|
Exploring items found in nature will build your child's interest in the world around her and help her to learn many new words to describe what she has collected. Here is a simple Comfort, Play & Teach™ activity that will be lots of fun for little scientists!
You will need:
- A collection of nature items like shells, feathers, acorns, flowers, leaves, rocks, twigs and pine cones. Include small and large items, things that are the same colour, things that represent plants, animals, and the earth
- Containers for sorting (e.g., paper plates or aluminum pie pans)
- Magnifying glass
Instructions:
- Encourage your child to gently touch the nature items and look closely at them using a magnifying glass.
- Describe each item and where it comes from. Is it part of a plant or tree? Does it come from the earth? Was it once part of a bird or animal?
- Provide sorting containers and tell your child that together you will sort the objects as being part of a living creature (e.g., a feather), part of a plant (e.g., a leaf) or from the earth (e.g., a rock).
- Suggest sorting the nature items in other ways, for example by size or by colour.
Enjoy this more with Comfort, Play & Teach™:
|
|
Comfort:Exploring familiar and unusual natural items in the safety of his home will help your child to feel more comfortable when he makes discoveries out in the world.
|
| |
|
|
Play:Touching a variety of nature items, and exploring them closely using a magnifier will enable your child to learn using her senses.
|
| |
|
|
Teach:Looking at nature items can teach your child not only the names of the objects and where they are from but also concepts like number, colour, shape, size and texture.
|
|