Nature Play that Rocks

Written by Holly Marie BS MA CNA/AC

Enjoying your baby outdoors

Just because your baby is small, doesn’t mean you have to stay inside all day. There are many enjoyable outdoor activities that can be enjoyed with babies! Be sure to practice smart safety as you enjoy your time outside. And both, you and your baby will be invigorated as you breathe in that fresh air and soak in that sunshine.

Breathing the fresh air from the trees will energize you and give you a little extra oomf. Getting some sun will give you the vitamin D your body needs. And your baby needs to see, hear, and smell things from the outdoors to learn about the world outside of his home.

Step outside your door for FREE Stress-RelieF

One of my mom friends once told me, “I am my best self outside. And that is the version of myself I want my kids to be around the most. Calmer, more resilient, more relaxed, more patient.”

I’ve always had a love for the outdoors and walking or running in the shade of our woodlands since I was a little kid. I played outside all the time with just my imagination. I love sharing that with my kids. It’s such a good way to appreciate the world around us and escape the stress/busy life.

Babies that spend time outside are often healthier and sick less often. The fresh air purified and made oxegen rich by the plants or trees and sunshine (Vitamin D) can do wonders for anyone’s health. Spending time outdoors also gives your baby an escape from indoor germs and bacteria. Recirculated air in closed environments and germs on commonly touched indoor items are the main causes of children getting sick. In fresh, outdoor air, babies do not have to rebreathe the germs of others, and the chance for spreading infection, viruses, and illnesses is reduced.

Urban families with infants often view nature as being too far away or for those who need holistic medicine, we should all be viewing it as free therapy.

Have you ever noticed your baby’s mood lift when you take them outside? Sunshine and fresh air have well-documented benefits but being outside is good for your baby for other reasons, too.

Here are some of my family pictures of us enjoying our babies outdoors;

Babies don't slow us down at all. In fact, their joy and excitement from processing all that sensory input that nature offers up freely, only encourages us to enjoy nature more often.

As you visit outdoors and talk to your little one about the wondeful things they can see, smell, touch, hear etc., you will expand their vocabulary using new words and develop their sensory processing in ways that they don't experience indoors.

New sights, sounds, smells, and textures are enjoyable and exciting for your baby. Even if they’re strapped to your chest or reclining in a stroller, they receive all kinds of stimulation outside that they do not get when they’re indoors.

Remember to prepare your baby for new experiences with nature related books, videos and any other media that your child enjoys. Maybe a miniature pond or other small world. Wild waters and wetlands or forest treetops full of flying birds and bugs. Even the dirt and plants interest them when furry creatures or slimy ones scamper and run about.

They are being taken to a new and
exciting place with all sorts of new
things to explore with their senses.
Remember that while in the stroller
laying down they see nothing but the clouds in the sky. So prop them up if you can because they will want to explore by listening, seeing, smelling, touching and ...
tasting all the new things.

The idea that newborn babies should stay inside is simply an old wives’ tale and completely false. Getting fresh air and natural sunlight is good for both you and your baby, no matter how recently she was born. In fact, there is no medical reason not to take her outside the day after you take her home from the hospital, if you both feel up to it.

Enjoying Nature
with Babies

INFANTS

Whenever you can arrange outdoor experiences for your little ones, know that you are helping them experience another dimension of living - far different from indoor spaces. So, give them windows on new worlds - visit a park, zoo, flower garden, or a duck pond, or even stroll to the corner store.

Nurturing With Nature

Seeing and smelling - such pleasing experiences for infants outdoors. In mild weather, be sure to push strollers to places where babies can see, touch, and smell flowering plants. They want to feel the rough bark of a tree, the soft brush of wild grasses or grains of sand and explore the many textures of large stones and rocks. You can guide this sensory journey as you help them to notice their natural surroundings, like the gently swaying leaves in a summery tree.

If possible, consider landscaping your outdoors with a flowering hedge of perfumed jasmine to delight babies' sense of smell. And on a warm summer day, babies who sit well relish the experience of a shallow wading pool, where they can splash in a few inches of water while you cheer on their discovery of wet versus dry. Be sure babies wear hats and have sunscreen on exposed skin.

2 Months

At this age, you can lay your child on a blanket outdoors. If you’re a seasoned parent or daring

(which I wasn’t when my Baby was this age!), try laying him on the bare ground. Put him on his back to stare up at the sky, trees, and birds, or put him on his belly with some nature items in front of him to try to view. Wear your baby in a carrier while you go for a hike or take a walk with your child while he’s nestled in his stroller.

Here’s what two-month-olds will generally do and what caretakers can do to support their development while outdoors:

• Babies start turning head toward sounds. Begins to follow things with eyes and recognize people at a distance. A natural setting is a great place to discover sounds-- it's quiet enough that sounds like bird calls, rustling of leaves, and running water are discernible but not overwhelming. This is also a fun age to play with light: duck in and out of shadows and watch the sun flicker through leaves or bounce off water. Everything is completely new, and watching your child discover these sensations for the first time is a beautiful thing! 

• Begins to act bored (fussy) if activity doesn’t change. Keep moving for a change of scenery. This is the age when my baby started to LOVE being outdoors—there is so much to see, hear, and feel. Let your child feel the slight breeze on his face or the sun on his head, and let this sensation change for your child as you walk through different environments.

