Where man sees but withered leaves, God sees sweet flowers growing.
~Albert Laighton

Yet another month has past! And we have officially welcomed in springtime here in my area. April, to me, speaks of everything new! There are so many things springing up new in nature in April, at least where I live, and that is reason to celebrate AND get outside! Our family has been taking almost daily nature walks to observe some of the wonderful happenings in nature. Several early wildflowers have begun to bloom, the magnolia trees are in bloom and even the frogs and toads have began to sing. Lest I forget that I should remember an Easter not too many years ago when it snowed! But, we’ll enjoy those gorgeous days in between anyway.

Magnolia Tree in Bloom at Park

Here are some April nature noteables:

• April is a time of new growth of new beginnings. And also since Easter is in April, this is a great time to talk about Jesus’ resurrection and how God uses the springtime to parallel and show this new beginning.

• Early spring wildflowers are well into bloom! This is an excellent time to start a wildflower notebook or just start taking walks to observe all the amazing varieties. During the spring there will be different types popping up almost every day! So be on the lookout!

• Creeks and rivers are on the move. The spring rains almost always assure that! Now may be a great time to take a walk along the creekside to observe signs of life. Look for frogs jumping off the sides, crayfish beginning to emerge and water striders all over the creek’s surface. Also notice the erosion from the winter time and the rains. Creeks are an excellent place to observe erosion.

• Take time for peace. The springtime, with it’s warm and gentle breezes and beautiful birds singing, is a great time to teach your children the art of listening and appreciation in nature. Depending on their age have them sit for a few moments or more and just listen quietly. Talk about the five senses and what they are experiencing through each of those at that moment. Talk about how grateful we are to such an awesome God to give us such beautiful moments.

• Not only are wildflowers blooming but trees are blooming too! If you are fortunate enough to live near an Arboretum be sure to take weekly visits to see all the trees budding and blooming. Or just visit a park with a wooded area, you a re bound to see a variety there too.

• April 8th is International Bird Day. Use this day to focus in on birds!

• April 22nd is Earth Day. Learn about the importance of nature in our world and best of all plant a tree!

• April 28th is National Poetry Reading Day. Pick some of your favorite nature poems to read aloud and try your hand at writing some too!

• April is National Gardening Month.  Put on your gardening gloves and don’t be afraid to get muddy, your kids will love you for it! Whether you have small container gardens or several acres of gardens there is much to learn from the planting of a seed.

• Frogs and toads are starting to come out of hibernation and are singing for a mate. Keep on the lookout for eggs beginning to appear. Frogs lay eggs in jelly like masses, toads lay eggs in long strings that look like black pearls. I have lots of experience with raising tadpoles. Visit THIS link and THIS one. Raising tadpole is a bit of work, BUT oh so worth it!

• Frogs and toads aren’t the only ones looking for a mate right now, in fact most animals in nature are! Keep on the lookout for baby animals, especially noticeable are baby birds, baby squirrels and baby deer.

• It’s still thunderstorm season in April! Be sure to take this opportunity to study all about thunderstorms and lightning. Visit the book of Job in the Bible to find out what God thinks of thunder and lightning!

• April is full of colors! It might be fun to keep a nature color journal, making note of all the different colors you find in nature in springtime.

• April is usually wet and temperatures are warming which usually brings on lots of fungus! Look on trees, fallen logs, around creeks and even in your yard to find all sorts of fungi!

• April is often muddy which means it’s an excellent time for finding animal tracks. Especially look around areas where there is water.

• Here are some applicable NaturExplorers units for spring:  Wonderful Wildflowers, Frogs and Toads, Everchanging Erosion, Beautiful Birds, Animal Signs, Delightful Deciduous Trees, A Fungus Among Us. Visit the Shining Dawn Books website to find out more information about these units and see samples of each!

I’ll be back very soon to share some of  the wonderful photos I’ve been taking of our adventures outside!