Wellness starts when we feel grounded and "in our bodies." A wonderful way to do that is to activate our senses. In the first lesson of our fall Tinkergarten Anywhere Wellness series, we offer four ways to play that help kids feel grounded in their bodies and connected to the earth beneath their feet.
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The Guide
Step 1: Watch the Tinkergarten Anywhere "Hello, Earth" video lesson.
Hop into your Tinkergarten dashboard to watch the "Hello, Earth" video lesson. Kids can watch how Meghan and other explorers play with stones, water and soil, then get inspired to explore the earth beneath their feet!
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Step 2: Gather a few materials:
Water
Dirt
A mixing bowl (or just a spot to mix water and soil on the ground)
A stick or spoon for stirring
Stones
Step 3: Invite play.
Head outside and look at the materials you’ve gathered together. Notice that all of these materials come from the earth! Wonder how you might play with these materials. Need ideas? Here are four of our favorite ways to play with stones, water and soil:
Mud play: Grab a handful of dirt and talk about how the soil in your biome feels and smells. Trickle a small amount of water on the ground, and discover together what happens to the dirt. You can take a stick and even do a little mixing. Then hand kids a container of water and invite them to see what happens when they add it to dirt. Stand back, and watch them get to work.
To extend play, welcome kids to explore how different amounts of dirt and water create different types of mud. Scoop up some mud and use your hands to form a ball. Then, model sticking a nature treasure (e.g. stick, stone, leaf) or two into this nice, firm mud. Or, use mud and sticks to build a structure!
Stone Washing: Dab some water on a stone and notice which changes you notice (e.g. vibrancy of colors, change in temperature, texture). Pretend stones or sticks are earthworms and help them tunnel into the soil. Wash them off in water. Repeat!
Shapes from Stones: Slowly start to form a shape on the ground with stones. Once kids are interested and your shape is taking form, hand them a stone to add and enjoy making the rest of the shape and other shapes together. It can also help to first lay down a piece of string or use sidewalk chalk to form the outline of a shape. Or, just draw a line in the dirt or sand with a stick or your finger. Circles or ovals are the easiest shapes for kids to make, but we also love to introduce kids to spirals, a shape that fascinates and reminds us of the cycles and rhythms of the natural world.
Barefoot earth walk: Make a batch of mud right on the ground or mix dirt and water together in a large bin. Then, invite kids to take off socks and shoes and explore the mud with their feet! How does the mud feel on their bare feet? What sounds can they make when they step and stomp in mud?
Want more ideas like this? Try some of these DIY activities to help kids activate their senses and explore the earth:
Interacting with soil, stones and earth activates multiple senses, tuning in our brains and helping us feel focused and grounded. Holding and beholding stones can make us feel calm, and dirt can even help us develop our immune systems! When kids transform the shape, texture, or nature of materials (in this case, turning dirt and water into mud), they also engage in a universal behavior pattern called the transforming schema, which supports brain development.
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We think of self control as a child’s ability to focus on something in such a way that maximizes learning. In order to do that, they first need to direct their attention and focus on a single thing. They also need to discern which information around them is most important and deserving of their attention. Thirdly, they need something called “inhibition.” Think of inhibition as the ability to control impulses, block out distractions and continue attending to the same thing. Focus, discerning and inhibition all require rather fancy brain work and are thought to be part of the “executive functions” or the set of cognitive processes involving the prefrontal cortex that help us manage ourselves and the environment to achieve a goal.
Why does it matter?
Our world is full of distractions, more today than ever. Kids who are in any learning situation need the ability to control their impulses, block out noise and attend to the person, objects, events, or discussions that are central to learning. As classroom teachers, we saw that kids who did this ruled the classroom. As outdoor educators and parents, we know the same holds true outside of school.
But don’t take our word for it; the research is impressive. It turns out that these executive function skills are closely tied to success in the classroom, higher level education and life beyond school. Experts like Adele Diamond of the University of British Columbia have shown that, “If you look at what predicts how well children will do later in school, more and more evidence is showing that executive functions—working memory and inhibition—actually predict success better than IQ tests.” Although these skills are difficult for young children and don’t crystallize until adulthood, the more kids practice them, the better at them kids become.
Naturalist
Category:
Thinking Skills
What is a Naturalist?
The oldest and simplest definition, “student of plants and animals,” dates back to 1600. The term has evolved over time, it's importance changing as the values of dominant culture have changed. 400 years after that old definition, Howard Gardner, the paradigm-shifting education theorist, added “naturalist” to his list of “multiple intelligences.” Gardner challenged the notion that intelligence is a single entity that results from a single capability. Instead, he recognizes eight types of intelligence, all of which enable individuals to think, solve problems or to create things of value. To Gardner, the Naturalist intelligence enables human beings to recognize, categorize and draw upon certain features of the environment.
A true naturalist has not simply Googled and learned the names of plants, animals, rocks, etc. Rather, he or she has had direct experience with them, coming to know about them and using all senses to develop this intelligence. A naturalist also has a reverence for nature, valuing and caring for living things from the smallest mite to the tallest tree. A naturalist comes to not only knowing the creatures and features of his or her environment, but treasuring them in thought and action.
Why does it matter?
In the process of becoming a naturalist, children become stewards of nature, a connection that is associated with a range of benefits, including greater emotional well-being, physical health and sensory development (not to mention the benefits to nature itself!). In a world in which primary experience of nature is being replaced by the limited, directed stimulation of electronic media, kids senses are being dulled and many believe their depth of both their interest in and capacity to understand complicated phenomena are being eroded. To contrast, the naturalist learns about the key features of their natural environment by using all of his senses and be interpreting open-ended and ever-changing stimuli.
Sensory
Category:
Body Skills
What is Sensory Development?
Although some scientists classify as many as 20 senses, when childhood educators talk about "developing the senses," we typically mean developing the five standard senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. In addition to honing these senses, educators care about sensory integration, which is the ability to take in, sort out, process and make use of information gathered from the world around us via the senses.
Why does it matter?
The better kids are able to tune and integrate their senses, the more they can learn. First, if their senses are sharper, the information kids can gather should be of greater quantity and quality, making their understanding of the world more sophisticated. Further, until the lower levels of the brain can efficiently and accurately sort out information gathered through the senses, the higher levels cannot begin to develop thinking and organization skills kids need to succeed. Senses also have a powerful connection to memory. Children (and adults) often retain new learning when the senses are an active part of the learning.
So, if kids have more sensory experiences, they will learn more, retain better and be better able to think at a higher level. Makes the days they get all wet and dirty in the sandbox seem better, doesn't it?
Age: 0 to 8+
Time: 1 hour+
Materials: dirt, water, stones
