A Texas-Sized Effort to Promote Outdoor Play
Texas Parks & Wildlife – February 29, 2008
By Dyanne Fry Cortez, Wendee Holtcamp, and Bernadette Noll
- [>] read the full article on the Texas Parks & Wildlife website
- [>] order the March Issue of Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine
Kids don't develop a relationship with nature by watching it on the Discovery Channel. They need to feel the wind, smell leaves and wildflowers, run their fingers over rocks and make personal contact with other living things. Pristine wilderness is not required: Ask any of today's dedicated outdoorsmen, and you may find that his favorite childhood memory involves a backyard tree house or fishing in an irrigation canal. Encourage children to get outside wherever they can, as often as possible, and start building their own memories. Here are 50 ideas to help kids reconnect with the outdoors.
Build a sand castle
You need fine, wet sand for building. Ingredients are available most places on the Texas coast. Sand sculpting can be a family project, with tasks appropriate to every age level. Bring shovels for digging and buckets for mixing sand and water. Paint scrapers and plastic forks and knives make good carving tools. – DFC
Walk in the rain
Everyone should try this at least once. Smell the fresh scent of rain-washed air. Listen to drops falling on grass and tree canopies. Watch them gather into streams; have stick boat races. Jump in a puddle! Wear boots, carry an umbrella or just decide to get wet. (This works best in a gentle, steady rain. If you hear thunder, get inside or under cover.) – DFC
Make mud pies
Messy and creative, mud pie preparation can happen anywhere and requires little supervision. Spoons, sticks, cookie cutters and aluminum pie plates make useful tools. Seeds, pebbles, leaves and bits of fallen fruit add interest. As they work, kids learn about the texture, absorption and drying characteristics of different soils. – DFC
Jump in a pile of leaves
Rake fallen leaves into a neat pile and kids will dive in, delighting in the earthy smell and the squishy, crunchy feel of leaves giving way under them. They'll get leaf bits in their hair and clothes. They'll scatter leaves across the lawn, and someone will have to rake them up again. But who cares? – DFC
Look for shapes in clouds
They may be just blobs of water vapor in the sky, but with a little imagination, a cloud can become an animal, a spaceship or a favorite cartoon character. Cloud gazing is free and fun for all ages. Chances are that everyone will see something different, but arguing about it is half the fun. – DFC
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C&NN has designated April "Children & Nature Awareness Month." As part of this effort, we invited network members (like you) to list their April programs and share their strategies for building public awareness. Find out what's happening in your community on the C&NN Movement Map.
As part of our ongoing efforts to build the movement, the Children & Nature Network has published two new resources for leaders, organizers, and participants at the local, national, and international levels:
An annotated bibliography of 20 premier studies focusing on the children and nature connection.
