If you’re on the ball you’ll realize that National Tree Day was actually last month/week. But just in case you didn’t hear about it, it’s Australia’s largest annual tree planting and nature care day – that took place on July 29th. If you’ve got school aged kids I’m sure you’re all up in this - because mine came home chattering about it all last week.
Trees are great. I say this not just because I’m married to my own khaki wearing Australian native nature defender (aka nature boy) but because research backs me up. Living in a culture where houses are getting bigger while the backyards shrinks and more focus is put on electronic indoor entertainment, I think it’s really important to remember the impact of nature for our kids. Here are a couple of interesting facts discussed during National Tree Day:
- There is an emerging body of local and international research linking childhood contact with nature with a range of health and well being benefits.
- A US study found that stress levels were reduced for children with high levels of nearby nature (nature close to their homes) compared with those with little nearby.
- A study found that children in areas with trees and vegetation show more creative social play than children in more barren, hard-surfaced or built play areas.
- A US-based study of children aged 3-16 years found that children living in greener neighbourhoods had lower BMI scores after two years.
Toyota are big supporters of National Tree Day (nice one Toyota) and in celebration of all things tree and nature related they’ve provided a $100 Bunnings gift voucher for me to giveaway so you can get some more nature happening around your place. Native trees, shrubs, grasses – the choice is yours. To enter follow these steps:
- Leave a comment below sharing an inspirational game or idea to encourage kids to play more outside in nature.
- If you are nice enough to share this giveaway on facebook or twitter please feel free to leave a second entry comment.
- Follow The Truth About Mummy in any way you like (facebook, twitter, email or reader feed)
- Giveaway is open until Midnight on the 17th of August and has a total value of approx $100.
- (Check the T&C tab for full T&C).
- Disclaimer: All opinions are my own. I didn’t receive any payment or enticement to post this giveaway – I simply believe in concept of National Tree Day.
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We built a ‘climbing frame’ cubby house, with slippery dip to exit the middle platform and a fireman pole for the high platform. Nearby the kids have their own garden patch where they can pick product and picnic on the platforms. The kids love it and the neighbours ‘live’ at our place!
Lead by example – Let your kids see you enjoyinf the outdoors too!
The kids love going outside not only to jump on the 10ft trampoline that keeps them active but to help dad in the garden with their own spade, wheelbarrow and bucket that keeps them busy for hours messy yes but do it just before bed and they go from outside to in the shower and jammies on! Everyone wins this way
Pick up the Sherrin and my boys were there!!
Turn the outside clothes line into a magnificent cubby house by pegging some old sheets around the line. The kids will spend hours out in the yard playing especially if they have a picnic in there too
building a fort – allows them to pretend play pirates, kings or many other imaginary activities whilst encouraging building and cognitive skills
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Have a teddy bear’s picnic outside with lots of healthy snacks and a favourite story.
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Take a pad of paper and some crayons for a walk and make ‘rubbings’ off surfaces…tree bark, etc, whatever takes your fancy!
Children love to be with the grown ups and want you to play with them, so don’t just find ingenious ways to ‘send’ them outside. You go too, and play water bombs, fairy hunts, trampoline – then just spread a blanket and read some lovely books either out loud or seperately with a cold drink and a makeshift tablecloth tent. Children appreciate the quiet times also, especially after an hour or two of laughter and games!
Lots of shady trees & child friendly non toxic, non prickly plants so the children can run a play safely wherever they want.
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My kids love taking there digital Cameras outside and finding cool things out in the garden to take photos of! We then go and get some of them printed and they enjoy scrapbooking and talking about what they found!
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For the younger ones make up 10 cards with the numbers 1 to 10 on them and a picture of something they need to collect plus the word for that object – so for example 1 stick, 2 flowers, 3 leaves etc once they have collected all the items then put them all together in a collage. After that what about a tea party in the shade of a big tree.
We are lucky eniugh to have a Hills Hoist which the children love to play under when it is covered by a tarp They have picnics in the shade and play cubby houses and many other games summer and winter
Ensure a stimulating experience and join in with the fun, games and opportunities offered
we have a vegetable garden where our children are allowed to select seeds and seedlings from bunnings which we plant and watch grow! the vegetables rarely make it to the dinner table as the kids harvest, wash and snack on them when outdoors playing or tending the plants!
