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Making nature fun for young children

Contributed by: DR. SEAN REIF D.C. on 11/10/2006

Everything along a trail is a wonderment of children, and parents need to nurture that excitement." "By providing youngsters with memorable close encounters with the natural world and sharing their own enthusiasm for other life forms, parents can instill a life-long sense of respect and appreciation for nature."

MEET A TREE:
Blindfold a child and gently walk him or her over to an interesting tree (with no poison ivy) set among others, Encourage him to explore the tree in all it uniqueness, hugging it to feel its girth and smell, feeling the leaves to discover their shape and texture.

Then walk the child back several yards, remove the blindfold, and invite him to find "his" tree, giving plenty of hints (for example: "Didn't you say the tree was really fat and that the leaves were pointy?") Through this game the tree becomes unique instead of just another piece of wood in a big forest.

"I've seen children ask to go back and visit their tree at a later date." A new found relationship with a part of nature makes children sensitive to each living thing's importance.

EXPLORE AN UN-NATURE TRAIL:
Along a short stretch of clearly defined nature trail, set out objects that do not belong in the wilds - such as a rubber band, a plastic bottle, a sock, a soda can, a stick of gum.

Camouflage some of the objects with leaves or dirt, and have children see how many of the un-nature things they can discover. This game helps children become more observant of nature's "home," making them aware of how littering violates that place.

During future outings, your children will likely be more careful about correctly discarding trash. You might even have them make a practice of picking up other peoples' refuge and putting it into a big "bag of shame."

SUNSET WATCH:
About 15 minutes before sunset, make a game of enumerating events that happen at this time of day, with the children calling out or pointing to each phenomenon is it happens.

Some examples: shadows get longer, day-birds grow quiet, night insects start buzzing, the moon and first stars come out, the temperature cools. As darkness descends, have children turn on their flashlights and see what comes into the light, then turn them off and sit quietly, noticing the new sounds and smells.

This is a good time to talk about nocturnal animals and to discuss how all living things have active and rest periods - which makes children sensitive to other species' survival needs.


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Submitted By: DR. SEAN REIF D.C.
posted on 11/10/2006 @ 7:00:22 PM
Rated Story
What kind of world would we live in if we had the opportunity to meet people from every walk of life, and to experience customs and cultures far different from anything we have known? What if we were able to visit not only industrialized nations, but developing countries where material wealth is almost non-existent by our Western standards? Would we discover that we were worlds apart from the people we met? Or would we realize that culture and economics are only surface differences, and that underneath it all lies the tie that binds - a common heritage of the human desire to give and receive love, to nurture and share with one another.
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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

DR. SEAN REIF D.C.

THORNTON , CO

DR. SEAN REIF D.C. has posted 937 stories and 1067 comments since joining on 9/14/2005. DR. SEAN REIF D.C. 's average story rating is 3.32.
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