Authored/edited by Joan E. LeFebvre, Family Living Agent, serving Vilas, Forest, and Florence Counties, University of Wisconsin-Extension

News release for this month's Parenting the Preschooler is:

Explore Nature with Your Child

When you were a young child, do you remember having some special experiences outdoors?  It might have been finding a tiny tree toad, examining snowflakes on your mitten, wondering about a rainbow, discovering a fragrant, sticky, perfect pine cone, gathering colorful fall leaves and pressing them in a book, or looking for four-leaf clovers.

“Is your preschooler having moments of wonder in nature?” asks Sue Nagelkerk, UW-Extension Sauk County Family Living Educator.

In “Last Child in the Woods,” author Richard Louv used the term nature deficit disorder to describe the human cost of alienation from nature.  According to Louv, children’s outdoor activities are often organized sports, “lacking spontaneity and positive connection to the natural world.” 

Louv brought national media attention to concerns long voiced by environmental educators, conservationists, and other veteran child advocates.  Raising children with less time in nature, he believes, threatens their independent judgment, value of place, ability to feel awe and wonder, sense of stewardship for the earth, and more immediately, their psychological and physical health.  Studies at the University of Illinois show that time in natural settings significantly reduces symptoms of attention-deficit disorder in children as young as age five.  The research also demonstrated a reduction in negative stress.

Nagelkerk suggests parents adopt the naturalist role in their family by including time everyday for unstructured play outside.  Joseph Cornell, author of “Sharing Nature with Children” and founder of the Sharing Nature Foundation (www.sharingnature.com) suggests finding a place that’s exciting, where there are things to see – an autumn forest or a pond filled with aquatic insects.

A naturalist, says Nagelkerk, has a serious respect for living things and their habitats.  They observe and ask questions.  “Maintain a positive attitude,” suggests Nagelkerk. “Resist the temptation to squash a bug or show your fear, as your child will follow your lead.”

Nagelkerk suggests some easy-to-do activities.

--Take your little explorer on a short stroll with a theme. For example listen for different sounds.  Watch the weather.  Be on the lookout for animals.  “Don’t worry about being an expert,” says Nagelkerk.  “Be a fellow explorer and find answers together.”

--Go on a color hunt:  Bring along paint chips from a hardware store.  Let your child find the same color in nature.  If possible, collect objects in nature that match the paint chips.  You can use magnifying glasses to later examine the objects.

--Listen for bird songs.  How many different kinds can you hear?  What do you think the birds are saying to each other?

“Children who spend time in nature reap health and educational benefits, but most of all, they find the simple joy of playing outside,” says Nagelkerk.

For more information, contact Joan E. LeFebvre, University Extension Family Living Agent serving Vilas, Forest, and Florence Counties, Courthouse, Eagle River, WI 54521, (715-479-3653), e-mail joan.lefebvre@ces.uwex.edu or go to http://parenting.uwex.edu/parenting-the-preschooler/.