A nature corner is a way to celebrate the changing cycles of the year with your child. Young children are at one with the world around them and it is important to encourage this awareness of the outside world and of the changing seasons.
Curiorisity and awareness of mother nature and her wonders promotes awe and in turn respect for the natural world. Children also love rhythm and the changing of the nature table is something that they look forward to and can be part of. A nature corner can be as simple as a piece of cloth with some found natural objects placed upon it. In Autumn, amber starling leaves can be collected and scattered. in Spring, new flowers collected and put in a vase.
Our Sarah Laidlaw posters are beautiful to sit on the scene. An appropriate coloured cloth can be draped over a corner table, or on top of a bookcase. It doesn't really matter where your nature table is, but it would be nice to be somewhere where your children can look and interact with the scene.
Discussing what a nature table is with your children and by encouraging them to add to the scene will help them respect the area and keep the table orderly and cared for. Ive found a lot of inspiration from the book 'The Nature Corner' in which each season is discussed and patterns and instructions to make the sweet little animals, gnomes and people.
The internet is also a wonderful source for ideas. Winter can be a but sparse on the nature table and, living in the Southern Hemisphere, it can be difficult to find things that represent winter in this part of the world. On our Winter Nature table King Winter takes pride of place. I do love King Winter with his crown and beard. I made small children sitting around a small fire toasting marshmellows. Thats the fun of these little scenes, use your creativity and imagination.
