Talk to me about nature table thingys...

[ezrasmummy]

Hi- I am planning on HSing my 2.5 yr old for preschool and have been checking things out around this board and online in general. I see a lot of people talk about little tables or shelves with nature/seasonaly themed objects. It sounds good and I am putting together ideas for some. These are my questions:
Not to sound foolish but why do people do it? Like your own reasons...I get the general idea! I just mean why set it up so specifically instead of just collecting things as the kids want to?
What do you put on yours?
When do you talk about it? Is it part of everyday or just when the child wants to look at it?
How do you babyproof it without toddler proofing it?

Thanks in advance for any ideas! I am really excited to get some plans going for when we start in January.

[Mary-Beth]

We set ours up because the kids always wanted to collect nature stuff...pinecones, rocks, leaves, etc. This just gave them a place to keep them. It looks nice on our playroom and helps us understand the seasons.

[Star]

I'm still learning about nature tables, so I can't really answer any other questions, but I have on ours so far: acorns, leaves, pine cones and a minature pumpkin.

[white_feather]

It doesn't have to be set up specifically. We're loosely following a Waldorf philosophy, so in our case, our nature table doesn't only reflect the seasons, but we have felt dolls on it that reflect the stories of the seasons as well (Grandfather winter, Grandmother Thaw). I set up a couple things so the over-all table has an aesthetic appeal, and then the kids feel free to place whatever objects they find on the table through the seasons.

I do nature tables as a child-friendly ritual, almost like an altar, to acknowledge the beauty of nature, and the rhythm of the changing seasons.

[mccelticmom]

Just to add, it's a way to bring nature indoors. Sometimes when you have crappy weather and can't really go outside much, it's nice to see some of the outdoors inside. It's also just a nice *project* for the whole family to be involved in, each member getting to find something neat for the nature table, like they are contributing to something in the family.

As your 2.5 you gets older she'll really start enjoying it more.

Mine is in the corner near our dining room table. That's were we *do* school for the most part. Really, the tots have left it alone after the first few weeks of *new* wore off.

We love our nature table!

[snugglebug14]

Ours started really slowly. At first it was just a table where I keep some dried roses that are really sentimental to me. Then we would occasionally find things outside that were cool and would bring them in and put them on the table. At any rate, we are now follow waldorf pretty closely and the nature table has become a really big thing for us. It has continued to grow and grow and to be perfectly honest I am totally in love with it right now.

Right now it has a few seasonally colored cloths, a silk for the sky, a tree made out of some branches with colored wool on it, a few really special logs, acorns, pinecones, pine needles, a teasel, some rocks, an autumn doll I needle felted, a sun, moon, raindrop etc that I needle felted, apple slices, cranberries, little corn, mini pumpkins, a gourd, let's see I think that may be it.

I'm really going to try to get some pictures up here, but we'll see if it happens

ds (21 months) just recently REALLY got into his nature table. When we redid it for equinox he came with me to gather things and was insistent on gathering his own so I let him fill a basket with his own things and we set up a table in his room too. now, everyday he wants to find new things and the old ones get given to the river to "go home". it's a really sweet ritual.

[snugglebug14]

okay here's link...http://web.mac.com/kristenataylor/iW...0projects.html

[simple living mama]

It seems like every-time we hike, we find something really cool. Well we used to put it on our nature table but it has become full so now our windowsills have become a place to set beautiful "found" objects and our windows are plastered with dried leaves and we have seed pods of all sorts hanging from the window like sun-catchers. In other our house has become one big place to house nature. It makes us very happy to live with and around it.

When the kids were young, it was always kid friendly things they could pick up and play with if they wanted.

[grahamsmom98]

Ds has his collection on one of the bookcases in our living room.

Right now, on display:

Feathers: Great horned owl, saw-whet owl, redtail hawk, wild turkey, bluebird, red-shafter flicker, Canda goose, vulture and a few unknown songbird-sized.

Rocks & minerals: Granite, basalt, pumice, river stones, sand from the Oregon coast, a chunk of amethyst, a couple of geodes

Leaves and flowers: Maple, birch, aspen, pine needle bunches, wild grasses and misc wildflowers

Fauna (recently departed): Two shedded snake skins (from rubber boas), a hummingbird moth, various bird eggs (found on the ground, not taken from nests!), a shrew skull, a gopher pelt, deer teeth (I said no to the entire skull we found nearby!), and the contents of several owl pellets we have found (prbably great horned).

We are going to purchase a large curio cabinet soon as dusting around all these special items is a bit of a pain!

[Sasha_girl]

Originally Posted by white_feather

I do nature tables as a child-friendly ritual, almost like an altar, to acknowledge the beauty of nature, and the rhythm of the changing seasons.

This.

I just decorated our nature table for fall last week. It's a table in our playroom next to the reading chair. I covered it with a pretty orange tablecloth with patterns of leaves woven into the fabric. I have a pentacle (we're Pagan), a jack o' lantern-sized pumpkin from our garden, a couple of bunches of Indian corn, some little gourds, a felt gnome, a couple of little gnome-like creatures that my mom got for me at the Longaberger homestead, a beeswax candle, and some beeswax clay fall-themed creations made by my kids. There is a picture of it here: http://photo.xanga.com/Sashahomescho...029/photo.html

[simple living mama]

That's beautiful Sasha girl.