Post Sponsored by Baker Publishing Group
In a world filled with screens and structured schedules, children are losing something vital: Imagination, a source of innovation, resilience, problem-solving, and delight. But what if the great outdoors could be a key to unlocking their imagination? Research shows that nature fuels creativity and curiosity in young minds.
The idea of “nature study” can be a daunting one . . . but it doesn’t have to feel like stepping inside a twenty-pound textbook of facts and diagrams. In fact, you and your kids can dive straight into adventure today with these 4 S’s: Start Now, See the Story, Spark Imagination, and Springboard.
Start Now
Don’t wait for the perfect arsenal of supplies. You can build your nature-exploration toolkit over time: magnifying glasses, binoculars, sketchbook, an open-and-go topical guide to adventure (like A Pocketful of Wonder). But for now? You have the whole world at your fingertips! Simply step outside with your children with the goal of finding something amazing. Whether that’s a pinecone or a lake, an ant or an elephant—big or small, your discovery is the gateway to loads of wonder, so long as you have the right outlook. Which leads us to . . .
See the Story
Concepts presented in the story have strong staying power in young minds. If they read a list of facts and figures, they may glean a general, fleeting impression. But wrap it in a story? It sticks.
How does that translate to nature study? Shakespeare said it best: There are “tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones.” His point isn’t that nature is actually speaking, but rather that if we pay close enough attention, there are worlds upon worlds, stories upon stories to discover.
The happy news is, we don’t have to be experts on everything ahead of time—or even master storytellers! With an intent to see the story, we can simply head out into nature with our kids, whether that’s the backyard, the view from a window, a park, or a favorite patch of beach or woods.
Seeing the story can be as simple as asking a question that invites kids to ponder the context of the item. For example, if your young adventurer discovers a shell, feather, or pebble, you can
- Ask open-ended curiosity questions: “What do you notice about that?”
- Awaken their mind to the story of the thing: “How do you think it got here? What creature do you think that shell belonged to?” (A snail). “Imagine you were as small as a snail . . . what would a patch of grass feel like to you?” (A jungle!)
- Think beyond the now: “What do you think might happen to it next?” (A feather might be picked up and used by a bird to build a nest, for example.)
- Use your imagination: Pick two items (feather and shell, for example) and come up with a story together about how they crossed paths. Were a bird and a snail unlikely friends? Did they swap places for a day?
Follow the line of questions with both science and fun and suddenly you’re growing not just knowledge but also the muscles of empathy and imagination as kids learn to see the story beyond the object and into the full picture.
Spark Imagination
Now for the magic of free play. Kids may benefit from some inviting prompts to begin with if they’re not accustomed to free play—and that’s okay! As time goes by, they’ll need less prompting and their own imaginations will take them far beyond. Try these:
- Provide loose parts that are on site where you are (sticks, leaves, stones) to build pathways, collages, forts, or maps.
- Give kids a scenario. Invite them to imagine that the playground is a ship, a castle, an island, etc., and they have to race against the clock to _____ (insert high-stakes goal: save the boat from the storm, find a pathway through the castle before an invasion comes).
- Issue a challenge. Set a clock, or even better, a sand hourglass (a great visual for kids). Tell them to bring back three amazing things before the time runs out. Once they do, issue a new challenge: Create an invention using all of the items found by everyone present.
By inviting in-depth, imaginative interaction with their surroundings, you’re allowing kids a sense of familiarity and connection, building toward fluency in spotting possibility and wonder. Free play builds problem-solving skills and resilience as kids learn to see potential in challenges.
Springboard
Time to “bring it home.” On the return journey from your adventure, you can amplify the experiences of the day by helping kids process, think on, and further delight in all that’s happened.
- Invite kids to narrate and/or illustrate what happened on the trip, orally or in a nature journal.
- Add found treasures like twigs, leaves, etc. to a wonder garland (a string with clothespins in a shared space).
- Create a running list together of Wonderful Things and add to it after each outing. Use a scroll of paper or a journal, and fun markers or colored pencils. This builds the habit of awe as well as an outlook of gratitude.
Grab a Friendly Field Guide
If you’d like a partner in an adventure that takes out the guesswork and provides ready-to-go activities, energetic classical music pairings, and faith-based thoughts for your encounters in nature, take along a copy of A Pocketful of Wonder. Written by a mom of four, former teacher, and big-time fan of adventure and wonder, it’s divided into fifty topical entries such as wind, rain, clouds, tide, seasons, campfire, ants, migration . . . and even tractors! The author’s hope when writing it was to create a treasure trove of delight, wonder, and connection that could be tucked into a backpack, diaper bag, stroller, or glove box, and used on a whim, with no prep needed.
Wherever your adventures take you, may they bring you wonders upon wonders!
The post Nature as a Storybook: How to Spark Your Child’s Imagination in the Great Outdoors first appeared on Homeschool .com.
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