How We Do Winter Nature Study (Supplies That Make It Work!)

What’s in Our Winter Nature Study Bag

Winter nature study looks a little different than those dreamy fall leaf walks. There are colder fingers, shorter days, and a lot more “Can we go inside? I’m freezing!” But it’s also one of our favorite seasons to learn outside. Animal tracks show up like clues, the air is crisp, the sky is clearer, and science is happening everywhere you look.

Over the years, I’ve narrowed our winter nature study bag down to the items we truly use, not just the cute supplies that sound good in theory. This is the gear that makes outdoor learning possible and enjoyable for us, even when it’s cold.

Read on to find out more about what I keep in our winter nature study bag and how we use it all!

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The Basics

These are the go-to tools that come out on almost every winter outing, even if it’s just a quick walk down to the mailbox. You never know what you’ll see on a crisp afternoon or in the morning after a fresh snow, so you want to be ready to record it!

Clipboards + Pencils

• Plastic clipboards: We like these plastic ones because they’re easy to clean, and they double as white boards in a pinch!

• Kid-friendly mechanical pencils: This eliminates the need to carry around sharpeners as well, because pencils will break on those nature walks!

• Canvas pencil bag: We like getting this bulk set of blank canvas pencil bags because we always have a “nature journal set-up day” where kids get to personalize their journals and these bags! They’re perfect for decorating with either markers, pens, or my personal favorite: flower and leaf pounding.

Writing outside is tricky without a hard surface, so always go out prepared. Clipboards make it easy for kids to stand, sit on a log, or kneel in the snow while still recording what they notice, and it keeps them from setting their notebooks directly on the ground where they could get wet, especially in the winter.

We use these constantly with our Science Scouts observation pages and nature journaling sheets. Winter is full of things to record, like temperature, animal tracks, cloud cover, frost patterns, and clipboards make it doable.

Nature Journals

• Blank notebooks: These are our favorites! The simple Kraft-paper covers make it so easy to personalize using matte modge podge and magazine pictures, pressed flowers and leaves, or just having kids draw their own designs. With the standard-sized pages, there’s plenty of room on each page for our Science Scouts observation pages too!

• Mini blank notebooks: I like for each kid to have one of these pocket-sized journals to toss into their nature study bags as well. We use these in a much less structured way: if someone finds a small nature treasure that’s not related to what we’re looking for that day, or if they have a creative thought or observation, or find a pretty flower or interesting leaf, they can tuck it into their mini-journals! It helps us keep our primary nature journal a little more organized while still allowing them the freedom to let their minds and imaginations wander while we’re outside!

  
  

Each child has a dedicated journal that lives in our bag all winter. This is where our meteorology Science Scouts observations go, our winter sketches and labeled drawings, and notes from any outdoor experiments we do! Having one place for everything makes their learning feel real and connected.

Magnifying Glasses

Winter details are tiny but amazing: ice crystals, bark texture, lichen, animal fur caught on branches. We use magnifying glasses all the time during our explorations and close-up nature study, and these kid-friendly ones are sturdy enough to get tossed around in the nature bags without breaking!

Handheld Microscopes

To get an even closer look at those intricate ice crystals or bark patterns, think about having a portable handheld microscope on hand! We like these portable microscopes because the screen makes it extra easy for even the youngest learners to observe the tiny world around them.

Weather & Meteorology Tools

Winter is the perfect time to lean into weather study because kids can feel the weather, the changes, the science behind it all!

Thermometer

We check and record the temperature on almost every outing. It pairs perfectly with our Meteorology Science Scouts activities, where kids track patterns and compare days. These kid-friendly thermometers are perfect to toss in the nature study bags so we always have one on hand.

Ribbon or Streamer

This is such a simple tool, but it makes wind visible! Kids hold it up and instantly see wind direction and strength, which is way more effective than just saying, “It’s windy.”

We use this alongside our wind observation pages in our meteorology unit.

Cloud Identification Cards or Guide

Winter skies are often dramatic. Kids love learning to name what they see, and cloud ID turns random looking into purposeful observing! Keep a simple cloud ID card in the kids nature bags, or check out our downloadable cloud viewer activity to have kids make their own!

Winter = The Best Astronomy Season

Cold air often means clearer skies. We do more sky watching in winter than any other season!

Red Flashlight

Red light protects night vision and is easier on the eyes at night, so kids can look at star charts and still see the sky clearly! We like these small red light flashlights anytime we want to step outside after dark.

Star Chart or Planisphere

Planisphere and start chart: We use this during our Astronomy Science Scouts activities for constellation hunts! It gives kids a mission: “Let’s find Orion” is way more engaging than “Look at the sky.” And it pairs great with our constellation projector activity that’s part of Astronomy Science Scouts!

Blanket or Sit Pad

If you really want to settle in for a long journaling session or nature lesson, think about getting the kids their own waterproof sit pads or a larger waterproof picnic blanket for everyone to share! Great for sitting on cold ground during sky watching or quiet observation time. It keeps everything drier, warmer, and cleaner, especially in the winter going into spring!

Simple Winter Science Tools (Chemistry + Nature)

Winter is basically a giant outdoor science lab. We keep small plastic containers handy for collecting snow, ice, or soil to examine later or use in simple experiments about melting, freezing, and states of matter. These work great to have in the nature bag because you never know when the kids might find something they want to save for later, and these keep those little treasures safe in the meantime!

Dropper or Pipette

Perfect for adding water to snow or ice and observing changes.  Kids love hands-on experiments, and this makes chemistry feel like play!

Field Guides

Winter is prime time for animal track (and scat) identification. Snow turns the woods into a storybook of who’s been there! This is one of favorite books to carry along for kids to identify which creatures have been hanging around the outdoor spaces we visit. Or check out your local library, ag extension office, or tourism centers for local guides!

I keep everything packed in one backpack all winter. Tools are sorted into small pouches (writing tools, science tools, comfort items), so we can grab the bag and head out without spending time prepping.

And all of these tools come to life when kids have a reason to use them. That’s why many of our winter nature walks are built around our Science Scouts units we have available so far:

• Meteorology: thermometers, wind ribbons, cloud charts

• Astronomy: star charts and red flashlights

• Chemistry: snow, ice, melting, and states of matter experiments

Instead of “just a walk,” kids are observing, recording, and experimenting with real science in their real world!