Any parent in Silicon Valley knows that there's no better source for park information than Silicon Valley Toddler, so we followed Toddler X's recommendation and headed to Edenvale Garden Park in South San Jose. While this park does have a great playground, today we focused on the winding trails and wide open spaces.
Kids are inherently curious and it's our job as their caregivers to foster that curiosity. I had such a fun time watching Lil' H interact with nature. Usually, I have a hard time letting go of my agenda. But today I made a special effort to let Lil' H pick which trails to follow, which flowers to pick, and which rocks to climb.
This butterfly net from the dollar section at Target is one of Lil' H's favorite toys. We didn't see any butterflies to chase today, although we did find a very informative bulletin board with the types of butterflies normally seen at the park posted at the Edenvale entrance. Instead, we used the net for collecting the different flowers, leaves, and seeds that we found around the park.
Anytime Lil' H picked up a new specimen, I would tell her what it was, then I asked her questions about it to help her understand what she had found. Maybe two year olds are a little young for the Socratic method, but I'm determined to raise a tree-hugging genius!
Try these questions to encourage interaction between your child and nature:
- What color is it?
- Is it hard or soft?
- Is it smooth or pokey?
- Is it big or small?
In the end, you'll have a smarter kid and beautiful collection of leaves to take home!
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