Toddler activities with nature finds
7 activities in the library use nature finds, for toddlers aged 16 to 36 months: 1 starting 12–17 months, 2 starting 18–23 months and 4 starting from 24 months. Leaves, pinecones, sticks, stones and shells found on walks are free, varied materials for sorting, counting, comparing, rubbing and naming.
Updated
Nature finds: 7 activities to try
Safety: Skip berries, mushrooms, seeds and anything sharp; check plants in your area are not poisonous.
7 activities
- Nature Tote Treasure Walk 16–28 months · 10–20 min · Outdoors · Active On a slow outdoor walk your child carries a tote bag, collects large safe finds and stops to show them to you, while you name each treasure.
- Two-Hoop Nature Sort 20–32 months · 8–15 min · Outdoors · Active Outdoors, your toddler gathers big pinecones and leaves into a bucket, then sorts them into two hula hoops on the grass, one for each kind.
- Nature Jar Lid Twist 22–32 months · 3–8 min · Outdoors · Calm Your child twists open a plastic jar holding a pinecone or big leaf found outside, practising two hands working together and the turning motion lids need.
- Crayon Leaf Rubbings 24–36 months · 5–12 min · Indoors · Calm Leaves from a walk go under a sheet of paper and your child rubs over them with the side of a jumbo crayon until the veins and edges appear.
- Long Stick, Short Stick 24–34 months · 8–15 min · Outdoors · Active On a walk, your toddler collects sticks into a bucket and lays them side by side on the ground to find the long ones and the short ones.
- Bedtime Day Recap 28–36 months · 3–8 min · Indoors · Calm At bedtime, hold one keepsake from the day, such as a big leaf, and take turns telling what happened, building back-and-forth conversation and memory talk.
- Egg Carton Color Hunt 28–36 months · 10–20 min · Outdoors · Active The cups of an egg carton each get a color, and on a walk your toddler hunts for a leaf or petal to match each one.
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Nature Finds at a glance
| Activities | 7, 2 on the low-prep menu |
|---|---|
| Ages covered (corrected) | 16–36 months |
| Focus time | 3–20 minutes |
| Main domains | 3 early concepts, 2 language, 1 creativity & pretend and 1 fine motor |
| Where they happen | 5 outdoors and 2 indoors |
| Quickest start | Bedtime Day Recap, 3–8 minutes |
Every activity with nature finds
Sorted by the first month each one fits (corrected age for children born early). Quick picks: for a calm moment, Nature Jar Lid Twist; to burn energy, Nature Tote Treasure Walk; with no prep at all, Two-Hoop Nature Sort.
| Activity | Ages | Minutes | Domain | Prep |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nature Tote Treasure Walk | 16–28 months | 10–20 | Language | 2 min |
| Two-Hoop Nature Sort | 20–32 months | 8–15 | Early concepts | None |
| Nature Jar Lid Twist | 22–32 months | 3–8 | Fine motor | None |
| Long Stick, Short Stick | 24–34 months | 8–15 | Early concepts | None |
| Crayon Leaf Rubbings | 24–36 months | 5–12 | Creativity & pretend | 5 min |
| Bedtime Day Recap | 28–36 months | 3–8 | Language | None |
| Egg Carton Color Hunt | 28–36 months | 10–20 | Early concepts | 5 min |
How each activity uses nature finds
- Nature Tote Treasure Walk (pointing to show, 10–20 minutes): When they hold up or point to a find, look at it together and name it once: "Pinecone. Bumpy!"
- Two-Hoop Nature Sort (sorting, 8–15 minutes): Lay two hoops on the grass, then walk together collecting leaves and big pinecones into the bucket.
- Nature Jar Lid Twist (twisting lids and knobs, 3–8 minutes): Put a large nature find in the jar while your child watches and twist the lid on loosely.
- Long Stick, Short Stick (size words, 8–15 minutes): Walk together and collect a few sticks into the bucket, choosing ones no longer than your child's arm.
- Crayon Leaf Rubbings (scribbling and early drawing, 5–12 minutes): Collect a few flat, dry leaves together on a walk.
- Bedtime Day Recap (conversation turns, 3–8 minutes): During the day, save one keepsake from something your child enjoyed, such as a big leaf from the park.
- Egg Carton Color Hunt (colors and shapes, 10–20 minutes): On the walk, pick a green leaf, hold it by the green cup and say 'Green leaf, green cup.'.
By age
12–17 months: 1 activity, 10–20 minutes. 18–23 months: 2 activities, 3–15 minutes. From 24 months: 4 activities, 3–20 minutes.
Starting 12–17 months
Starting 18–23 months
Starting from 24 months
Words that come up
Across these activities you will model “look!”, “leaf”, “pinecone”, “in the bag”, “same”, “this one goes here”, “turn”, “open”, “closed”, “the find's name”, “long” and “short”. Say one at the moment it happens, then pause for your child's turn.
Safety with nature finds
- Skip berries, mushrooms, seeds and anything sharp; check plants in your area are not poisonous.
- Pick finds too big to fit inside a toilet-paper tube, and wash hands after collecting.
Prep tips
- Collect a few finds in a bag or bucket on each walk.
- Rinse and dry finds before bringing them inside to play.
No nature finds? Use instead
- Kitchen utensils of different sizes.
- Fabric scraps of different textures.
- Clean cardboard packaging pieces of different shapes.
Combine it with
Nature finds are most often paired with bucket (2 activities), egg carton (1 activity) and family photos (1 activity). The skills practised most: naming things (3), sorting (2) and asking questions (1).
Often combined with
Skills practised
Frequently asked questions
What can a toddler do with nature finds?
7 activities here use them, for example Nature Tote Treasure Walk (16–28 months), Two-Hoop Nature Sort (20–32 months) and Nature Jar Lid Twist (22–32 months). 2 are on the low-prep menu: no prep and 10 minutes or less.
Are nature finds safe for toddlers?
Use them only with an adult close by. Skip berries, mushrooms, seeds and anything sharp; check plants in your area are not poisonous. Pick finds too big to fit inside a toilet-paper tube, and wash hands after collecting.
What can I use instead of nature finds?
Kitchen utensils of different sizes, fabric scraps of different textures or clean cardboard packaging pieces of different shapes can stand in for most of these activities.
What ages are activities with nature finds for?
They cover 16–36 months of corrected age: 1 starting 12–17 months, 2 starting 18–23 months and 4 starting from 24 months.
Related
Monitoring, not medical advice. Talk to your pediatrician about any concern. Our sources and method.