For Kids

FOR KIDS

Learn About Nature

With growing, strong evidence of the benefits of outdoor and nature-based learning for kids, nature-based learning is a growing phenomenon both in classrooms and homeschools. Nature can help a student feel more attentive, less stressed, more self-disciplined, more engaged, more interested, and more physically active and fit. In fact, just learning about nature can help kids feel more connected to it, which can help foster pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors that ideally all people would have throughout life.

Let's Get Started.

This star indicates that the site offers free nature-based learning curriculums for schools and homeschools.

Links to the websites are the headings. For example, Texas Children in Nature is the link to their website.

Fun Crafts for Kids & Bird Lovers: How to Make DIY Ice Cream Cone Bird Feeders

You’ll need:

ice cream cones
peanut butter
birdseed
twine, yarn or string

Here’s how you make them:

At the bottom of the cone, poke a hole through the sides (You can use a small screwdriver).
Thread a piece of twine, yarn or string through the holes and tie, creating a hanger.
Spread peanut butter on the rim and sides of what was the top (but now the bottom) of the cone.
Dip the peanut butter in birdseed to coat.
Hang it in a tree and enjoy watching the birds.

Bat Boxes: Help Texas Bats Bounce Back

While Take Care of Texas focuses on how humans can take action to protect our state, native wildlife also play an essential role in Texas environmental conservation. In celebration of National Bat Appreciation Day on April 17, here are some ways you can help our black-winged neighbors, especially after thousands of bats were harmed or killed by winter storm Uri.

Bats vacation in Mexico for the warmer winters there before migrating to Texas around February, spending most of their time here in caves and trees. However, they also commonly roost in man-made structures like bridges, buildings, and even abandoned houses. Another way that we Texans can make them feel at home is a comfy bat box where they can reside, safe from predators and the elements!

WHAT ARE BAT BOXES? Bat boxes are like birdhouses, just for bats! Also known as bat houses, they come in all shapes and sizes ranging from high-end premade models to do-it-yourself plans. These boxes provide a slim design mimicking the space between bark and a tree trunk, a bat’s ideal nursery.

Here are a couple of resources from The National Wildlife Federation’s How to Build a Bat House and Bat Conservation International’s Bat House which offer step-by-step plans and tips to build a bat box of your own.

The ideal location for your bat box:

is NOT attached to a tree (branches shade the boxes, act as flight obstacles for the bats, and as perches for predators),
gets lots of sun (this keeps the box warm and prevents harmful fungus),
is raised at least 15 feet off the ground (to protect against predators and provide easy flight access), and
has a water source nearby (mothers need easy access to water when nursing their pups).

Nested in the eaves of roofs and buildings or secured to tall poles are all common locations for bat boxes.
Here is a video from Bat Conservation International with more tips on What to do with your bat house:

BATS: TEXAS CONSERVATIONISTS According to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, “Texas happens to be the battiest state in the country. It is home to 32 of the 47 species of bats found in the United States. Not only does it hold the distinction of having the most kinds of bats, it also boasts the largest known bat colony in the world: Bracken Cave Preserve, near San Antonio, and the largest urban bat colony, Congress Avenue Bridge, in Austin.”

The Mexican free-tailed bats, our state’s official flying mammal, are the most common bat found throughout Texas. All bats play essential roles in conservation in a variety of ways.

Bats keep crop pests in check, eating up to two-thirds of their body weight in insects each night. Research has demonstrated that these bats can save farmers up to two applications of pesticides per year.
They also serve as plant pollinators for local landscapes. This includes the agave plant used for making tequila, which saw many plants impacted by the winter weather.
In addition to crop pests, bats also eat hundreds of metric tons of mosquitos every year in Texas. This helps prevent the spread of disease to both humans and animals.
Bat guano (bat manure) is an excellent plant fertilizer. Bats fertilize the landscape while they fly around feeding.

ADDITIONAL TEXAS BAT RESOURCES “If you happen to find a bat on the ground, DO NOT TOUCH IT! For the safety of the bats and yourself, give the bat space and avoid contact. The bat could be a youngster learning to fly or an ill bat. Wild animals may bite when threatened. Bats, like other mammals, can contract rabies, but the vast majority do not. Please never touch or handle a bat. Notify the site’s manager or volunteer or call a local animal control office.”--Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

Below are some additional resources about bats in Texas.

It’s important that we Take Care of Texas, and this includes taking care of each other as well as the plants and animals that take care of us! Explore more on our website to learn how you can do your part.