• Can hold head up and begins to push up when lying on tummy. Try tummy time outdoors. Place nature items in front of your baby to encourage him to build those muscles. If he’s resistant, like My Baby was, put him on your chest as you lay down on the grass for some parent-child outdoor bonding. 

4 Months

At four months or when your baby is able to hold his head up steadily (between 4-6 months

generally), your child is ready to face outward in your baby carrier, such as the Ergo 360 (our favorite). We tried this for around 5 months, and My Baby LOVED it. It’s a whole new way for them to see the world. This is also when your child can sit with assistance, such as in your lap or in a Bumbo seat. Although it is certainly not recommended by pediatric physical therapists, we used our borrowed Bumbo for short periods of time, including sitting outside in our yard.

Here’s what four-month-olds will generally do and what caretakers can do to support their development while outdoors:

• Copies sounds that are heard. Draw attention to sounds you hear by mimicking them yourself. Name the animal that made them to help your child begin to associate language with concrete items.

• Uses hands and eyes together, such as seeing a toy and reaching for it. Can hold and shake a toy. This is a particularly great time to begin to lay nature items out around your baby for him to manipulate and explore: rocks, pinecones, flowers, grass, bugs, seeds, etc. Be aware that it’s also prime time for oral exploration to begin! Pro tip: if you’re lucky/unlucky enough to have a pacifier user on your hands, pop the paci in your child’s mouth before providing him with items to explore. (That’s my two cents; feel free to let your child put items in his mouth if that’s your parenting style! Judgment-free zone over here!)

• Recognizes familiar people and things at a distance.
  
  Visit the same outdoor environments frequently to build familiarity. Name the items you see and point out some of the same things each time you visit. Point out birds, planes, and critters that make noise, and watch them as they move. Point them out and follow them. When you hear something, stop to investigate what it is. Think aloud: "What was that noise?" or "Why did that tree move?" Then, together search for it. Look for the bird that tweeted or the squirrel that rustled the leaves. This lays the foundation for encouraging curiosity!
  
  

6 Months

This is one of my favorite stages—your baby is becoming more and more fun! His personality is beginning to shine through, and he likes to play. Spending time outdoors together is a great way to bond, which is true at every stage, but it’s becoming even more fun for both of you at this point in your child’s development.

Here’s what six-month-olds will generally do and what caretakers can do to support their development while outdoors:

• Likes to play with others, especially parents. Tummy time with your child on your belly while you lay on the grass, coupled with giving him an “airplane” ride (or pterodactyl ride, be creative!), can be ridiculously fun.

• Responds to sounds by making sounds. Listen for nature sounds and mimic them. You may find your child mimicking them (or you), as well.

• Makes sounds to show joy and displeasure. While walking with your child forward-facing in a carrier, try doing gentle hops or twirls along the way. Spinning, even with your child attached to you in a carrier, develops your child's vestibular system, which is responsible for balance, coordination and skills like head and trunk control and rolling. Your child’s understanding of object permanence is developing, so hide behind a tree and pop out to see your friends or have them do the same to you. Bounce and sing songs. What makes your child squeal with delight? Keep doing that!

• Looks around at things nearby. There is SO much to see outside. My Baby always calmed down outside because she was taking in everything there is to see, feel, and hear!

• Shows curiosity about things and tries to get things that are out of reach. When doing tummy time outside, place items just out of your child’s reach to motivate him to move.

• Begins to sit without support. Break out your bubbles! When your child can sit and likes to reach for things, blowing bubbles begins to be super fun!

9 Months

Around nine months is when your child may begin to show curiosity. In my opinion, curiosity is one of the most exciting things about childhood! Nurturing our children’s natural curiosities is one of the important things we can do for their cognitive development.

Here’s what nine-month-olds will generally do and what caretakers can do to support their development while outdoors:

• Uses fingers to point at things. When your child points at things while on a walk, name the item and follow his finger to get close up and touch the item (if possible). You’ll be teaching your child how to follow his curiosity.

• Watches the path of something as it falls. Leaves, snow, seeds, flower petals, rain: there’s something falling from the sky in every season. Take moments of time to stop and simply watch gravity in action with your child.

• Looks for things he sees you hide. We played some epic hide ‘n’ seek with Dad behind trees while hiking at this stage. While sitting on the grass, you can also hide rocks (avoid rocks that are choking sized!) under leaves or cover items with grass or sand.

• Puts things in mouth. As in everything. If you’re lucky/unlucky enough to still have a pacifier user on your hands, you can use it as a plug to keep your child from exploring nature items with his mouth. On the other hand, if you know something is safe for consumption, your child is eating table food in the home, and you know your child has no allergies, it could be a fun time to have him taste edible plants. Perhaps you’re into foraging or simply have an herb or vegetable garden. Use your discretion!

• Crawls, pulls to stand, sits without support, and stands holding on. Your baby is on the move! Find safe outdoor spaces for your child to practice these skills. Remember that “clean dirt” (soil without chemicals) is healthy and comes off in the bath! This is also a time when your child may begin to play with push toys—why not bring them outside?

