It is very important for your children to explore and learn about the natural world around them. Let them see the beauty of nature. Don’t let them be indoors, playing with gadgets instead of traditionally playing outdoor and indoor games. Nature will help children to learn the values of life. If they are trained to love nature, since a child, they will be respectful towards nature as they grow up to being adults. Here are some tips to connect your children with nature.
Plan outdoor activities
The best way to bring your children into the lap of nature is to plan outdoor activities. Let them play out and explore. Spending time out with nature will help them to learn about the wonders of life. Let them be after butterflies and insects and learn of the cycles of life, the ecosystem and plants. Let this practical knowledge be the first step of their lives. Always remember, nature is the biggest classroom.
Kids first
Let children take the lead. Once out with nature, let them enjoy and explore. Be ready to answer them as they will be asking a bunch of questions. You can’t force your knowledge upon kids. That’s not how it should be done. Just stay back and observe. Find out what interests them and try to talk about it. Children will be curious enough to know about what interests them. It could be plants, bugs, birds or animals. Be ready to be a good guide for them.
Make a mess
Once out with kids, be used to the idea of getting dirty. Let your kids play in the mud., hug a tree. Let them stain their clothes. That’s the right way to be with nature. They need to see, listen, smell, touch, and feel the things around them. This will only help them to improve their cognitive and reasoning skills.
Play Outdoor games
Play an outdoor game with your kid. Playing hide and seek or a little hunt will certainly make them fall in love with nature. This will arise curiosity within them to know more about the things that they see in nature. Let them connect with nature through games.
Picnic
Go for picnics with kids. Let them spend quality time out. Take their coloring books and toys also. Let them have the feel of what it is like to be out with nature. Let them choose
nature over their favorite gadgets to play. This will make them more wanting to be out.
Plant a tree
This is a wonderful life lesson for your children. Plant together with your kids. Let them plant and take care of it. Let them maintain and learn how plants grow big. This will teach your kids about empathy, love, and care. Let the child learn compassion. Taking care of plants will help your kid to be a great nature lover. Studies prove that children who have an emotional attachment to nature are less likely to get affected by psychological problems.
Wildlife
Teach children about the wildlife around. How to recognize local plants and trees. Give an idea about how medicinal plants are useful. Teach them about the problems faced by wildlife and their extinction and how to protect nature. Also, make them aware of the endangered animals and teach them how to respect and protect the environment around them.
Create stories
Encourage your kid to write, draw or speak when they take small adventures they take outside. Let them create stories of their nature exploration. Ask them to look at the sky and identify the weather conditions. Let them count the stars.
Nature documentaries and photographs
If you are stuck indoors, provide your children with nature documentaries and photographs. Create interest in them of the wonderful places around. Let them see the beauty of nature through the camera lens. This might develop curiosity among them to know and explore the places around them.
Flowers
A garden at home can do magic. Teach your kids to take care of the flowers and water it every day. The flowers will definitely attract children. Teach them not to pluck flowers instead take care of them.