Encouraging Kids to Appreciate Nature
-Get outside. You don't have to spend the whole day outside. There is plenty to see on just a short hike in the woods, a stroll at the local park, or simply a walk around the neighborhood. There are many lessons about nature to be learned right in your own back yard! (Chamomile, which self seeded from a scraggly couple of plants I had in a planter last year. Despite being stuck between two pieces of concrete, they are now blooming. Lots of lessons to be learned from this.)
-Slow down. When I was processing strawberries the other night, I found a slug on the edge of the bowl. I was in a hurry to get the berries put away before dinner, but I also knew that the little babe would enjoy seeing the slug. So I took the time to take it outside to show her. And then what happened? All by herself, she found a small green caterpillar crawling on the berries. Then when she was finding a home for the caterpillar, she found a small inch worm, which she very happily held in her hands. She had several great learning experiences in less than 10 minutes.
-Be interested (even if you have to fake it). I'm not too keen about bugs. As a child, I was just down right scared of them. I still don't have any interest in touching them, but I try to not show any anxiety or disgust about them and I encourage my daughter to touch them. Children mimic what their parents do, so get interested!
-Encourage further fact finding. We were given a set of field guides as a wedding gift (thanks Nan), but only in the past year have we really used them. They are now kept in an accessible place and we reference them almost daily. The little babe often "reads" them by herself, looking at the different birds that we have identified. (After a lot of research, I am pretty sure this is a Meadow Fritillary.)
-Create a space at home to display nature finds. (Obviously live animals or insects should not be removed from their natural environment). We have a purple painted kitchen chair (saved from the curb) that sits outside our front door and serves as our Nature Chair. When we come home from our walks, the little babe ponders the best place on the chair for her nature finds.
-Find a balance between photographing your outdoor adventures and just embracing the moment. Some moments seem just too precious to NOT capture with your camera, but you also don't want your child to feel that every time they find something exciting, you'll whip out the camera. I've started asking my daughter if I can take a picture of her with a nature find and if she says no, I respect that.
-If you do photograph your nature experiences, display your photos at home in a creative way so children can continue to remember and talk about the experience. We have a picture mobile that holds about a dozen photos and hangs over my daughters's play area. It was my intention to change the photos each season, but we don't normally get prints made, so I'm a little behind on that.
Do you have a family favorite way for experiencing nature?
Shared on Living a Good North Coast Life for Reconnecting With Nature.