As part of our August Activity Calendar, we welcome our whole community to come together to celebrate and see the world through our children's eyes. Enjoy this collection of sweet, easy ways to give kids (and ourselves) the opportunity to see the beauty all around us, in ways that only young people can!
"Children see magic because they look for it." —Christopher Moore
If you do not yet have your free copy of the August Activity Calendar, download it here.
The Guide
All you may need is a simple prop!
We know kids are superstars at seeing the beauty in all things, but they move so fast, it's hard to help them take it all in! But, sometimes a simple prop is all you need to prompt a child to slow down and look a little closer.
Reframe the world.
Download, print and cut out one of our three "wonder frames." Then, head outside and walk around looking for beautiful pictures in your favorite green space. Enjoy seeing new landscapes, close ups and everything in between!
Make your own frame.
Feeling crafty? Make your own "wonder frame" using cardboard or nature treasures. We love to use a little twine to connect four sticks to create a rustic frame! Just like the paper frames, you can walk around with your homemade frame to capture "portraits" of beauty outside.
Explore close up.
If you have a magnifying glass, let kids explore how to see tiny things up close. There is so much beauty in the tiny details of nature—whole worlds to discover! If you don't have a magnifying glass, don't worry! You can place a loop of string on the ground or on any surface outside. Just giving kids a finite space to focus on helps them look and notice the beauty you can find close up in nature.
Try far away!
You can also use binoculars to help kids spot treasures that are far away. Even if you don't have binoculars, you could use two toilet paper tubes and a little tape to make some pretend binoculars and give kids an equally powerful invitation to look far off for treasure. Just directing kids focus through the tubes gives them a way to see the beauty around them with new eyes.
Tap into the other senses.
If you or your explorer are challenged to use your sense of sight, or if you want to add even more sensory stimulation into this activity, use other senses to experience the beauty and treasures nature provides. If you have sight, you likely rely on it often to sense the world around you. Try adding a blindfold to allow the other senses to tune in a bit more.
Open your noses to smell! Be sure to smell high and low. It's also fun to take sniffs in open spaces and get up close with various plants, different types of ground cover, rocks and other features of your favorite outdoor space.
Feel for beauty. Walk around and feel the amazing range of textures and temperatures in your outdoor space. Which are your favorite treasures when you only use your sense of touch?
Sound it out. Start by laying down and just listening to the symphony of sounds outside. Then, walk around listening for sounds high, low and all around your green space. You can even have fun making your own sounds using the objects around you!
Share!
Tag @tinkergarten and #Tinkergarten when you share whatever you discover. We can't wait to see and experience it, too!
Why is this activity great for kids?
Offering a simple prop to help kids slow down and take in the natural world is a super way to support focus skills while stimulating their senses!
Curiosity means the ability and habit to apply a sense of wonder and a desire to learn more. Curious people try new things, ask questions, search for answers, relish new information, and make connections, all while actively experiencing and making sense of the world. To us, curiosity is a child’s ticket to engaging fully in learning and, ultimately, in life.
Why does it matter?
As a parent, this skill is, perhaps, the easiest to grasp and has the clearest connection to a young children’s learning. We all want my children to wonder, explore and drive their own learning and, better yet, to experience the world fully. Most teachers would agree that the curious children so often seem more attentive, involved and naturally get the most out of time in school. Even the research suggests that being curious is a driver of higher performance throughout one's life, as much if not more than IQ or test scores.
Focus & Self Control
Category:
Thinking Skills
What is Focus and Self Control?
We think of self control as a child’s ability to focus on something in such a way that maximizes learning. In order to do that, they first need to direct their attention and focus on a single thing. They also need to discern which information around them is most important and deserving of their attention. Thirdly, they need something called “inhibition.” Think of inhibition as the ability to control impulses, block out distractions and continue attending to the same thing. Focus, discerning and inhibition all require rather fancy brain work and are thought to be part of the “executive functions” or the set of cognitive processes involving the prefrontal cortex that help us manage ourselves and the environment to achieve a goal.
Why does it matter?
Our world is full of distractions, more today than ever. Kids who are in any learning situation need the ability to control their impulses, block out noise and attend to the person, objects, events, or discussions that are central to learning. As classroom teachers, we saw that kids who did this ruled the classroom. As outdoor educators and parents, we know the same holds true outside of school.
But don’t take our word for it; the research is impressive. It turns out that these executive function skills are closely tied to success in the classroom, higher level education and life beyond school. Experts like Adele Diamond of the University of British Columbia have shown that, “If you look at what predicts how well children will do later in school, more and more evidence is showing that executive functions—working memory and inhibition—actually predict success better than IQ tests.” Although these skills are difficult for young children and don’t crystallize until adulthood, the more kids practice them, the better at them kids become.
Sensory
Category:
Body Skills
What is Sensory Development?
Although some scientists classify as many as 20 senses, when childhood educators talk about "developing the senses," we typically mean developing the five standard senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. In addition to honing these senses, educators care about sensory integration, which is the ability to take in, sort out, process and make use of information gathered from the world around us via the senses.
Why does it matter?
The better kids are able to tune and integrate their senses, the more they can learn. First, if their senses are sharper, the information kids can gather should be of greater quantity and quality, making their understanding of the world more sophisticated. Further, until the lower levels of the brain can efficiently and accurately sort out information gathered through the senses, the higher levels cannot begin to develop thinking and organization skills kids need to succeed. Senses also have a powerful connection to memory. Children (and adults) often retain new learning when the senses are an active part of the learning.
So, if kids have more sensory experiences, they will learn more, retain better and be better able to think at a higher level. Makes the days they get all wet and dirty in the sandbox seem better, doesn't it?
Age: 0 to 8+
Time: Under 1 hour
Materials: various
