Calling all Parents - Anyone for Nature Tots?
Should 'Nature Tots' come to Charlbury?
Children today spend less time playing outdoors than in any previous generation. Modern life is full of indoor based distractions, plus there are mounting concerns about safety, meaning children no longer 'go out to play' in the way that their parents did. Worryingly, these gadget-filled lifestyles have led to our children becoming disconnected from nature, at exactly the time when the environmental challenges we face as a society require everyone to take an interest in the natural world. Children won't learn to care about something they have no experience of, so its vital that we encourage them to spend time in the outdoors from an early age. Playing outside has a huge variety of developmental and health benefits, meaning children who get opportunities to explore and enjoy nature on a regular basis will enrich their own lives as well as learning to value and care for our planet.
There are currently hundreds of activity groups available for toddlers, but hardly any of them involve being outside getting hands-on with nature. Therefore we would like to start up Nature Tots - a regular 2-hour session in a woodland setting for pre-school children and their parents or carers. We have been running a successful group in south Oxfordshire for the last 18 months and would now like to bring the concept to Charlbury.
Nature Tots sessions are very relaxed, but include some simple and optional activities to inspire the children, while allowing families to spend time together playing outside in whatever way they choose. Sessions might include mud painting, digging or bug hunting, but children are always encouraged to play freely and follow their own interests. Sessions run in all weathers and always include a story and a snack. Children get dirty, build confidence in an outdoor setting, develop new skills and most importantly have fun!
We are keen to assess the level of interest in Nature Tots for the children of Charlbury before we take our plans further, and to this end we ask for your help! If you could spare a few minutes to answer the questions in our survey, we would be massively grateful.
To have your say and take our survey, please follow the link:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CKKPQWG
THANK YOU!
Christine Donaldson · Wed 20 Nov 2013, 15:44 · Link