Baby Squirrel Care

Article by Kristen Burgess

Did you know that every time you’re out enjoying your backyard you have hundreds of visitors with you? Your backyard is teeming with all kinds of life outside of your family! This gives you and your children a perfect chance to explore, learn, and enjoy the beauty of nature.

Children love nature and are drawn to plants and animals. They’re curious, perceptive, and often wise beyond their years. Taking the time to introduce them to their backyard neighbors will help capture their minds and foster a life-long love of nature and learning.

Introduce your child to birds early on. Children love the brightly-colored flying birds they see and hear in the backyard (and the front yard). A bird feeder and/or bird bath will help encourage different birds to visit your yard. You can tell your children simple stories of birds visiting and flying away for the winter, only to return each summer.

I recommend you simply watch the birds with a young child. Listen to their calls and comment on their beautiful (or plain) colors. Look for their nests and see if you can spot eggs and baby birds. Tell them simple stories about the bird flying to the bird bath to drink, or about the mother bird feeding her chicks.

Older children can and will enjoy more “nature scout” type activities. Give them a journal or notebook to be their bird-watching notebook. They can sketch the birds, or you can take pictures of the birds together and paste them into the book. Or do a combination of both. Encourage your child’s drawing and artistic abilities. Most people have rudimentary drawing skills and enjoy drawing until they learn that only “gifted” people are supposed to draw. Perhaps you can draw in your own notebook to show that it’s a myth that only “talented” people should draw!

You’ll find plenty of field guides at the bookstore to help your older child identify birds. You’ll be surprised at just how good they are at finding the different birds!

Of course you’ll find field guides for many things, and you and your older children can greatly enjoy them. Take a look at all the plants in your backyard. The variety will astound you and your child. You can also find field guides to edible plants and herbs. Many children are fascinated by these plants and will love to pour through field guides to find which “medicine herbs” are in their backyard. You can use a game like the board game “Wildcraft” to teach children about plant safety.

Again, with your younger child just explore the plants. You can even plant a children’s garden full of easy-to-care for plants that they can enjoy. Check your local library for several guides on fun gardens for children, such as a “pizza garden” and creating a sunflower “fort.”

Insects are another fun backyard resident. All children are curious about insects, especially little boys! You can make or buy simple bug houses that they’ll love to collect and store their critters in. They can watch the bugs for the afternoon then release them. An ant farm or butterfly tent can also be nice activities to get started with backyard residents.

You’ll be amazed at the variety of life in your own backyard, even if it’s tiny. Watch for birds, insects, and plants. And don’t forget other animals you may see – squirrels, chipmunks, neighborhood cats… you may also see animals like skunks or bats! Both you and your children can enjoy the little touch of nature you have in your own backyard.