Week 1: The Great Outdoors Vocabulary Activities
This week, we'll be exploring the nature around us from the ants on the sidewalk to the tallest mountains. We'll foster better understanding of and respect for the Great Outdoors through its words. Although you might not normally bring the dictionary on a camping trip, the natural world provides a wonderful opportunity to practice vocabulary. There are myriad plants, insects, and environments to learn about, and endless attempts to describe all this natural beauty with words.
Remember that all of this week's vocabulary lists are available for immediate play in our Puku app (download information below!)
This Week’s Vocabulary Lists
This Week’s Book Recommendations
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
The Season of Styx Malone by Kekla Magoon
Vocabulary Activities
Rock Art: Pick a few rocks from your backyard or from a nature walk that are large and flat enough to paint a word on. Paint a word you learned (or your favorite word!) on the rocks you collected. You can leave the painted rocks in your own backyard or garden or, if the rules allow, you can leave them on a trail or public sidewalk for someone else to discover. (Tip: acrylic paint works best for this activity.)
Write a Packing List: Pretend you're going camping in the Grand Canyon. Write a list of everything you would need to take with you in your rucksack. How does that list change if you were planning on camping on a glacier in Alaska? Then check out our camping vocabulary list to see if you forgot anything!
Other fun activities
- Go camping in your backyard (or living room!)
- Make s'mores with a fire, stove, or microwave
- Take a nature walk and look for different plants and animals
- Make a bird feeder out of a pine cone or toilet paper roll
- Press flowers with books - dictionaries work great! ;-)
- Learn how to tie knots by watching videos online
- Go on a scavenger hunt in your neighborhood
- Practice using a map to explore somewhere you’ve never been before
Return to Puku Summer Camp page >
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