21 Fun Ideas to Connect Kids With Nature

Here are some ideas to have fun learning about nature with your kids. Children readily pick up attitudes and you can make a big impression by taking them outside more and being enthusiastic about the natural environment.

1. Encourage children to play, dig and plant their own garden areas.
2. Plant trees! Trees are a valuable resource for our natural setting.
3. Picnic in your backyard.
4. Study your surroundings and observe the wildlife. Make a daily log book.
5. Take a hike! Walk in the woods; tour the community garden and wetlands.
6. Rake the leaves and use a push mower. Without power mowers and blowers the air is cleaner. Your children can safely participate in gardening and learn to care for the earth.
7. Participate in Earth Day and Wild Life Appreciation days.
8. Build birdhouses and bat boxes with your children.
9. Install a sundial.
10. Learn about beneficial insects.
11. Teach recycling! Create a compost pile.
12. Learn to recognize sounds of birds and other creatures.
13. Be an observer of nature. Point out interesting plants and animals.
14. Talk about the weather.
15. Draw pictures of clouds or make cloud art out of cotton balls.
16. Make a rain gauge.
17. Collect items from a nature walk and put them in a scrapbook.
18. Learn about bees and pollination.
19. Make a mini rain barrel and use it to water a plant.
20. Take out library picture books about nature.
21. Make up a poem about your favourite insect.

At Discovery Child Care, in Barrie Ontario, we believe in the importance of connecting children with nature. Contact Us to find out more about our eco-friendly child care facility and our nature programs.

Get Outside Tomorrow for Canada's Longest Day of Play

On June 21st, Canada celebrates 'The Longest Day of Play'. Why not be part of this event and plan a trip to the park or the lake for Friday June 21st. The idea is to encourage families to get outside and have some fun! Here's some information about the Longest Day of Play including a video from the Particpaction website.

"Remember playing as a kid until the streetlight went on? Well it’s time to bring that back. On June 21st Canadians can take advantage of the most daylight hours of the year and celebrate the first annual Longest Day of Play.

On the Longest Day of Play we want all Canadians to head to the park after dinner. Bring a ball, bring your kids and invite all your friends. Might as well bring the dog too! Fill the playgrounds, parks and school fields with those who are out for the sheer love of play.

Celebrate Canada's Longest Day of Play - June 21st 2013

Active play may be fun, but it’s certainly not frivolous. Play allows youth of all ages to try new things, test boundaries and use their imaginations.

In addition to the physical health benefits, active play offers cognitive, emotional and social development benefits. It has been shown to improve and foster motor function, creativity, decision-making, problem-solving and social skills, the ability to control emotions and preschoolers’ speech. And, it’s lots of fun!

Unfortunately, 63% of Canadian kids free time after school and on weekends is spent being sedentary. We need to get our kids moving, and we’ve got plenty of great ideas, tips and information on bringing more play into your children’s lives." source: Participaction.com

Discovery Child Care Recognized For Their Commitment to Creating a Healthy Environment

From the Earth Day Canada website - the description of Discovery Child Care's 2013 Small Business Hometown Heroes Award.

Discovery Child Care Centre:
2013 Small Business Hometown Heroes Winner

Barrie, ON

Discovery Child Care Centre is an Eco-Healthy certified licensed child care centre that brings nature into the classroom and takes the classroom into nature. Their commitment to creating a healthy environment for children in their care, their families, staff, and the community sets them apart from other licensed child care programs.
Discovery Child Care Centre’s two locations are maintained by organic methods, with no pesticides, herbicides, fungicides or insecticides used on the premises. They use environmentally friendly cleaners, blue box recycling, practice water conservation by using rain barrels, and use the green bin and compost as well. They are the first licensed child care centres in Ontario to be Bullfrog Powered using 100% renewable energy. Both centres have a no idle parking policy, as well, one of the sites has geothermal heating/cooling and will have solar panels installed this year.

In addition to having environmentally sustainable sites, Discovery Child Care Centre brings environmental philosophies into the classrooms through hands on learning. The children learn how to reduce, re-use, recycle and compost and about water conservation. They are also actively involved in their own organic gardens and harvest what they have grown to make jams, pickles and salsa. At the end of the growing season, the children donate a portion of the fresh, organic harvest to the Barrie Community Food Bank.

