Hands-On Nature

Get your hands on nature!

Children (and adults) learn so much just by being able to touch and interact with nature.  Give your child lots of opportunities to explore the world we live in. 

Let them get dirty.  Just a few quick ideas to let your child try.  Pull some weeds and grass.  Pick up rocks to see what is underneath.  Squish mud between fingers and toes.  Collect rocks out of the creek bed.  Crunch up dried leaves.  Play with fallen branches.  Try to find animal tracks.  Crawl around looking for bugs.  Search for different types of plant life.  The list could go on for pages.  Just be open to the things your child would like to try because they will come up with even more ideas then I ever could.

Help them learn about nature by pointing out things that they might miss on there own.  On a recent hike, I saw a large spider web in a tree but my daughter would not have been able to see it from her perspective.  As much as I hate spiders, I picked up my daughter so that she could see and we discussed why a spider might build a web in a tree instead of a different location.  Remember just because you do not like something or find something interesting your child is not you.  I hate getting dirty and being around bugs or spiders but my daughter loves it so I encourage her by providing all the hands-on learning experiences I can.

If your child wants to do something that seems to dangerous to you try and find an alternative that will make you both happy.  My daughter wanted to play in the river water but the area we were in had steep, slick walls.  Even though the water was shallow and slow moving I didn't want her or myself get hurt (or soaked).  So I told her we would look for a better spot.  We found a nice rock area not far away.  We still had to jump a couple rocks to make it to the nice ledge but it was the perfect spot to sit and let her play in the water.

Make experiencing nature a family event.  It is the perfect opportunity to bond while learning and getting exercise.  To find a National Park in your area check out the U.S. National Park Service park finder http://www.nps.gov/findapark/index.htm.  Lakes are a great place to explore and so are open fields.  Even if you live in a big city give your child the opportunity to explore the plant and animal life in your neighborhood.

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