Go to the Park.
Visit your favorite neighborhood park, or outdoor nature area such as McCrory Gardens in Brookings, South Dakota, Hole in the Mountain Prairie in Lake Benton, Minnesota, or Oakwood Lakes State Park north of Brookings to spend some time in nature together.
Feed the birds.
Put out some bird seeds in a bird feeder and watch the birds come to your backyard to eat.
Go puddle jumping.
After a summer rain, go out and play in the mud puddles together.
Play in the snow.
After a winter snow, go out and make snow angels together.
Seek special stones.
Walk along a country road and look for interesting rocks or stones.
Listen to the music of nature.
Find a place away from the city areas and listen to the sounds in nature. Explore what is in the tall grasses.
Climb a tree.
Find some trees with low to the ground climbing branches and go tree climbing with your child.
Play in a creek.
Find a creek in the country and watch the water flow, perhaps skip rocks together.
Check out the clouds.
Spend some time on a grassy knoll watching clouds on a sunny day.
Explore South Dakota.
With older preschoolers, visit some of the actual South Dakota environments highlighted in miniExplorers, like the Missouri River, the Badlands, the Black Hills, or the caves in the Black Hills area.
Investigate flowers.
Find flowers blooming and study them closely; talk about what you see.
Visit the Museum and explore miniExplorers for yourself!
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