Nature – The Original Playground

Year after year parents spend a large portion of their income on toys, games and extracurricular activities for their children. These things are great for keeping minds and bodies active, there is a better and less expensive alternative. Children do need structured play, but they also need unstructured play or “free time” to let their imaginations run wild. This is easy to do when the world’s original playground is right outside the door. Why not let them play outdoors?

Every toy, book, and TV show that comes out has been designed and redesigned several times in order to make it educational and entertaining for children. The great thing about nature is that, while being entertaining and stimulating to the imagination, it’s also educational. Nature can teach children the basics of science, economics, and creativity.
Depending on where you live, exploring nature is usually pretty inexpensive, if not free. It may mean going out in your backyard, local park, or perhaps going to the local nature center or state park (which usually have low cost fees or memberships). This way, you don’t have to pay for expensive toys, jungle gyms, or memberships to expensive entertainment centers, but you still get the benefit of stimulating and educational play.

Nature can make your child think. Lately there’s been a trend in education towards inquiry based learning. Researchers have found that if students figure out answers on their own by exploring and experimenting, they’re going to learn better, and hang on to more information. It also helps them develop skills to be able to learn things on their own later in life. Is there any better environment to learn things than out in nature? There are lessons for kids of all ages to discover about the world around them.
It may help the planet. Everyone these days is trying to become green and more environmentally conscious. What better way to help do your part than to get your children interested in their own planet than right now when they’re young and impressionable? What might be a fun time for them now, might be a future hobby, career, or world saving invention.

Enjoying nature is enjoyable. While it’s easy to forget, childhood isn’t just for learning about how to be an adult, it’s also about having fun. Nature gives kids a chance to use their imagination and be free to just be kids.

While unstructured play outside is great for kids, you can also find a lot of places offering structured classes and learning sessions for kids that focus on the natural world. Check your local park, zoo, or museum. There’s a good chance they have classes you can sign up for, and since many of these places are not for profit, they’re usually inexpensive as well as educational.
Across the world, there are millions of dollars being spent to help promote sending your kids outside to learn from nature. That’s because spending time in the outside world is so important for developing minds. It can also be a great escape for you as well.

Spending time outdoors is so important for children and adults. It can be very rewarding and can reduce the stress levels that many kids feel. Their thoughts can roam free as they watch the clouds float by. Can you find any shapes in the clouds? Enjoy the freedom from the everyday problems and get away from the phone, the TV, the computer, and the video games. Take pleasure in the trees and the grass. Just simply be free and enjoy.

Great Resources:

Camp Out!: The Ultimate Kids’ Guide

Nature in a Nutshell for Kids: Over 100 Activities You Can Do in Ten Minutes or Less

Nature’s Art Box: From t-shirts to twig baskets, 65 cool projects for crafty kids to make with natural materials you can find anywhere

Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder