It is a known fact that the best way to explore early science concepts is in the natural environment. Different authors cite activities for children that can be conducted in nature. However, there is insufficient data on whether such activities actually help children learn. The purpose of the thesis is to determine how children progress in terms of their knowledge about tree species and their ability to observe through structured activities and games in nature (forest, meadow). We conducted an experiment with an experimental and a control group of children, each group consisting of 16 children aged from 5 to 6 years. The first step was to conduct individual tests to determine how much children knew about tree species and whether they possessed any observation skills. The children were asked to perform 3 tasks: name the leaves of 10 tree species; recognise the leaves and fruits of 8 tree species; look for pairs of leaves from 10 tree species among the leaves of 17 tree species (tracking progress of children's observation skills). The children in the experimental group were tested and then they continued with guided activities in the natural environment. After they finished, both groups were tested again. The results indicate that the children's prior knowledge about tree species as well as their observation skills were poor. However, the knowledge of the experimental group improved significantly after completing their activities. We can conclude that adequate activities in nature help children improve their knowledge in the field of early science.
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