Early Childhood Nature Games

I am trying to write down some of the games that the boys have played in these past years with other friends and teachers because this time is so fleeting and I don't want to forget the wonderful learnings both the boys and I have experienced.  Also, as an educator I want to be able to remember them and adapt them.   I have been very inspired by the teachers at the Arboretum.  They do a wonderful job of creating simple games that connect to the themes the children are studying.  The teachers are great mentors in less is more during early childhood.  Many of there games are based on the "run and find" theme.   For example, last week we were studying colors in nature.  The teacher had the children each take a paint chip (color) square and find that color.  Then, they came back to her and got a new color.  All the children had a wonderful time playing this game & parents were involved by their child showing their glee.  This game can have many versions: it can simply be run and find something with a specific attribute such as wet with dew, soft and fuzzy,  rough.

Another delightfully simple game that the boys have played include make a bird nest out of grass and twigs, hide it, then come and get food from the teacher.   If the kids want they can choose to be a specific type of bird.  One of my boys was a chickadee and the other a crow when we last played this.  They ran back and forth, back and forth to and from the teacher many times trying to get "food" for their baby birds.    I am thinking we may play this game today at big kid Monday!

My favorite days are when they close roads to cars and the pedestrians take over.  In Seattle they have a Summer Streets Day in each neighborhood when this happens.  it is glorious to revel in the  open space and the quiet.  So much of our lives are filled with noise that to have it silenced is a remarkable and peaceful event.

On Saturday our family rented canoes at the UW Waterfront.  It just happened to be on a day that the 520 bridge was closed; meaning that trip to and from and around Foster Island on Lake Washington was remarkably quiet.  There was not the whir of traffic, or the jostling of the bridge joints as cars went over the freeway to Montlake.  Instead it was mostly quiet , just the sound of the red wing blackbirds, the quacking of ducks, and the calls of Canadian Geese as we paddled past. 

I was slightly nervous about taking two children out in a canoe.  Due to UW waterfront policies each boy had to ride in a separate boat with a separate parent— as there is a three person limit for canoes and the four person rowboats were all checked out.   However, the boys did a terrific job. They each sat in the bow and were very enthusiastic about the short yellow paddles that were provided for them. 

I am thankful that the boys are learning about the Lake Washington ecosystem.  We have hiked much of the area near the waterfront. The boys have even searched for water bugs in the water with nets.  Now they experienced this place by water. They were experiencing it from the other side.  The trip allowed us to see more ducklings and goslings than we could count, a blue heron, red wing blackbirds, and two beaver lodges.  We also saw the long line of cliff swallow nests that lined the sides of the 520 off ramp. 

My wonders are: how do we get all children to know so intimately this place we live in?
Does it change we drive- when we know the amazing world your road is passing through?

Versions of Games: Red Light/ Green Light

In my next few posts I am going to write about versions of summertime games that I have led or observed recently.  Games are great in that they pique children's interest, get them playing together, and can lead to imaginative play as well as healthy movement.  The challenge is always to make sure that kids get to do all the roles.

One of the things that I have noticed is that kids love the traditional games and with small variations you can adapt them to a subject you are focusing on or various age levels.

Recently, I have been experimenting with versions of red light/ green light and how to make it fun & not always just a race.  Of course for some the competition is the fun.  However, there can be a balance.  Ultimately everyone loves to lead and the kids love the power.  But, it depends on what purpose you  are trying for- how to set it up.  I have notice that some children truly enjoy getting "to become" and animal.

Here are a few ways I have played it:

High tide (green) low tide (freeze)  All the children choose a sea creature to be as they run. The leader is a sea gull.  If she catches them they go back to the staring line.  Seagull makes gull cries and flaps her wings.

Owl and mouse.  At the hoot of the owl the mice must freeze.

Stop and Go with leader using just sign language.  In the version my son taught me yesterday, if one person continues after the go sign is put up everyone returns to the start. It makes it a bit more of a cooperative challenge.

This game can also be made into a game such as fire in the forest, where all children choose to be an animal.  The it calls out "fire in the forest" and the animals must run from one side of the forest to the other-  if you become tagged you are a tree ( you put out your arms out but cannot run).