I got my kids involved in growing vegetables which kick started their outdoor love. As I was also involved with rescuing and rehabilitating our native fauna, the kids also got actively involved in this great outdoor community service and respected how flora played an important part of caring for fauna and their habitats. The rest is as they say is history. They now love hiking trails, cycling, camping, fishing, etc. I couldn’t be prouder.
an adventure nature walk go for a bush walk through your local forest or park hide little treats along the way (keeping their interest) like plastic forest animals or plants to teach them about the rainforest etc not only is it enjoying the great outdoors it is also combating obesity and teaching them about animal habitats
My boys adore cooking but don’t always enjoy the rigours of following a recipe. So they love a spot of OUTDOOR COOKING! All the equipment required is a bowl, some spoons and they do the rest. We take some ingredients from the kitchen and some from the garden and spend quality time outside!
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Turn off the television. Get rid of the mobile phone. Turn off the computer. Take away the Ipod and voila! Nothing inside the house will interest them anymore.
I just lock them out of the house, with me inside…and tell them I’m in Time Out.
When my son was smaller, we would go outside and find lots of interesting leaves and make paintings with them.
My kids love being outside, and their favourite games would have to be the made up, make believe type. Sometimes they are pirates searching for treasure, other times they are princess locked in a high tower )the cubby house) and the boys are princes or dragons trying to rescue / keep them there. Another all time favourite is hide and seek! I follow on facebook, and email
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I would say that hide-and-go seek was always a child favorite of mine, and when you have lots of trees and nature around, you can easily hide
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I buy the large coloured chalks and my 2 preschoolers draw all over the back concrete verandah in between riding their bikes, jumping on their trampoline and making giant bubbles.
We go out walking the dog together. Kids love it and take it in turn to hold the lead. The dog’s small to medium size and very calm!
We’re lucky enough to live near a creek with a beautiful wetland area. My youngsters have always loved taking the dogs for walks down there along the walkways.
We also had a big box of sidewalk chalk. They used to spend all afternoon drawing all sorts of imaginitive things.
Now they’re older, team sports are what they love to do.
Hi Leanne, thanks for entering the Bunning Voucher giveaway on my blog and congratulations as you’ve won
Can you please email me an address to have your voucher sent to. Hope you and your family enjoy planting out some beautiful trees. thetruthaboutmummy@gmail.com Caz,
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An outdoor play sensory circuit! You set up several stations outside like a water play station, a rice station (rice in a bucket with cups etc), a trampoline, chalk & chalkboard or driveway, sand station & a fairy garden station (eg. a safe place where they can dig in the dirt and get messy!) just to name a few… then you set the timer and they get so much time at each station, when the timer is up you time them to see how fast they can get to the next station. Great to keep up their interest, imagination and get some exercise in too
I get them helping me in the vege garden. They love being creative with what we plant and eating their own produce.
go outside myself and play with them
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i get the kids outside by playing ball and fetch with the dogs the kids love the dogs and love playing toghether
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Making funny activities that involve to ply outside like being detectives , or trying to collect leaves to write and found info about each one, trying to analyze different insects or play “PICNIC” in the yard its fun and help me too to doesnt t have fuzzy kids
On nice days we have competitions where the person to pick the most weeds gets a prize. Also each family member has their own veggie patch and we make sure they get a mention when their produce is used in our meals
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We play obstacle course using trees,rocks and whatever is around, as obstacles to climb over, circle round etc.
My husband loves taking our kids on ‘adventures’ to our local park to search for wildlife. They love coming back and telling me about their adventure and the animals they have found. We are super lucky to back onto a wonderful parkk abundant with koalas, ducks, birds, scrub turkeys etc.
My daughter loves a treasure hunt! She’s only 3 but we go out searching for new things we can find out in the park or around outside. She’s got a few shells, we found a butterfly wing once, leaves, Anything to really help her learn and explore. We have the most fun at Phillip island in the wildlife parks, the maze, the beaches. I have my own little explorer!
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I’m incredibly lucky, my children love being outside. Talking to their flowers, riding their bikes, or even just running around squealing in delight at being outside.
I find it’s more of a struggle to get them to come inside at night
I find going out and sitting in the back yard is often enough to get my boys out there. And giving them a watering can and a trowel and they are in heaven.
As above. That is howwe wereb bought up.We played outside all day.Teamsports is also a good idea.I now enjoy taking 2 gks for walks and getting them interested nour chooks and gardens. Just teaching them that being outside is natural is much better than making a fuss about it.
What little girl (or even boy) doesn’t like a good tea party. It is so simple to put together a tea set and picnic rug and travel outdoors anywhere. The back yard, cubby house, park or even an adventure somewhere on the train
use the words “Go play outside” then lock the door….they will find fun!
We love a good treasure hunt here, and if it’s wet, popping the gumboots on and letting the boys splash away in puddles is always a winner!
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Water painting! Give each child a bucket filled with water and a big paint brush then get them to “paint” the fence, the house, anywhere that needs a lift! Inexpensive and fun
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We go leaf hunting and then make craft with the goodies we find. We listen to the birds and look for bugs.
Give them a magnifying glass and take them out, they will get a whole new perspective looking at bugs and insects through it
Stop buying kids electronic junk & take them outside to play so they learn to talk to real people not on the computer
Sign them up for Cubs and Scouts! Our kids are out and about every week doing STUFF, having FUN and learning valuable personal and life skills without even realising it!
Turn off the wi-fi hide their iPods and hide them in the backyard. The way to find them is follow the clues I left.
Camping in the backyard is a great one for us. The kids love it (and so do I – there’s a hot shower close by!!)
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Make up treasure hunts – the treasure doesn’t have to be chocolate or electrical, but could be old things you treasured when you were a child. They will learn “scouting” skills by following clues and have a reward at the end.
They simply are not allowed to turn on electrical or battery operated devices until after their baths and their P.J’s are on. They know the rules and don’t even ask for the computer or T.V. If it’s raining they read or play games with us and each other. No problems.
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Tell the kids they can play with water and they are outside in a flash
Easy – LOCK THE DOORS so they can’t come back inside. Unplug and HIDE their electronic ‘toys’ while they’re at school – say you were robbed, if that will stop them nagging you.
Shop at Bunnings and buy the materials to build the kids a cubby house.
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Leading by example is very important to me. If the kids are playing outside, I always try to be out there as well, even if its reading a book. Also, when we do craft activities, I like them to be as messy as possible, thus making sure they are done outside.
For Miss 6 we only have to offer some pocket money for helping us in the garden. It gets her outside for most of the day.
An oldie but a goodie. Go searching for fairies at the bottom of the garden. My mum did this with me when I was little. It fires the imagination!
Be prepared to spend some time outside yourself. Even sitting outside reading a book will encourage the kids to play out there or join in a game with them.
My kids love drawing on the pavers with chalk and then using a paintbrush and tub of water to ‘paint it off’ after
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My 10 month old daughter grew 200 chilli plants, harvested them and made a lovely chilli sauce.
ooops I just read my last comment and obviously ‘dive’ was supposed to be ‘drive’ !!
I used to love as a child taking my ‘inside’ toys outside to play, my Barbies would go camping! My son likes to take his cars outside and dive over everything! They all must be 4 wheel drives!
Chalk – on the driveawy, footpath, outside walls, fences… anywhere. Their creations then lead to imaginative play that outlives any adult inspired ativity, with the benefit of all being washable
Kick a ball with them outside. Great for you and the kids. A great opportunity for bonding too.
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We go for family bike rides or bush walks with a picnic lunch. Our kids always think about food.
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I Get them to “help” me deliver fliers for my business.
I tell my kids that the tv doesn’t work when the sun is up. They get so bored inside that they are forced to go outside and explore the world.
i love a treasure hunt go for a walk take a list with various thing written on it eg, black rock , bottle top, yellow leaf, and the kids have to find them great fun for all
We have 6 children under 7 and each day we make it our job to go and try different parks and reserves to keep the kids out of the house and experiencing new things. We are lucky that they are beautiful kids that all play together because of such close age gaps. Dirty outdoor play is the key and it helps the kids to build up immunities against virus’s and diseases.
Nothing encourages kids to play outside more than changing the wireless internet password every few days. They don’t get the password back until their room is clean and they have spent some time outside away from computers and consoles.
camping in the backyard!
The Young Master has made a fort in the backyard for his Action Men, they go on adventures like ‘Indiana Jones’.
When we planned our garden, we designed it with the kids in mind. Treehouse to climb, water to splash in, rocks to turn over, areas to dig and plant of their own choice. when the outside belongs to them as much as you, they want to be out there taking charge and having fun all the time.
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The best way to get kids outside is NOT to pay the electricity bill. That way, when the power goes off, everyone goes outside. No computer, no video games, no phones
As children we would have fun all day making a cubby house in the backyard with our friends either using a tent or blankets, chairs. Kids love making things and a cubby house can be their own little play ground and keeps them amused for hours.
Tell them that Grandpa’s outside and it would be really fun to wet him with the hose. Make sure you have some dirt and water handy for mud pie making (and throwing). Tell them the first to catch a chicken (they never will) wins the next chance to water Grandma. Lots of water, dirt and hilarity works every time.
A teddy bears picnic always worked for me. All stuffed toys and dolls were invited as well. We spread a blanket in the backyard or local park and had healthy foods and drinks. Bikes and trikes were always brought, kites were flown and races and games were enjoyed. A treasure hunt was always popular and at the end of the afternoon everybody went home with flushed little faces, already for a nap.
The more sustainably we try to live, the more there is for kids to do outside – feeding the worms, fertilising with worm tea, picking some vegetables, feeding the chooks: all require time spent outside in the fresh air and sunshine!
Tell them its okay to get wet, dirty and even smelly! Plant veges, find bugs and create new homes for them. What kid could resist.
We have fairy picnics outside or I set up a fairy cafe and pretend to be the girls waitress. We set up a table and put flowers on it and I pretend to take orders. Usually this leads to bike riding, trampoline jumping, and swinging.
My kids love : Keep the chooks out of the memorial garden! LOL. We built a garden for their sister who was stillborn and its FULL of yummy looking flowers for the chookys haha. So the days I’m outside i set the gurls loose and the kids are to defend the garden. Keeps them entertained for ages! As our yard is pretty much a bare hill and that small garden they get mega active running up and down the hill hehe. I think so far the record time spent on this activity is 4 hrs lol.
Put all their toys outside!
We head to the park and let our little monkeys and lions loose for some fun.Ferocious face paint and a table of goodies.
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We love Crafts in my house! A great favourite is sending everyone outside to search through the garden for interesting items for collage , pressing, making mobiles…you name it!
We regularly have “picnics” in our backyard, and usually end up spending most of the afternoon outside running around. Backyard cricket is also great for fun and exercise.
A treasure hunt is a great way to get the kids outside. We go to the beach and while my boys climb the rocks they have to find the most interesting treasure they can then we all get together and see what we have found!
Picnic time!! I love to find different outdoor spots to go so that each time is fun and exciting. Take along a frisbee, soccer ball, kite … to keep the outdoor fun lasting all afternoon.
Well, we could just shove them outside and bolt the doors (maybe then we could finish the chapter of our books and put our feet up?) But so DOCS dont come knocking offer to go out with them. You will be surprise at how quickly they want to head out. Go find a bush track near your home and find the most unusual things in nature you can, take pics and head to the library to look them up. Or if you live in an Urban area pick 10 words. The challenge while on your walk is to find a picture of, an actual or the word on the trip. First one to get them all wins. Best of all it cost nothing but your time!
I get online and get some facts and things to spot before we go out, so the kids have play cards, like a simple orienteering course when we picnic! They love it.
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Getting my kids in the garden is easy!!!! Having their own vegie garden that they care for is so rewarding and they stay outside for a couple of hours. Weeding and picking their fabulous finds is great!!!
* Are the kids contrary, obstreperous, disobedient? If so, tell them they must never, ever, EVER, go out into the backyard. As soon as your back is turned, that’s where you’ll find them. Step one of your mission accomplished: how to get them out there.