As part of Discovery Child Care Centre’s commitment to connecting children with nature, children spend a minimum of two hours outside every day. The children are given the opportunity to interact with items found in nature, encouraging them to become stewards of the earth. Discovery Child Care Centre’s nature classroom project is the first Nature Explore Certified Classroom in Canada, earning it international recognition.

Discovery Child Care Centre has been well received and has won many environmental, community and business leadership awards, such as the City of Barrie Award for Business of the Year, Environmental Action Barrie awards, and Bell Canada Green Awards. Their environmental programming has been featured in Childcare Today Magazine and Seneca College Alumni Magazine. Discovery Child Care Centre’s founder, Karen Eilersen, shares her knowledge of setting up an eco-friendly child care business and the importance of connecting children to nature by presenting at various child care conferences and was the keynote speaker at the Humber College Places of Natural Discovery Conference for early childhood educators.

Earth Day Canada (EDC), a national environmental charity founded in 1990, provides Canadians with the practical knowledge and tools they need to support a healthier environment. We educate, empower and inspire Canadians of all ages and backgrounds to achieve local solutions to improve the state of the environment through our suite of year-round and award-winning programs.
The success of EDC programs—focused on education, action, recognition and financial support—lies in the fact that they teach Canadians about simple, easy-to-accomplish actions that any person can do.

 

Discovery Child Care Named Hometown Heroes - We've won the 2013 Earth Day Canada Award for Small Business!

Press Release: Toronto, June 6, 2013

 

A decade-long volunteer, a fast-growing green team and a committed child care centre receive national environmental awards - Earth Day Canada’s Hometown Heroes Awards recognize and celebrate environmental leadership.

 

Toronto (06/06/13) Earth Day Canada (EDC), with support from the RBC Foundation and Mill Street Brewery, is pleased to announce that the Individual winner Dawn Deydey of Fernie, British Columbia, Group winner Lower Mainland Green Team (LMGT) of Surrey, British Columbia, and Small Business winner Discovery Child Care Centre of Barrie, Ontario have been selected as EDC’s 2013 Hometown Heroes.

“These people are shining examples of those making significant strides towards creating a healthier environment,” says Jed Goldberg, President of EDC. “They have been instrumental in creating change at the local level and deserve national recognition for their community-based conservation; responsible business practices, and; community engagement efforts.”

Discovery Child Care Centre is an award-winning eco-friendly licensed child care centre that brings nature into the classroom and takes the classroom into nature. Along with having two environmentally sustainable sites, they bring environmental philosophies into the classrooms through hands-on learning. Children spend a minimum of two hours outside every day to encourage them to become stewards of the earth and learn how to reduce, re-use, recycle and compost and about water conservation. They are also actively involved in their own organic gardens.

The winners will be presented the awards at Earth Day Canada’s Gala on June 12, 2013 in Toronto in front of 500 business and environmental leaders. The Hometown Heroes Award Program was established in 2004 by Earth Day Canada to recognize and celebrate environmental leaders who foster meaningful, long-term community awareness and action. For more information about Earth Day Canada’s Hometown Heroes Award Program, please visit earthday.ca/hometown.

Read the entire press release with full descriptions of other award winners..

At Discovery Child Care, in Barrie Ontario, we believe in the importance of connecting children with nature. Contact Us to find out more about our eco-friendly child care facility and our nature programs.

Organic Gardening at Discovery Child Care

 The Backyard Urban Farm Company came to visit the kindergarten children at Discovery Child Care and helped us put in our organic gardening beds. Thank you Arlene & Carrie!

We've planted 3 of our 5 gardening beds with Tomatoes, Marigolds (or as the children call them "miracles"), peppers, fennel, basil, dill and so much more.

The children are excited to help out and see the plants grow!

Here's some information about the Backyard Urban Farm Company.

"BUFCO is dedicated to participating in a worldwide food movement that encourages lowering our carbon footprint and trying to live more sustainably, naturally, independently and locally. Planting and saving heirloom and non-GMO seeds (genetically modified organisms), and preserving the harvest are top priorities for us. We strive to build a sense of community by facilitating sharing a portion of the harvest with our neighbours and local food banks. We bring new opportunities for families and individuals to learn, teach, relax, play in and eat from their own gardens. We believe that by tending our garden, we feed our minds, bodies and souls, and contribute to the greater good."

 

At Discovery Child Care, in Barrie Ontario, we believe in the importance of connecting children with nature. Contact Us to find out more about our eco-friendly child care facility and our nature programs.