3 Tips to Engage with your Children during Nature Play

Unstructured nature play is an essential part of your child's development and shouldn't be overlooked. In today's busy world, it has become increasingly natural that children today spend less time playing outdoors; however, playing outdoors is just as important as reading, writing, and arithmetic.

The term "free play" means no specific learning objectives or developmental goals are associated with the activity. In other words, you do not have to guide your child through specific play activities.

Research shows that unstructured playtime is one of the most valuable methods for supporting children's development. Unstructured play allows the child to be creative, confident, and imaginative, which is vital for their development and learning. However, during this type of play, you want to engage with your child to get involved. You may wish to join in with them, suggest something, or observe and learn about their skills. During spontaneous and unstructured playtime, it can be challenging for some caregivers to know how to engage with their children. There is a difference between independent play and free play. You can learn and play with your child during this type of play if you use these three tips.

Observe and Connect

When you get to know your child, you can help them make the connections that fuel their learning. Children learn through making connections, through play, and through games. You can let children make their own connections by having them describe what they see in nature, by listening to their questions, and by observing them as they create f worlds of imagination. Nature is an excellent place for children to explore these connections.

Observe your child in nature. While out in nature, observe what your child is doing and notice how they interact with the natural world. The more you observe your child in action, the more you can understand how they learn best, and your interactions will be more effective.

Connect with your child's heart and their worldview of nature. It's important to begin conversations about nature by understanding where your child is coming from — that is, where their world view of nature comes from — rather than starting out assuming what other facts or ideas ought to be true. For example, you might ask, "What do you see/hear/smell?" or "What do these trees look like?"

Offer and Ask

Children are curious and exploratory beings. When they're young, it's easy to give them the freedom to explore independently, but as they get older, that impulse can be lost.

When your child is no longer a toddler, you may find yourself trying to corral them into a structured schedule of daily activities and play. While this may make you feel like you're doing the right thing, there's a lot of research that suggests children have a specific developmental stage in which they need unstructured time to play, explore and discover.

The best way to give your child the time and space needed for exploration is to provide space and time to investigate their environment through loose part play and nature hikes in the forest. Avoid making your child feel like they're constrained and limited in their exploration by "checking in" with them too often. Instead, encourage and observe as we discussed before, only engaging when natural and authentic.

Children learn best by working through their own questions and challenges for most developmental challenges and skills. When your child comes upon a problem that seems too tricky to master, ask them what they think they should do instead of giving them suggestions or solutions. By doing this, you allow them to find the answers to their own questions and risk failure in their learning process.

Support and Explore

To ensure your child's safety while still allowing for growth and exploration, adopt a risk management mindset, rather than risk prevention. Ask questions to help your child self-regulate their behavior when they are exploring. Encouraging them to notice hazards but not removing them entirely. Reassuring them that you are there when they ask for help but stopping short of offering it at every possible difficulty.

Encourage exploration by being an active participant yourself. Ask questions about what your child is doing and how they feel about being there. This builds trust and helps them feel safer overall.

I know these techniques seem apparent and straightforward, but I've found that most caregivers don't use them. So I thought it would be helpful to share them with you as a resource for when you're out and about in the world with your child and want to give them some space from you.

Nobody knows your child's interests better than you do. Use that knowledge to get your child excited about nature play. The best part about nature play is its dynamic opportunities for discovery. You don't need much, just some space and a few things from your kitchen, backyard, or wherever to get started. Nature play allows kids to be kids again and feel the wonder we once did as children when we picked up sticks, poked holes in leaves, dug holes in the sand, or walked barefoot through grass so soft it tickled our feet – remember those days? It's time to bring back that feeling for nature play for your child. It's easy to do with just a little bit of intentionality.