* Step two, take the Wii, Xbox or Playstation, bury it in the back yard and tell the kids to find it. Two hours digging holes in the garden is two hours less spent gaming.
* Gardening is great for kids. If your child absolutely loves unhealthy snack foods, demonstrate how to grow their own by planting some twisties, cheezels or lollies in the ground. I would suggest also sowing some vegetables and flowers like tomatoes and sunflowers to offset the disappointment when the snack foods do not, inevitably, come to fruition.
* Kids love creepy crawlies as much as their mothers loathe them. Armed with a Bug Catcher, they will happily spend hours outside in the hopes of snaring something they can “delight” you with.
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I like the photos and the amazing giveaway as well. I hope I can win on this giveaway.
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Build a tree house! It’s an essential childhood experience and once it‘s built, you’ll have a hard time getting the kids to stay indoors!
We have a nature park close to us and when we feel like a long walk through gum trees, or spotting kangaroos or the odd sleeping possum in a tree hole, we adventure out. Walking along the track looking high up into trees, being careful of the ant hills along the route or the fallen trees maybe with something to hide. It’s a wonderful land, Australia, full of things to see and research.
It’s funny Caz, I love picturing my girls having fun playing outside but I rarely think to do it! Thanks for inspiring me today, I’m going to get us all rugged up this afternoon and we’ll go kick a ball around in the backyard and talk to the cockatoo next door
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My little boy is 3 and after a long boring, winters day inside. I took him outside for a scavenger hunt. We wrote a list i.e. stick, feather, brown leaf and searched for those items, ticking them off as we went. He loved it and had a ball asking a million questions about a million things =)
A treasure hunt is the best, they can hunt for nature items, cards, toys and occasionally lollies
We have a covered deck area where we keep lots of their toys, a sand table, drawing bench, ride on toys etc. Whenever they want to play, its usually outside, getting fresh air at the same time, with limited sun exposure. We tend to eat our meals out there often too, so it’s a great way of spending lots of time outdoors
Anything at all is Fun to do outside Eating, Painting, Drawing, Playdough, Story Time,Water Play, Sand Play and Also Much Less Messy and the Novelty of it being Outside makes the Concept all the More Fun
My daughter loves to play outside, her favourite thing to do is a tea party with a bucket of water and fills everything up so we have to drink pretend tea (water) and she throws the water around everywhere.
Give them their own garden bed and let them choose what they want to plant in it. Make it their space.
and that would be a GREAT way to get my kids exercising. haha. I left the comment on the wrong blog! But this would be a great giveaway to win and gardening IS awesome exercise!
So is playing kickball at the beach, which is what we did before I had a mishap at your blog and couldn’t find the delete button!
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My two boys love drumming so I enroll them in drumming class. Now, they know already the rythm in drumming.
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I’d plant a lemon and avocado tree!!!
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I love Family fun at the beach where my husband and I race to build lots of sandcastles whilst our children race to stomp them down!
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We walk instead of taking the car when we need to go shopping. It is a great way for us to get our exercise and spend time learning. We practice counting, how to cross the road safely and remembering the shopping list!
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Whenever I go outside to do some gardening, the kids decide they want to have some outdoor play. I then inevitably get disrupted from my gardening, but at least we can enjoy some fresh air together.
We scavenger hunt! On our walk home from the gym, we find a list of things: a flower, a leaf, etc
We crush chalk and mix with water and they paint the pavement with a paintbrush.
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hahaha. Great giveaway Caz.
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My Grandfather had the best activity. To get our most willing help in the garden weeding he would seed the ground with treasure. He would dig through a set number of coins – 20c & 50c pieces. We worked like Trojans finding that treasure. Years later he said it was the cheapest work force he ever paid for. Sometimes we failed to find all of the coins, so there is still buried treasure in the garden.
We all absolutely loved this!!
We go for a bike ride around the edge of town,
We get to see all the different greens and brown.
Sticks, grass, animals and trees,
We have so much fun looking at these.
We make it an adventure and study the wild,
It is the perfect learning for every single child.
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Trampoline, nuff said!
