You know those families that show up for the art or science fair with amazing projects that you know the child probably didn’t do themselves? Or the blog posts that you eww and ah over when you see the perfectly painted pine cones, rocks, and shells. Yea… well you probably won’t see that here. What you’ll see here is exploring art, nature, and letting the child take the lead. Call it Free Range learning, Reggio Emilia, Charlotte Mason, Montessori, or any other educational philosophy that believes in incorporating nature into your learning, but here at Natural Beach Living we call it our natural living and natural homeschooling.
Natural Living and Natural Learning
Natural Hands-on Learning for Toddlers and Preschool
By setting out an invitation to explore, you are allowing the child to interpret the items in their own way through undirected play.
In your everyday life start collecting your children’s nature finds. Whether it’s shells from a day at the beach, or rocks, and sticks from a nature walk, you’ll have them easily accessible for incorporating them into their play.
Some of our favorite watercolors can be found here. They have beautiful vibrant colors and wash off easily. I’m all for washable products with kids.
Similar to a Reggio Emilia School, our activities don’t start and end by the clock. They flow with the wonder and curiosity for a longing to explore more.
If you strive to bring nature and a sense of calming into your learning, I think you would really enjoy these posts:
Reggio Inspired Nature Table ~ Nature Through a Toddlers Eyes
20 Ways to Explore Natural Materials in the Spring
Positive Parenting Books
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So cool! Where did you get the shells? I don’t live anywhere near the beach so finding them is out of the question…
What fun!! I’m not by nature a “go with the flow” kind of girl, but being a mom has certainly taught me that it’s the best way for kids to learn! Just let them explore and gather their own inspiration.
Great idea to paint the shells! Pretty pictures!
Gorgeous post! I love the pictures and the quotes… 🙂
Thanks Vanessa 🙂
I love this post! It is so YOU! 🙂
Thank you soooooooo much 🙂