OK, this is a really easy one. Ready? Do you have a magnifying glass? Good! Go and get it and put it in a basket with a few interesting things. Got it?

Perhaps in a basket (or a tray) with some fabric scraps, wool, cotton or silk. Perhaps in a basket with some shells, flowers from the garden or leaves or seedpods. Perhaps in a basket with a few vegetables or herbs. The more interesting and attractive to the child the better!

A young child such as a toddler might need some help, perhaps a demonstration on how to hold the magnifying glass but for most children they will get it simply by using it (most children have a tendency to hold it too close to their face or too close to the object).  Above Otis is viewing some beautiful shells (always a favourite under the magnifying glass!). He's also noticing how large his hand looks when viewed under the magnifying glass! 

A simple tray using lots of our favourite items from the nature basket. Sticks, seed pods, pine cones and mini cones, feathers and a small nest. I love the nature theme and the different textures on display. 

Rocks and minerals. What I love about this tray (especially for a really young child) is we have used a bug viewer which has 5 x magnification (c/o Child.com.au) which makes it really easy for the child to view the object magnified. Otis loves playing around with this, bug viewers are not only for bugs!

And most of all I love it when the children pick and choose for themselves, collecting what is around them to look under magnification. Also seen here are two sets of bug viewers and the Duo-Scope Microscope.