The Nature Basket
A pinecone, a piece of bark, a smooth stone: the outdoors comes inside and gets a name.
The Nature Basket is a Montessori activity for a child aged 18 to 24 months. Area: Science and Nature. Time: 5-10 min.
What the activity builds
Get to know natural materials by hand before naming them, and build the very first nature vocabulary.
The materials
- A low basket, wicker if you have one
- Four or five natural items collected outside: a pinecone, a piece of bark, a smooth stone, a big leaf, an empty snail shell
- A dish towel to set the basket on
How to do it, step by step
- Collect the items with your child on a walk, that's already the activity.
- At home, wash and dry whatever needs it, then put everything in the basket.
- Sit down next to them, take out a single object, turn it slowly in your hands, without talking.
- Set it back down and let your child do the same, at their own pace.
- When they're holding an object, name it once, simply: "the pinecone."
- Put everything away together, each object goes back in the basket.
The parent's role
Show once, then step back. Resist naming everything at once: one object, one word, and only once they're already holding it. There's no control of error here, it's an exploration activity, so there's nothing to correct and nothing to get right.
Safety
A pinecone can crumble, and a shell can break into sharp pieces. Choose big items, check them before handing them over, and stay close the whole time. Nothing smaller than a toilet paper tube for a child who still puts things in their mouth.
You remain the sole judge of what is right for your child. These activities are offered for educational and recreational purposes: they do not replace medical advice or the guidance of an early childhood professional.
Ways to adapt the activity
- Easier: just two objects, very different to the touch.
- Harder: add a new object each week and let them point out the one that just arrived.
- Extension: change the whole basket every season, the treasures won't be the same.
Up next
More activities for a 18 to 24 months child.
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