Appreciating the Natural World with Young Children

Find information about educational materials for use in the classroom, teacher workshops, and more. SMARTBoards™ Lessons  includes lessons linked to the Illinois Early Learning Standards. Lessons include A to Z from a Tree and A Year with Wildlife. Wings, Stings, and Leggy Things: Insects of Illinois is a booklet, which can be downloaded in PDF form, that includes a diagram of an insect and insect life cycles.

This site includes a guide to activities such as making models, charting insects, and more.

This site is designed for use with older children but may be adapted for use in preschool.

This article suggests ways to help children explore trees. Make Your Own Leaf Book is another activity guide that discusses how children can make books to help them remember their leaf observations.

This resource includes suggestions related to observing and documenting observations of a tree. This article on Family TLC suggests ways that parents can watch and discuss birds with their children.

This website provides classroom design services, workshops and conferences, natural products for classrooms, and family resources. This site is also encourages networking and research.

Find articles for families about how to engage in nature activities with children. More articles include Play in a Puddle on a Rainy Day and Engaging Toddlers in Nature Play.

This article addresses why outdoor play is important and ideas for how parents can encourage outdoor play among their children. The website also provides resources, research, and articles related to the importance of nature play for children.

Many children spend the majority of their day in childcare. This infosheet discusses the advantages and tips to connect children to the outdoors while they are at childcare.

These five-minute videos explain how educators can teach concepts  (Science, Language and Literacy, and Math) using nature. The videos explore using nature indoors and outdoors.

This brochure provides a rationale for why children should spend more time outdoors and why nature play is the best type of play. It also provides 25 ideas for incorporating nature play in early childhood classrooms.