Column: Helping Kids Connect With Nature

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By Darla Steiner

Most of us of a certain age would agree that many of our fondest and treasured childhood memories encompass the unstructured, and often unsupervised, time we spent playing and exploring in the great outdoors. Left to our own devices, we explored our neighborhood’s natural spaces, climbed trees, rode bikes, built forts out of natural materials, played hide-and-seek and other games – often making up the rules as we went along – all the while learning first-hand how to navigate the complexities of peer relationships and social hierarchy, not to mention a wealth of information about our physical environment.

Nowadays, however, childhood play looks starkly different from what it has ever been before, and with the incessant lure of ubiquitous technology, it is ever more challenging for children to have similar outdoor experiences as previous generations have experienced. According to some statistics, the average American spends only 7% of their time outdoors, and children spend an average of 7.5 hours daily on electronics. (Kim P., “Time Spent Outdoors Statistics” Credit Donkey.com, Aug. 2, 2019).

In his influential work, Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv outlines many reasons why children today experience such a lack of time in nature, and how this deprivation of time outdoors has been linked to such maladies as a rise in childhood obesity, attention disorders, depression, anxiety, and sensory integration issues. More and more, we are hearing about how time spent in nature can improve upon health and wellbeing, academic outcomes, and children’s attitudes about stewardship for the natural environment. According to the Children & Nature Network, exposure to the outdoors has been shown to promote healthy eyesight and increased vitamin D levels, which is good for bone development, and the increased activity that comes with playing outside reduces the risk of obesity. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control concur that free play outside is conducive to lasting health throughout one’s life. Further, outdoor play boosts children’s problem-solving skills, helps their focus and attention, and even helps build stronger connections to people and nature itself.

Given the preponderance of evidence in support of how nature is so beneficial to all of us, and especially our children, the staff at our center made the decision in 2016 to commit to focus on helping children connect with nature by installing a Nature Classroom, and by building ample time into our daily schedule for children to spend outdoors. Some of our classes start their day outside, and spend an average of about one hour per day out there both exploring within the Nature Classroom and taking walks on the campus, being cloud spotters, bird watchers, investigating trees and their seasonal changes, and going on scavenger hunts for natural materials to bring indoors to make art with or to check out under a magnifying glass. We encourage going outside in various types of weather, knowing how much there is to learn and enjoy from splashing in a puddle, making mud pies, sliding down a snowy hill, and building a snowman. Our extended day classes often go outside more than once each day. In this way, we support families in helping their children reap the rewards, as well as the inspiration and enjoyment, which Mother Nature has free for the taking.

Despite the myriad of obstacles that often preclude outdoor time, families can take heart in knowing that getting outside does not need to be too complicated or even some elaborate destination. We are extremely fortunate to have generous amounts of parks, playgrounds, beaches, and other green public spaces in our local community where families can take even a quick stop, or stroll. Try gardening, using pots on a windowsill if there is no yard space available. Commit to a ten-minute family walk a few times a week, and discuss, draw, or journal about what you notice on your journeys. On those days when daylight, and time, is short, simply step just outside your door and gaze at the night sky for a few moments, and perhaps track the moon, stars, or constellations. Go on a listening walk, noticing what sounds you hear. Collect rocks, leaves, feathers, pine cones. Don’t let a little rain deter you, and get out an umbrella or put on a raincoat and rain boots and play in the mud. Blow bubbles outside, in varying temperatures, and see what happens. Families can also instill a deep caring for nature by volunteering with local agencies to help clean up litter. Spending time in nature can help families make treasured memories for their children, as well as be one of the greatest investments they can make in their children’s overall and lasting wellbeing.

Darla Steiner, MA Early Childhood Education, is the director of First Church Preschool, a program of the First Congregational Church of Greenwich, located in Old Greenwich, across from Binney Park. She has worked in the Early Childhood Education Profession for more than 20 years.

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