by Kathy Eugster
June 27, 2024
What is Family Nature Play?
There is no formal definition of family nature play, but I like to think of it as any time when children and families are relaxing in, exploring, interacting with, and enjoying any type of natural environment. It is generally accepted now that there are many benefits, both mental and physical, from being in a natural environment on a regular basis. The Canadian Pediatric Society recently recommended children participate regularly in active outdoor free play to encourage healthy development and mitigate risks from indoor sedentary lifestyles.
There is also evidence that when children play in and enjoy nature, it inspires them to love and care for the natural environment, and as they grow into adults, they will develop a love for the outdoors and values that support connection to our living planet and stewardship of the natural world.
What is a natural environment?
This type of outdoor environment would contain these four basic things:
- earth such as soil, dirt, sand, pebbles and small stones, larger rocks and cliffs
- water such as puddles, streams, rivers, lakes, the ocean
- plants such as grasses, mosses, ferns, fungi, flowers, bushes, trees
- animals such as fish, insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals
It would also include different types of weather such as sun, clouds, wind, rain, or snow occurring at different temperatures and in different seasons.
Natural play objects
A distinctive feature of nature play is the emphasis on play with objects that can be found in nature. Natural objects are generally engaging for children. They are also open-ended, meaning they can be used in many different ways depending on how children use their imaginations.
However, we do need to be careful of the natural objects we allow children to play with. Being outdoors in nature can be inherently risky. Please see my article, Risky Play, that goes over the concept of risky vs. harmful objects in a play environment. It is the parent or caregiver’s responsibility to keep the environment safe for children and to supervise their children appropriately for their age and developmental level. Parents also have the responsibility to make sure the natural environment is not harmed by the play activities.
Choose the right place
It is important to choose the right place for certain play activities in nature. Climbing, swinging, digging, building, biking, swimming, and re-arranging or removing natural objects should take place only in areas where it doesn’t matter if the natural environment is disturbed. In many parks and protected areas, these activities are not allowed or are restricted to certain areas in order to preserve the natural habitat. These restrictions, although limiting, are also educational and beneficial and will support and encourage respect for nature and the environment.
That being said, it is important to find areas of “rough ground,” which are areas that children can engage freely with nature and its elements and be able to dig, collect, climb, build, dump water, and play freely. Find your local rough ground spaces, which may be just a backyard space or playground. But please ensure that this area is safe and free from hazardous or toxic substances.
For a rough ground space, an area of dirt or sand for digging is important. Provide water if you can. For outdoor construction play, provide natural objects such as sticks, branches, pieces of wood, leaves, moss, pebbles, rocks, etc. I also believe that nature play does not necessarily need to be restricted to only natural objects, for example, using a sieve, pail, and shovel for digging in sand is very engaging for children, or providing miniature toy animals or people that can get wet and dirty is also very fun for kids.
General rules for nature play
Here are some other general rules for playing outdoors:
- No picking or eating berries, flowers, leaves, plants, or mushrooms unless an adult or parent gives the okay. Many plants and mushrooms are poisonous. Also, many birds and animals rely on berries and plants for their food.
- No feeding, approaching, disturbing, or scaring wildlife including nests or animal homes, even if the animals look hungry or cute! You can take wonderful photos of wildlife without disturbing them.
- Pack out all garbage, even food garbage such as orange or banana peels and food scraps. Human food scraps are unhealthy for animals and they can also attract dangerous animals.
Ideas for Family Nature Play
Seek Plant and Animal ID App
The Seek by iNaturalist app is free and uses the power of image recognition technology to identify plants and animals. By pointing your phone at a living organism and taking a picture using the Seek app, you will learn not only the species and common names, but also lots of interesting information about the plant or animal you found. See how many species you can identify. This is a fantastic app for families and is very child-friendly. There are different challenges for earning various badges, which can be very fun for children.
Merlin Bird ID App
The Merlin bird Identification app from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology is free and lets you identify any singing bird you hear by recording it on your phone. This is such a fun app for families. I find it very hard to actually see the small songbirds, but using this app, I can now identify many songbirds by just listening to their songs. Use this app to create a list of birds you hear in any environment.
Natural Treasure Hunt
Make a list ahead of time of natural objects to search for and find, such as a maple leaf, a robin, a fern, a spider, moss, a black pebble, a broken twig, etc.
For younger children, make the items to find easy and open-ended, such as:
- “Find something green.”
- “Find something rough.”
- “Find a broken twig.”
- “Find a white stone.”
- “Point out a bird.”
For older children, you can make your list more challenging and educational, for example:
- “Find a maple leaf.”
- “Find five other different kinds of leaves.”
- “Find or hear a robin.”
- “Find or hear two other different kinds of birds.”
- “Find a dandelion.”
- “Find two other different yellow flowers.”
- “Find a fern.”
- “Find a spider.”
- “Find three other different kinds of insects.”
Decide on a safe outdoor location to go to. Tell your child you are going on a treasure hunt together and tell them what items you will be searching for. Check off the items on the list as you find them. Or, take a photo of the item with your phone. To make it more interesting, use nature guidebooks or the Seek and Merlin nature identification apps on your phone to confirm your discoveries. You can also use some of the questions from the Mindfulness Walk (see below) to encourage engagement.
To increase your child’s interest, you could offer a small reward for finding a certain number of items on the list.
After you have found the objects on your list, and if it is safe and permitted in the area you are in, you may want to engage in some free, unstructured play. Under your supervision, your child may want to run around and climb on some of the natural objects such as logs and rocks. You may also want to provide some small toys for playing and building if there are no restrictions on digging or moving natural objects around. Please also keep in mind that many parks don’t allow you to take away any natural objects, so in these areas it is best to leave the natural objects in the park.
