Backyard Explorer: Kindergarten to Grade 2
Twelve weeks of looking, listening and counting outside, with a field guide for your own region.
Free, start to finish. No card. Every week opens without signing in.
- Grade
- Kindergarten to Grade 2
- Length
- 12 weeks
- Pace
- 6 short lessons a week, about 15 minutes each
- Price
- Free, every week
About this course
Backyard Explorer turns a yard, a park or a window into a science lab. Kindergarten to second graders learn to sit still and notice, to tell birds, bugs, plants and furry neighbors apart, to spot animal homes and signs, to watch the weather and the seasons, and to keep a nature notebook with counts and drawings. Rocket, Raven and Nova explore alongside. Each week's field guide lists the plants and animals people record most in your region of the United States, and a grown-up picks the region once. Every line is read aloud and every answer is a tap. Saturday is Explorer Day, a short outing with a grown-up. Every week is free.
Kids will
- Sit still, look and listen, and say what you notice
- Tell a bird, a bug, a plant and a furry animal apart by their parts
- Spot animal homes and signs without touching them
- Watch the weather and the seasons change and tell what living things do
- Count and compare what you see and draw it in a nature notebook
- Stay safe outside: look with eyes, ask a grown-up before touching
The 12 weeks
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Week 1
Explorer Eyes
Look, listen and notice
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Week 2
Birds Next Door
Feathers, beaks and songs
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Week 3
Bug Hunt
Six legs, eight legs, look but do not touch
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Week 4
Plant Parts
Roots, stem, leaves and flower
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Week 5
Furry Neighbors
Mammals and the signs they leave
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Week 6
Scaly and Slippery
Reptiles and amphibians
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Week 7
Animal Homes
Nests, burrows, webs and hives
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Week 8
Weather Watch
Sun, clouds, wind and rain
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Week 9
Babies and Grown-ups
Like their parents, but not exactly
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Week 10
Seasons Change
The year goes round and round
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Week 11
Count and Compare
Sunny spot, shady spot
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Week 12
Explorer Badge
Help your backyard neighbors
More in Backyard Explorer
Try Week 1 today.
Open the course, pick Day 1 and go. Make a free parent account when you want progress saved for each kid.