It’s important for children to learn about nature and the very many ways it affects our day to day lives. After all, we are not separate from nature, as much as we can convince ourselves otherwise. It can be a sad state of affairs when children think that meat comes from the supermarket, for instance, rather than its true source.
Cultivating a love for nature can be a very healthy influence on their development and care. The more you can establish this, the more adapted they’ll be, the more they’ll care for nature across their adult life, and of course, the better childhood memories they have.
But how can we involve our children with nature more, especially if we live in quite a busy suburban environment? After all, we can’t always afford to spend time heading around local hiking trails or farms to get out there together. Thankfully, there are a few techniques you can go for semi-regularly which will make all the difference. In this post, we hope to discuss all of that and more. Without further ado, let’s begin:
Head To The Park
Simply going for a walk in your local park, dog in tow, taking a picnic, playing with the children’s equipment, or visiting the local ponds and public gardens can be a great idea. It normalizes the idea of going out just to have fun and soak in the sun, while also helping your child burn off the energy they might otherwise use. A comforting park can also be a good area for community action, be it that you help to plant trees in a new area or to attend public child-friendly groups.
Join An Extra-Curricular Club
Your child’s school may offer extra-curricular activities worth checking out from week to week. This might involve a gardening club after hours, or during their lunch break. It might be a very basic horticultural club run by a keen teacher. Or, of course, it may involve sports, many of which take place on an open green field and can serve as more time spent outside. Not only does this help them grow, socialize and develop skills, but it helps them get away from the games console.
Get Out In Your Garden
It’s good to get out in the garden and to spend more time there. You can convince your children to do so as well by giving them items to play with, be that a garden trampoline, some climbing equipment or perhaps some sports goods. You may also find that involving them in your curation of a little vegetable patch, or keeping chickens as well as giving them a chicken tractor shelter can make the garden seem lively, vibrant, interesting, and worth paying attention to. This also gives you the justification to head out into the garden more often, and as such, your children will generally follow suit.
With this advice, you’re certain to involve your children with nature, not forcefully, but in a manner that helps you all have a good time.
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