5 Easy Backyard Nature Crafts for Kids

With these five simple nature crafts, spend more time outdoors with your children – letting them discover more about the environment while having a blast in the process.>

#1. Magic Garden Sticky Board

This interactive artwork comes alive with flowers and plants picked from the backyard.

Image Credit: Crafts on Sea

What You Need:

• Contact paper (A4-size)
• Washi tape
• Scissors
• Colored paper
• Flowers, petals, grass or plants

How to DIY:

1. Start by cutting out different shapes with the colored paper. Some examples include leaves, stems, trees and bushes.
2. Place the piece of contact paper horizontally against a clean window. Secure the contact paper around the edges with washi tape like a frame.
3. Go outside to find real flowers and plants to use for the board.
4. Come back inside and create a garden artwork using what you have collected and the paper artwork from Step 1.

#2. Mudpie Kitchen

“Mudpies” are a staple of sensory play – kids love the squishy sounds, different textures and the fun of getting messy in the backyard!

Image credit: Rhythms of Play

What You Need:

• Kiddie pool
• Old spoons
• Old pots and pans
• Buckets and spades

How to DIY:

1. Outside, fill the kiddie pool with water and place the buckets and pots inside it.
2. Give each child a pan and spoon.
3. Help them scoop garden soil into their pans using the spoons.
4. Show the kids how to use the buckets and pots to scoop water into their soil-filled pans.
5. Once the soil is muddy enough, encourage the children to make a mudpie using anything from the backyard, including pebbles, twigs or flowers.
6. Use a splash mat to easily clean off dirty hands and feet!

#3. Park Ranger Binoculars

These homemade binoculars are perfect for seeing how many kinds of birds, bugs and other wildlife there are in the backyard.

Image credit: Silly Fish Learning

What You Need:

• 2 empty toilet paper rolls
• Glue stick
• Scissors
• Colored paper

How to DIY:

1. Using the glue, stick the two toilet paper rolls together side-by-side.
2. Secure the paper rolls by using a piece of colored paper wrapped around the middle with glue.
3. Decorate your binoculars with markers and stickers.

#4. Ocean Foam Adventure

Bring marine animals to the backyard with this quick and easy water activity.

What You Need:

• Blue food coloring
• Inflatable kiddie pool
• Handheld mixer
• Marine animal toys, pebbles and shells

How to DIY:

1. Fill the kiddie pool with water until halfway.
2. Mix in 3 tablespoons of bubble bath and 3 drops of blue food coloring.
3. Use the handheld mixer until the foam creates stiff peaks.
4. Fill the inflatable pool up with more water, avoiding overflowing it.
5. If there is not enough foam, add another tablespoon of bubble bath and mix with the mixer.
6. Kids can now add their toys to the foam ocean and play.

Image credit: Pinterest

#5. Nature Bugs

This imaginative insect artwork is a wonderful decor idea for kids’ bedrooms as well as learning more about bugs.

Image credit: Nature Crafts for Kids & DLTK Kids

What You Need:

• Colored paper (A4)
• Glue stick or poster putty
• Leaves, sticks and twigs in assorted shapes and sizes
• Paintbrush
• PVA school glue
• Water
• Tumbler container

How to DIY:

1. Go outside to search for different leaves and twigs to use for the bugs.
2. Help the children arrange their leaves and twigs on an individual piece of colored paper to resemble an insect.
3. Use the glue or poster putty to secure the insect in place.
4. Mix 2 parts PVA school glue with 1 part water in a container to create a sealant. Mix it with the paintbrush.
5. Once the artworks are finished, use the paintbrush to paint over the artworks with the sealant mixture. Allow to dry until glossy.

With these craft ideas, now you and your children can discover the wonder of the outdoors and turn your backyard into the playground.