Worldwide studies of children show that learning about nature in a fun and interactive way helps children to develop a lifelong love of nature, which increases positive outcomes for health and well-being. Some of the positive health outcomes include, improved cognitive and motor development, better sleep, stronger immune system, improved mental health outcomes, reduced aggression, overall wellbeing and happiness, and so much more. 

To learn more, take a look at our fun and easy-to-understand Infographic on our website, or download the Infographic pdf. here.

These scientific discoveries inspired The Life Rocks Soil Book, which is a perfect way for teachers and parents to introduce young readers to the wonder-filled world of soil and biology. The rhyming narrative takes the reader on a journey through the underground web of life, aiming to ignite a flame of curiosity for science and all of life.

Soil science is such an endlessly fascinating topic that can be explored in many interactive ways. Soil is a really great way to integrate hand-on learning into childhood education that is both fun and beneficial. On top of that, children love getting their hands dirty so why not make it a learning experience too.

The Life Rocks Soil Book explores the science of erosion and soils with many fun and easy experiments like the activity below, and you only need a few basic materials. Each activity can be created on a scale that is easy for you and your child or children.

So, let’s get started…

WHAT YOU NEED:

1. A shallow dish, play tray, baking tray, sand pit, or backyard.
   
   Depending on the scale, you can accommodate your soil lesson; the more extensive the experiment, the more mess there is! And only some have access to a backyard.
   
   
2. Soil components, soil samples, and organic materials.
   
   Backyard soil, clay, gravel, sand, and mulch can be found in your local landscape supply store or gathered from all around – get creative with your sources!
   Different soil samples can be found by collecting soils from a place where it is ok to take soil samples that may be used within your model. The same goes for collecting organic materials like leaves, mulch, sticks, or grasses. Think – backyards, friendly parks, woodlands, and wild places where appropriate and reasonable.
   
   
3. Water and something to pour, spray, or mist it from.
   Use water from an appropriate source such as a bottle, tap, watering can, hose and in a location prepared for wetness!
   

Action-based learning is a core focus in The Life Rocks Soil Book and it has repeatedly shown to be the most effective form of learning for children in an engaging, enjoyable and memorable way.

So now, let’s get to it!

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Create a landscape from your soil components in your large dish, tray, backyard, or sandpit. Take time to mould and craft a miniature landscape with your children or child, shaping valleys and mountains.
2. Use sticks to model trees and grasses to emulate meadows, etc.
3. Combine various soil components, such as clay, sand, compost soil, etc, and discuss combinations.
4. Use water on your landscape by pouring it into specific sections to fill rivers, lakes, and other water systems you may have made. Spraying a hose from underneath soils can model a volcanic eruption! How you play with water can demonstrate light rain, flooding, and river and ocean systems, depending on how you build your landscape

We hope you have had fun with this interactive activity!

SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOUR CHILDREN:
Some questions that can stimulate curiosity in your soil science students before, during and after this experiment:

• How is this model landscape going to be impacted by water moving through it or onto it?
• How are different soil materials or soil types affected by water?
• Looking at these soils we have collected, which ones do we think will be most impacted by water?
• How will the way water enters into the model landscape affect what happens?
• How will the way we combine the soil components in our landscape make a difference once we add the water?
• What way is the best way to add water? Sprinkle, pour, mist, flood or from which direction or speed?
• Did the water move in the way we expected it to? If not, why not?
• Did the soils and landscape move in the way we expected them to?
• Can we create an earthquake or a volcano?

And that’s a splat!

Did you have fun? Soils are pretty interesting. If you want to go a layer deeper with your now passionate soil students, you can explore the following concepts:

• How do different particle sizes of clay, sand, silt, rock and organic matter move and distribute through natural environments based on weather patterns and water cycles?
• Why do some particles stick together in the presence of water, and why do some, such as sand, disperse water? You may even explore how different climatic soils may have developed to deal with various impacts of weather and water movement. You may even want to explore how microorganisms such as algae, fungi and bacteria impact soil structure.

There really is so much to explore in the mostly unseen world of soils. Bringing Soils to life has always been a passion of ours at Life Rocks. All of life comes from the soil, and for that, we are very grateful and honestly astounded!

Soils really are worth protecting, and what better way to protect something than to know deeply about it? That is why we are so proud of our beautiful illustrated book on soils - The Soil Book. The captivating art, rhyming and scientific knowledge woven into this book really brings the magic of soils to life for children, and it can be a great supplement to other everyday discoveries made in the natural world with your help ( parents and teachers) like doing the experiment outlined in this article! It will encourage your children to get outside to connect directly to the Earth, nature, and themselves.

If you wanted to watch one of our online video episodes, you can watch our, “Building a Mini Landscape” Life Rocks Kids episode together with your child, or children, where our Life Rocks characters Risky Robbo and Digger Doug from Down Under take you on a nature adventure. Building a Mini Landscape is a fun and educational episode that demonstrates this very activity and brings it to life. It will teach your child about how TIME, GRAVITY and WATER shape all of the landscape as we know it today. It will also provide you with several discussion points and a fun learning day for everyone involved.

For more video content, head to our Life Rocks Kids Channel (youtube.com/@LifeRocksKids) where we have a bunch of fun, educational and engaging online video content for kids.

This channel is dedicated to creating healthy screen time for kids 🌱🦜

Each episode is designed to do 3 things:

✨ Engage kids in the magic of nature

🌿 Educate the importance of our relationship with the natural world

🔎 Encourage kids to get outside and experience it for themselves

We all know our kids are growing up in the age of technology, so it's our mission to work with technology to provide healthy options for your child's screen intake.

So please join Jabba, Risky Robbo, and a host of other characters for all sorts of wild and magical adventures!

And don't forget, Life Rocks!