1 Year Old

At one year, your child increasingly interacts with the world around him. Hopefully he is stronger now, so you can be outside experiencing the elements in rain, shine, or even snow. If you haven’t yet put your baby on your back while walking about or hiking, try it now. At one year, My Baby loved being on my back while snowshoeing, and she especially loved being pulled in a sled on the snow. This is also the time when your child may begin to be even more mobile; embrace it and let him build his skills on the varying terrain outdoors.

Here’s what one-year olds will generally do and what caretakers can do to support their development while outdoors:

• Explore things in different ways, like shaking, banging, and throwing. While hiking with your child on your back, pass things such as dandelions, cattails, or sticks back to your baby to hold and explore. Stand along the shore together and toss rocks into the water. Show your child how two sticks or two rocks knock together to make a sound.

• Look at the right picture when it’s named. If you’ve been naming what you see outdoors since he was tiny, now he may be able to find an item (such as a flower or bird) when you say the word. Vocalize interesting things you see using the name (such as, “Look at the beautiful flower!” or “Do you see the pretty bird?” without pointing and follow your child’s gaze as he interprets your words.

• Puts things in a container, takes things out of a container. My Baby happily did this for hours on end. Bring a small bucket or bag with you on your outdoor adventure. When you locate a place with rocks or small sticks, show your child how to put them into the bucket. Watch as he then takes them out and puts them back in again. Over. And over. And over again!

• Pokes with index finger. Encourage this! Poking at trees and feeling their different types of bark can be an interesting sensory experience for a one-year-old. Build oral language by naming the textures he feels.

• Pull up to stand. May take a few steps on own. May stand alone. As soon as your child starts to crawl and walk, let him experience different terrain. Walking on grass, sand, or snow outside is much different from the hardwood floors inside. You cannot replicate outdoor terrain indoors, and the outdoor terrain will help your child naturally develop balance, core strength, and spatial awareness. Allowing your child to walk outdoors without shoes is a physical and occupational therapist suggested activity that supports your child's development of balance, sensory processing, and proper muscle development in the feet.
  
  

18 Months

This is when they are able to engage themselves in free outdoor play, she loves to climb, and she’s beginning imaginative play. She wants to walk on her own, but we don’t get too far while hiking because her goals are different from mine. At 18 months, letting your child take the lead outdoors should be priority number one.

Here’s what eighteen-month-olds will generally do and what caretakers can do to support their development while outdoors:

• Likes to hand things to others as play. Let your child explore nature items he comes across. When he hands something to you, such as a stick, thank him, hold it, and hand it back. Engage in play by handing him things you find as well. As always, name the items with which you interact in full sentences to promote language growth.

• Follows 1-step verbal commands without gestures. Practice this when you get ready to go outside by telling your child to get his socks. Then tell him to get his shoes. Then tell him to get his jacket. When you’re outdoors, there’s plenty of opportunity to use 1-step commands during play. “May I have the stick please?” “Walk over here.” “Look at that bird!”

• Play simple pretend experiences, such as feeding a doll. This can be a good time to bring out the mud kitchen! You can fashion one yourself using old wood pallets, visit a nature play area or even a sandbox nearby, or simply bring some bowls and spoons outside for playtime. Finding natural items to put into your concoction is part of the fun. Remember that this is also the age when children follow 1-step demands, so be mindful if you stir up a beautiful dish of sand, crushed leaves, and grass and you say, “This is delicious! Try it!” Your child may actually take a taste! Not that I know from experience…

• Explores alone but with parents close by. I can get so much yard work done now! She happily plays in the sandbox, picks up sticks around the yard, or goes down the slide on her own—as long as I’m nearby. I put a fort out in the yard for her to play in, and she loves bringing things inside, sitting in there for a while, and then coming out for more things. I know someone with a child this age who actually reads a book under a tree while her son plays on his own. Milk it, Mama.

• Says several single words. Engage in conversation every time he says a word that corresponds with what he sees in order to encourage his language. If he points to a bird uses the word, then tell him all about the bird, its colors, and what it is doing. Engage. Encouragement.

•  Walks alone. May walk up steps and run. Let your child take the lead on “hikes”. I put “hikes” in quotation marks because you should set your expectations accordingly. You will not be traveling far with an 18-month-old taking the lead. My Baby likes to go in the opposite direction of my goal. That’s fine. Embrace it. This is also a good time to encourage safe climbing. Climbing stairs, fallen logs, or natural rock formations is a worthy obstacle for an 18 month old.

Adapted and edited by Holly Fales BSMA CNA/AC

Nature Play That Rocks - Growing up Outdoors

It is hard not to notice how children and teens love to play. However, play has changed drastically since our generation. Unlike our childhood, when childhood was full of outdoor play, Moms and dads would tell their children to go outside when we were too unsettled or rambunctious.

“Outdoors” meant free play and those that were lucky enough to have woods in their backyard escaped into the forest as much as they could. And neighborhood parks were often full of children at play: especially on weekends for family picnics.The Finger Lakes area offers many forests and parks full of ways to explore them. We got up early so we could get a spot under a pavilion, if we were planning to explore on land. But being on the water or in the water was the greatest joy for all ages. Children just had more opportunities for fresh air and unstructured play. 

In fact, being outdoors was what we preferred as children. Our parents taking the time to picnic and play games with us was the ultimate pleasure. Even if it was only in our backyard, where our pets often stole our attention and were included in our play.

