We have had a child-sized magnifying glass on our shelves for the past three years. Both of my children use theirs often. We collect items on nature walks together or when we are out and about or they take a basket each with a handle into our backyard and collect items. We keep some of those items on a nature table that is at their height. Here are some of the items we have explored recently;
Flowers (stems, leaves and petals).
Feathers. In this picture there is an adult Magpie feather, a young Magpie feather and a duck feather.
A bird’s nest and bird’s egg.
Ciccada shells.
Wasp. Found on the grass (not alive) in our backyard.
Seed pods and pine cones.
Shells.
Apple seeds with 3-part cards. We also look at other seeds from fruit and vegetables.
Rocks and minerals.
Have your children ever tried Nature journalling? My 4 year old likes to draw pictures of what she sees in our garden. This is what we usually take with us when we go on a nature walk together; child-sized binoculars, lead pencil, magnifying glass, note pad and small sized clip board. These items go into a small-sized child’s bag (satchel/messenger bag).
These are the other items we permanently have on our shelves for further exploration; portable microscope (inside and outside use) , binoculars, bug viewer and magnifying glass.
This is a sheet magnifier. We bought ours from Modern Teaching Aids, my toddler find this easier to use.
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