SAMO at Home Activities
Social Isolation is tough on everyone. However, you can still get your Outdoors fix and fully immerse yourself in the beauty of nature inspired by the Santa Monica Mountains or by other National Parks further afield.
In the following links, you can virtually visit National Parks, Natural Wonders, and find in-home activities for the kids.
#SAMOAtHome
Facebook Live events: Join the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area on Facebook Live for Reading with a Ranger and other fun events www.facebook.com/santamonicamtns/
Dates and times
Beginner’s Guide to Stargazing From Home with Children
https://porch.com/advice/beginners-guide-stargazing-home-children
National Park Foundation
www.nationalparks.org/connect/blog/take-virtual-visit-national-park
PARKTRACKS innovative audio experience
findyourpark.com/about/news/parktracks
National Park Foundation At-Home Activities
www.nationalparks.org/connect/blog/park-activities-you-can-do-comfort-your-home
Top 10 Best Virtual Tours of National Parks:
www.theguardian.com/travel/2020/apr/06/10-best-virtual-tours-of-worlds-natural-wonders-everest-patagonia-grand-canyon-yosemite
National Park Foundation Kids Page:
www.nationalparks.org/our-work/programs/npf-kids
National Park Trust Crossword:
www.parktrust.org/download/buddy-bisons-national-parks-crossword
National Park Trust Food Web Activity:
www.parktrust.org/buddy-bison-program/grab-and-go-outdoor-activities/
National Park Trust Virtual Park:
artsandculture.withgoogle.com/en-us/national-parks-service/
Junior Ranger Program:
www.ports-ca.us/ports-programs/junior-rangers
Camp Buddy Bison
www.parktrust.org/weekonecampbuddybison/
Audio experience by the Sound and Light Ecology Team at Colorado State University:
www.soundandlightecologyteam.colostate.edu/recordings.html
Discover the world with: Google Maps
Parks Online Resources for Teachers and Students (PORTS) Distance Learning Program offers one-hour interactive visits where interpreters will read books, tell stories about their parks, tour iconic museums including Hearst Castle, and explore majestic redwood forests and marine protected areas. ports.parks.ca.gov
Free K-12 Educational Materials Teaching kids about water!
“Thank you for your interest in teaching about water! We offer a variety of free educational materials including worksheets, activity books, posters, videos, and curriculum guides to classroom teachers, homeschoolers, and non-formal educators. “
National Wildlife Federation’s Ranger Rick
For kids and families, has lots of fun activities on their website. Here are a couple:
Use celery to make a card or learn how to make a bird’s nest you can eat rangerrick.org/crafts-activities
On one of these videos you can see ‘Happy Feet’ for real – which one? rangerrick.org/videos
Mountain Lion Video
To all wildlife lovers, we thought you’d enjoy this video of a mountain lion. It’s not taken in the Santa Monica Mountains but it’s so good we had to share it with you.
Mountain Lion Video Link
Get your Junior Ranger Badge
Online from 10 other national parks around the country – a fun science or social science project for homeschoolers.
Click Here
Garden for Wildlife
In these stressful times, why not try some gardening with your kids and create a habitat that provides food for butterflies.
www.nwf.org/Home/Butterfly-Heroes/Getting-Started/Learning-to–Garden
Guided nature practice:
soundcloud.com/user-559983348/indoors-nature-connection-practice-by-julian-ruiz
Take the Outside Every Day Challenge:
Lots of fun activities for kids from pre-school to high school.
Check out the Daily Dose of Nature
Activity from Santa Barbara-based Wilderness Youth Project.
Audubon
A great selection of activities bird-related activities for kids. Find out about birds you can see in California and how to recognize them: There are activities on owls, raptors, wading birds, and more. Have fun with coloring sheets and learn how to draw a bird.
https://www.audubon.org/get-outside/activities/audubon-for-kids
Other at-home activities that you can try:
Have a picnic in your backyard
Start a nature journal for each day. Use wax crayons to rub the pattern of a leaf onto the paper and include as an illustration. Sketch the trees you can see from your window or write about birds circling in the sky. Take a picture of a flower with early morning dew on it.
Go on a Bug Hunt in the backyard
Make a crown out of leaves you pick up in the yard.
Go camping in the backyard or make a camp in your living room.
Digital Jigsaw puzzles of the Santa Monica Mountains:
www.jigsawplanet.com/SAMOFund/the-santa-monica-mountains
Guide to stargazing in your back yard.
From The Guardian: www.theguardian.com/travel/2020/apr/23/the-secrets-to-stargazing-from-your-backyard
May 21st should have been the next Outdoor Classroom Day-celebrate your connection to the natural world by dressing up in nature here:
outdoorclassroomday.com/resource/nature-themed-dress-up-ideas/
Rainbow Treasure Hunt.
Copy and print this diagram. Go into your yard and find items matching each of these colors. Then photograph them for an illustration or arrange them for a picture.
Spring Break Bingo
Copy, print and play bingo in your backyard.
Print out this coloring sheet for more fun!
Shinrin-yoku (Forest Bathing)
A guide from the UK's National Trust - you can do this in any space outdoors, even on your balcony
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/winkworth-arboretum/features/what-is-forest-bathing
Other ideas from the National Trust:
Write a story or a poem from the perspective of a tree. What does it feel like? Are you threatened by anything around you? Do you have birds nesting in your branches? Are any children climbing you?
Set up an obstacle course in your yard with anything that is at hand – some sticks to jump over, jump rope, bushes to crawl under. Start the race. The winner is the quickest to get round the course.
Pretend the ground is made of lava. Can you get around the yard using obstacles without touching the ground?