Games can be simply transformed; like folk music they are meant to be owned by the people. The main goal is fun and connection.

All Children Deserve Time for Play

I advocate for all children to have access to great outdoor spaces and and ample time out in nature because when children are outside they learn about their world and each other.  I also believe that we can also measure the health of our communities by the opportunities that all children have to play.

Research is showing that unstructured play time is critical in terms of learning self regulation and developing socially and emotionally, as well and other skills that will lead to later success in life.  Unstructured play also leads to JOY! I can attest to this from watching my own children play both at home and at their play based pre-school.

However, the challenge is that schools are not always providing this opportunity for children- and it may be the only time that children have safe access to outdoor play.  KUOW recently did a three part series on this topic: no time for play.    If this is a concern of yours I hope that you will find some of these resources helpful.

National Association for Environmental Education publishes amazing information the benefits of outdoor time for a myriad of health related pieces on Children and Health.

Peter Gray writes about play on his blog and in Aeon Magazine  as well in his scholarly article for the Journal of Play 

Some of my other favorite books and online-articles that focus on the importance of Getting Kids in Nature include:

Christoper, Todd, The Green Hour: A Daily Dose of Nature for Happier, Healthier, Smarter Kids , Trumpeter Books, Boston, MA,  2010

Louv, Richard, The Nature Principle, Alonguin Books, Chapel Hill, 2011  (He also wrote Last Child in the Woods)

Books and articles by David Sobel including an inspiring article on Outdoor Kindergartens in YES magazine

Finally a few other resources:

City of Mercer Island- Links to Outdoor Play Research

There is a 2010 report on KUOW about recess disparity in the district


There are some local health resources here:


Green Cities:Good Health

Family Nature Clubs

The Seattle Public Library and Woodland Park Zoo have begun working to promote Family Nature Clubs funded in part by a Thrive by Five Grant.  Recently our family has begun attending a club in the nearby neighborhood of Rainier Beach.  The boys love it!

So far the direction and leadership has been by zoo staff:  Zoo staff have started each session with great stories and activities to gather everyone together and to promote thinking about nature and living things in new ways. Then they have given activity ideas to give a slight direction to our time out in nearby urban nature.   The reason I think it is such a success is the casual gathering of neighbors and families.  The carefully thought out materials that lead to wonder as well as and the time spent in nearby nature.   The children love to explore nature while spending time with the people who care for them.

So far we have attended only two sessions and already the boys are looking in new ways for colors, patterns and texture in nature.   The first week they had a handout of colors that they were to search for in an small-but sweet outdoor space behind the library.  The second week they were given play dough to take outside and make impressions of things they found in nature at a nearby park.   It was a different way of seeing.

Here is a picture of one of the "impressions" on of my boys made in his play dough.

Investigating Rotation

The boys play with their bikes in a myriad of ways. Friday they turned them upside down along with a wheel barrow and a toy truck. At first it seemed that the challenge was just to get the wheels spinning. Next, they discovered if the wheels touched one another you only had to spin one wheel and the second wheel would spin as well. Finally, they made observations about speed and how many rotations different size wheels made in the same amount of time. A playful moment:emergent scientific discovery.
We certainly are relishing the start of spring with lots of unstructured play.

Forts, Structures and Ice Cream Shops

Today the boys and a friend built an The Three Bears Ice Cream Shop using scrap wood, bricks, a piece of fabric and a few other odds and ends found about the yard.  They gathered writing materials and tape for their sign.

Although the structure is not fancy the children felt very proud of their work. It took a bit of guidance to actually get the idea going in a solid direction but as the kids started to explore the idea and manipulate the materials they quickly owned it. They made a freezer of ferns and were looking all around for roofing material which I eventually helped them with by suggesting fabric. In retrospect maybe I should have let them come up with that idea.

They were figuring out how to make ice cream as the day wrapped up and it would have been fun to see what they discovered. Sadly, the players may not all be gathered together tomorrow to continue the idea- but we will see what may transpire.