Bringing Nature to the Preschool Mind
Janis Slutsky, Naturalist, Morris County Park Commission
For the preschool level the natural world can be used to illustrate:
Math =
Measuring:
How many kids does it take to surround a tree? Is the tree one hand around? Two hands around?Two arms around?Etc.
Find a plant that is as high as your ankle. Find a plant that is taller than your head.
Counting:
How many acorns can you fit in your hand? How many petals on the flower? How many sides to a snowflake? (6), How many different kinds of leaves can you find in a specific area.
Geometry:
Look at shapes in nature such as the petals of flowers, leaves of trees and flowers, find a rock that is a triangle, find a tree with straight line
Comparison/symmetry and manipulatives:
Matching leaves or tree buds (a bit more difficult) or tree bark or pine cones. Have a few samples and ask students if they are the same or different and why. Sorting different kinds of seeds (beware of students with tree nut allergies).
Texture = tree bark, leaves, water (ice, snow, rain, condensation on the outside of a glass) , soil (clay, organic humus), rocks (find smooth, rough, sharp), tree seeds (acorns, pine cones, sweet gum seeds, chestnut), thorns on stems, tree bark
Physics = float, slip, sink, drop, fluid, roll, thermodynamics (heat transfer, temperature)
Ecology and Natural sciences = life cycles (animal and plant), soils, weather, animals, rotation of the earth
Biology = plants and trees, animal ears, animal feet, tails
Simple changes that can be made in the classroom to utilize the natural world:
- Paint with pussy willows, sticks, pine needles, feathers, leaves
- Paint outside with water on rocks, bark, leaves.
- Paint with tree-textured paint: add sawdust, crumbled leaves, sand to tempera paint
- Draw with cinnamon sticks on emery paper or sand paper
- Do soil pictures: drizzle glue on a paper then sprinkle soil, sand and/or silt over. Soil will stick and create design. Alternative is to paint with mud. Soil comes in many colors. Find clay which is a light color, rich organic soil is dark and silt is a medium brown. Have all three in mud form and use as paint. Students will see the different colors of soil.
- Paint with the rain: students place dry tempera paint or put splotches of paint on a paper, place it outside in the rain for a few minutes. Rain drops will create a new pattern. If no rain can use a spray bottle.
- Have a natural touch table. Students can contribute as they find items on their own. Bones, pine cones, rocks, antlers, fur, acorns, black walnuts, feathers, nests, galls (insect houses), etc.
-The lessons should be outside as much as possible!
- In the snow look for animal tracks. Do snow painting using a spray bottle with food colored water. Make shapes out of snow.
- Create a story area outside and in appropriate weather read all stories outside. Do art projects outside. Have a “nature moment” where everyone stops and looks at a leaf or tree or flower (you get the idea) and have the children describe what they see.
- Do native animal charades or animal yoga. Utilize animals found in New Jersey so they learn the local species.
- Use your toilet paper binoculars to do discovery time. Take a closer look at a bug or spider, a spider web, a leaf, bark, seed, etc.
- Tap a maple tree in the winter. Supplies can be found at the Leader Evaporator Company or spiles purchased at the Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center in Chatham.
- Start a worm composting bin.
- Explore shadows. In the morning draw a line in the parking lot and have children stand on that line. Outline their shadow in chalk and put their name on it. Come back in an hour and repeat. Observe how the shadow has moved. Ask questions: Where does the shadow come from? Is your shadow bigger or smaller than you? Did your shadow move? Did the shadow get taller or shorter?
Tricks I have learned to help bring kids back into focus:
Get down on their level. Kneeling to look children in the eye gets them to listen and connect with what you are saying.
Sing a song. Music brings back their attention. In winter I use the mitten song, in fall the acorn song, in the spring the mud song and in summer the sunshine song.
Utilize trees they need to find and hug (I use trees since they are solid and stable): ex.:Say to the students: find a tree with smooth (rough, bumpy) bark, find a tree with bark that has lines on it, find a tree you can get your arms around, find a tree that has a hole in it, that has a nest in it, etc.
Do a listening walk. Point to where you hear a bird calling. Listen to the wind or rain. Whispering does wonders to get their attention!