Can You Give Me Ideas On How To Add More Natural Activities To My Daycare?

[permanentvacation]

I am not knowledgeable about natural things. I can't pick a leaf off the ground and tell you what type of tree it came from, I can't name the different trees in my neighbors' yards. Rocks are simply rocks to me. I have wanted to add natural things to my daycare for a while, but when I think of picking up something from outside, lets say a pine cone, and bringing it in, I just think of all of the bugs that are most likely in the pine cone that would then be in my house! And I don't know what to tell the kids other then, "Yep. It's a pine cone." ...and that's the end of my lesson!

So, can anyone give me ideas and suggestions as to how to add nature into my daycare, hopefully without getting bugs into my home, and what to teach them about the items they are looking at. I guess I will be doing a good bit of research online about the nature items I get.

[Unregistered]

Find fun facts. For instance- pine cones release their seeds in a fire, then you could touch on forest fires. Make a bird seed holder with it.
Maybe a bug or 2, you can do it!

[nothingwithoutjoy]

You don't need there to be any lesson in it at all. Natural items are wonderful for their open-endedness, for the sensory experience, and for connection to nature. Just fill a bowl with the pinecones and see what they do with them. They might sort them, arrange them by size, use them as trees with their block buildings, press them into playdough for prints, etc, etc, etc. If someone wants to know more about them, they'll ask, and you can have fun finding the answer together.

If you're really concerned about bugs, you can bake things in the oven on a low temp for a while; it'll kill anything off.

Smooth river stones, driftwood, shells, acorns, chestnuts...so many beautiful materials just waiting for the picking. Have fun with it!

[permanentvacation]

I think I might try to use the natural things outside rather than inside. That way, I don't have to worry about the bugs getting in my house.

I can take some of my indoor items and leave them outside. We can do play dough and blocks outside. Then I don't have to worry about bugs coming inside.

[permanentvacation]

I live on a peninsula. I'm sure I can get some drift wood.

[Ariana]

It's pretty easy and you can do it bug free by buying natural things at a craft store! At my local craft store I bought sea shells, natural bird feathers, pine cones...all sorts of things. I put the shells in my sand play and sensory bins, the kids painted the pinecones as an example of what we do with them. Sometimes I just have them on display for the kids to explore. I also have a small table top water fountain that I allow the kids to play in with their small animals. I don't teach them any lessons I simply answer questions about it should a kid ask me. When we are outside taking walks I simply point out bird song, different types of trees (you dont have to know which trees are which just why they are different or unique) like some have pine needles and some have broad leaves. Also get some books about nature to have mixed in with the other books. I went to my local discount store and got a bunch of books about specific animals.

[permanentvacation]

I've tried to have a classroom pet. But it was just ANOTHER pet for me to take care of. I already have a dog and 3 cats. But for the animals' safety and sanity, I don't allow the daycare kids to interact with them. I tried fish, turtles, a hamster, and hermit crabs for daycare. I don't want another live critter to take care of.

I have tried getting plants for the daycare room. I just killed them! I gave the last 2 that were close to dying to my substitute and her husband did a wonderful job at bringing them back to life!

I have tried to have sand for the kids, but that was the biggest mess I've ever dealt with! They threw sand at each other, the wind blew sand on them, on my dog, just all over the place. I couldn't keep the sand out of my house. It was just a big mess!

[Willow]

I was really inspired by an organization called Nature Explore - http://natureexplore.org/whatisnatureexplore.php

http://community.natureexplore.org/

I had every intention of eventually becoming a certified "classroom." They had LOADS of awesome ideas to incorporate the great outdoors into everyday play, and actually believe it's a pretty imperative part of proper growth and development.



You can look them up on the link, or on fb. You don't have to go to the extremes they do but they certainly offer loads of inspiration to integrate more of the outdoors into your curriculum (like International Mud Day!!!!). You don't have to know anything at all, just learn along side the kids

[permanentvacation]

Ariana,

That's a good bug free idea! I could buy natural things from the stores. I already have a shelf of different kinds of animals and books about animals. I could add store bought things like you are suggesting to add to that shelf.

[permanentvacation]

Willow,

Thanks. I quickly glanced at the link you provided and it looks really neat! I could get a few ideas from them.

[Willow]

It was just a big mess!

That's the best part!!!

And it's pretty much unavoidable when talking about exploring and learning outdoors. It all washes off at the end of the day


If I were you and was feeling a bit overwhelmed about diving in I'd pick one area and explore that alone first. Like bugs, or weather, music in nature, or creating art.

Bugs - identification, what they eat, where they live, where they go when it rains or snows, what eats them etc

Weather - what sort of weather do you have around you, what sort of weather do other parts of the country experience, how does the ground and plants change when it rains or there is drought, what is hail, where does snow go, create "tornado's" in a jar and mud, grow veggies or flowers and explore what happens when one gets no water, one gets some water and one gets too much etc

Music - what can be drummed on with sticks, what can you find to make a wind chime, what do different grounds sound like when stomped on, what does it sound like when you ploop rocks into buckets with varying levels of water, make rain sticks out of tp rolls and rice, or maraca's out of pebbles etc

Art - "color" with only what can be found outside like rocks that are chalky, smush dandilions for yellow, and leaves for green, do "rubbings" by running a crayon over a piece of paper that has a leaf or bark underneath, make flower chains, weave or braid with tall grasses or reeds, paint rocks....pinterest has lots of great ideas on that topic!

[permanentvacation]

Yeah, no. Sand in my house and ground into my carpet is not the best part for me! If I had tile floor, then I wouldn't mind it so much. But it takes forever to get the sand out of carpet.

Since I live on a peninsula and EVERYONE here, other than me of course, is into boating, I am thinking of doing an ocean theme. I don't like boating because I get seasick, but I LOVE ocean animals, the beach (when it's not too hot - I can't take the heat and I get sun poison) but I love the beach during the off seasons. I love looking at the water, not being it it per say ( I don't want to swim with the fish and in their urine and feces!) but the water's pretty to look at.

Anyway, I like the ocean and since I live in an area where most people are all about the water, I think I would like to create a beach scene here. Now, just how to do that without sand!?!?

[Ariana]

Have you ever heard of that stuff "sands alive"? It's a sand you can buy and it is moldable. It is super easy to clean up because it clumps. It is also cool because it makes it easier to mold into sand castles and stuff like that. Look for it at the craft store!

http://www.amazon.com/Play-Visions-Sands-Alive-Small/dp/B00CQ9T38I

[permanentvacation]

Ariana,

Yes, I've seen that kind and a couple of other kinds. They feel awesome! I stood in Toys R Us one day running my fingers through the sand for about 5 minutes! The employee just kept laughing and shaking her head at me. I kept telling her how neat it felt and that I couldn't pull myself away from it.

I'll keep that sand in mind. I don't have extra money right now, but I am trying to get ideas and hopefully in a couple of weeks can add some natural things to my daycare.

I'm going to go to the marina that my ex-husband works at now and see what ideas I can come up with from there. I'm also going to see if there's any driftwood I can take and ask my ex if he has any ideas.

[nothingwithoutjoy]

Don't know if you have room in your yard, but if I were in a boat-y area, I'd look for a small (free! cracked or something) rowboat I could put in the yard. Not nature, but fits in with what else you were saying.