What could be better than adventures surrounded by nature, with all your family members in tow? Besides having endless fun in the sun, nature also aids the development of young ones, increasing their creative imagination. Hence, a family home in the middle of nature is a wonderful gift to your children.
Why open a natural learning space for children?
Living the city life may increase your family's standard of living, education, and financial opportunities, but living in an area surrounded by green nature will help your child's development and further expand their creative potential.
Children have the freedom to learn and choose their interests
Freeplay is crucial in a child's developmental process. It helps to release their abundance of energy and significantly increases their confidence to overcome their limitations and learn new skills. Giving children this much-needed freedom in a safe zone will also aid them in finding what they truly like, which will make them happier.
Children tend to be imaginative and free-thinking. If there are no restrictions or boundaries placed on their imaginations, this gives them the ability to freely comment and question the world around them, encouraging them to find the best answers.
Increasing social skills
Letting your child play freely in nature or with other children will help develop their social skills. Most families living in the city will only have 1 or 2 children living together. If parents don't give their children the opportunity to freely play in an open space surrounded by nature, it will be more difficult for them to socialize with other kids.
Developing social skills will help children become more confident in overcoming their fears, managing emotions, and learning how to interact with others, which is beneficial in the future development of a child's personality.
Increase observational skills and rational thinking
An ecosystem learning center is a place where children can think freely, question the world around them and discover the answers. Some of these questions include: "Why does a leaf fall?", "Why does a bird lay an egg?", "Why do birds fly?" and "Why do caterpillars turn into butterflies?"
Some things can't be found in an amusement park or even the best shopping mall in the world. Letting children freely learn and observe nature around them will motivate them to find answers and teach them to think more rationally. Remember, Sir Isaac Newton discovered the law of gravity by observing the nature around him in the form of a falling apple.
Build on their imagination and creativity
Albert Einstein once said in an interview with George Sylvester Viereck that “imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.”
No matter what path a child takes, or whether they grow up to become a world-renowned scientist or famous artist, imagination and creativity will always play an important role. Someone with more imagination has the ability to generate ideas and problem solve. An example is having difficulty opening a bag of chips. One may keep trying to open it with their hands, one may simply use scissors to cut it open, and another may even use coins to tear it open! All will produce the same result, but this demonstrates the importance of allowing children to play in nature and learn to solve problems creatively.
Build and train muscles, big and small
For children, building and training big and small muscle groups are very important because this consequently affects a child’s physical development. Big muscle groups include your hamstrings, glutes and quads, which help control and balance the body, allowing small children to stand up, walk and run. Small muscle groups include biceps and hand muscles, and these can be trained by grabbing, squeezing and pinching, helping children write and draw with ease for better learning in class.
Therefore, allowing a child to learn in nature will stimulate and develop their physical abilities by interacting with their surroundings. They will practice walking, running and jumping, building and training their big and small muscle groups to become stronger and able to adapt and learn faster.
Activities that expand a child’s learning space
We know that letting children play freely in nature will directly affect their learning and development; next, we will highlight activities that open up their learning opportunities, helping them grow into better people.
Exploring nature enhances their observational skills and learning
Opening up an area that is safe for children to freely explore the nature around them enhances their observational skills and self-learning. Parents can provide their children with a journal or notebook for them to draw or take note of interesting things they find and then raise questions to solve problems. Parents can also join in on this activity to help their children learn.
The more you let children explore the nature around them, the more they will learn and become observant of how their world works.
Camping increases IQ and EQ
Did you know that taking your children outdoor camping also helps with their IQ and EQ? Building a camp engages their planning skills, from preparing all the necessary equipment to learning how to survive in an unfamiliar and uncomfortable place. The fact that they're exploring nature will also help open their world to new experiences.
Forest bathing to become stronger
Don't think that hiking is dangerous or too difficult for kids. Forest bathing or walking uses many skillsets, including planning, managing, flexible thinking, being attentive, and successfully handling multiple tasks. Hiking helps train EF, or Executive Functions, which are advanced self-management skills that can affect a child's future success.
Gardening and planting to practice responsibilities
For a child to become a good person in society, they must learn how to be responsible for themselves and those around them. Teaching a child to be responsible for the little things in life like planting a small plant, watering it, adding fertilizers, and collecting the fruit will make them more patient.
Bird watching to learn about the ecosystem
Bird watching is not easy; it requires patience and good observations. You could give your child binoculars to birdwatch in the aviary in the early stages. Next, you can take your child outdoors, where they will learn about the interaction between the many different flora and fauna in the ecosystem, teaching them to become more observant.
Importance of intergenerational living for children
Apart from doing various activities in nature, it's also important to do activities with family members from different generations. Letting children interact with their grandparents allows them to learn new experiences, such as learning to be gentle, and understanding unconditional love. This aids in the developmental process of a child's happiness as well.
The most important thing about intergenerational living is that it creates happiness for all family members, and keeps the elderly from feeling lonely, keeping them physically and mentally healthy for longer.
By now, you'll understand the importance of providing your children with a learning environment surrounded by nature. What's more, it would be even better if that environment enabled you to live with all your family members, from grandparents to grandchildren, whilst observing wildlife in an ecosystem that allows for education and discovery. All of this and more is possible at The Forestias' Mulberry Grove residential area, perfect for a multi-generational family.