There is a growing body of research data about the multiple positive impacts of nature play on children’s social, emotional, intellectual, and physical well-being. Richard Louv has done a great job of reviewing these benefits in his best-selling book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder. 

Multiple studies in several countries, over more than 25 years, have found that frequent, unstructured childhood play in natural spaces is the most common influence on the development of life-long conservation values and conservation behaviors.  

Thus, for the desire to build and connect thoughts of joyful interaction in nature or conservation has to be rebirthed in us and
introduced to the children and teenagers of today.
Because frequent nature play is more powerful than
formal education, participation in youth groups, or
even the influence of parents and other mentors.
Nature play is strong stuff!  

So what Is Nature Play?

Nature play is all about atmosphere and piquing their curiosity in the natural world around them.

Cambridge dictionary defines piquing someone's curiosity, interest, etc. as tbeing able to make someone interested in something and want to know more about it:

-The noise of they animals scampering through the trees continued, piquing her curiosity.
-She kept looking at the color or shine in that rock or flower picqued her interest.
-The textures and fall colors of the forest floor and garden always pique her interest to get down and exlore them with all of her senses.

That is what spontaneous nature play is. The trick is to explore and experience it together. It will create joy for all of you. So go outdoors and get a little whimsical and carefree today. Just be their buddy and follow their interests.

Natural play spaces engage senses, soothe stress, touch spirits, and inspire children to move, explore, observe, imagine, create, and understand the great outdoors.

What do you remember about your childhood nature play? Millions of Americans fondly recall playing outdoors in natural settings, doing things like:

• Building tree houses;

• Catching frogs and fireflies;

• Splashing in creeks;

• Daydreaming in a special hiding place; or

• Digging holes “to China.”

• “Mucking” around outdoors

• Decorating mudpies with little bits from nature

These activities are all Nature Play: childhood play in “wild” areas of our planet, whether it’s the vacant lot next door, the local neighborhood park, or the “back forty” of your farm.

It is definitely not the old-fashioned concepts of nature education either.
It is a playful engaging experience in the natural world around them and it can be shared with both family and friends. At its very best, nature play isn’t always scheduled, planned, or led by adults. It is an experience or exploration to be shared and appreciated by all its participants.

Here’s the good news:

Parents don’t have to be always organizing and planning the experience at all the time. You also don’t have to have all the answers to their questions. The purpose is to create wonder and arouse curiosity in the natural world, and to ultimately show them how to care for the area and the wildlife that live there.

Be supportive of their interests, and express interest in looking something up together when you get home if you don't know something.

For many of us, this sort of nature play virtually defined our childhoods. We enjoy watching and taking pictures as
they breathe in the revitalizing
fresh air and soak in nature with all of their
senses.

Creating natural play opportunities can be part of the solution to increasing the amount of time kids spend in the great outdoors for the health of their minds, bodies, and spirits.

A survey by The Nature Conservancy indicated that 50 percent of adults think “kids not spending enough time outdoors in nature is an extremely or very serious problem.” Another 30 percent feel it is a “somewhat serious problem.” The good news is that beneficial outdoor time for your kids is as close as your own backyard, patio or balcony!

This guide shows easy, affordable ways to turn your backyard or other types of neighborhood outdoor spaces into vibrant Nature Play Spaces™ for children so they can reap the physical and mental benefits of playing outside. Best of all, this provide hours of fun for kids so instead of begging for 15 more minutes on the computer they will welcome invitations or prompts to “go outside and play!”

Can You Be Outdoorsy Mom when you have a Baby?

Natural Places and Green Spaces for Nature Play that Rocks

Nancy Striniste

Because it is rare for a 21st century child to have the priveledge to roam free in the out-of-doors as children of past generations could do, we (educators, caregivers, designers, and parents) need to bring nature and natural materials to the places where children are likely to be spending their time: backyards, schoolyards, churchyards, parks, and early childhood settings.

Welcoming Children to Nature

Natural play spaces engage senses, soothe stress, touch spirits, and inspire children to move, explore, observe, imagine, create, and understand. Transforming traditional playgrounds into designed wild spaces for play means adding things like tree parts, stone, sculpted earth, sand, water, and plants, as well as including evidence of the seasons and cycles and the company of wildlife.

A play space can be designed to communicate a message of welcome to children from their very first glimpse into the space. An inviting entry tells children that this is a space for them. Artful gates, child-height arbors and arches, and intriguing views all invite children into the space. Every element can add to the potential for learning and play—including interesting textures underfoot and overhead and a variety of sizes of spaces and degrees of enclosure.

Varied Landscapes for Active Play

In a natural play space children learn to move and learn by moving. The irregular shapes and surfaces of natural elements like tree parts, boulders, and even earth mounds require focused attention and test coordination as children navigate the space by crawling, climbing, jumping, balancing, rolling, scooting, running, and sliding.

When there is variety in the degree of difficulty of different activities in the space it provides opportunities for children to choose or not choose to try things that are challenging and perhaps risky. This builds self-awareness, allows mastery to develop over time, and increases self-confidence. Examples might include balancing logs sized from wide to narrow and set at different heights; boulders and stumps of different heights and diameters to climb onto and jump off of; and natural or constructed hills of different steepnesses to scale and descend. Loose parts that are varied sizes and weights mean some things may be too cumbersome or heavy to move alone and require cooperation and collaboration with friends.

