We are getting ready to go outside on a walk. I ask my daughter if she would like to bring her nature basket. She replies, simply and plainly, "No." I try my best sales tactics, but nothing changes her mind. We venture out, and I am in the process of brainstorming what on earth I am going to post about today when all of a sudden:
Though my daughter's temperature has gone down significantly today, unfortunately so has the temperature outside. Since we already went through the produce yesterday, I thought the pantry might be a good place to explore today. I have been thinking about making some playdough for my daughter, so I jumped on the opportunity to combine sensory play with spices (nature-made!) into a playdough recipe.
Determined to make the Nature Basket work today, we set out around the house to find what kinds of things we have inside that qualifies as "nature". I've never had much luck with indoor plants, so our search leads us straight to the kitchen- and voila!- we have more than enough material to work with. Opening the produce drawer in the fridge feels like a treasure hunt, as we pull out lemons, brussels sprouts, and a sweet potato. As my daughter takes out an item, I name it. Such a simple thing really, almost unconscious, but as children learn that words have meaning, and that each object has a name, their vocabulary grows and grows acquiring all the wonderful, and often strange, new words.
The "Nature Basket" as I like to call it, or "buggit" as my daughter refers to it has become a very simple, yet elegant, way for us to incorporate a little nature appreciation into our outings together. Every day this week, we will bring the Nature Basket when we go outdoors. I will report back on the types of things that were collected and the experiences that were formed in the process.
