“Let’s take a nature walk.” Does that sound like something that requires too much planning and preparation? Think again. Nature is, after all, all around us. An evening walk in the garden, a visit to your local nature park, a trip down to the beach if you live along the coastline or a trek if you live near the hills are all wonderful activities that your toddler will enjoy. While you take out the time to be one with nature, here are a few activities that will make it all the more fun, engaging and educational for your toddler.
1. Nature Treasure Hunt
This activity might need no explanation! Make the most of a bright day with clear skies to take a nature trip. Beforehand, prepare a fun chart for your child that depicts pictures of a few things commonly found in nature, like pebbles, petals, grass etc. Ask your toddler to identify these things and bring them back to you. You can even carry a small glue stick and paste all of your toddler’s findings next to the pictures.
2. Nature Mosaic
Ask your toddler to collect some interesting objects from your nature walk, like leaves, petals, shells, even sand and stones if they like. On a sheet of paper, draw an outline for them of any shape like a flower, bird, or tree, and ask them to paste these objects inside the shape in any manner they enjoy. Watch the budding artist create a masterpiece that you can treasure forever.
3. Tracing The Textures
Ask your toddler to carry crayons and paper along when you go for a nature walk. Guide them to place the sheet of paper on various surfaces like the bark of a tree, a big rock, the ground at a river bank, a pine cone, or any other interesting surfaces you can identify. This will be a fun art activity for your toddler as they enjoy grasping and using their crayons while observing textures and patterns in nature.
4. Follow The Footprints
Next time you go to a nature park or a beach, watch out for footprints or pawprints on the ground. Explain to your toddler that animals are an important part of nature and we share our Earth with them.
5. Paintbrushes In Nature
Look around, and you will notice that nature is the most beautiful piece of art. Let’s take inspiration from it and some raw material from it to create our own art. Bunch up a few flowers, leaves or strands of grass and tie them together to fashion a homemade paintbrush. Dip the brushes in paint and watch your toddler’s own art come alive on paper in unique strokes and patterns. If your little one isn’t comfortable making strokes with the brush, guide them to use this brush as a colour stamp.
6. Rock Stacking
Ask your child to pick up rocks of different shapes and sizes and bring them together. Next, let them stack them up with the biggest rock at the bottom and the smallest on top. This activity will familiarise your child with various types of rocks in nature and combine it with the fun of segregating, sorting and stacking.
7. Sow A Seed
A wonderful way of making a child appreciate nature is by showing them the miracle of life and growth. And what better way of doing that than by involving them in caring for a plant? Get a small pot for your balcony and involve your toddler in sowing the very first seed of their future plant. Let them water it daily and watch it grow.
We hope you’ve liked the suggestions mentioned above. If you’ve found a new thing that you and your little one do together, don’t forget to share it with us in the comments below!