Objective

By the end of this lesson, the toddler will be able to recognize and count natural objects in their environment, such as leaves, rocks, and flowers, and understand basic addition and subtraction through nature-inspired activities.

Materials and Prep

Materials:

• Nature journal or paper
• Crayons or colored pencils
• Natural objects like leaves, rocks, and flowers

Prep:

• Find a suitable outdoor location for the lesson
• Gather the natural objects for counting activities

Activities

1. Nature Scavenger Hunt: Take a walk in the chosen outdoor location and have the toddler find and collect natural objects like leaves, rocks, and flowers. Count and record the number of each item in the nature journal.

2. Nature Math Art: Use the collected natural objects to create a nature-inspired art piece. Count and add the different types of objects used in the art, and record the numbers in the journal.

3. Nature Math Story: Create a simple story using the collected natural objects and incorporate basic addition and subtraction into the story. For example, "We found 3 rocks, and then we found 2 more. How many rocks do we have now?"

Toddler Grade Talking Points

• "Look at all the pretty leaves we found! Let's count them together. One, two, three, four, five. We found five leaves!"
• "Now, let's use these leaves to make a colorful picture. How many red leaves do we have? Let's count them and find out!"
• "I'm going to tell you a story about the flowers we found. We found 4 flowers, and then 2 more popped up. How many flowers are there now? Let's count together."