I have been trying to sneak some learning into our Summer fun this year. I grabbed this book at the library and it created the perfect opportunity for us to go explore a Pond. While the book is geared towards preschool age children, I got my boys (6 and 8) involved by helping to read the book to my toddler.
Pond Walk by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace
I also made this little Pond Scavenger Hunt worksheet for our trip to the Pond. You can either circle or color all of the things you were able to find on your pond walk. You can download a copy HERE or by clicking on the picture below. I did generalize it to things I know are found in Utah and things talked about in the book but I’m sure it will work in other places as well.
(This worksheet is for educational purposes only. The free clipart used in this worksheet came from Clker.com and Arthur’s Clipart.)
We first visited a small man made pond at a local Village shopping center (Gardner Village). Our main objective was just to have fun feeding the ducks so you can imagine my kids’ excitement when we had big cat fish, koi fish and even a turtle come out to enjoy our bread.
My kids got up close and personal and noticed some tadpoles and small fish in the water.
It was the perfect small outing for a Sunday afternoon and it got my kids pumped up to explore something bigger.
Our next adventure was at Willow Pond in Murray, Utah. I couldn’t believe it was so close to our house without us ever going in the 3 years we’ve lived here. If you plan on going you have to know that not only do they have the big man made pond for fishing and exploring, but they also have 3 big playgrounds at the park, water features for the kids to wade their feet in, a small splash pad and a pavilion perfect for a picnic lunch. I’m so happy I researched it beforehand so I came prepared with swimming suits, towels and a picnic lunch and we made a whole day out of our visit there.
Some of our favorites…
Beautiful, blue dragonflies.
Lots of Mommy and baby ducks.
I came prepared with small glass jars for the boys to gather some water from the pond and see what they found. We didn’t take anything home with us and made sure to pour our jars back out in the pond after our adventure. The jars were a HUGE hit!
“Look Mom, I caught a little fish!”
What I wasn’t prepared for was all the ducks following us around the ENTIRE pond looking for us to throw them some bread. We felt so bummed that we didn’t have anything to offer them so we ended up saving the crust from our picnic lunch sandwiches that we had brought and we stopped back at the pond before heading home to throw some bread to them. They actually got out of the water and were everywhere up close and personal which was really fun for my kids.
One of the best parts about this summer adventure, it was totally free! If you live in Utah, Willow Pond Park is definitely a fun place to check out with your kids!
Want to keep up to date on our adventures? You can follow us on Instagram HERE.
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I love your blog! I am a grade one teacher in Alberta and started following you because of the great crafts you do with your children. However, I have come to enjoy the blogs about the fun you have with your children even more. I wish all of my students could have a family like yours. Thank you for sharing your fun. Jodi
i love this Rachel! so fun!!
I love the idea of going on a nature walk with a check off list of things to spot. Just may add this to our adventures next week.