DISCLAIMER: Special thanks to "Clangers" and Coolabi for sponsoring today's post. All opinions and information in this post are my own.
Children are natural born learners. From the time they come out of the womb, they are already trying to figure it all out. Admittedly, in the beginning, it's usually very simple tasks, like figuring out where their next meal is coming from, but they are learning, nonetheless.
From the time they learn to walk and talk (and even before), children are curious about the world around them and for good reason: there's a lot of cool stuff going on out here. The sights, smells and sounds of nature are all around us and it's our job to make sure they experience it. You don't need any special training or equipment to enjoy nature, just use your eyes, ears and heart.
Not everyone is comfortable being out in nature and that's fine, do what you're comfortable doing and work your way up to more daring adventures. I, for one, am not at all afraid of digging up worms in the back yard, but I know that might make some people squeamish, so here are a few ideas that everyone should be able to enjoy...
Start where you are most comfortable: your own back (or front) yard. Just go outside and look around, check out the grass, see what kinds of critters you can find crawling around. Do you see any wildflowers growing nearby? Take pictures of them and try to identify them with your child, at home, later.
Don't be afraid to dig in the dirt, get your hands dirty. Let them ask questions and do your best to answer them. If they ask you something and you have no idea what the answer is, look it up. This will organically lead to further discussions about all kinds of fun stuff.
Make nature feel natural. Model good "nature friendly" behavior in front of your child. If they see you enjoying nature, they will be more likely to follow suit. You don't have to go into far flung places to be able to appreciate and enjoy nature. You can work it into your daily lives, seamlessly.
Talk about the fruit you eat at snack time. Talk about where it comes from, how it grows, read books about your favorite fruit. Talk about the weather. Talk about what factors influence weather and seasons. Lay on a blanket and find shapes in the clouds.
Plant a garden. No room? Sprinkle a few wildflower seeds in a pot and watch them grow. Talk to your child about the butterflies and bees that will visit your garden and what their jobs are. (Don't be surprised if your child has a fear of bugs at first, it's totally normal)
Put on your sneakers, grab a few bottles of water and go on a scavenger hunt... in your own neighborhood. Make a list of a few things you're sure to see, split into teams, set a time limit and see who can gather the most items from the list. You can take pictures of certain items, if they are too big to bring back. Also, if you happen to see trash, pick it up, talk about littering and recycling.
Since it's not always ideal to go outside, you must also find ways to enjoy nature indoors. You can find nature themed coloring pages online for free, just by searching for them. Print out a few and talk about the subject, while you color. Gather a few leaves or a bloom from your favorite flower and press them. (I've also used my laminator for this kind of project) Head to your local library and read books about nature.
Find fun shows on TV. Our current fave is Clangers, a new show that airs every weekday at 7 pm EST on the Sprout network. Clangers features the voice of the legendary William Shatner as narrator and follows a family of space mice on their daily adventures as they learn about their world around them.
Tiny and Small, two of the main characters, are always going on some kind of fun adventure where they learn lots of important things like problem solving, patience, teamwork, loyalty and friendship. Clangers will appeal to children of varying ages, even the littles. Clangers has a shorter than usual running time per episode, great for their shorter attention spans.
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