How to connect children more with Nature

We don’t need to go to warmer climates to see how beautiful, amazing, and cleverly designed the natural world is. Nature is right outside our front door! Additionally, there is mounting evidence that spending time in nature and the outdoors is beneficial to our physical and mental wellbeing. Children who are exposed to nature share our appreciation of its beauty, but more crucially, they start to engage with its resources. Just consider how often kids get their hands dirty in the great outdoors — jumping in puddles, climbing rocks, swinging from trees, picking things up, and much more.

Ask young kids to assist you in feeding birds or watering plants. Allow them to observe the various indoor plants or the visiting birds. Encourage children to observe the surrounding environment as well as the local flora and fauna. Let them see the moon, stars, sunrises and sunsets, as well as the shapes of the clouds. Young children like the tactile qualities of various forms and textures and have a passion for collecting objects. They have a wealth of opportunities to learn from nature, which can be a good approach to introduce them to it. Allow them to gather flowers, stones, twigs, or even leaves from the ground so they may explore their various textures and shapes.

Look what is around you and your community 

The plants and animals that coexist with humans in cities, known as urban nature, can be a terrific place to start. Start by merely observing and making a note. Children should be allowed to share their observations with you as well as your own. Take note of how the plants and animals that live with us in the urban jungle change with the seasons and weather. Enjoy the various weather conditions. For young children, the wind, rain, or hail can create a totally diverse sensory experience. Do it with intention and mindfulness.

Let your children be more free

While there are many activities we may organise to introduce young children to nature, free, child-led nature play appears to be far more effective. Give kids the time and freedom to interact with nature anyway they want as well as looking at outdoor classroom ideas. Give kids space in the outdoors to hide, rest, and just be. Give them the chance, and then allow them to take the initiative in creating this relationship that will be advantageous to them and ultimately our world as well!

Appreciate everything in nature 

Make the most of your outdoor space by keeping it as natural as you can by including plants, grass, dirt and sand as fantastic play materials. If you don’t have access to your own outdoor space, schedule frequent trips to the neighbourhood park. It’s crucial to use the same area each time so that kids become accustomed to it and may use the consistency to improve their physical abilities, such as climbing, running and leaping.