Friday, July 23, 2010

Family Friday - Outdoor Play

Remember when we were growing up and we would play outside -- pretty much all day in the summer? How much time are our kids spending outside now? And, almost as important, how much of that time is for "free" or creative play. I remember building forts, playing "house", "castle" or hundreds of other imaginative games outside with other kids in the neighborhood.
Now, think about how much time your kids are spending outside in free play? Are they having opportunity to explore their surroundings? Have they seen an ant carrying food back to the nest? Do they know that if you peek at the underside of an old log on the ground, you'll find all sorts of living creatures to watch?
Can you find some time this weekend to get the family outside, with the only plan being not to have one? Can you find an outdoor area without a playground and help teach your kids to explore and play in nature? Can you remember some of the fun you had outdoors growing up? Please feel free to share your stories!

2 comments:

  1. I remember playing outside from early in the morning until well after the sun went down. We had between three and five yards we used to play in depending who was at home. Plus we had the school playground just down the block and a city park about 8 blocks a way. We had to be called in for lunch and dinner or we would have played right through them.

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  2. sounds very familiar! When it got dark, we went home. No cell phones, and most of the time I don't think we were very easy to find, but I don't remember anyone freaking out!

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