Kids in Nature

7 Simple Ideas for Family Fun

1. Look for spring wildflowers. Find two different flowers and compare the flower petals.
2. Draw a picture of each flower.
3. Go on a spring picnic to enjoy the warmer air and the growing plants.
4. Oriole birds arrive in Missouri the week of April 22. See if you can spot one.
5. Look for flowering dogwood trees.
6. Take the No MOre Trash! litter pledge. “I promise to do my part to make and keep Missouri litter free. I promise to keep my house, my yard, and my town clean and free of trash. I will throw my trash away and pick up trash when I see it. I will tell my family and friends about No MOre Trash!”
7. Take a walk and find a tree that has buds.
8. Build a bird’s nest. Gather about 300 twigs and pieces of dead grass. Weave them together to form a bowl about as wide and deep as your hand. Then, find a puddle and gather mud to cement the whole thing together.

Kids in Nature Photo Contest!

Break out those cameras and send us your best images of you and your family enjoying the outdoors for our new photo contest. Once again, we will be accepting entries via the online photo sharing service, Flickr. If you are not a member of Flickr, it is easy and free to join. Once you are a member, just navigate to our kids in nature group page:

www.flickr.com/groups/mdc-kids-in-nature and submit your photos. MDC staff will select a winner every month and display at mdc.mo.gov/node/20869. All of the monthly winners will appear in the January 2014 issue of the magazine.