Texas Children in Nature
Discover Nature Near You

We envision that all Texas children and their families will spend more time outdoors, engaged in nature for a healthier and happier life. Nature Rocks Texas is one of our tools that we designed in partnership with our regional collaboratives and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to help connect families to nature in their communities.

Research shows that children today are spending between 7-11 hours per day indoors, sedentary with media and only minutes per day playing outdoors. This disconnection with nature has ill effects on children and adults such as a rise in obesity, diabetes, depression, near-sightedness and attention deficit disorder. The good news is this is a solvable problem!

Our 300 plus partners around state are working hard to create access to nature, develop curriculum that teaches kids about their natural world and helping break down the barriers that disconnect families from nature. We now know that children and families who play and learn in nature are Healthier, Happier, and Smarter.

Encyclopedia of Life (eol)

The Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) is an international effort, led by the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History, to raise awareness and understanding of living nature by providing free, open, multilingual, digital access to trusted information on all known species. EOL has grown to become one of the world’s largest free digital biodiversity information resources, with curated information on nearly 2 million species. Lesson plans are divided into three grade and age ranges, with five themes. Some lesson plans have one or more learning perks including the use of free Species Cards. Lesson plans are created by EOL and partners.

Christmas Tree Worm

Kids Gardening

Kids Gardening is an organization that has been doing the work to plant more school gardens around the US for decades! The group aims to create opportunities for kids to play, learn, and grow through gardening, engaging their natural curiosity and wonder. Unsurprisingly, their website offers excellent resources to do this including lessons plans focused on garden activities arranged by grade level. Educators can read and download activities ranging from winter bird observation to studying life in the soil.

San Antonio River Authority

If you're looking to learn more about community science activities or some great science videos for the whole family, the San Antonio River Authority has you covered with their ...

River Camp Virtual Series

River Nature Walk
Benefits of Bees
Fascinating Facts about Native Grasses
Fish Stories
Pervious vs Impervious Surfaces
Neighborhood Nature Walk pt 2
Neighborhood Nature Journals
Be a Citizen Scientist!
Earth Day River Pride
Nature Diaries: Barn Swallows
Neighborhood Nature Scavenger Hunt
Nature Diaries: Texas Bluebonnets
Precious Proportion: An Investigation of All the Water in the World
Neighborhood Nature Walk
Neighborhood Connections

Other areas of interest:

Science Mill

The Explorer Zone at Science Mill in Johnson City has some fun videos and activities for young scientists, including a TORTOISE HATCHLING LIVE STREAM. Take a virtual tour of their Aquaponics Greenhouse and try your hand at Greenhouse Bingo!

Educators:

Audubon For Kids

Audubon Adventures introduces young people to the world of nature and wildlife through colorful magazines, online features and interactive games and puzzles, plus activities, guidance, and resources for educators. Designed for classrooms and other educational settings as well as for enjoyment at home, Audubon Adventures opens children’s hearts and minds to the wonders of birds, other wildlife, and the fascinating and complex natural world that is Planet Earth. Their homepage is filled with options to enjoy.

KLRN — PBS for Parents

You will be amazed at what KLRN offers to kids of all ages. Smartly separated by education level, you can find crafts, movie night, videos, and much more to keep kids interested and educated. You don't want to miss what they've put together. Land on their homepage to explore things you can do.

San Antonio Zoo

For many of us, a highlight of spring is a family visit or field trip to the zoo for exploration and learning about animals from around the world. Until we can safely return to these places we love, the San Antonio Zoo offers fun video tours and lessons. Go to their Facebook page to enjoy the videos.

The Houston Zoo

It's all happening at the zoo. Every week day starting at 11 a.m. the Houston Zoo is going live on Facebook, Twitter and, Instagram to bring the Zoo animals and science to your home.

Zookeepers will hop in front of the camera and give daily updates of what the animals are up to while the zoo is shut down, all while sharing fun facts about the animals they’re featuring.

Hi. My name is Squirt and I love mud puddles. You can watch me play by going to the Houston Zoo website.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Probably the premier site for all things bird, The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is filled with resources for all ages. Start here to begin your journey to information about birds.

The Academy
The Academy, which is part of The Cornell Lab of Ornithology, has great bird games and interactive fun tutorials for kids and adults who like to be kids..

Teacher's Guides

Our Educator’s Guides provide detailed lessons and activities to engage students while meeting a variety of national learning standards including the Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Math.

