Yellow Dandelion Investigation
This is such a fun and simple way to get kids to interact with nature. Dandelions always evoke such fond memories for me and I hope that as my children grow up they too will always have good memories of playing with them too. This is another nature investigation which is child led, with no rules and is opportunity for them to explore how they want. After we had been on our colour hunt for our Colour Monster Activity box the girls had collected lots of dandelions and had become quite fascinated by these yellow flowers.
Set Up
I used the dandelions that the girls had already collected. Gathered up a few saucepans, utensils, paper, water and a hammer. Any tools could really work to explore and play with the dandelions.
The girls were very excited when they saw what I had set up. Both instantly had a quick play with all the different bits. Then they started to explore the dandelions in very different way. M wanted to create a piece of art work. She used the dandelions as a natural source of paint and paintbrush. She created yellow flowers and a sun on a piece of paper. Next she wanted to add green grass and wanted to know what she could use to create the green grass. It turns out the green dandelion leaves give a nice green colour when crushed and rubbed.
F on the other hand wanted to cook with the dandelions. She enjoyed pouring water, mixing and playing pretend with them. This is all great for not only her motor skill development but also her imagination and creativity too. This was an activity where they just did not want to stop playing and could have happily played for ages independently. A simple activity idea to encourage kids to explore nature.