Should Children Care About Nature?

In an excellent summary of the three day Working Forum on Nature Education for Young Children, which took place at the Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska late in October, Dana Friedman shares these reasons why early childhood educators should be promoting nature education...

• By exposing children to nature, we’re giving them a gift of a faithful, life-long friend.
• It provides life-changing, shaping memories.
• It offers a sense of peace and reconnecting to nature.
• Nature has a therapeutic quality — it is calming.
• The natural world supports the development of caring, pro-social behavior.
• How we relate to nature gives us lessons about how we relate to each other.
• It can serve as a force for change, for peace.
• It fosters self-regulation and learning.
• Nature develops understanding of oneself.
• It brings out the best in children.
• Nature helps children with disabilities, particularly those with sensory integration deficit.
• Children’s pretend play outdoors in natural settings tends to be more complex/therapeutic than indoors.
• Play and interaction with the natural environment and materials helps develop cognitive, social, and emotional skills.
• Nature is crucial for total development of the whole child, regardless of stage, ability, or problem.
• Nature education is crucial for preserving of culture, community, learning, healthy being, and world habitat.

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