Top 10 nature activities that aid children’s development
The early years is quickly becoming a sector completely in love with anything involving nature and the outdoors. This is because the benefits of these types of activities and experiences are limitless with the children more engaged in their play and learning than ever before. Being outdoors, engaging and discovering new things about the world around us not only supports and promotes all seven areas of the EYFS but also supports the holistic development of a child; nurturing their health and wellbeing. The more children can actively learn and critically think while in the outdoors the wider the scope of learning and development. For this reason, it is important that the outdoors environment is used to its full potential with rich learning experiences and opportunities and is used for more than just a space to run around for 10 minutes. Activities can be easily set up, and the children can choose whether they participate or not.
Top 10 activities using nature
- Nature sticks – Find large sticks and cover with sticky back plastic (sticky side out) or with double sided tape. As you explore the outdoors environment or go for a walk the children can stick anything from the outdoors environment that interests them onto the stick such as daisies, leaves, grass, feathers, etc.….
- Nature shapes – Create large shapes using large sticks (or other natural materials) such as giant squares or stars. Encourage the children to identify the shapes, talk about them and then fill them with anything nature has to offer. This can make lovely patterns.
- Nature Windows – Create ‘windows’ using 4 lollipop sticks, the centre cut out of a paper-plate, card with holes in it, etc. and fill the holes with sticky back plastic, let the children stick any natural materials on them such as flowers or feathers and hang them inside at windows or outside in trees.
- Nature scavenger hunt – Create scavenger hunt cards, give the children magnifying glasses and encourage them to explore the outdoors to see if they can find all of the things on their scavenger hunt cards.
- Leaf threading – Collect a variety of leaves and a small stick. Wrap some twine around the stick and then encourage the children to push the stick through the leaves and keep threading lots of leaves onto the twine
- Nest building – These are a great construction activity and can be made using anything your outdoors environment has to offer. Encourage the children to think about whom the nest is for, do they need it to keep warm? Safe? What shape should it be? Etc.…
- Nature paint brushes – These can be made in a variety of ways including using stick and string to tie various natural items however the simplest way is possibly using washing pegs to simply clip the items the children want to use as a paint brush such as a bundle of grass or herbs
- Bark rubbing – This old classic activity is always a hit and only involves paper and wax crayons. Place the paper against the tree trunk and use the side of wax crayon up and down the paper to take a rubbing of the pattern of the bark
- Nature faces – Draw a circle face shape with some chalk and then allow the children to use natural items to add features and hair
- Mud paint – Can be made using just mud and water or colour can be added using powdered paints or food colouring.
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