Geocaching for Families
Geocaching is a fun way for families to enjoy the outdoors and is basically a high-tech treasure hunt. Geocaching uses a phone app to find hidden “caches” in your neighborhood or out on the trails. Caches are containers of all sizes that may be camouflaged to blend into their surroundings. Inside there will be a logbook to sign, with larger caches also containing various trinkets for trade. For more information see this Beginner’s Guide to Geocaching With Kids.
Natural Obstacle Course
Identify some natural items outdoors that your child would be able to safely climb on top of, crawl under, jump over, or balance on, such as stumps, fallen logs, or large rocks. Attach signs with numbers on each obstacle in the order they are meant to be taken. Tell your child you have created an obstacle course and they are to do the obstacles in the order that the numbers show. Tell your child to begin then stay close, watch, encourage, and provide guidance and help if needed to master the obstacle. Remember, this is not a race!
The Canadian Pediatric Society recommends parents use the following phrases to enhance a “teaching moment” during outdoor or risky play where you are helping your child learn how to safely assess risks:
- “Do you feel … stable on that log/safe up that high?”
- “Notice how … these rocks are slippery with moss/ high up you are.”
- “Are you feeling … scared/excited/safe?”
- “What’s your plan … if you jump on that boulder/after you get to the end of the log?”
- “How will you … get down/go up/get across?”
Mindfulness Walk
Take a walk outdoors together with your child. Tell your child that for the next few minutes you want both of you to notice the things around you. As you walk, say one or more of the following:
- “What do you see? Notice the colors. Are they bright or dull? Look very carefully and describe what you see in detail. Look for things that you have never noticed before.”
- “What do you hear? How many different sounds do you hear? What are they? Where are they coming from? Are they loud or quiet? Pleasant or unpleasant?”
- “Feel the air on your skin. Is it cool or warm? Does it feel good or not so good? Do you notice anything else on your skin like sunshine, raindrops, or wind?”
- “What can you smell? When you notice a smell, can you tell where the smell comes from? Are they pleasant or unpleasant smells?”
- “Notice your feet walking on the ground. Notice what it feels like to walk on different surfaces.”
- “Can you combine senses, like feeling the air on your skin and hearing a particular sound at the same time?”
- “Notice how your whole body feels. How are your arms and legs moving? How are you breathing; fast or slow or shallow or deep? Do your muscles feel tense and hard or relaxed and soft?”
There is no need to do all the different senses in one walk! One time you may want to focus on sounds and another time you may want to focus on scents.
Nature Journal
Keep a journal with your child of any outdoor activities you do. Nature journaling is a way to appreciate nature more deeply and mindfully, and to be creative at the same time.
When you and your child are out in nature, use some of the Mindfulness Walk questions (see above) to prompt your observations. Many families like to draw or sketch what they see. Or, you can take photos of your observations with your phone if you like. Binoculars and a small magnifying glass are also great items to take along. Using the Merlin and Seek apps on your phone to identify plants and animals is also a great way to confirm your discoveries.
You can take paper and pencil with you to record and draw your observations as you see them, or you can keep in mind your observations and record things later in the day at home, using your photos or drawings as a reminder of your observations.
Record the date, time, and location. Also, make note of the weather and if possible the temperature. Then, record your observations and any questions that you have about what you saw. Link your photos and drawings to your written entries.
John Muir Laws, a naturalist and educator, suggests keeping three things in mind for nature journaling:
- What do (did) I notice?
- What questions do my observations bring up?
- What does this observation remind me of?
Nature journaling is about being curious and asking questions and then recording your discoveries. Not only are you and your child creating lasting memories of your outdoor adventures, you are also connecting with and learning about nature in a very hands-on way. Keep adding to your nature journal!
What Can You Do Next?
Try out all of the above family nature play ideas and find out which you like best:
- Seek Plant and Animal ID App
- Merlin Bird ID App
- Natural Treasure Hunt
- Geocaching
- Natural Obstacle Course
- Mindfulness Walk
- Nature Journal
You may be interested in my book, Play Skills for Parents: Connecting With Your Child Through Play, which provides parents and caregivers with a framework for understanding children’s play and comprehensive guidelines on engaging and connecting with your child in play.
You may also want to sign up for my newsletter (see below), so you will be the first to know when new Blogs are posted, usually every month.
References
Brussoni, M. et al. (June 2015). What is the relationship between risky outdoor play and health in children? A systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 12(6). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4483710/
Canadian Pediatric Society. (Jan 25, 2024). Healthy childhood development through outdoor risky play: Navigating the balance with injury prevention. https://cps.ca/en/documents/position/outdoor-risky-play
Children Nature Network. https://www.childrenandnature.org/
Earle, V. (2023). Exploring Vancouver Naturehoods. Midtown Press.
Finch, Ken. (May 2016). A Parent’s Guide to Nature Play. Natural Start Alliance. https://naturalstart.org/feature-stories/parent%E2%80%99s-guide-nature-play
Herrington, S., & Brussoni, M. (December 2015). Beyond physical activity: The importance of play and nature-based play spaces for children’s health and development. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26399254/
Louv, Richard. (October 15, 2019). What is Nature-Deficit Disorder? https://richardlouv.com/blog/what-is-nature-deficit-disorder
Outdoor Play Canada. https://www.outdoorplaycanada.ca
Run Wild My Child: Reconnecting Families Through Outdoor Activities and Adventures. https://runwildmychild.com/
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Copyright Kathy Eugster, MA, 2024.
Please feel free to pass on this article to anyone you think might find it useful.
Contact me at: keugster@telus.net