Loose Parts and Sensory Stations

Opportunities for active play can also come through offering objects to interact with. These loose parts can include tree cookies and stones of varied sizes, bales of hay, sticks, shells, and plant parts, along with tools and household items like baskets, wagons, blankets, and crates. Together these materials provide opportunities to push, pull, lift, dig, grasp, carry, drag, throw, and kick and also inspire industrious building, artful creating, and intricate imaginary play.

Sensory materials like sand, water, soil, and mud provide a wide range of play opportunities from inspiring imagination to exercising both large and small muscles. Sand play can be soothing and calming, especially when the sand is dry and silky. Lifting a full bucket builds muscles. When the sand pit is deep and children are provided with real metal shovels, serious digging can happen. I recommend at least 18” of sand with a layer of coarse gravel below for good drainage. Adding a little bit of water to dampen sand for sculpting, or a lot of water to flow through constructed channels allows for creativity, cooperation, and extensive engineering projects.

 Activating Children’s Imagination

Nature inspires imaginary play. Taking on roles in and among natural elements can support play around widely varied themes from exploring what it means to confront danger or to be safe, to follow or to be in charge, to care for others, and to take risks. Shelters within a cluster of shrubs or large grasses, under the branches of a weeping tree, or inside a lean-to built with sticks can be the setting for all sorts of pretending. High spots like a hill or a climbing tree that allow a different view of the space provide the fuel for imagination and give children a different perspective on their world.

Photo credit: Nancy Striniste

If you’ve ever had the experience of returning to a space where you spent time as a child and saw that it shrunk, you understand the importance of scale. A hill or a boulder doesn’t have to be big to feel that way to a child. Having child-sized spaces and materials is empowering to children.

Natural loose parts are the open-ended props that can be anything from a birthday cake to a spaceship. Real-life objects like kitchen implements and toys such as dolls, vehicles, musical instruments, and tools take on different meanings when paired with natural materials. A big pot, some muffin tins, a ladle, and a slotted spoon combined with soil, water, and plant parts become a mud kitchen for whipping up potions and canning some flowers or stone soup and baking goods like decorated mud pies.

All of these props allow children to try on roles, to imagine themselves as grown-ups doing important grown-up things, or as animals or superheroes or fantasy characters. Imaginary play with peers allows children opportunities to practice social interactions and conversations and to develop empathy and skills like negotiation and conflict resolution.

Miniatures such as little figures, vehicles, or animals from the block corner paired with sand, rocks, and plants from nature can inspire elaborate storytelling and complex scenarios. Creating a miniature world and orchestrating what happens there gives a child a sense of power and control that is not usually part of their
lives.

All of these elements can comprise a natural play space. Providing places that allow children to play deeply in nature is essential but it’s not enough. The other key component to meaningful play is time. Children need large blocks of unstructured time to allow themes to unfold, projects to advance, and to just be in the out-of-doors.

5 Ways to make wonder a part of your child’s day

Your child was born full of wonder. Everything seen, tasted, touched, smelled is a first time experience met with exploration.

These experiences lay the foundation of brain development and learning. What gets emphasized as important in the first 5 years of life, actually shapes how the brain functions.

Connecting to nature everyday is a key environment for wonder. Even more than wonder, studies show that time outdoors supports your child in every major developmental way - intellectually, emotionally, spiritually and physically. This is reflected in better creativity and problem solving.

Time in nature has also been shown to reduce ADD symptoms as well as improve social relations, reduce stress, and increase well-being.

And then there’s the wonder. Nature provides the perfect space for seeing the beauty of our world. It encourages creativity, and gratitude for its stunning range of shape, color and texture.

The key to getting all the benefits is to make sure you and your child get frequent and very regular doses.

This is fantastic news for you as a parent, because it is something that you can provide so beautifully each day. You do not need wilderness to get the benefit of nature. A tree and a patch of grass will do perfectly.

Here are 5 easy ways to make wonder a part of your child’s day:

1. Visit local festivals, gardens, zoos, aquariums or animal refuges where other families are enjoying being out in nature… with a camera! 

Sometimes we just need to feel apart of group that loves nature, in order to see how others enjoy nature. Snap a picture of ideas that you or your children seem interested in so you can replicate it in your family outings. I took Hope to the beach one day. She heard the family near us say that all the white kids seem to be having fun. Hope hates racism, but noticed the disappointment on their little girl's face. Hope got up and took it upon herself, to make sure that girl learned how to have some fun on the beach.

She told the parents that on her first trip to Florida she was so concerned about the dirt in the water that she almost missed out on having fun at the beach too. Then offerred to show the little girl a few ways to enjoy the beach. They made drizzle castles and played in the sand and Hope got the whole family to run from the waves as they came in, and asked if they had a camera. She started taking pictures and the family turned into typical beach goers and started posing. Within a few minutes they were enjoying their day at the beach.

Sometimes it takes another person to give you some ideas then you can just roll with it. Your kids will find ways to have fun. Which brings up another thing to use your camera for. Taking pictures of your family or tribe always amps up the fun.    

