Back to school has either begun in our part of the world or it is just around the corner. With back to school time comes the undertones, overtones, and all over feeling over feeling of fall, fall, fall! But wait! Fall doesn’t begin for a few weeks, at least not in ecological time. With some parts of the continent still limping their way through a heat wave, it’s not too late to try a late summer scavenger hunt to celebrate your days outside. Feel free to print out the ideas below for your kids.
Late Summer Scavenger Hunt
Summer is almost gone and animals and plants are preparing for fall. Can you still see some signs of summer? What are the signs that fall is close by?
Find a deciduous leaf.
These leaves fall down from trees in the fall as the trees become dormant. Look at its colors. Is it changing color yet?
Find a damp place on the ground.
As fall and winter move in, the ground becomes a little cooler and definitely more damp. In colder parts of the country, animals get ready to move into holes in the ground or into trees to hibernate for the winter.
Find signs from an animal.
Animal signs include tracks, scat (animal poo), and food leftovers. The animal signs you find will tell you what the animals are doing, where they are hiding, and what they are eating this time of the year.
Find a spider web.
As fall draws near, spiders get much more active, it seems! Spider webs are everywhere. Find a spider web. What sort of web is it? What shape is it? What is the spider doing?
Find an animal that is keeping cool.
It may still be hot where you live. One of the challenges of late summer and early fall is that animals need to prepare for winter while the heat is still on! Where are animals keeping cool this time of the year?
Find food for an animal.
Animals need to find a lot of food in the late summer and early fall. This is the harvest season. Can you find signs that an animal has been eating? What sort of animal do you think that it was?
Image by zagart at Stock Exchange.