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The natural world provides a rich environment for learning and development, especially for young children. Our FS2 children in Blossom Al Barsha 3 have recently taken part in a series of different activities which incorporated nature and animals, relating to the 7 areas of learning. These activities offer a multitude of educational experiences, contributing significantly to their cognitive, emotional, and sensory growth. Through these experiences, children not only develop a deeper understanding of animals and nature but also enhance their sensory awareness and engagement with the world around them.
One of the most fascinating aspects of nature for my children was the life cycles of animals, they showed interest in exploring concepts like growth, change, and transformation, and the life cycle of a caterpillar to a butterfly particularly captured their attention. The children enjoyed first learning about the life cycle, and the stages the caterpillar went through to be a butterfly, this encouraged the children to ask questions and think critically about how living creatures evolve and what causes these changes. We then moved onto looking at the butterfly in detail, we learnt about symmetry, and they created their own symmetrical butterfly with paint. We also read the story ‘The Hungry Caterpillar’ which was also beneficial for the children, as I noticed that they were struggling with the days of the week, so this allowed me to incorporate this into our learning.
Exploring nature also benefits our children because at their age, children are especially drawn to the various textures, colors, and sounds. During sensory tuff tray activities, we were able to discuss the softness of a petal, the roughness of tree bark, the smoothness of a stone and compare textures. These interactions are not only enjoyable for children, but they also provide valuable opportunities for sensory development. In our classroom we have some children with sensory needs, in particular they found great comfort and joy in these activities, the natural environment offers a range of textures, smells, and sounds that can be both soothing and engaging. For many children, nature becomes a safe and stimulating space that helps them connect with themselves and the world around them.
Learning through contact with nature and animals has been beneficial for the children's cognitive development, as I feel that their concentration levels improved, and they were calmer throughout the day. Playing with animals allowed us to be creative, and encouraged the children to create lots of different role play scenarios, which helped to develop their social skills and communication and language development.
In conclusion, learning through contact with nature and animals in early years has been beneficial for our children, I have seen an improvement in the children's concentration and witnessed them be super interested and interactive with activities. Ultimately, integrating nature and animals into early education offers children the opportunity to thrive as curious, compassionate, and environmentally conscious individuals, laying the groundwork for a healthier and more sustainable future.
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