2. Plan a listening hike or discovery hike

People say that the birds will tell you all sorts of stories about the world. I have got to tell you that I have never understood that quote. However, how many stories can you hear? Turn on the spy skills to see how flowing the sound of all the wildlife will lead you to the wildlife that love to live in the wild if they can become a nature spy. They need to quiet themselves and stay hidden in order not to scare the animals away.

3. Collecting Nature’s treasures

Collecting small pieces of shell, stones, flower parts and leaves are all fair game for creating nature art or to stay and play awhile.

Give children time to enjoy and explore anything that captures their attention. Learn some interesting facts about the native plants and berries that can be useful or enjoyed on your hike. So much can be done with cattails creatively and nutritionally. My great grandma taught me about cattails in the ways that they enriched the lives of the local indians since I have always been interested in the stories in history.

4. Just add water

Water in any outdoor environment makes play so much fun. Containers, or a small hose or sprinkler bring the idea of flow to your child.

5. Watch the sky

Where is the wind coming from? Hope was always mesmerized by seeing the wind. What shapes do you see in the clouds? Looking at the cloud shapes always focused and calmed my boys. Can you find the sun? It has a lot to do with whether the boys could take their shirts off as they explored. The moon? Well it changes the forests quite a bit and the wildlife that come out at night are totally different. As your children grow, night hiking is a great way to explore nature.

Watching the sky is also a great way to keep the sense of being part of something incredibly big and beautiful.

When you realize how simple yet powerful daily outdoor time can be for your child, you will find many 'reasons' to play in that world. And, you yourself will get the benefit of the time spent outdoors.

You see as you create space for your child to be in wonder, you get some of that magic for yourself and feel more rested and less stressed.

I hope you find beautiful places to spend time with your little ones...

Getting into nature with babies

The child is wonderfully prepared for active learning from birth. Children approach the world with all senses open, all motors running – the world is an invitation to experience. Their job is to develop and test all their equipment, make sense of the confusing world of people and things and unseen mysterious forces and relationships, like gravity, number and love. Toddlers are furiously becoming … these restless, mobile characters have a drive to take apart the existing order and rearrange it, by force if necessary, to suit their own whimsically logical view of the universe.” (Jim Greenman, 2007)

With new babies comes the excitement from many parents to join many different types of indoor sensory classes. Many of these can be highly engaging and provide wonderful sensory opportunities to learn. However, we must not forget the richness of ‘just being outside’ and the free sensory benefits this has on a baby’s early development. Every season brings a unique opportunity for babies and infants to get outside and experience the natural elements first hand. From learning to crawl outside they have the opportunity of feeling the change of temperature on their skin, the breeze on their face, the sounds of the birds in the trees to the fluttering of the butterflies. When learning to crawl there is the naturally curiosity that spotting something in nature has to get them moving and wanting to discover more. Then there are the sensory opportunities that come with the different colours of the season; the vibrant reds and oranges of Autumn to the sea of blues and greens in the summer. As adults we can use this time to talk about what we can hear, see and feel with babies and toddlers, which is a key way of supporting language development.

Consider the weather

From a very early age in Scandinavia young children are taken outside to sleep, play and explore, learning how to live and experience the extreme climate here. If they always waited to go outside until the sun was shining then there would be very little opportunity to learn outdoors. Making sure we have the correct clothing and equipment for babies and toddlers is important. That way we don’t spoil the child’s natural curiosity to explore the outdoors.

Simple activities for babies and toddlers

We don’t need to spend hundreds of pounds on fixed climbing equipment for babies and infants. Having balance beams and uneven ground (grass) creates enough challenge for them. The most importance resource when it comes to taking a baby or toddler outside is your quality interactions with them through tuning into what fascinates them, their facial expressions and babbling and offering a commentary about what’s happening when appropriate. Author Ainsley Arment reminds us that, ‘extraordinary lives are formed in the ordinary moments of a relationship-rich childhood.’

• Set up a blanket for young babies to lay on outside and look up at the sky. Talk about what they can see, hear and see and the contrast of the colours.

• On a walk with a baby, hold them in your arms and give them the opportunity to feel and smell the lavender you walk passed or the crunch of the Autumn leaves in the tree.

• Attach mirrors to your fence at baby and toddler height to encourage them to stand up and look at themselves.

• For the crawlers, set up a sensory pathway of grass and carpet tiles and a tunnel to crawl through.

• Invite babies and toddlers to work with balls of different sizes.

• Set up an obstacle course for toddlers to move along with balance beams, hoops to jump into, tunnels to crawl through and something to climb over.

• Have a collection of ride on toys and doll’s pushchairs to practice pushing, pulling and filling up.

• Set up a stage and bring the musical instruments outside, allowing children the opportunity to dance, jump and twirl to the music.

• Set up a tuff tray with water, pots, pans, spoons and sponges and watch how they interact with the natural medium.

• Visit a stream with a baby and listen to the sound of the water flowing over the rocks. Throw a pebble in and watch what happens to it.

Very young children have a very special way of relating to the outdoor world. It is of enormous interest to them… They have an inborn affinity, curiosity and fascination with the natural world: sky, wind, rain and shadows; plants, trees and leaves; sticks, pebbles and rocks; water, puddles and mud; dogs, birds and beetles and people. Children use their whole body and whole self to engage with, explore, dismantle and think about the world – and this is very apparent when young children are in the real, outdoor world. (Jan White, 2009)

Things to consider

• How much time are the babies and infants spending outdoors each day?

