nature and kids are a marvellous mix

Never underestimate the power that nature has to ignite a child's curiosity, imagination and sense of wonder.

And we aren't just talking vast natural vistas here.

You don't have to travel far.

Head out into your own backyard.

Choose a preschool that offers outdoor play, all day, every day.

Feel the grass beneath your feet.

Lie under a tree and watch the leaves.

Lie on your stomach and watch the ants march by.

Collect sticks and build a house for the fairies.

Listen to the wind.

Dig for worms.

Grow some vegetables in a pot.

Go on a nature hunt around the block.

Head for the park.

Play in a puddle.

Catch the rain on your tongue.

“As a child, one has that magical capacity to move among the many eras of the earth; to see the land as an animal does; to experience the sky from the perspective of a flower or a bee; to feel the earth quiver and breathe beneath us; to know a hundred different smells of mud and listen unselfconsciously to the soughing of the trees.”  

-Valerie Andrews, A Passion for this Earth

Stuck for nature play ideas?  These are some of my favourite places for inspiration:

• Go Explore Nature
• Nature for Kids
• Active Kids' Club
• Nature Rocks
• Greening Sam and Avery
• Outside with Marghanita
• The Grass Stain Guru

Or visit the Let the Children Play kid's nature play Pinterest Board and the Play Outside! data base.