A Peek Inside Our Playroom: Late Summer Nature Table

Ah, August. For some, it's the end of the summer. Others are already headed back to school. Here, we are savoring these last drops of the sweet slower pace, but with an eye toward the events to come--beginning kindergarten for S, part-time preschool for Y, some undivided attention for C, and some new adventures and undertakings in my nature based playgroup.

Teachers are busy setting up classrooms. Homeschool teachers are busy setting up learning spaces. And if you're still at home with your crew, you're likely setting up, cleaning up, and repeating daily, multiple times! I had noticed our Nature Table, although holding a collection of several summertime treasures, was still set up from late spring! And here we are, late into the summer, busily investigating the remains of our mammoth sunflowers, reaping this season's fruitful harvest and splashing in the muddy creek in the area where our local chapter of Free Forest School meets up. Yes, we are in full summer swing here!

Part of me is so ready for the season to come. I love Autumn. And part of me is not yet ready to let go of Summer--or all of us being here at home together (even though it is also quite challenging at times).And that part of me likes to plan and set stuff up!  So I've been planning my playgroup's Fall events and today, I decided to spruce up our Nature Table. But let's veer off course just for a minute and touch upon the hows and whys of a Nature Table in your home or classroom...

The Third Teacher: There is a concept in Reggio Emilia based education that talks about the classroom or a child's surrounding environment being the "third teacher" in the room. As early childhood educators set up their spaces right now, many classrooms or learning spaces are set up with a calendar, a space for science, a space for math, a space for literacy... Many teachers will spend time in each of their days talking, singing or chanting about the days of the week, the seasons of the year, the weather outside. And for many this is a struggle. A struggle of maintaining the interest (not to mention the classroom management) of a group of young people not designed for sitting still for long periods of time. Many will wonder why some children "get" it with those pesky concepts of before and after, today, tomorrow and yesterday or why little Billy says it's snowing every single day he is the Class Meteorologist. There is current support and evidence to show that these rituals, while common in classrooms, are not as effective and beneficial to learning as we had previously thought. For most children, the best way to learn about time is to experience it and connect to events in their life. For most children, the best way to learn about the weather is to go outside and be in it. And for most children, the best way to learn to sit still is to move around. Math, science and literacy are all around us, and while having a space and a place for everything is valuable (and necessary) it is also possible for children to develop these skills in all spaces and places quite naturally. A Nature Table, commonly found in most Waldorf inspired classrooms and homes, is a space that can hold it all (albeit on a scale of how much space you actually have). You can experience the season, your geographical location or places you have traveled, local flora and fauna (science), measurement, counting and other mathematical concepts, literacy, vocabulary and more. It is also a space to inspire play and wonder.
Inspiring Play and Wonder in your Nature Table is an act of balance. As with many areas and spaces that adults set up for children, there is the propensity to claim ownership of it, whether intentionally or inadvertently. Oftentimes I set up the Nature Table when the children are asleep. Even once it is set up, I will every so often go over to it in the evening, and arrange something with our loose parts, peg people or fairies. It is a little way in which I communicate a silent message of play and wonder to my kids. And often, when I return a few nights later, I will notice that someone has responded to my playful message and made a change of his own. These little love letters to one another are expressed purely through small world play and it is a whimsical and magical way to connect. That said, I also am aware that my "setting up" this space can also give the impression that it is my space rather than our space. Initially when I first started keeping our top toy shelf as a Nature Table, S didn't even realize he could play with it (and Y couldn't reach it yet). Bit by bit, I've learned to let go of the need to solely control playroom design here. It's not easy because I like a certain aspect of tidiness. But I also have a sincere appreciation for the aesthetics of childhood wonder and play residue. I actually find a child's sense of intention in design to be truly beautiful and artistic.
To encourage engagement with our Nature Table as well as play and movement of materials, I invite the children to choose what we put out, to assist with initial design and set up, to bring things from outside indoors, or from inside to our table. It can be items found from nature or items that are man-made. It can be items that are fragile and require gentle touch. It can be items intended for carrying off the shelf to use (like our mortar and pestle, currently filled with parts of a sunflower). It can be baskets, tins, trays or bowls for filling, holding, observing. Small world play props do not have to be on scale--a bumblebee puppet can be giant compared to a tiny garden gnome. A friendly green caterpillar can be just as big as a Mother Earth pegdoll. Some sunflowers can be artificial; some can be real!


Reflecting the Season is somewhat about what is happening outdoors and in nature where we live, but it is also about what we find interesting and inspiring at the moment.
Last month, the boys were intrigued by sharks. We added a magnifying box with two collected shark teeth to our Nature Table, even though we do not live so near the ocean. And we also added some shells we did find at the ocean while visiting Virginia Beach. And yesterday, while the Sprout Scouts were on first Forest School hike, S found a yellow leaf on the ground. He wanted to know which type of tree it came from. We pulled out our copy of Into the Field Guide: A Walk in the Woods to look up types of leaves and trees. He wanted to know even more about this leaf along with another one we found and an acorn, and so we grabbed another field guide all about trees off our bookshelf at home and set it out at our Nature Table along with our collection of discovered treasures.

Reflecting the People in your room or home is perhaps the most important aspect of a Nature Table. There's no right or wrong. To some, it is important that everything be natural or to some it might be important that small world props be true to scale or made from only natural materials or that this space contain only generic loose parts and not toys with a single function or purpose. To me, it is most meaningful that the space be one for sharing. And with props and materials contributed by all of us from a variety of sources, we can easily accomplish that. It is not a sedentary spot--just like us, it is constantly in motion. Y wanted to bring a wooden prism looking glass and a wooden window block with a sunflower inside. S wanted the field guide about trees to be there and our thrifted tin with pictures of each season is filled with his favorite collection of flocked bears. I added quite a lot of sunflowers! And at the very end, I nestled a couple of books about sunflowers off to the side to inspire some literacy and shared reading. Our Nature Table is very full. Most of the time, I'm a less is more kinda gal. But I'm also OK when more is more. And shifts and tweaks can happen (and will happen) as play and time go on.
Elements of texture, color and curiosity are fun to play with as you design a space for a Nature Table. This time, I added some silk scarves to the bottom. They give a burst of color and a softer feel than just the wood plank of the shelf. A round mirror creates a flat surface that reflects the props on top of it. It will encourage a different way of viewing objects the children use on top of it. Wood, wicker and the earth tones of sticks, stones, seed pods, cones, leaves and acorns all found outdoors set against the more vibrant hues of some of our toys and props creates a pleasing balance. I know we are "ready" with a Nature Table when we all feel drawn to go see what's different. What has moved? What story is being told? What little love letter is being conveyed?
Movement is a key element in our Nature Table. Although it definitely has an element of stillness to it and even a lure to slow down, it's OK--even encouraged--to take things from it elsewhere for play, to bring things to it as they are discovered and collected. It is a picture in motion of life here as we experience it through each day. It is a celebration of each season, of each person and of our most valuable teacher, the world around us.

Happy Playing!