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Exploration of the Nature

Nature play is a simple, fun, and extraordinary life experience for children. For many children, nothing is more enjoyable than getting messy and playing in nature.

Here at BestStart Napier Central we believe that children are driven by a natural desire and curiosity to explore the world around them. Nature play experiments and outdoor play promote a happy, creative, and healthy childhood. Nature play is when children are provided with the opportunity to engage in unstructured play experiences in outdoor settings where natural elements feature, such as logs, rocks, trees, and water, as opposed to conventional manufactured play equipment.

Providing children with promotes every aspect of children’s development. It encourages physical and mental health and well-being, social and emotional development, builds resilience, and creativity, and promotes a strong connection with nature. Children are innate scientists and love to experience the sights, scents, sounds, and textures of the outdoors. Nature provides countless opportunities for discovery, creativity, and problem-solving, Interacting with natural environments allows children to learn by doing and experiment with ideas.

Kaiako at BestStart Napier Central works to foster children's love for nature through hands-on learning within our environments. “If tomorrow’s caretakers of the earth are to love and understand the natural world, they need to explore it, enjoy it, and recognize our reliance upon it”