50 Gifts Nature Will Give Your Child!

I have been living a down-to-earth lifestyle since I was a child. With a home in the dry bushland, hugged by Harveys Range and a family beach house at Black River for weekends and holidays. Between both of these landscapes, I found solace in nature, with hours of play and adventures I still remember today.

A washed-up tree from a storm became our pirate boat for months until the next storm sailed it away. I made cubby houses in sand dunes and slide along mudflats at low tide, completely covered in smelly mangrove mud for hours. 

Those are such treasured memories and in this blog, I want to share 50 gifts that nature will give your child. Beyond the games and activities, there are some real-world developmental opportunities for health and wellbeing. 

When I became a mother, I wanted my children to enjoy a similar lifestyle. Climbing trees, camping under the stars, harvesting fruit from our food forest, and picking flowers, leaves and seeds to make magic potions. To lean into the wonders of the world as a source of excitement and interest...

...so I created it!

I designed my life this way. From the place I live through to the work I do and how I play!

In short; my partner and I built our house in the rainforest of Kuranda, powered by solar, built from the timbers milled on-site, surrounded by our food forest, veggie patch and nursery. It started with a tiny caravan without windows (just holes lol), no hot water or electricity...and a dream.

This dream grew and throughout the past decade, I have facilitated many Permaculture and nature-based workshops and courses to help people get skilled in sustainability. 

What I have learnt from my students (of all ages) is that learning is done better when it is fun and...permaculture makes sense, it is a mindset and practical lifestyle that people are excited to adopt once they have the tools to do so.  

Now, years on, I provide an online program for parents (or carers) to access a self-paced permaculture course curriculum to enjoy with their kids so as a family, they can connect, nourish and grow together. 

PLUS...

There intrinsically, they reap the rewards of facilitating these 50 Gifts that Nature gives Children...

1. Visual tracking and depth perception
2. Fine-tunes hearing
3. A sense of awe and wonder
4. Relationship with animals and plants
5. Textural awareness
6. Emotional cues and reading of the facial expression
7. A healthy sense of adventure
8. Cultivates independence
9. Confidence in the wider world
10. Creates opportunities for defiance (haha)
11. Builds strength and agility
12. Develops a healthy sense of fear
13.  Builds risk assessment skills
14. Further grows physical fluency
15. Assists with developing curiosity
16. Develops fine and gross motor skills
17. Enables relationship development practice
18. Facilitates opportunities to develop trust
19. Creates space to practice speech and communication
20. Assists with developing empathy
21. Promotes social aptitude development and practice
22. Helps grow memory strength
23. Grows healthy attachment styles
24. Builds resilience
25. Grows flexibility and adaptability
26. Establishes healthy attitudes and behaviour patterns
27. Begins to learn to regulate own safety
28. Grows physical core strength
29. Creates space to express feelings
30. Creates space to learn pain
31. Learns natural laws of cause and effect
32. Learns to follow instructions or rules of games
33. Expands its world
34. Expands its vocabulary
35. Forms interests in sports and other team activities
36. Grows creativity
37. Expands problem-solving capacity
38. Grows care, concern and consideration for others
39. Creates opportunities to improve physical skills
40. Helps children discover the wonders of nature and the world around them
41. Helps children connect to their community
42. Helps children learn the foundations for universal sustainability
43. Helps children to recognise their strengths
44. Develops transitioning skills
45. Helps a child’s learning in caring for nature and living things
46. Boosts self-confidence
47. Increases flexibility
48. Helps build the immune system
49. Stimulates the imagination
50. Provides Vitamin D

If you want the resources to print and play a whole lot of down-to-earth permaculture and play activities, come join us here or download our free colouring book for some inspiration!