Exploring Nature in Your Home

Summary

Many of us are spending a lot of time at home these days and may not realize that our home can be a great place to explore nature. Sometimes the simplest observations of everyday things can lead us to notice where nature shows up. In this lesson you will go around your home, like a detective, to look for evidence and examples of nature.

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Time

10-30 minutes

Before you get started

You will need a phone or camera to take photos. If you don’t have access to a phone or camera, use a blank sheet of paper to describe what you find.

Materials
  • Device to take pictures with, OR paper and pencil
Create

Please create a photo diary of four to eight pictures that explore the following prompts:

  • Look around and take a photo of “nature” or examples of nature in and around your home.
  • Look around and take a photo of plants or examples of plants in your home.

If you don’t have access to a camera, describe four to eight items on a piece of paper.

See examples of images below.

Reflect

Describe two of the photos you captured. 

1.

 

 

2.

 

 

Student Notes
  • Want to explore further? Write a story or poem inspired by one of the photos you captured. 
  • Extend the reflections on the photos you captured. Try describing those photos differently. Try describing them without using any of the words you wrote above. How would you describe the images in a different way? For example, how might you describe the images using only analogies or colors?
  • Take one of objects that represents nature and use that object to transport you to a place where nature exists. For example, imagine yourself on the beach where you find a piece of driftwood (like shown in the picture above), write a story, poem or draw a picture describing what you see, experience, and feel there. 
  • Play a guessing game with someone in your home. Similar to “I spy”, try and see if someone can guess the item you took a photo of. For example, if you were to try and get someone to guess the image of the chili peppers in a painting (shown above), I would say...I spy a painting of a green or red vegetable hanging on the wall. 
Notes for Teachers/Parents
  • In the lesson, we don’t direct students to where they should post their pictures. We like using the site Padlet to encourage students to display their photos. If you want support on how to use Padlet in this lesson, feel free to email learning@edibleschoolyard.org.
  • This activity supports students in imagining; activities and lessons use creative expression, including poetry and drawing, to engage with the garden, food, and cooking. 
  • This activity integrates experiences that support the development of relationships to food and the land.
  • The question: What can we provide to our students so that they can still feel the same sense of connection, joy, and belonging to nature in their home classroom environment? guides this lesson. Using this question, think about different prompts or activities that you can use to expand this lesson.

Authored by Raquel Vigil