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Community Corner

10 ways to get your kids outside

Summer is the perfect time to take advantage of nature

Last week I briefly touched upon Richard Louv's book, "Last Child in the Woods."  His groundbreaking book, which came out in 2005, opened up a discussion for parents on how much their children have lost a connection with their natural world.  Louv sets forth the thesis that nature experiences provide a type of healing for kids, a stress-free, creative space for them to find peace.

So, this week, let's get practical!

Summer is, of course, the easiest time to get outside and allow your kids the opportunity to experience nature in it's fullest.  If you suspect that your son or daughter has shied away from nature, or perhaps they have been too busy to enjoy it, now is the time to reverse that trend for them.

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Here are some ideas you might consider as a family:

1. Nature walk. A nature walk can be taken in a place like a park or even in your own neighborhood.  Ask you children to point out every flower or tree that they have never noticed before.  Ask them to walk slowly with you and spend the time to notice people's lawns or the gardens in their yards. If you go to a park, bring along your camera and have your child take a few photographs as well.

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2. Lie down in the grass and look up.  Spend some time looking in a place we often forget to: straight up!  Discuss the shapes of the clouds, the towering trees, the plans, the birds.  I promise from that moment on, your children will notice clouds everywhere they go!

3. Create a nature scavenger hunt for your children to do.  Ask them to find a bug, a bird, a flower, an acorn, etc. 

4. Nature camp!  Outside all day, this experience will have your children with others his/her age having fun all day long.  Lots of memories and lots of good times...all outside.

5. Turn OFF the t.v./computer/ etc.  Louv says, "The more high-tech our lives become, the more nature we need."  As parents, we need to make sure our home's electronics do not begin to take over every waking moment.  I love my computer as much as the next gal, but I don't ever want my work on the computer, like writing this column, to show the kids I don't like to get outside in the "real world."

6. Go on a sensory walk with your kids.  Ask them to use their senses, sight, smell, touch, hearing (probably NOT taste) as they walk along.  What do you hear?  Do you smell anything?  What does that leaf feel like?

7. Get involved in a community cleanup or organize one yourself!  There are natural spaces right here in Windsor that need a small army of people to walk through them with a garbage bag and clean them out. 

8. Make sure to sign your children up for classes/programs that involve the outdoors.  Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts are a great example, but there is also programs at the Audubon Society, Holcomb Farm, Flamig Farm...all local. 

9. Go fishing, frog catching and catch some lightning bugs. Getting up close and personal with animals can have a lasting impact on a child.

10.  Start a small garden with your children.  Don't get over ambitious, but grow things you know will grow pretty easily, like peas, beans, pumpkins, sunflowers and some flowers.  Make some time each week to tend the garden with the child and use that time to notice things about the garden like how much it has grown, if there are bugs in it, etc.

Here are some resources for getting your children outside!

www.northwestpark.org

www.ctaudubon.org

www.holcombfarm.com

www.flamigfarm.com

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