I love the idea of the kids playing cubby houses with trees and branches……. Hiding in built huts and the development of the imagination is awesome. I love not interfering in that play and hearing the stories about families created or scenario’s that develop.
Make up a treasure hunt, and give clues to the kids, they will be outside for ours looking for treasures.
Nothing like a childs vegi patch. Carrots and lettice are quick growing. Kids love to pick and plant
tell them you just saw a tiger snake go under the washing machine…..it worked really quickly at our house
That is hysterical. You deserve to win. That’ll keep me chuckling for days.
We do our own mini Olympics – make medals out of coloured foil – and have swimming, running, walking, gymnastic events – they get so competitive but they’re having fun outside which is what counts!
I set up the tent in the garden – they love being outside, firing up the bbq and sleeping outside – works a treat
Blowing bubbles and flying kites. Water play in a large container with cups, plastic animals and funnels. Trying to throw balls into a bucket or washing basket.
I let my kids climb trees, obviously not the little ones, but the older kids from,say age 7 are fine. I think sometimes we can be a little over protective of our kids, worrying a little too much and wrapping them in cotton wool. When I was about 6 or 7 I was climbing all the fruit and nut trees in our back yard to eat the ripened fruits and nuts straight off the trees. Climbing a tree and sitting in it’s branches was awesome fun and spitting the pips down onto my little sister was probably not very nice but that was fun too. I don’t have any fruit trees in my back yard now but will allow my kids the opportunity to climb trees that I deem as relatively safe (i.e. the branches look strong and sturdy). I enjoy watching them develop their strength and balance. They get to feel the branches, leaves and smell the aroma of the tree which is really getting in touch with nature. I hope it nurtures a respect for all trees and the natural environment in general so that they become responsible, environmentally aware adults.
I pack tem a picnic and send tem out on an adventure, with a list to be completed, make find 5 worms, one orange flower etc, or, make up a play, whatever comes to mind, the kids love it
Teepees! or a really cool tent over the clothes line. Get the kids decorating and building and they’ll not only play outside all afternoon but they’ll be dragging the sleeping bags out for a sleep out as well.
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Imaginary play is a great way for children to use their imaginations to create pretend and make believe scenarios using the environment around them. Children can engage in this type of play by acting out a particular role themselves and become a part of a their own play or drama. Dressing up and using props are great for this kind of imaginary play and add to the authenticity of the roles played.
When I was younger I used to get cricket stumps and position them in the garden in the shape of a boat, then I’d tie Dad’s rope right around them to form the outer walls of my vessel. I’d then place a cricket stump with a plastic plate stuck to it near the front and this would be the steering wheel. Finishing touches were adding chairs inside for my passengers. I would pick my brother up if I was a ferry or make him walk the plank if we were playing pirates! One house we lived in had a Hills Hoist (clothes line) and it formed the sail for my sailing boat in this house!
Active play outside is a great way for kids to use their large muscles and move around rather than staying in one place. This type of play releases energy and develops coordination.
Outdoor construction/building play is another active way to get children outdoors expressing their creativity. An example might be building a tree house or cubby house with Dad (or Mum) this encourages focus and concentration, and develops fine motor skills and hand eye coordination. It also allows children to feel proud of themselves and gain a sense of mastery after they have created something. They also get to use it for their future role playing games.
Anything found outside can be used for role playing – the vegie patch could be the market gardener’s “stock” and children could sell the vegies to mum for her cooking, the trees could be used to hide behind in a game of cowboys and indians, the beautiful flower beds could be where the fairies live and that bunch of bamboo the neighbour has growing across the road could be where the pandas live!!! There’s no limit when you put the outdoors, nature and your imagination together!!!
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I dont need to give my kids inspiration to be outside creating games ~ they give me ideas
Sticks become cubby houses, rocks become make believe fires, and tree branches become there cubby houses.
If there is a bush near by, my boys are all over it
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Lead by example; just me getting out in the garden weeding motivates them to get out in the fresh air and sunshine. We’ve also just started hiking every Sunday for a few hours – in National Parks/ along the coast. They learn and discover and get a real passion for nature. Even Mr 14yo stepson now says ‘where are we going hiking this weekend?’.
