A Waldorf Nature Table is a Wonderful Addition to Any Home

What is a nature table? It’s an idea that I got from a Waldorf preschool that I worked at during the summer when I was in high school, though it certainly isn’t unique to Waldorf schools and is a wonderful contribution to any home.

It is an area where things are brought in from outside to reflect the changes of the seasons. Things on the nature table are meant to be gently played with and inspected by the children of the house and let them explore the wonders of God’s creation as it changes throughout the year. I keep my nature table low enough so that 2-3 year olds can reach it, but not so low that crawlers can, as many items can pose a choking hazard for the little ones.

What would be on a nature table? Well, let’s start with winter.

We might use a white play silk to cover the table if we live in an area with snow. If we live in an area without snow, we could use a light tan one, or even a piece or burlap to reflect the brown that most of the earth is as it goes through winter. We might have a bulb in a jar that we are ‘forcing’ and it is still dormant, but ready to spring forth with life soon. We could have some pine cones that fell from the tree out back, as well as a vase full of evergreen boughs. We could have some pebbles that we found on our walk, and arrange them in a path shape that leads up to a little house we made of bark that fell off a tree. We could have angels out of wool, or even use wool on the ‘ground’ of our scene to look like snow. We could have a ball of yarn that we are going to knit into mittens, with the work in progress. We could have a mirror on the ground to look like a pond that has turned into ice, and we could prop up a branch that has no leaves on it to reflect all the trees that have gone dormant for the winter.

In the spring as we get more rain, we might fill a sea shell with water for a ‘puddle’, and bring in a few fresh blades of green grass and put them in a vase. Our wool snow could be replaced by green wool ‘moss’ or grass, and our white or tan playsilk replaced with a light green one. Little stuffed lambs and chicks are in our scene, just as we see lambs in the field on our way to town. The chickens would have started laying eggs again, and we might make a nest out of sticks and branches and put some blown-out chicken eggs in there. As flowers start to bloom, we could draw pictures of crayons of them, make them out of felt, or paint them onto paper and put those up on our nature table. For Passover we might reenact the Last Supper with models, nothing fancy, even just those Little Tykes little people would work. We could put a piece of our unleavened bread here, remembering the Exodus of the Children of Israel, or even play out the whole scene. Do you plant a garden in the spring? Bring in a little cup of dirt and ‘prepare’ it for seeds, maybe even plant a couple wheat seeds and watch your wheatgrass come up for springtime. Are toadstools coming up in the forest? Put some felted ones tucked along your path. You want your children to see the changes as they happen in your life around where you live, so add to your nature table as this happens.

For Summer, is the green grass being replaced by some tall golden weeds? Change your light green play silk to a golden one, or a dark green one, whatever reflects the colors that you have around you. Are the lambs getting big? Maybe put out some full sized farm animals. Is your garden producing some peas and lettuce? Make some out of clay and set them on your nature table. Bring in a big friendly sun flower from your garden! When you start harvesting your garden, reflect that on your nature table. As you take things away and replace them with others, talk to your children about what you are doing. If you celebrate Pentecost, reflect that by bringing in your wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, and dates and placing them in baskets.

For the fall you might want to put out some pumpkins as they ripen, make a cornhusk doll out of the corn husks, draw a nice ripe apple as you are taking them off the tree. Do you have acorns? Bring them in and place them in a little basket. Yes, they are messy, but it is good for children to experience nature. Teach them to be respectful of God’s creation, but let them enjoy it! Are there beautiful leaves falling on the ground? Press them in a book and enjoy them next year on your nature table. Set everything up so it is pleasing and engaging to not only your children, but youselves and visitors too. You want it to be encouraging everyone to reflect on the changes that happen. Do you celebrate Sukkot? Make and decorate a little dwelling on your nature table, just as you are doing outside.

Don’t worry about it being perfect, or having the most expensive natural toys. Make do with what you have, your children will love it.