Health & Fitness
Observation - 52 Views of a Twig
An activity to stimulate observation skills and build a brief together time.
Yep. 52 observations of a twig.
If you are interested in stimulating a child's skills at observation, find a twig on a tree in your yard. Select one growing at or near the child's eye level and tag the six inches closest to the tip with a ribbon, etc. that will last for 52 weeks.
Provide a blank paper notebook (with 52 pages) and pencil and maybe colored pens to be used to draw what the twig looks like when you observe it once, each week, for a year. Date the observations to keep track of the changes.
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In January the first glance indicates nothing is happening. But, a closer look reveals the leaf buds have already formed. Next week they may look the same, but if you measure them, have they grown, even a millimeter?
When you stop once a week to observe, draw and spend 1-3 minutes discussing what you and the child see, you are helping develop the child's powers of observation, their sketching skills and creating a brief one-to-one time together. Apart and together, those two skills and one moment of together time equals three reasons to consider 52 views of a twig.