An experience for families to connect with nature

Hello!

We' are back today to discuss the importance of nature in our lives, specially in children's routine. The connection with nature is a wonderful thing in any persons's life. For children, being close to nature has a number of advantages: teaching the importance of preservation, developing creativity, concentration and calm; in addition, children improve the senses, by getting to know new textures, smells and colors, move when climbing trees and running.

Geese we found in one our walks, what a surprise!

So today I came to share with you an experience that I really enjoy doing with my family. It's an experience mixed with a field trip, which will result in beautiful memories!

We're going to need:

- a camera, can be a phone, a professional camera, but we like to use an instant camera too!

- weather appropriated clothing. Think about umbrellas, boots, gloves, everything to stay safe and dry

- magnifiers (you can easily find then in a dollar store)

A sensory experience that I love to do with my kids in nature is what we call Exploration Day! We choose an open place and together we go on a trail, walk or even a beach. We use our magnifying glasses, a instant camera and a lot of curiosity. Always remembering that we must not pluck flowers or leaves, hurt insects, or damage anything on our way. 

Some places we love to go to are the Westboro Beach (Google Map link with route), the reserve along the Rideau River called Chapman Mills Conservation Area, the Jack Pine Trail and even parks and woods near our house. They are interesting experiences, in which we observe the changes of the seasons, the differences between going on the trail in autumn, with yellow leaves falling, and in early spring, with the snow thawing. On the trail, we fed birds by putting birdseed in our hands and raising it above our heads. At this point, we need to be silent so as not to scare the birds. We walked on the trail, observing the trees, the ground and the whole route. Once we could see a raccoon sleeping in a tree and another time, a porcupine sleeping. We saw birds of different species and in the summer we had to run away from a swarm of bees!

In the river, in the park, in the woods, in the trail! Four different amazing places

On the beach, we picked up rocks from the riverbank and compared their sizes and colors. In the conservation area, we walked along the river and saw tadpoles and baby fish in the summer, birds walking on the ice in the winter.            

Jack Pine Trail amazing vegetation

At the end of our many walks, we put together the photos we took to keep as a souvenir, either on the cell phone or the instant camera. We could discuss all the animals we saw, why the leaves were on the floor (because it was Fall, and we have 4 different seasons during the year). We made some research to understand why squirrels are different of chipmunks and so much more. It's always a wonderful family time full of learning! Let me know what is your preferred spot to walk and explore in Ottawa in the comments!

I hope you enjoyed my post, see you next week!