Invitation to Play with Natural Objects

This simple activity for toddlers and children is a great way to get them to explore natural objects at home. It can help stimulate creativity and recognise patterns and shapes.

Set Up

We had already collected the pebbles, acorns and conkers from different walks or trips. The wood slices, like these from Amazon, have been used in so many different activities. I just collected the leaves and pine cuttings from the garden beforehand. I bought this wooden cutlery tray from Amazon, as thought it would be a lovely way of sorting our various natural bits.

When the girls saw what I had gotten ready, they were unsure what to do. I did not want to give them a specific task or any ‘rules.’ This was so they would use their own creativity. To support them I sat down and started playing myself. F was quite quick to start building towers with the various objects. Her motor skills and hand eye coordination were getting a great work out as she attempted to balance all manner of things. M started by creating face pictures with the objects.

It was great watching them play with these new objects. As they had not played with these items before, they spent time just exploring them; which ones rolled, which were smooth, which were flat. M began to make patterns which were impressively complicated. She also used the objects to write letters. We have left the objects in the tray so they can continue using them in their play. They have begun to use them in their imaginative play to feed their animals and create furniture for their small people. This is definitely an easy activity which works well with younger and older children. We will definitely try this again at home.

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