By: Pooja Sarin Tandon, MD, MPH, FAAP & Danette Swanson Glassy, MD, FAAP
Science supports what you may already sense naturally: spending time outside, especially in green spaces like parks, is important for children's development and well-being. Connecting with nature can even help manage some physical and mental conditions.
Art also supports a child's development in meaningful ways. Art projects and other forms of play let them explore, interact with and make sense of the world around them. When combined with time outdoors, these creative activities can be even more enriching for kids.
Here are some age-based nature art ideas to help you get started.
Toddlers & preschoolers
Focus on tactile or sensory exploration—finger painting with mud, stamping with leaves, or drawing in the dirt with sticks. It's all about the experience. At about age 3, you can introduce simple tools like safety scissors to cut leaves or hole-punch fallen flower petals for fun textures.
Scribble tracing
Collect items like leaves, interesting seed pods, textured rocks, shed feathers, pinecones and shells. Hold a blank piece of paper in place on top of the item and invite your toddler to scribble with crayons on the paper, over the item to reveal the textures.
Encourage them to use different colors with the scribble, and ask which color is their favorite. This activity will work on gross motor skills as they collect the items and fine motor skills as they color over the items. It will also develop their cognitive skills with the color identification. Have your preschooler practice using scissors by cutting out their favorite designs. Then, they can glue those onto another paper in a collage.
Stick sculptures & nature collages
Use twigs, leaves, grass, and string to build a little sculpture. Or, grab a paper plate, add some glue and let kids create a masterpiece from collected items like flower petals, bark or pinecones.
School-aged children
Let them plan a project. Maybe they can design animal masks from natural materials, for example, or illustrate a story about a bird, bunny or other animal they see. More ideas:
Sidewalk chalk
This is an inexpensive and popular way to keep younger kids engaged while they get creative on a sidewalk or other hardtop area. Make sure they are safe from traffic or other dangers; children this age may get easily distracted.
Encourage your child to draw the nature they see around them or think about other colorful ideas, such as rainbows, cars, or abstract designs.
Rock painting
Hunt for smooth rocks that are easy to carry, or use shells you have collected that are 3 to 4 inches across. Using washable paints and small paintbrushes or color markers, have your child decorate the rocks or shells. Challenge them to use many colors and designs. You may need to help your little one plan to add more features after the first layer dries. Your child can display these new treasures at home or share them with family members, friends and neighbors.
Pinecones and larger seed pods can also be painted and decorated.
Sticky leaf collage
For this project, you will need to clear contact paper and some favorite leaves or petals your child collects. Cut off a sheet of the clear, sticky plastic film; peel the backing off; and have your child place their leaves, petals and whatever flat, natural elements they collected onto the sheet. Then cut another piece, roughly the same size; remove the backing; and place the sticky side down onto the art.
Your child can create a frame cut out of construction paper or thin cardboard to highlight the art. Then, staple or glue this onto the sheets. Or, place the paper frame onto the sticky contact paper first, then add your nature bits to the middle, before applying the second piece of contact paper on top.
As children measure and plan out the frame, they not only practice motor skills but also sharpen cognitive and math skills.
Flower press
To press flowers, you will need paper towels, a piece of paper that you want to mount the flowers on, lots of newspapers, 2 boards (you can use plywood or cutting boards), and heavy items such as big books and rocks. Layer these items from bottom to top as follows:
First heavy board
First thick stack of newspapers
Nice sheet of paper for the flowers to be mounted on
(Carefully arrange) the flowers to be pressed
A couple sheets of paper towels
Second thick stack of newspapers
Second heavy board
(Pile on) heavy rocks, bricks, or books
Wait at least 1 to 2 weeks before taking the press apart to check on the flowers. It is often harder for younger kids to wait a long time. If that is the case, consider gluing flowers and their leaves and petals directly to paper.
Snow art
Using food coloring, let your child create pictures and designs by squirting the liquid color onto the snow. You can make your supply last longer if you also have squirt bottles made from reused shampoo bottles or other household bottles; put the food coloring in, then fill the rest with water and shake the bottle up. The color will still be intense, but the supply will go further.
Nature photography
Digital cameras have made it much easier for children to take pictures. The instant gratification of immediately seeing a photo also works well for children. There are digital cameras specifically made for toddlers, with heavy-duty cases that withstand being dropped, but cell phone cameras work well too.
Consider repurposing an old cell phone for your child to use for photography. Encourage your child to experiment with beautiful vistas or even different perspectives in nature (such as taking a picture of a friend "holding up" the moon).
Encourage your child to "collect" nature with photos that keep a record of birds spotted, wildflowers seen, phases of the moon and interesting clouds and sunsets. Be sure to ask why they chose to photograph that part of nature. Help them make digital or print albums of their favorites or use graphic design software to create digital art from the photographs.
More tips to try with budding nature artists
Explore Native American art with your child, focusing on how it honors nature through symbols and storytelling.
Use watercolors outdoors like the impressionists—capture how light changes a tree or a flower across a day.
Set up outdoor art stations: On warm days, use an old sheet or cardboard as a canvas outside. Let kids paint with brushes made from leaves or grass.
Create a seasonal art "exhibit." Devote a wall or shelf to your child's nature-inspired creations. Rotate with the seasons.
Remember
By combining the beauty of the outdoors with creative, hands-on activities, you give your child a powerful opportunity to learn, grow and connect with the natural world. These moments foster not just artistic expression but also important cognitive and motor development.
Best of all, these activities create shared memories and invite a sense of wonder that your child will carry with them. So grab some supplies, step outside, and let nature be your child's first art teacher.
More information
About Dr. Tandon
Pooja Sarin Tandon, MD, MPH, FAAP, is co-author of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) book, Digging Into Nature: Outdoor Adventures for Happier and Healthier Kids. Dr. Tandon is a member of the AAP Council on Community Pediatrics and a general pediatrician and researcher at the Seattle Children's Research Institute. She also serves as an associate professor at the University of Washington's School of Medicine, and Director of Health at the Trust for Public Land. Dr. Tandon has published widely on the importance of physical activity, outdoor time and nature contact for health. She lives in the Seattle area with her husband and 2 children.
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About Dr. Glassy
 Danette Swanson Glassy, MD, FAAP, is a member of the AAP Councils on Community Pediatrics and Early Childhood and co-author of Digging Into Nature: Outdoor Adventures for Happier and Healthier Kids. A primary care pediatrician and child advocate, Dr. Glassy is co-founder and board president of the not-for-profit BestStart Washington and leads it's Project Nature initiative—a program to support pediatric medical providers as they encourage children to spend time in nature. She is the co-editor of
Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Performance Standards; Guidelines for Early Care and Education Programs, 4th edition. Dr. Glassy lives in the Seattle area and enjoys exploring nature in the Pacific Northwest with her 2 grandchildren.
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