K-12 Education:
Science & Nature for Cooped Up Kids
This fabulous part of the Cornell Lab's website lets kids explore the world of birds with interesting activities. Designed for any age group, they offer a new activity each week for you to explore the world of birds. Don’t forget to share your kids’ work on their Facebook group.

Grades K-12: https://www.birds.cornell.edu/k12/k-2-resources/
Grades 3-5: https://www.birds.cornell.edu/k12/3-5-resources/
Grades 6-8: https://www.birds.cornell.edu/k12/6-8-resources/
Grades 9-12: https://www.birds.cornell.edu/k12/9-12-resources/

Prefer Something To Read?

BirdSleuth Investigator, an annual publication, written by and for students, is also beautifully illustrated by K-12 kids. We think you'll be amazed at their great work?

Download these great magazines by clicking any file below.

Bluesleuth Investigator

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Taking Care of Texas

Let's all Take Care of Texas! This website has some fun and interesting ways to learn about the environment and how to help protect it. Play animated games, watch videos, explore interactive posters, and get ideas on ways to help out. Don’t forget to tell us about the great things you and your family are doing to Take Care of Texas, and be sure to share our site with your friends.

The Take Care of Texas Kids Art Contest is a fun way for K-5 students to learn about protecting the environment and come up with creative ways to share this knowledge with others! Students submit their artwork of how they, along with their friends and family, help keep the air and water clean, conserve water and energy, and reduce waste. The students that submit the best art can win a tablet or laptop computer. Prizes are made possible through a donation from the Texas Chemical Council.

Go to: https://takecareoftexas.org/kids/k-5-art-contest

USDA Forest Service

The Educator Toolbox is jam-packed with helpful resources to make your challenging job just a little easier. Here you will find background resources to help you understand forests and grasslands, professional development opportunities and resources, and a collection of great materials and programs organized by each grade-level for kids to learn and enjoy forest lands.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

The EPA's educator resource center includes categorized offerings of an array of environmental and science-based lesson plans, activities and ideas below from EPA, other federal agencies and external organizations. While not entirely nature and wildlife-focused, some of the topics include climate change, energy, asthma, ecosystems and others. Resources include toolkits, activity books, lesson plans, flyers, coloring books, and experiments. Grade level is indicated.

Texas Wildlife Association

How about watching Texas Wildlife's Youth on-demand webinars? These webinars are available for showing to an in-person classroom, or you can register your virtual learners and provide them with a link to view at home. There are a number of different topics that are fascinating.

Newly Added Programs

Birds of prey, also known as raptors, are a common sight in the skies. During the program, we will take an up-close look at a live Peregrine Falcon to discuss the important body structures and their functions. We will investigate the falcon’s diet, their role in the food web, the habitats in which they are found, and the adaptations that allow them to be such powerful predators and fast fliers. November 11th (W) 9:00, 10:15, 12:30, 2:00, Recording
This program features the largest reptile in Texas and North America, the American Alligator. We will discuss the wetland habitats they call home, their adaptations including their role in the food chain as an apex predator, and the differences between alligators and crocodiles. Students will also get to see a real alligator egg and skull, as well as our guest star, a real live alligator. December 1st (TU) 9:00, 10:15, 12:30, 2:00, Recording
This presentation will introduce students to the classification system. Students will learn about the levels of taxonomy from Domain to Species and identify the basic characteristics of organisms with an initial focus on Domains and Kingdoms, followed by a look at some familiar classes of wildlife from the animal Kingdom. This program is intended for grades 4th and up, with a primary focus on 6th grade classification TEKS.

Available anytime as an on-demand webinar.

Read-along with Critter Connections
Critter Connections magazine is now available in a read-along format. Watch videos of former issues or join us live as we read the November 2020 issue about Sparrows. Our live broadcast will be through TWA's YouTube. Learn more below.

Read-along videos:
·     All About Foxes
·     The Greater Roadrunner
·     Texas Turtles
·     Backyard Bugs

Learn more about read-along Critter Connections

Join us live on YouTube

The Nature Conservancy

Get a view of a coastal rainforest from a canoe or download school garden design tools! The Nature Conservancy and its 550 scientists created Nature Works Everywhere to help students learn the science behind how nature works and how to protect it. Videos, virtual field trips, webinars, lesson plans, and toolkits make this a fantastic resource for teachers, homeschoolers or even weekend learning with your kids. The interactive lesson plans align to standards and can be customized for each classroom. You can search by grade or type of resource.