written by Giada Combusti
Nature is good for us, no doubt about that.
However, it looks like, our modern lifestyle doesn’t consider it something to prioritise. Many studies like this one https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-44097-3 show that is kind of essential to our well-being to spend time in a natural environment, it says that Spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing.
I try to spend as many hours as possible each day in nature with the kids.
I see only improvement whenever I and my family is outdoors.
Here are 9 activities to do with kids when in nature
1. WALK.
As soon as my kids started to walk properly ( without falling down ) I got rid of the pram, a family member did so and I follow her advice and highly recommend you do it too.
Our kids ( 5.5 and 3.5 years old ) are now great walker, they can walk for HOURS and their balance is spectacular, my 3,5 years old boy run freely and fearless down bumpy, stony and slippery grounds and is fascinating to me how only a year ago he had to hold on tight to my hand to walk down these paths. Now he’s as brave and confident as I could ever imagine he could be, he’s been a lazy boy in the beginning as he started to walk at 18 months! But because we constantly pushed his limits now he can walk for kilometres without complaining ! ! No matter how difficult the path is !!
Walking is one of our favourite activities and most of the days we are out to walk and this not only keeps our body fit and healthy, but it also teaches us to be patient, to be present, to be mindful and whenever we reach our destination (especially when we go for longer walks ) we feel a sense of completeness, satisfaction and joy. Such a simple activity brings so much to our lives.
If I had to choose one of our outdoor activities, this is would be the one.
One way to make it even more fun is to explore the natural area around your home, you will be surprised how a new route /path can be exciting and full of new discoveries!
2. COLLECT LEAVES, FLOWERS AND MUCH MORE
Each season gives us a lot, it is simply amazing to witness the changes that nature goes through each year, especially in these parts of the world where we can experience four seasons. From a silent, naked and still winter to a lively, colourful, rich summer, I feel so blessed to see all this! And so should you.
I like to keep things simple and with the kids when we go for short walks we bring our wooden baskets and we collect things, it is like treasure hunting, a very meditative activity. We love it.
From flowers ( there is always a type of flower in every season ) that we use to the embellishment of our home, to yellow, red and brown leaves in autumn for our artworks, but also for food, that’s right, food!
Nature has a lot to offer and unfortunately, we are losing all our knowledge about this, but, also thanks to my husband we are getting more confident in eating things straight from the wildness.
Here in Tuscany, where we have spent the last 1,5 years, we do not only collect fruits such as cherries, apricot, figs, Indian figs, blackberries, olives, oranges etc we are a great fan of mushrooms, salads and my absolutely favourite wild asparagus which are thinner than the one you buy from the shop but much tastier!
I can’t stress enough how much the kids love this activity, they are fully immersed and super enthusiastic when we are out and about searching for things.
I would like to suggest parents, to learn about the eatable plants in your area and go for food foraging, it is so much fun! There is so much information about it out there we can’t miss this opportunity to relearn our human history habits.
3. SIT DOWN AND DRAW / PAINT
We found a very cute corner not far from our home where we can sit down ( on the ground ) and chill while enjoying the sun, especially in winter. I love drawing, and in my backpack, I always bring my sketchbook and watercolour and as we all know kids copy what we do and they started to do drawing outdoors with me and I swear I never saw my d.s so concentrate on another activity than this. We do artwork at home, and it does wonders to us, but when we are in nature, I see a deeper connection to it. It is definitely worth giving it a try!
4. PIC NIC
Over the years we tested different ‘’ menus ‘’ from packed sandwiches to takeaways pizza, raw vegetables, cooked pasta or even rice! The sky is the limit LOL when it comes to food, no matter where we are!
However, the thing we enjoy the most is hotdog sandwiches, the only reason why is we light a small fire to cook our sausages! Once again simplicity is what we enjoy the most and yes there are many lovely restaurants and cafes where we sometimes enjoy ourselves but we far more enjoy our picnics. Even your back garden can be the perfect place to have a picnic. I think this is the absolute favourite thing we do for the kids and highly recommend you to try it out!
5. STORY TIME
Every single day, unless I am unwell I read at least one story to the kids, not only bedtime stories but throughout the day and this is something that you can definitely do when you are outside in nature. There is always a good excuse to establish good habits in our children and I think reading in nature is one of these.
6. CLIMBING TREES / HILLS / ROCKS
As this article https://ilslearningcorner.com/2016-05-why-balance-how-does-it-facilitate-attention-focus-and-higher-learning/ says :
Why is Balance so Important for Learning
Physical inactivity in children may not only lead to known physical risks such as obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes, it can create poor motor skills, which also causes underdeveloped vestibular systems.
I took this in my heart and from the very beginning whenever possible I helped my children’s balance straighten. Despite the fact that I am sometimes scared of them falling down, with the appropriate precaution, I and most of the time my husband teach them to climb trees and hills and walk on rocks near the sea.
I want them to be brave and confident in life and I think these types of exercises help them to flourish in the best version of themselves.
7. LISTEN TO NATURE
What about sitting down and listening to nature? The quieter the better. Just the other day we were laying down in our little corner and we played the silent game for a minute and guess what? we saw a beautiful green woodpecker flying over us. The more we witness this kind of thing the more I see them willing to be quiet because the results can be very rewarding!
8. BECOME AN OBSERVER
Not long ago my d.s ( age 3,5 years ) spotted for the first time an eagle, I was very happy to see his excitement when he saw it first. By only observing nature we can learn a lot not only can help us to be more grateful but also make us more caring about our surroundings. I am nowhere an expert in nature, yes I can name some trees, fruits, and birds and I know the wildlife of our area but expertise is something I’m definitely lacking however the excitement of learning and discovering is something that is vibrant in my heart and our kids too they are becoming good observer and constantly ask questions and make their own conclusions about things they see in nature, I found this fascinating.
9. MUD KITCHEN
Only God knows how many hours our kids play in their mud kitchen; this is a must for those who have a bit of space outside their homes. This is obviously nothing fancy we have a wooden pallet on top of some bricks and some old kitchen utensils such as pots, pans, spoons etc with these I saw them make delicious meals such as green grass spaghetti, mud cookies and yummy soups LOL. I can hear them talking and talking and moving things around. Very engaging and creative activity indeed.
10. KEEP A NATURE JOURNAL
We have a notebook where we stick in it the things we find in nature like flowers, porcupine needles, snake’s skin etc I’m sure this notebook will be a fun thing to go through together when they will be older.
Over the years we tried different activities some worked better than others and we always try to find a new way to enjoy and understand more our planet. This is my list of our favourite ones, I really hope someone will find this inspiring!
With Love
Giada