• Are there ways you can reduce the amount of time indoors? For example, taking baby sensory outside into nature instead of always attending a class inside?

• Are any routines stopping you from getting outdoors?

• Can you get out and about into nature (or even your local town) and talk to the baby about what they can see, hear and feel?

• Is there a wild nature space that can be created or accessed outdoors where babies can crawl and walk barefoot on the grass?

• 5 Ways to make wonder a part of your child’s day

• Your child was born full of wonder. Everything seen, tasted, touched, smelled is a first time experience met with exploration.

• These experiences lay the foundation of brain development and learning. What gets emphasized as important in the first 5 years of life, actually shapes how the brain functions.

• Connecting to nature everyday is a key environment for wonder. Even more than wonder, studies show that time outdoors supports your child in every major developmental way - intellectually, emotionally, spiritually and physically. This is reflected in better creativity and problem solving.

• Time in nature has also been shown to reduce ADD symptoms as well as improve social relations, reduce stress, and increase well-being.

• And then there’s the wonder. Nature provides the perfect space for seeing the beauty of our world. It encourages creativity, and gratitude for its stunning range of shapes, colors and textures.

• The key to getting all the benefits is to make sure you and your child get frequent and very regular doses.

• This is fantastic news for you as a parent, because it is something that you can provide so beautifully each day. You do not need wilderness to get the benefit of nature. A tree and a patch of grass will do perfectly.

Adapted and edited by Holly Marie BSMA CNA/AC

Exploring & Collecting Natures Treasures

Nature Collection Activities Your Kids Will Love

Spring and Fall are my favorite perfect time of year to encourage your kids to take a break from their devices and soak in the crisp, fresh air.

Need help getting them out the door? We’ve got some simple ideas to get kids excited about abandoning their screens. The best part is, most of these ideas are completely free!

Put on your Hiking hat and go exploring with them

Exploring for natures treasures offers endless room for creativity, and it encourages your little adventurers to get outside more regularly. Nature walks or strolls sharpen their observation skills, encourages curiosity and deepens their connection to nature.

I do recommend that you use your backyard as a training space with printable and age appropriate scavenger hunts that provide an introduction to the native plants and animals in your area.

Make sure that you know the unfriendly, dangerous, posionous critters and foilage so you can teach them.

Here’s just a few ideas:

• Collect treasures that catch their attention in a paper bag

• Use themes, picnics and hunts to keep things interesting while you are hiking and exploring. Personalizing them to your childs interests like frogs, bugs, foraging for certian berries or flowers that are seasonal adds to the fun.

• Use crayons to make leaf rubbings or bark rubbings

• Use play dough to make imprints with natures little bits or tree trunks

• Document first experiences and nature discoveries with a camera or customised and buddy art (animals, weather, plants, etc.)

• Discover more about the "story" as to why you found the specimen in that area. Identify the specimen or critter and explore the areas surrounding areas for similar collectables. Its the story that stimulates
  their curiosity as well as what forms a connection or attachment to the specimen.

• Develop sensory hikes seeking specimens and asking them questions to develop their observation skills;
  What does it feel like?
  What caught your eye or how did you see that?Does it smell?
  How do your think it tastes?
  How does it feel?

• Sketch the native plant life, animals and insects or replicate their color on coloring sheets. Hope always wanted to paint the Indian paint brush in Colorado, even when she was itty bitty.

• Write a story or poem about your outdoor adventure

Rock weaving and other
collection hacks

Rock weaving is a great activity for helping kids develop their motor skills. Take a walk and have them search for a large rock (but not so large that they can’t carry it).

Then, give them some colorful rubber bands to wrap around the rock. From there, they can collect outdoor materials to weave between the rubber bands on the rock. The rock serves as a canvas, and the pieces of nature they collect are the paint.

Plus. I’m sure you’ve heard this phrase multiple times before… “Wow, look how cool this rock is. Can I keep it?”

With this nature collection activity, you can finally make use of all those rocks and sticks your children love to collect.

In fact, some of these activities will focus your child’s attention so they are looking for more specific details in the nature items they find.

At the very least, it will allow them to burn off some energy running around!

Personalized magic wands or Hiking and journey sticks

What kid hasn’t waved a stick around pretending it was a wand? Nature gives them the perfect chance to put their own whimsical touch on it!

Send them off to find the perfect magic wand stick and use nature as a way to personalize it. From flower petals to leaves to blades of grass, there are plenty of creative ways for them to make it their own.

First, take your children on a stick hunt.

This can be an adventure in itself!

Or pull some sticks out of your kids already growing nature collection.

Of course, my boys had to pick up the biggest stick they could find. So they made them into a hiking stick instead.

Rock collections

There are thousands of different rocks out there. Have your kids start a collection of different colors, shapes, and sizes. Rocks are easy to search for, and if you want to do additional activities with them, the sky is the limit.

Some kids love to stack rocks while others want to draw on them. Allow nature to be their canvas and go all out!

This type of nature collection was so not only fun for my kids but was also fun for me. I just was intrigued by how many different rocks got in one small area anywhere on our planet.

