With childhood obesity reaching an all time high, getting children away from the sedentary world of TV, computers, and video games is more critical than ever before. The best way to get them moving is by getting them outside. For many parents and caregivers, encouraging children to embrace the bounty of learning and fun the great outdoors has to offer is quite a challenge.
However, inexpensive activities and unique educational toys will inspire hours of outdoor play and exploration. From the backyard to local park, nature provides an endless array of engaging opportunities that will stimulate their minds as well as their muscles.
Children's Backyard Activities and Science Kits
The backyard is always a safe place to engage in outdoor fun. Encourage children to reinvent a traditional game like soccer or baseball. For example, give a large pinecone and a few sticks to a group of children and let them determine the rules and boundaries for yard hockey. This activity promotes sportsmanship, exercise, and improvisational thinking.
Planting a garden is an ideal activity for children of varying ages to work on together. The project may be big enough to delegate specific tasks, such as plant research, layout, and tool gathering, to each child. Planting is a group effort with weeding, watering, and harvesting assigned individually or as group tasks. As the project ends, children may reflect on their particular contribution, as well as, the group’s efforts. A gardening project celebrates cooperation, eco awareness, and patience.
When outdoor play cannot involve two or more children, science kits and nature observation tools are ideal for solitary adventures. For younger children, parents can help them create an insect net constructed out of tulle fabric and a coat hanger. This activity is most effective when paired with a children’s insect encyclopedia. For older children, a portable microscope transforms a simple leaf into a rewarding scientific discovery. Eco testing kits and nature sets challenge a young mind's way of viewing environmental issues and their own accountability.
Engaging Children's Games for Neighborhood Adventures
Exploring beyond the backyard broadens a child’s perspective and aids in social interaction and confidence. Being outside is always more enjoyable when several people are present. Instead of families staying secluded in their homes, with little or no interaction with other neighborhood families, a simple game of yard hockey, hide and seek or a community clean-up effort will bring children and adults together outdoors.
When walking by neighborhood homes and common areas, parents and caregivers may initiate conversations about the variety of plant life they observe, or, the creatures scampering about from one yard to the next. Items such as bug habitats and flower presses offer tokens from outdoor adventures past and remind the child to venture outside for further exciting experiences.
Kid's Toys and Nature Activities for Trips to the Local Park
Although a park often has existing play equipment, there is always time for additional activities and games. Many local parks have walking paths or nature trails. A durable set of children’s binoculars transform a stroll through the woods into an exciting and educational journey. Bird watching and bug catching offer fascinating subject matter for in-depth conversations that both caregiver and child will find rewarding. The children's book, My Favorite Tree (Dawn Publications, 1999) by Diane Iverson, has simple illustrations and descriptions for identifying many North American trees.
Nature Activity Books, Growing Kits, and Nature Observation Tools Get Children Outside
Whether people are in a backyard or a national forest, any outdoor activity may be rewarding and enjoyable. From gardening kits to nature walks the options are endless. Time spent together discussing, observing, and appreciating all the Earth has to offer creates priceless memories and environmental accountability. Parents and caregivers need to encourage young people to venture outdoors for the health of their mind, body, and the planet.
Margaret Smith - Margaret Smith is currently the owner and operator of www.thinkbutton.com a website offering educational products that celebrate ...
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