The Preschool children were having a good time exploring with their friends in beautiful nature during outdoor playtime. The children's playground surrounded by beautiful green, has enriched their play with natural materials, developing their curiosity, their thinking skills and imagination.
Hailey showed Mia dandelions and said, "Please make it into a ring." Hailey was so excited to see the dandelion rings Mia was making. Then Hailey said, "I'll get more dandelions from there. Please make me one more?"
Hailey had time to build a positive connection with the educator and develop social skills through various conversations by making dandelion rings with Mia.
Through this interaction, Mia came up with an idea of using natural materials, as she saw Hailey picking the dandelion flowers.
Flowers, leaves, and branches from the children's playground were used to beautifully create paint materials for the children to explore. Mia showed the children a beautifully set table using materials from nature. As soon as the children saw a paint brush made of leaves and various flowers, they began to create on the paper. "What are you making?" Mia asked, and the children answered things such as, “Flowers." "I'm drawing a rainbow."
Children began to express their own imaginary world using paint brushes made from natural materials. The children continued the painting by feeling the touch of holding the branches in their hands and the touch of the various materials of the brush tips. Through this activity, children learned how to improve their fine motor skills and express their world in various ways.
Meanwhile, children showed Mia various insects that they caught in the playground this time. "It's a potato bug, and this is..." The children's small hands, which contained insects, showed their world full of curiosities and imagination. Mia and the children went into the classroom and tried making bugs using leaves and Googly eyes. The children started making their own insects, thinking about the small insects they saw outdoors. They also made insects by attaching leaves and painting them with paint. Unstandardized natural materials satisfy children’s curiosity, and improve problem-solving and thinking skills. Children's social, psychological, academic and physical health is positively impacted when they have daily contact with nature. Also. it is expected that various outdoor and indoor activities with nature will have a positive impact on children's growth and development in all areas of learning. We wonder what other things the children will create using the imagination and the material nature provides.
