This is the perfect time of the year to think about buying binoculars for your children! Our gardens start to transform in Springtime and we welcome a variety of birds and bugs. Children are naturally curious but it is hard to get close enough to identify a bird, especially when you are a rambunctious pre-schooler! Binoculars bring the world closer – safely and quietly!
Binoculars specifically made for children are much better for your very young users than those which claim to be ‘child friendly’ which just tends to mean they are robust – great for 4+ but not so good for a little one who struggles to get their ‘eyes in the right place’ (as my son would say whilst trying to watch steam trains with my binoculars when he was young).
GeoSafari Jr binoculars – sorry, Kidnoculars! - from Learning Resources, really are designed with young children in mind. The focus-free eyepieces sit comfortably on your child’s face without any faffing around. There are no peripheral distractions as the ‘placement goggles’ wrap around the eyes. Because they are lightweight and durable, your young adventurer can take these out and about and begin to explore the world around them.
Kidnoculars Extreme are aimed at the next age bracket up and really take the experience one step further! Promoting STEM-based scientific observations of nature, animals and more, these are super all-in-one binoculars with 3x magnification and audio amplification to encourage children to use both sight and sound to explore their world.
Watching the birds in the garden is a great pastime for children and a good lesson in patience! Keeping a tally of the different birds is a super maths activity from which you can create graphs to show the most frequent visitors or make predictions on how many birds will visit in one day/week/month. Why not build your own bird feeder to encourage these little friends into your garden? This one is a window feeder but there are some fun DIY versions online.
The RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) has some great ideas as part of their Wild Challenge – all you need is a good pair of binoculars, a bird identifier and some elephant ears (it all becomes clear here)!
Also from Learning Resources is the awesome GeoSafari Jnr Explorer Scope which behaves like binoculars but is actually a microscope/telescope hybrid with an 8x and 15x magnifiers. I love the handles, the shoulder strap – the portability of this – and the two large eye pieces, again eliminating the need to close one eye. The magnification and field of vision have been designed specifically for early years children & level of perception. This would be the perfect piece of equipment for a fieldtrip to a nature reserve where you can watch birds from afar and bugs from up close. The microscope element allows for some really in depth investigation of leaves, feathers and discarded insect wings.
Whatever your child’s age, there will be a pair of binoculars out there to suit them! What a great opportunity to get everyone out and about whether it be a local park or nature reserve, up a mountain somewhere or even out and about in town. And, of course, exploring is not limited to daytime. Stargazing can be done with binoculars – there’s a good article here with some great ideas!
by Allie White, educational consultant to BrightMinds
As a parent and former-teacher, Allie has a hands-on approach to home learning, believing that the best learning is done together in a relaxed environment.
Our mission at BrightMinds is to foster “a brighter way to play” to inspire your child to be curious about the world around them & encourage creativity in a fun & relaxed way.
We curate a world-class range of educational toys, games, gifts & books which are good quality, safe and backed by our extraordinary customer service. Binoculars for Children are our speciality and a pair of Binoculars from BrightMinds is a wonderful gift for your special girl or boy.
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