We’ve been using the book, “Genesis for Kids: Science Experiments That Show God’s Power in Creation!” by Doug Lambier for my 10yo dd and 11yo ds (mostly because I had not yet found a great deal on Apologia’s Zoology I, II, or III, lol!), and they loved the scavenger hunt we did from the chapter entitled “Day 3.” I actually adapted this list from the one in the book, but it’s rather similar.
Here’s the list: a square in nature, a seed, a candy wrapper, a broken egg shell, a circle in nature, evidence of animal life, a red C, a feather, an insect, evidence of man, a smooth rock, a hairy leaf, a tool, a piece of string, a piece of glass, something bumpy, something cool, something sculpted, something absorbent, something beautiful.
As you can see, some of the items are subject to interpretation or require a lot of imagination, and some could be good conversation-starters about the impact of humans on nature, etc. We used it this past fall on a trail adjacent to our local nature center. All of the kids (including 12yo dd) had a lot of fun with this.
We also did a nature walk in late Sept./early Oct. with a shorter list that focused on finding signs of autumn. This list I found on http://www.handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com, which utilizes Anna Comstock’s book of the same name. I haven’t looked in about a week, but I’m hoping they have a similar list for signs of spring. We live in northeastern Ohio (in the MIDWEST, right?? LOL!), and we are so eager to spend more time outdoors in nice weather!