Lots of people, including experts, are saying children don’t get outside enough. Even if you only have a park nearby, it’s important to get the kids out for a change of scenery and a chance to encourage preschool and toddler learning. You can help them.
Here are some ideas for field trips for kids:
- Go somewhere close by. Long car-rides on the way back home risk cancelling all that peace the kids found in nature.
- Try to avoid swings and other playground equipment for at least 15 or 20 minutes. Let your children get used to the trees and leaves. Monkey bars too soon may bring back that storm-the-castle mood.
- Help your children really see the woods. Ask them to find three different kinds of leaves and three colors of bark. Introduce to them the old-fashioned fun of the earth – dirt.
- Find a good, safe place for the children to run, so they can get rid of all that pent-up energy.
Amy Hansen is the mother of two sons and a freelance writer in Greenbelt, Maryland.