A breath Of Fresh Air
Diving Into Nature
By: Natasha Dixon
My Childhood: I grew up in a small town near Brockville, Ontario where nature truly is valued. We had a huge backyard with an endless amount of things to do. When diving into the Nature-Based Early Learning Class at Algonquin College I have had the opportunity to reflect back on my childhood and be grateful to have parents who truly valued nature. My sister and I could spend hours in our tree house, riding our bikes, drawing with chalk, jumping on the trampoline or playing with our dolls. We would always use our imagination to think of our own games. We could really keep ourselves entertained for hours while playing outside. My family would often have barbecues in the summer where our extended family would gather for some delicious food, outdoor games and fun. We would always play different types of games while we were outside. We would play games like jenga, croquet, bocce ball, washer toss, badminton, volleyball, basketball. This was our way of enjoying the time outside. The more stuff we found to do outside the longer we stayed outside enjoying nature. There were also many children in our neighbourhood that were around the same age as my sister and I. We would regularly gather at one of our houses and play together for hours. We would go on bike rides, play in the forest, and just find things to do outside. We could make fun out of anything we found. I remember one day we gathered up all the leaves around our property and made a huge pile of leaves. We jumped in it for hours. We then thought to bring the leaves on the trampoline which was also fun. We would jump and hear the leaves crunching and making sounds. We would also use sticks to make “soup” for our parents or collect pretty coloured rocks. Another one of our favourite past times was swimming in our pool or going to the nearby lake. This really taught me how to dive into nature. We would splash around, dive for things at the bottom, and play catch with a ball. I always remember feeling relaxed as we were playing because we were surrounded by the beauty of nature around us. We had no neighbors on one side of the property so we were next to a large open field. We would often see deer, rabbits, and turkeys walking around the field. The back part of the property is a forest so we really were just able to focus on relaxing and enjoying the environment around us. Related Resources https://childmind.org/article/why-kids-need-to-spend-time-in-nature/ There are many benefits to children playing outside which include building confidence, increasing creativity, teaching responsibility, and reducing fatigue (Cohen, 2018). These are some of the many benefits to getting children and adults outside. It is important to always remember the benefits and always make a point of diving into nature whenever you can. https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-20310/5-really-good-reasons-why-kids-need-time-in-nature.html According to Hunwicks (2018), people who spend time in nature are more likely to spend time outside as they grow up. I believe this is an extremely relevant and true statement. I grew up adoring the outdoors and I have continued to spend time outside whenever I can. All about the Pictures: The first picture is a picture of my family and I at one of our family events. We thought the weather was beautiful for a fall day so we decided to take some pictures. In the picture is my mom, dad, cousins, sister, nana , aunt and uncle. This was taken after we spent most of the day outside talking, and playing games. The next picture is a picture of me playing Jenga at our family barbecue this part summer. It is a wonderful way to bring family together while spending time outside. The third picture is from many years ago where my sister, my parents and I spent hours building the biggest snowman we have ever built. It was chilly day but we put our winter gear on and headed outside for a fun afternoon.
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I have been a registered Early Childhood Educator for over two years and have been implementing nature based learning with the children I work with since then. I have always seen the value of nature based learning but have been expanding my knowledge and finding new, creative ideas to engage the children. I have worked at two different child care agencies and would like to share my experience with you in order to compare different philosophies of these centers and how they implement nature based learning. At one of the child care centers I worked at they really emphasized outdoor play and spent all the time they could outside. The children and educators would all go outside around eight in the morning and would come back inside at 11:30 for lunch. After lunch the children would nap inside, have snack and then head right back outside for the rest of the day. You could tell the children really enjoyed getting outside spending most of their time playing in the sandbox, on the play structure, doing art, nature scavenger hunts and walks. The parents would regularly bring their children dressed in weather appropriate clothing ready for the day. On cold days they would bring hats, mittens, splash pants and other clothing to keep the children warm. The children would spend their time playing in the snow building snow forts, pulling toboggans, making snow angels and running around. They were easily able to entertain themselves outside with some guidance and preparation from the educators. On warmer days during the summer we would regularly have water days where the children would change into their bathing suits and we would turn the sprinkler on for hours of fun. The children were curious about the puddles that would be on the ground after using the sprinkler. The children at this center were used to being outside so they adapted and had fun in a variety of weather conditions. Another center I worked at would go outside for at least two hours each day. It is a preschool so there was an emphasis on typical academic aspects of learning through play. This includes learning about numbers, colours, counting, problem solving, and French. The educators would foster learning in all domains including social, emotional, physical, language and cognitive. The educators and parents are continuing to learn about the importance of nature based learning and how it can be implemented into the programs. Some of the educators had the opportunity to attend a workshop to learning about this topic and were inspired after the workshop. They began to brainstorm ideas of what they could to enhance the learning in the outdoor environment. They decided to bring tree stumps or various sizes for the children to explore as well as more loose parts. This includes pots and pans, and sticks. They have brought magnifying glasses into the environment as well to get a closer look at the environment around them. They are also going on more nature walks where the children are able to explore the environment on their own. This is a work in progress but the educators are determined to make a change. It is fascinating to see the difference in the two centers. One center aims to spend as much time as possible outside and could benefit from expanding the opportunities. The other center is begin to adapt their program to better support nature based learning and is committed to learning. As educators it is essential to continue learning and understanding strategies to enhance opportunities of learning for the children.
Related Resources: These resources are about implementing nature based learning with children including water play, nature walks and loose parts. Click these links to expand your knowledge on these topics. www.kidsclubchildcare.com.au/5-benefits-of-water-play-in-early-childhood-development/ www.inspiredmichigan.com/features/3.15featuregrowingthechildren.aspx www.redleafpress.org/loose-parts.aspx?gclid=CjwKCAjwvNXeBRAjEiwAjqYhFjP4fyqS9q0_ydEOowDwElV-btsXFngqkt-rB5YMNbOKycWPME8eqRoCtc0QAvD_BwE Images Retrieved from: https://www.todaysparent.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/how-to-get-your-toddler-to-wear-winter-clothes660x660.jpg http://kidtokid.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Sprinkler.jpg https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-images-girl-pulling-boy-children-kids-toboggan-sled-snow-two-winter-image3940916 naturalstart.org/feature-stories/engaging-children-stem-education-early saintvictorspreschool.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/img_6337-2.jpeg happyhooligans.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/IMG_6464.jpg I am eager to begin my blogging journey dedicated to nature based learning. I believe nature is everywhere you just have to look around. I am passionate about getting out in nature, exploring, and learning from real life experiences. I believe there is so much you can learn using your five senses to explore. I am curious to learn more about how children learn through nature and the benefits of nature based learning. As educators and adults it is essential for us to remember that learning is a continuous journey that never really ends. We learn so much in our day to day lives through experiences, personal and professional development. If you are eager and willing the possibilities are endless. As part of the learning process it is essential to curate resources which will be part of my blogging goals. I look forward to making connections to my past experiences and understanding skills I have learned through these experiences. I am interested in expanding my current learning tools by finding different ways to access information and expand my knowledge using various resources. I can not wait to dive into nature and continue on my learning journey. Thank you for joining this adventure with me! Imagine retrieved from: www.brainyquote.com/quotes/albert_einstein_106912?src=t_nature The images below are all pictures I have personally taken while admiring nature. |
Natasha DixonThis blog is dedicated to diving into nature in every way, shape and form. I want to truly enjoy my time in Nature and further explore different aspects of nature. |