If you are over 50 like I am you will remember many summers outside playing in the woods. We would take our shoes off in June and not put them on again until September unless we had to go to church or some other such event. We would go out in the morning and not ruturn except for meals. We didn’t want to come in for any reason, not to eat and certainly not to play video games. When we were outside we were free! No parents! We could climb trees, look under logs, splash in the creek!
The wild OUT of DOORS is a magical place for children to spend their summer. Let them run and explore. There are fairies under every May Apple. There are trolls in the hollers. The wind is singing songs with the birds. If you have never actually allowed your children outside here are some suggestions. Start small ( not for their benefit but for yours) If you MUST hover try to do so out of thier sight. Hide behind a tree if you must! Let them have more and more freedom until YOU feel safe. A fenced yard is a great place to start. Give them a place to dig. A small shovel and some dirt can last for hours. If you can stand the mess a dirt PILE is excellent. Small children can spend hours upon hours playing with dirt and water.
Pilcher Park, here in Joliet, is a fabulous place to play outdoors. Most towns have a park or forest preserve you can visit. If you are in Pilcher Park you can borrow butterfly nets or nets to catch tadpoles or frogs. Pilcher is 640 acres so there is PLENTY of room to roam. If you are afraid to get off the trails start at the Nature Center and play in the FENCED in area behind the building that is used for Little Sprouts Nature Based Early Learning Center. You are free to take your children in there when ever there is no class using the space.
Plant a summer garden. Grow a Sunflower House. Grow a Jack in the Beanstalk Garden. Look for bugs. Catch fireflies at night. Learn to fish. Collect rocks. Lay on the ground and talk about the clouds and the shapes that they make. Learn colors by watching birds. Cardinals are red and they say Birdy, Birdy, Birdy. Blue Jays are blue and they say Jay, Jay, Jay.
If your child asks a question and you don’t know the answer to it you can go look it up on the computer together. Read stories about reptiles, amphibians, squirrels, bats, frogs etc. and then go outside and look for those animals on a hike. Collect acorns and count them. Have a race to the biggest tree you can see or climb on a log to learn balance.
For older children try geocaching. They will love getting outside and using a GPS device to find things in the woods and they will love leaving or picking up a trinket at the secret spot.
Go outside and have a great day!
