Create a sensory treasure tray for younger children to begin exploring their senses while developing their motor skills.Create an indoor rock world for various animals and their habitats out of natural materials.Toddlers and preschoolers love to combine nature with art and craft: There are many ways you can use natural materials in art and craft and other learning activities. At Petit Early Learning Journey, children wash their hands regularly after indoor and outdoor activities. You can always collect more natural materials during your next natural-play experience.Ĭhildren should also regularly wash their hands after collecting and playing with natural materials.
If it doesn’t pass your safety test, then put it back. Regular health and safety inspections of natural materials should check for broken pieces, dirtiness, and visible wear and tear. Can the item be cleaned and disinfected?.How old is the child/are the children who will be using it?.When assessing the health and safety of natural materials, ask: Always carefully select the pieces you take home. When collecting natural materials for use in your child’s sensory play, make sure you choose parts that are not too small to become choking hazards. Using natural resources for kids, safely and responsibly You may also discover:īeaches are a great outdoor space for collecting natural materials. (If clean you could turn this into mud.)īe mindful of picking up things from the ground if you have a cat or other pets that share the environment with your family.Ī walk in the park or a nature reserve may also uncover similar items such as rocks and leaves to those in your back yard, but they may have different textures, colours, shapes and smells. (You can cut these down to smaller sizes.)ġ0. Dirt or clay. Natural materials that children can discover in your backyard:ĭepending on your outdoor environment, you may also find:ĩ. Branches or logs. While it’s important to allow your child to take some risks, there are many benefits to outdoor play. It’s an excellent opportunity to show children what they can touch and what they should avoid and why. Lead the way when collecting natural materials outdoors. Combine natural materials with open-ended resources and recycled materials for art and craft activities. You can bring natural materials indoors to play, although you may want to keep some of the elements in a bucket or tub for sensory and messy play. 20 natural materials to add to your child’s sensory play You can easily find many of the natural materials that we’ve listed below in natural settings waiting for you and your child to explore. By exploring the materials, children become innovators, designers, explorers, artists and collaborators as they build, sort, design, manipulate, arrange and stack in a variety of different ways. While playing with natural materials, children are engaged in decision making and problem-solving opportunities. The discovery of things in nature creates awe and wonder for young children where they can explore and collect natural materials.Įxposure to nature helps children regulate their behaviours and gives them opportunities to take risks, discover and explore new things, solve problems, unleash their creative sides and develop a sense of wonder. 20 Natural materials for indoor and outdoor activities.Īssociated with natural materials are natural-play environments which encourage children to explore bushland and connect with nature.Finding natural materials through natural play.Benefits of natural and open-ended materials.They can also be discovered in natural settings and encourage outdoor play and discovery. Natural materials are open-ended materials as they can be used by themselves or with other things. Natural resources encourage children to observe more closely and use all their senses. Natural materials are loose parts that can be combined, moved, lined up, taken apart and put back together again. The different textures, smells, sizes, colours, and sounds attributed to natural materials, make them ideal for sensory play. Natural materials are easily accessible and encourage children to learn about nature. Loose things such as twigs, leaves, shells and sand benefit a child’s early years experiences by stimulating their creativity and imagination. Natural materials should be an integral element of a child’s play.
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