Kids love spending time outside with interactive play incorporating the great outdoors!
At The Playful Peacock, all of our toys are designed to keep your child's mind alert and curious, with our mission to respect and protect our precious planet for generations to come. Our passion is to enjoy nature’s prosperity respectfully.
Below we’ve curated some of our favourite ways to incorporate nature into play!
Benefits Of Nature Play
Outdoor play offers copious benefits for children that go far beyond psychological—it’s equally important for children’s development intellectually, emotionally, socially, and physically. Many parent's main goal is just to get their little one’s screen time reduced—but it is also helping with the following:
1. Creativity and Imagination
Kids let their minds run free as they discover ways to be entertained outside. This aids in problem-solving and creativity while stimulating all five of their senses.
2. Responsibility
The outdoor world is fragile, and explaining this to young children helps them understand the importance of their impact. It can excite them about recycling and sustainability while taking affirmative action such as watering plants, or not pulling plants out.
3. An Active Lifestyle
Being outside gets your child moving, through a walk, going on the slide or playing with their friends. Movement is excellent for growing children’s bodies, aids in focus and helps with healthy habit formation.
These are just some of the worthwhile benefits! Ready to head outside?
Suggestions For Nature Play
1. Fairy Mud
Excellent for kids 3+, offer your child independence by having them collect dirt, twigs, leaves, and flower petals—and put them into any container. Then, using their hands, they can mix up their creation, getting their senses involved. Or, try our Potion Play!
2. Balance on Logs
Balancing on logs is exactly what the name implies as a natural alternative for climbing, scrambling, and balancing activities. Logs double as insect habitats to learn from.
3. Construction
To support problem-solving and imagination, encourage children to use logs, branches, and bamboo for building forts, cubbies, clubhouses, hideouts, and dens. You can also use our versatile Natural Building Boards!
4. Grass Maze
Find an area with overgrown, tall grass for children to enjoy its ever-changing paths, play tag, hide and seek and enjoy imaginative play.
5. Bouldering
Boulders and big rocks offer an interesting variety of challenges for climbing, jumping, and balancing.
6. Water Play
Head to a shallow stream with small rocks that can be used to build dams and chutes. This offers engineering play and interactions with different bugs and small fish. Or, simply set up a sprinkler in your backyard for hours of fun!
7. Leaves
Rake a pile, and jump in! Or, use dried leaves for making creative art.
8. Sand Fun
Sand play exercises fine motor skills as children mold, pat, sift, stir, and dig. The imaginative play is endless.
Nature play supports children in learning about the fascinating living systems while building character, reinforcing self-esteem, and learning cooperative and imagination skills. Regardless of where you live, there is always the opportunity for children to interact with the natural world—it just takes a little imagination.
Which activity will you try first?!