PlanetKid » outside

Escape the Heat With Indoor Fun

Jacki Donaldson — Mon, 07 May 2012 04:00:54 +0000

It’s hot here in Florida — already. We’re talking temps in the 90s, lots of sunscreen, and kids who seek water and air conditioning after a good chunk of time outdoors. Inside time is important in the heat of summer (I know, it’s not summer yet, but, still, scorching days have arrived), but how do we keep our kiddos engaged NOT in electronic zombie-like activities, to which they often seem pulled like magnets. One idea: Set up a puzzle on a card table in the middle of your living space and encourage the whole family to participate — a prize goes to the person who adds the final piece! How about card games, board games, arts and crafts, and more? Share your ideas in the comments!

Kids Outside

Jacki Donaldson — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 05:00:04 +0000

Sun shining. Breezy winds. Shorts and t-shirts on a mid-February day. Beautiful. And the kids just want to hang inside watching TV and plugging into games galore. You know the drill, right? Yea, me, too! Today, instead of letting boys hibernate inside, the dad and I forced them into the great outdoors. To the backyard they went, then behind the fence to a wooded area, and, before long, they were mowing a path, wielding sticks, and building a fort (there was also a small amount of blood at the end of day, but what’s a successful trek outside with a battle wound?). It was glorious — the way they embraced nature, worked together, soaked up the fresh air. It didn’t last the whole day long, but it was super all the same.

What do you do to get your kiddos off the couch and into the wild?

No Child Left Behind – Or Inside

Jacki Donaldson — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:20:55 +0000

Maybe it’s for good reason that I’m not a lover of electronics for kids. Seems keeping children in the great outdoors, not the closed-up indoors, is best for the little bodies of the world.

Did you know there’s actually a “No Child Left Inside” bill geared towards getting environmental education into schools so that kids can learn in nature, not just learn about nature. Nothing in the bill about plugging in. Nope, just fresh air. And research reveals that our kids need lots of it.

According to a Kaiser Family Foundation study, children are disappearing from the natural world and are spending more than six hours a day in front of computer screens, video games and televisions rather than outside. In the past 20 years, the amount of time kids spend outdoors has declined 50 percent. And as we all know, our kids are getting fatter and fatter as a result of their sedentary tendencies. Our kids have what experts call “nature-deficit disorder,” and this condition contributes to poor physical and mental health.

I like that education might one day be more geared toward outdoor learning, but I’m not confident it will happen. It seems all the extras in my kids’ school (like PE, art and music) are being cut. How, then, are administrators going to work in outdoor programs when the budget doesn’t support a game of kick ball in the field behind the school? I think it’s up to us — parents — to get our children outside. No reason to wait for Congress or our schools to make it happen.

Where are your kids right now: Inside? Or outside?

Photo by: celebdu on flickr