We made a family photos of the many ways that we thought of, to find or use sticks and stones!

Let the kids be creative and have some fun here.

They can collect treasures from a boat, on top of high rocks, climbing mountains, or even fishing in the picture.

You could even get your pets to help.

Just a note, you can use tacky glue to place everything onto a plain canvas panel for pebble art.

Or make creative nature frame for your family photos.

Have fun with this twist! Nature frames are both fun and easy for little ones. We sure did!

Nature Collection Rock Dominoes

My girls love to play dominoes!

In fact, we own multiple sets (some with dots, some with pictures and even some with letters and sight words).

One day as we were down at the lake, a thought came to me as my girls were collecting rocks for the millionth time.

Why not make rocks into dominoes?

To make our set, we used colored sharpie markers.

The girls were so excited that they had to help too.

Hence, why some of the domino dots are a little off. However, this turned out to be awesome bonding time for us!

Rock Coloring and Hiding

This last nature collection activity is my kids all time favourite.

They will do multiple times every summer.

To do this activity, have your children color rocks with colored sharpie markers.

They can create anything. The possibilities are endless.

If you have older children, they could also write words of encouragement on their rocks.

Next, go to a local park, trail, or campground.

Have your children hid the rocks in random places for other people to find and treasure.

Like I said, my girls will do this multiple times.

Once their rocks were all hidden this time, they already wanted to collect more to color.

Use those sticks and stones that your child has collected and make some fabulous family projects to secure the memory of all the fun that you had.

Grab a polaroid and go outside

Do you have an instant-print camera on hand? Head outdoors and hand it off to younger kids. Ask them to take pictures of interesting things they see along the way. From trees to rocks and streams, you can build a beautiful collection of outdoor photos from your child’s perspective.

As kids grow older they become tech crazy so hand them a digital camera where they can snap all the photos that they want to. Then you can take it home and create a fun collage or photo memory book from the journey.

Plus there is no way to build kids’ stamina without pushing their limits. They’ll ordinarily get hungry, tired and express the feelings we all feel when we exert ourselves. But learning to feel and manage a little struggle will serve our kids well. The only ones really suffering were us, caught in the chasm between our vision of “family hikes” and the real deal. Right?

Here's one of my favorite photos that the boys snapped of baby Hope camping with us. I would have never thought to snap it and I just love it.

Or another photo when she was playing with sticks during a Sunday picnic.

Let them use their own creativity for photo memory books and projects. Other photo inspirations from other projects:

Enoying Nature

Being in nature is great for us in so many ways but being in the forest is very special. Spending time in the forest has been found to reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and anger, strengthen our immune system and boost overall wellbeing. Wow!!!

There is a higher concentration of oxygen in the forest, according to Japanese medical doctor and researcher Qing Li, compared to an urban setting. Exposure to the plant chemicals, that are part of their defense system, has measurable health benefits for us. Benefits such as a reduction in physiological stress, lowered blood pressure and heart rate. Evergreen forests are particularly beneficial for our health. You sleep better when you spend time in a forest, even when you don’t increase the amount of physical activity you do. It is simply enough to just be in the forest to take in the health benefits. Nothing additional is required!

Remember to prepare your little ones for new experiences with nature related books, videos and any other media that your child enjoys.

Maybe build a miniature pond or other
small world wild waters and wetlands or forest
treetops full of flying birds and bugs and even little furry creatures.

Even the dirt and plants interests them when furry critters run and scamper about or slimmy slithering creatures crawling and hopping around. They They are being taken to a new and
exciting place with all sorts of new
things to explore with their senses.

Walking and Talking

Spending time with your little one outside also provides new opportunities for language development. As you walk around, narrate what you see and try to react to your baby’s sounds and gestures. Known as “serve and return,” this kind of early “conversation” with your baby can have a major impact on their language and cognitive development.

A 2014 study found that toddlers are more likely to try to verbalize experiences they’ve had outdoors: “When an child feels the leaves or notices the airplane in the sky, they are more inclined to verbalize this experience because it will elicit a favorable response by their caregivers.”

If your child looks at a tree, for example, get close and invite them to reach out a hand to touch it, describing what they’re seeing and feeling: “you’re touching the bark of the tree. It feels rough, doesn’t it? The bark helps protect the tree.” If your baby reacts to a sound, try to find the source and name and describe it; if something captures their gaze, try to go investigate.

Better sleep

Exposure to sunlight plays an important role in how our bodies secrete melatonin, often referred to as the “sleep hormone.” A 2004 study in the Journal of Sleep Research found that “babies who slept well at night were exposed to significantly more light in the early afternoon period.” Particularly if you have a fussy little one, time outdoors in the afternoon—leading up to the “witching hour” (late afternoon into evening)—can help regulate their sleep-wake cycle. Exposure to direct sunlight can help establish your baby’s circadian rhythms more quickly than if they’re indoors all day.

Resources
Sleep Study (Journal of Sleep Research)

• Early Brain & Motor Development (Journal of Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance)

• Outdoor Play Environment in Early Childhood for Children (European Journal of Social Sciences Education and Research)

Easy Collections Containers

Nature Basket

Nature Exploration Tray or Shadow Box

Journey Stick

Fall Treasures in Play Dough

Flower Drying Mobile

 Nature Sensory bottles