Hauora/Wellbeing and Nature
Nau Mai! Welcome to the Kids Greening Taupo Online Nature Classroom!
THIS ONLINE NATURE CLASSROOM IS ALL ABOUT Hauora/Wellbeing.
Connecting to nature is important for our mental and physical well-being. It is a great way to reduce stress, anxiety and pain. Nature helps us to feel calm, peaceful, and happy.
No matter where you live in the world, nature will be near.
The first step is to discover what your local nature includes.
Do you have any nature inside your home?
What can you see out of a window right now?
Can you see nature?
Are you ready to discover the benefits of connecting to nature?
In our first day of nature connection we will be exploring local green spaces. Let’s start to look closer at nature, put our listening ears on, breathe in the fresh air, and open up our hearts to nature!
Hauora/wellbeing introduction videos:
Resources for teachers:
Sparklers Te Whare Tapa Whā activity
Mental Health Awareness Week Resources.
Our ‘Fill your Kete’ section will provide you will some fun nature activities based around our topic. As this topic is Hauora/wellbeing, our activities aim to connect you to Papatūānuku and help you to relax.
DAY 1:
EXPLORE YOUR LOCAL GREEN SPACE
Do you have a garden at home?
Do you know of any green spaces within walking distance that you could safely access?
This is your chance to explore the possibilities around your home. Maybe there is a gully close to you which you have never explored!
Have fun exploring and discovering in your local green space!
Here are some activity ideas:
Do a nature Scavenger Hunt
Set up a natural obstacle course or circuit
Sit or lay in your greenspace with your shoes off, directly connecting to papatūānuku.
When in your green space the possibilities are endless. Unleash your creativity!
DAY 2:
CREATE YOUR OWN NATURE JOURNAL
Materials needed:
A cardboard box cut into a piece slightly bigger than A4 (outside cover).
A selection of A4 paper making up the pages (you can use different colours if you have a variety).
An elastic band or string to hold your journal together.
Optional: an envelope (A5 or smaller) and a glue stick - glue on the inside cover and use as a pocket for pencils and anything you wish to collect (if you don’t have one at home, you can make one from paper).
Instructions:
Fold all of your paper in half (you can fold them all together).
Fold your cardboard in half and put it on the outside of your paper (like the cover of a book).
Use your string or rubber band to keep the pages (paper) inside of the cardboard cover.
If you would like ideas on what you can do with your nature journal click HERE. You can even get a Kiwi Guardian Medal!
DAY 3:
NEAR, THERE AND FAR
This activity aims to spark interest and connection with nature using your senses.
Sit quietly in nature, individually or with someone in your ‘bubble’, and concentrate on your surroundings. Focus on what is NEAR.
What can you see close to you?
What is within reach?
Use your other senses (for example: hearing and smell) to notice what is THERE (a little bit further away).
Lastly, concentrate on what is FAR away.
Which senses can you use to notice what is far away?
Do you feel any emotions inside of you?
Does your heart connect to something around you? What?
Record your findings under the three headings, Near, There and Far. Findings could be recorded in your nature journal.
CLICK HERE for the link to the Near, There and Far activity
DAY 4:
MINDFULNESS COLOURING
Time to get creative! A wonderful activity in the rain or shine. If the sun is out, take your colouring sheets outside and get inspired by the beautiful colours you see. This will also be a great activity to do snuggled up out of the rain!
Option 2: Observation Drawing (Great if you do not have access to a printer)
Head out into nature and draw what you can see. You could draw the landscape, or focus in on something smaller. It is easiest to start with something that doesn’t move around so that you can take your time to notice the shapes, texture, colours and details. You could collect some natural taonga (flowers, leaves, pine cones, seed heads, bugs, feathers etc.) to draw. We recommend finding a quiet place outside to draw your taonga.
This is a great activity to do in your nature journal. You’ll be surprised what you notice when you look really close!
DAY 5:
KI TE PANUI/ TO READ
This week’s ki te Panui section is based on Hauora/Wellbeing.
Head to the section below for the read aloud book, Aroha’s Way.
If you already have this book make sure you head outside to connect to nature whilst enjoying it!
After reading/listening to the book make sure to try the follow up activity of Belly Breathing with Aroha.
In each Online Nature Classroom we will give book suggestions along with at least one video read aloud.
Our recommendation is Aroha’s Way: an incredible story about wellbeing and nature connection. Although it says ‘A children’s guide through emotions’ we can all learn a lot from this captivating and beautifully illustrated book. What makes it even more special is that it is written by Craig Phillips, a local Taupo author and illustrator!
Watch the read aloud below-
If you fell in love with this book (like we did) make sure to head along to Wildling Books.
They have also released a sequel (Let It Go)!
FOllow up activity:
BELLY BREATHING WITH AROHA
We hope you enjoyed following Aroha on her journey.
Our final activity for this week’s Online Nature Classroom is Belly Breathing with Aroha. To prepare you can lay on the grass, sit against a tree or find another comfortable position. Instructions HERE
Here’s another awesome activity from the Department of Conservation all about moving in nature.
Click on the image for the printable from the DOC website.
