Why should children learn about their environment and nature?

Children love to explore the outdoors. When children splash around in puddles, examine toads and spiders, or watch the clouds change overhead, they’re developing an awareness of the physical environment.

With young children it is important to teach an appreciation for the natural world through direct experiences with nature. The first step in helping children care for nature is to help them enjoy exploring and interacting with other living things in a respectful and caring way. Through these positive experiences, children will begin to learn that people have a place in caring for the other living things that share the environment with us.

For example: a habitat is a home place. It is an area that provides everything a plant or animal needs to survive—food, water, air, shelter and space. Our homes are our habitats the way a rotting log is the home or habitat for ants. The plants and animals that make up a habitat are suited to that place. A fish could not live in a field and a mouse could not live in an ocean.

Another example: Many children have experienced the difference between winter and summer. They have experienced the cycle of seasons. A cycle is like a turning wheel. It turns around and around, with its parts in the same order, again and again. Day and night, the phases of the moon and life cycles of living things are other examples of cycles. By observing cycles we can notice how things change over time. The concept of cycles is very important in science education.

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