I built a fairy garden outside with my granddaughter. She loved it. We also get the grandkids involved in the vegie patch and flower beds. They love chosing what vegies and flowers go in. We also live near the beach so the kids love going there.
My granddaughter is a great tree hugger. She loves sitting in the branches of a tree and giving it a hug. Makes her feel better.
we keep some small backyard chooks (bantams) it encourages the kids to recycle food scraps (by feeding the chooks, collecting the manure), its fun to collect the eggs and even more fun eating them! and also we use the manure on the garden and grow delicious vegies.
They make great pets because they are practical and give back … food, fertiliser for the garden, keep pests away and give the kids something to do outside.
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Going to the park for a play on the play equipment and while there a run around with the ball on the lovely green grass.
We are growing tomatoes, peas, lemons and ginger so we go outside and check them every day and water them every other.
Cubby house!! It’s their very own private area, no adults allowed. Since we got it, they’ve been constantly outside playing in the garden like in the good old days before all the DSi’s, consoles, ipads and the like. It’s great. And boy have their appetites increased from the fresh air.
When we’ve got a houseful of kids, ours, friends, nieces & nephews, I give them all a brown paper bag each, then nominate a letter of the alphabet (G for example) and they have to go outside & the child who collects the most items that start with that letter is the winner! It keeps them outside, busy, amused and entertained for hours! (if an item is to big to put in the bag, they are allowed to write it down & put the note in the bag, it’s a great way for the older children to help the younger ones too).
We have a sandpit,swings,water channels and every outdoor toy i can get my hands on,so good for them:-0
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My girls have started a vegetable garden. They love it and will spends hours taking care of it and eating it. Not too much makes it inside.
I encourage the kids to make tent/huts big enough for us to lie down in and read and play games. Then the boys and I weed the vege gardens to get some food for lunch.
Also we like to have a mini olympics in the back yard,doing trampoline jumps, throwing waterballoons at a target, skipping tricks and an obstacle course. This is easily set up and keeps them amused for ages.
Baseball but with a squishy ball and instead of a bat, you use your hand and the trees act as each safety plate as you run around after hitting the ball!
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A treasure/ scavenger hunt would be a great way for children to explore outside. I love nature and as a family we love driving and walking through the rainforests. Thanks for a great giveaway
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* Climb a (strong) tree together
* Sit under a tree and share a picnic and a book
* If your children are into imaginative play, whisper stories and secrets to the tree, then listen to what the tree has to say in return!
My 5yo grand-daughter and I have a great relationship. Often, just her and I walk to the shops instead of driving. And we love exploring our garden together – the beauty and smell of flowers, a butterfly in flight, native birds eating nectar, a spider spinning its web. It is all fascinating to her.
Go outside and play with them, they learn from their parents. We love family bushwalks.
Get all the kids in the street and organise games together , my kids always played hide&seek, chasey,water sports, colouring in and painting.
Build a TEE-PEE ,out of branches,rope and sheet,take their favorite toys and have a picnic lunch,you won’t hear from them for hours.
Just give kids binoculars,compass,bucket,small shovel,torch and a collection of shells,gems and pebbles.Then watch them create a fascinating journey of their own..They love exploring outside with these, and the games are endless from pirates to crystal caves..Have fun and join in!
We play Treasure Hunt, whereby my daughter takes her special treasure bag out to the park and we look around for special things (like flat ‘hopscotch’ stones, long pieces of grass etc.) to put in it. Gives us heaps of exercise and the fun of the discovery of nature!
Simply ban or break (or pretend to) all the electronic devices. Then watch the kids natural instincts to get outside and use their imaginations emerge – it really will happen!
Build a cubby house with verandah and swings attached. Hours of fun in the sun, with convenient shade when the sun gets too hot.
We’ve always had a ‘friends day’ each weekend where my kids’ friends come over, we all sit down in the backyard, have a vote on what we will be making for snacks and what activities we’ll be doing. It’s brilliant how they all look forward to planning their ideas for their fun day – ideas range from cricket, badminton and many other ideas – even just good ol’ Hide n’ Seek.
We’ve making some interesting activities with my kids together with my friends kids. They really enjoy that time together and playing.
