Introducing a backyard nature area to little people is so awesome and fun!
Just as the environmentalist pioneer Rachel Carson shared with her little great nephew, you too could create that experience with a young child; an experience she called “a sense of wonder”
Carson captured their experience in a book she wrote, titled with that phrase.
Recently a tiny tyke, my great niece’s little boy, experienced a hopping frog in the yard. What gleeful laughs he made while pointing to it! Seeing the hop-hop-hopping of that tiny creature skipping across the grass and hearing the little creature’s “ribbittt” brought such happiness to the small observer!
It reminded me of my own experience with a little tyke, my nephew. We were in my yard years ago. He looked up and pointed. We watched a bird chirping while perched on a tree branch. His look of wonder—still memorable!
So, what else can toddlers experience in their family’s yard?
There are the many captivating sounds of local birds. Listeners are sure to hear their melodious tweets, twitters, clicks, and singing. Local vocalizers in my neck of the woods could be the mockingbird, nightingale, grosbeak, and blackbird, plus robins with clever twitters. Also possible: a harmonious cacophony of birds in chorus. There can be duets, musical conversations, and “dawn choruses.” Local birds cause quite a symphony! Favorite choristers include warblers.
Fun too: sighting brightly colored males of bird species. The males are the ones in bird species who ‘dress up’ to attract mates. Look for cardinals, blue jays, house finches, and goldfinches.
Finding and learning to identify a bird flying by or perching in a tree briefly is another activity to look forward to. Note head, body, and tail features.
And what about listening for crickets chirping when they call for rain on a hot summer evening?
To attract more of nature’s wonders to your yard for toddlers you know to enjoy, you could plant quick-growing seeds that become pretty Morning Glories, Sunflowers, and more.
Or you could build a birdhouse. Maybe paint it blue, yellow, and white.
You could place a decorative bird bath on a lawn or porch. And keep it filled with water. Watch birds splashing in appreciation!
Try hanging a nectar-filled hummingbird feeder on a tree branch. Those fast flyers are sure to fascinate.
Plant butterfly-attracting plants, including brightly colored ones, such as the butterfly bush and cosmos.
Welcome into your yard ladybugs, those attractive useful insects.
Plant marigold, nasturtium, and sweet alyssum flowers for them. Sprinkle with water. Set bought ladybugs free at dusk. Wait. Watch. Try to make sure the ladybugs are not introduced species that will take over from the insects that naturally occur in your area.
Plant fragrant flowers too. Try sweet candy-colored phlox and vanilla-scented heliotrope.
Why not create a small fish pond? Make this home for native fish, or colorful fish such as unique sunfish and goldfish.
You could look for squirrels, wild rabbits, fawns, or other little animals. Maybe they’ll wander into your yard.
As a popular saying declares: If you build it, they will come!
(c) June 2021 (article, expanded, reproduced here by permission of editor of Nature Place Journal)
Photos (unless unwise noted) are free-use photos from Pixabay, Wikimedia Commons or Creative Commons.
Photo of a toddler and one of his aunts is used by permission of the toddler’s mother, a professional photograher
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