There’s something simply irresistible about the outdoors, to all human beings young and old. Perhaps it’s that whiff of fresh air that the doctor ordered. Maybe it’s a mere gaze at the verdant landscape that lifts our spirits like nothing else can. For toddlers, stepping into the outdoors is like unlocking the doors to a new dimension. One in which they can play with gay abandon and let their minds run as free as their legs.
If simply being outdoors, then, is so amazing, imagine the joy little ones might have when they get to indulge in activities especially curated for the confines of nature!
Looking for the best possible nature activities for preschoolers that will get them up and about? Here’s a look at the very best of them.
Scavenger Hunt
You don’t need to find yourself in the woods, to participate in this most wonderful activity. Simply explore your backyard or even your local park, with your little one.
Tip: You might wish to hunt for things in specific, like ‘things that are green’.
Sensory play with frozen flowers
Is summer beckoning? One of the ‘coolest’ nature activities for 2-year-olds, quite literally speaking, is freezing flowers into large chunks of ice. The next day, let your toddler gaze in amazement as you let these blocks melt in a tub
Tip: Let your 2-year-old-play with these blocks as they melt, for an enriching sensory experience.
Building a Bean Tent
One of the more proactive outdoor activities for 2 year olds, this one. All you have to do is build a cone-shaped tent in your backyard, and plant green beans at the base. Gradually, your toddler will witness those green beans grow, and fill the tent.
Tip: Use poles and wires to create that tent, with good effect.
Animal Tracks
Take your little one out in nature, and have them discover with a great sense of relish, tracks made by different animals like cats, dogs and horses, too.
Tip: You want to go beyond your backyard and local park, for this delightful activity.
Catching Bugs
We’ve all wanted to catch butterflies as little kids, remember? One of the best nature activities for 2-year-olds, this one only needs a net that you can buy from your local store. Watch your little one go wild collecting bugs and perhaps even a butterfly or two, from the outdoors.
Note: Make sure your little one releases the insects they have captured, with immediate effect. They have to learn empathy towards all living beings, including the littlest ones.
Gardening Fun
Who wants to be a gardener? All children will put their hands up for this one, especially when it encompasses digging a hole in the backyard!
Tip: Let your little one plant those flower and vegetable seeds, too, to give them an even greater appreciation of gardening and nature in general.
Garden Yoga
Yoga for kids is a fine nature activity for kindergarten, and what better place to do it than in the confines of your own garden?
Tip: Make yoga even more fun for toddlers, by having them pose in shapes that mimic things that they know well. For instance, a frog or perhaps even a flower.
Getting Muddy
Nature activities for preschoolers are a whole lot more fun when they involve creating a mess. When they are in the garden playing, encourage them to make shapes out of the mud or simply have fun playing with it.
Tip: Remember that hole we talked about when gardening? Let them fill it with water and create a muddy mess!
Rock Balancing
One of the more creative outdoor activities for 2 year olds, this one will help increase their focus and concentration. What they have to do here is stack rocks that they find in the garden or park, to create a pile that goes on for as long as those rocks can balance.
Tip: Use rocks of different shapes and sizes to help strongly instill the concepts of size, balance and shape in kids’ minds.
Looking Up
One of the simplest nature activities for kindergarten, but clearly one of the most effective. You will find several things you can point out to your children, like clouds that might resemble the shapes of things you see every day.
Tip: Do this at night, too. Use this simple activity effectively, to teach your kids about the Sun, Moon and Stars.
Playdough Nature Prints
All kids love playdough, and this activity takes that ‘clay madness’ to the next level. Take some flowers and leaves from the garden and press them into that playdough, before removing them and seeing the really cool ‘impressions’ they leave behind.
Note: You can even use twigs for this one – anything connected with nature!
Painting Sticks
Those sticks that are lying all around in nature’s path? The perfect ingredients, really, for a fun exercise for your toddler. Have them paint them in colours of their choice, and see the fun they have.
Tip: Make it more fun. Tell them they are creating ‘magic wands’ by painting those sticks.
Nature Collage
Creating a collage is always great fun for kids. Even more so, when they create one on thick paper using flowers and leaves scoured from the outdoors.
Note: You can use even ‘dried’ flowers and leaves, aside from the fresh kind.
Creating a ‘Nature Space’
Kids should have a designated space in their home where they can showcase things collected from nature that are especially precious to them. Like pinecones or a butterfly wing they might have found on the ground.
Tip: A space on the bookshelf might make for the perfect spot for this one.
& At EuroKids we encourage the exploration of the outdoors, knowing how important it is to the holistic development of young minds. Needless to say, we curate several events outdoors especially for your little ones. Activities that truly make them see the world in a unique light.
