By Pamela Steinbach
The out-of-doors is the backdrop of my favorite childhood memories. Isn’t it the same for you? Wading in a cool creek, eating popsicles in a tree with my best friend, the smell of clover ...
My favorite memories of time spent with my children include stroller tours of the zoo, carrying them into the night air to listen to frogs and, later, feeling their fingers around mine as they toddle through the grass. I remember their hours of fascination as they painted rocks with the juice of berries and their patience and concentration in building snowmen. It turns out they were also building their brains, character and consciousness as they explored nature.
Research has shown that outdoor play influences the cognitive, emotional and physical development of children. Children who play outdoors are found to have more empathy for others, and I’m convinced it builds confidence, too. It’s important to spend time as a family outdoors, but you’ve probably heard something like what this fourth-grader said: “I like to play indoors better, ’cause that’s where all the electrical outlets are.”
Our family has computer games, television and Game Cube to compete with, but we lure our kids outdoors as much as possible, especially on water, where we can really talk to each other. Amazing things happen in those outdoor moments where we relax and our imaginations roam. We find ourselves in a larger world.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Harvard University scientist Edward O. Wilson writes that the urge to affiliate with other forms of life is vital for our development as individuals. We discover there are other forms of life besides humans and cyber-beings. We discover joy, wonder and healing for the psyche. Research indicates that getting out in nature can even be therapeutic for attention-deficit disorders. It’s a sure cure for nature-deficit disorder.
Have I convinced you? Well, consider this: It’s also fun out there. Here are some ideas for things to do in your backyard … in one of the ACRES nature preserves … in an Allen County park … or in your neighborhood park:
• Get out a magnifying glass and explore a leaf.
• Sit quietly and identify sounds.
• Grow some beans or tomatoes.
• Skip rocks, name rocks, count rocks, pile up rocks, identify rocks.
• Watch for a “falling star.”
• Make a whistle with a blade of grass (another reason to avoid toxic lawn care).
• Lie on your back in the grass and pretend you’re falling into the sky.
While you’re at it, stop and think: when was the last time you found a horse or a face in a cloud shape? Try it sometime when you’re at the end of your tether.
|
|
Last Updated ( Friday, 14 March 2008 09:42 )
|
Subscribe Now