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Picnic lunch at the park or just out in the yard works at our house
A, “Treasure Hunt, ” and, “Name It,” combination:
Find the object or tree, and name its parts (eg: tree: branches, bark, leaves, nodes, flowers), helps get children physically and mentally active.
Painting! Get them outdoors and behind a canvas for some creative fun.
Apart from the obvious. Kick em out and lock the door (lol) we find tabloid sports great. I just think of 3-4 activities and tell them they have to do them all before they come in. Eg. 50 bounces on the trampoline, 5 hoops on the basketball ring and 10 runs from fence to fence. They love it!
We’ve created our own vege patch in the backyard. Getting the children involved not only encourages the to play outdoors but inspires them to ‘eat their greens’ as they are inspired about veges that are home grown.
Our family bought a dog. Not only does it get the kids outside it gets us outside as well. We all enjoy long walks with the dog and everything nature has to bring. Watching ducks at the lake, collecting fallen leaves and sticks, my son has every stick in the neighbourhood and dandelion flowers! What more could you want than enjoying life’s little pleasures.
Organise a paper chase style of game. Maybe hide objects around the garden. Another idea is to have a scavenger hunt where kids have to find certain signs, trees, words, numbers, anything in fact. This can be at home, in your neighbourhood or anywhere else.
Tape a piece of duct tape, sticky side up, around your child’s wrist. Then embark on a walk and as you find things such as feathers, leaves, gum nuts, flowers etc, stick them to the tape and at the end you have one very funky nature bracelet!
Tape a piece of duct tape, sticky side up, around your child’s wrist. Then embark on a walk and as you find things such as feathers, leaves, gum nuts, flowers etc, stick them to the tape and at the end you have a very cool, unisex, nature bracelet!
So many things that can be done indoors can also be done outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine, drawing, painting, reading etc. I find if you help them with activities not just let them fend for themselves they will stay out longer. Set up the Orbit, make a picnic lunch instead of a table all you need is a blanket, simple, but they love it. The trampoline is popular at our house and in Summer my girls love to go for a swim.
Happy kids are just the beginning
oh what a feeling to be outdoors
To them gardening aren’t chores
Away from computer wars
Happy kids really give a smile to the the face of the person watching them. I really like the photos here. Kids are very happy.
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I have 2 ways to get the kids outside the first is you say that you have dropped $20 outside and you want them to go find it. once they go outside lock the door so they have to stay outside and tell them until they have had 20 min of fresh air you are not letting them back inside.
The second one is to make it a hunt. Give them a card with animals, plants, planes ect. on it and every time they see one they can tick it off their list. The only rule is they must be outside to be able to tick it off. First one to tick of all the things on their card wins a prize!!!!
This is my idea for getting them outside and giving myself a break from the four walls inside the house. I give them one plastic bowl each and they each have to collect the things I name. One leaf, four pieces of lavender, I lemon, three red berries etc etc…until it becomes a bowl of Mushie, color garden soup! My kids love it and I have a break in the sunshine(of course when it’s out!)
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We are lucky enough to live near the beach, and my kids love exploring the rock pools and all the cracks and ‘caves’ in the cliffs beside the beach, they are happy doing that for hours.
I regularly take our lunch to the park and have a picnic as the kids love it and they get a natural level of encouragement to play outdoors
As a teacher I love working with my kids outside, we often take our reading lessons outside, kids love ‘nature reading’ as I call it. Children so often are not encouraged to play outside because it’s dangerous, but I feel that they need more time outside to explore, develop creativity and most of all have fun!!
Scavenger Hunt
I get them to search for certain things in the garden that are man-made, natural etc and also get them to let me know about the garden, what plants look healthy and happy and which ones need some extra love from all of us.
I believe in team sports – get them into a team and they will enjoy sports for the rest of their lives, (even when watching TV in later years.)
Nature Treasure Hunt
Children have to work their way through collecting and finding various objects found in their backyard and/or park. It can also go a step further adding in clues to be followed too. They can then make up their own list to gve to a sibling or friend or parent to complete.
A great way to finish this off is to do some art including the objects found…collage/leaf painting….