Homework, soccer practice, ballet—is there time in the schedule to play outside? Visit Greenhour.org/TopTen to see 10 ways to Be Out There, even after school starts.
- Keep a picnic blanket in your car for an impromptu picnic after picking up a fast food dinner on any spot of green you can find.
- No backyard? Find your local parks using nwf.org/naturefind.
- For older kids, start stretching your child’s boundaries, allowing them to go for unsupervised walks in the neighborhood with groups of friends. They’ll love the feeling of independence.
- Have your child make a map of your neighborhood — using only natural landmarks. This will heighten his or her observation skills and can be the first step in creating a “field guide” to the nature in your neighborhood.
- Keep flashlights near the door, and go for a neighborhood night hike. Kids will love the novelty, and you can challenge them to identify “night sounds.” Learn how to make a moon journal at greenhour.org/moonjournal.
- With older kids, combine technology with the outdoors and go geo-caching or, the lower-tech version, letterboxing. There are about 20,000 letterboxes and 250,000 geocaches hidden in North America. Visit geocaching.com and letterboxing.org.
To view the full report, visit Be Out There.org.
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