Instead of screens today, why not… make a nature table?
Kids love collecting things, but nature is so diverse that sometimes it can be hard to see the collection waiting to be pulled together. Making vignettes using nature is a great way to train your child’s inner stylist (a talent that Instagram is fast making a necessary life skill!). If your child has an artistic eye, they will be content to put together a lovely display based on pattern, colour or form alone. If your child struggles to unleash their creativity, you can offer them some ideas like:
- Find as many natural items as you can that are brown, green or red
- Add something stripey
- Add something long and thin
- Add something round
- Add something that feels rough
- Add something you find really pretty.
And done! A nature table to photograph and remember forever.
Of course, to add to the fun, the kids could put together a nice vignette using the items they find during a scavenger hunt. This is something I like to encourage in my kids because it helps them develop their aesthetic eye (something that is important to me). Here are a few cool scavenger hunts for them to get collecting:
- Nature treasure hunt for non-readers
- Nature hunt poem for curious kids
- Look, listen, feel hunt
- Nature vs city scavenger hunt
- I spy nature hunt
- Toddler nature scavenger hunt
- Autumn scavenger hunt
- Spring scavenger hunt
- Winter nature walk
- Summer nature hunt
- Nature hunt with clues
- Outdoor scavenger hunt
I also gathered even more scavenger and treasure hunts for my “25 ways for kids to hunt and gather” collection.
Do your kids take pride in ‘styling’ things nicely?
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Bele @ BlahBlah says
Oh, my aunt used to do this with us and I loved it. My fave moment was when the artichoke we had picked, placed and abandoned, then flowered. It was like magic Thank you for the reminder.
Maxabella says
The magic artichoke! I doubt my kids have even seen one up close… which gives me a fab idea for an afternoon trying fruits and foods the kids have never tried before. Thanks Bele! x
Danielle L says
I love this series. We never turn the TV on before 7.30pm but we have even started to have one or two nights a week with no TV at all before the boys go to bed. I love this idea and it’s not one I have thought to do before. I think my boys would love the challenges, I’m looking forward to giving it a try.
Maxabella says
It’ll be an easy thing to do if you’re already screen free right up until practically bed time, Danielle. Good on you guys! Enjoy trying some new things out (and may I recommend playing Fly?) x
Life With The Crew says
We have a nature chair outside our front door (a purple pulled from the curb chair) that is where the little babe arranges all of her nature finds. She is quite picky about how she arranges them.
Maxabella says
This is so unbelievably cute, Katie. I can just see her there, carefully rearranging her special purple ‘table’). x
Holly says
I used to do this with the kids when I taught Forest Schools. I would send them off into the woods to find things that meant something to them to bring back. They would then tell us why they liked what they had chosen. It was so simple, but helped them to develop their schematic knowledge of the world.
Maxabella says
I think it’s a beautiful connection between nature and feelings. Children seem to have a natural affinity for both. x
Nicole@ The Builders Wife says
Love these ideas! Even though my kids are much older now, they still enjoy outdoor activities like make cubby houses in the garden, or spotlight at night. There is nothing wrong with the occasional mud pie either 🙂
Maxabella says
Absolutely nothing! I hope I can keep the kids interested in ‘play’ for as long as possible. Hopefully forever. x