especially at the end of the season) little kid sized gardening tools, gloves, etc. that make them feel like they're being productive in the garden too or you can let them use your spare tools (or, especially great, just let them did with their hands! Hg wants to use the tools just like me and I got tired of sharing with her so I just got her a set of her own).
Also, HIKING and exploring nature. I've nannied for a few families and come across kids at age 7 that don't know what hiking is. There are a myriad of places to explore nature and you don't have to just drive out into a wooded area. A gathering of trees adjacent to a park, a small stream, an area lake, a nature center, an area farm/zoo. The point is to involve kids in the natural world around them so that they gain an appreciation for plants and animals. I teach about agriculture at this age; how plants and animals grown and where our food comes from. Tell children about our ecosystem and the importance of keeping nature pollution free, about endangered animals and why we recycle. But words, on this subject as well as others, aren't enough. Kids love the outdoors so let them go out and do things and through this they'll gain an appreciation and respect for it. Supplement what they're experiencing by explaining what they're seeing and why it's important/interesting.
Grasshopper in the front yard Hiking
Feeding goats Wild Turtle
Activity Ideas:
Get a magnifying glass and look at things close up
Get a net/other bug catching devise and "hunt"
I.D. flowers & trees
I.D. animal tracks
Get some binoculars and bird watch
Do a scavenger hunt based on things that begin with.... or the color....
How many ..... (objects, orange things, birds, square shapes) can you find?
Gather leaves, sticks, etc to make art with
Draw in the dirt, play in the mud
Climb trees
Follow the leader
Make a map/follow a map
Clay dug up from the yard + leaves, rocks and sticks = kitty cats
If you need help finding places to go local conservation departments are great starts!
Here are some Kansas City area places that are superb:
KC Zoo (Kansas City, Swope Park)
Lakeside Nature Center (KC, by Swope Park)
Burr Oak Woods Nature Center (Blue Springs)
Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead (Overland Park)
Anita B. Gorman Discovery Center (Plaza)
George Owens Nature Park (Independence)
Overland Park Arboretum
Loose Park (Plaza)
Powell Gardens (Kingsville, MO)
Faulkner's Ranch (Raytown, MO)
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