Favorite #17: Outdoor Play

A sister and brother having fun playing outdoors.

The National Wildlife Federation: Committed to Inspiring Children to Play Outdoors

            Checking my email this week, I noticed on the Yahoo homepage a link to an interesting website. The link was to the National Wildlife Federation. What caught my eye was the title, “Letting Children Go Wild.” Being a teacher for over thirty years, I took a second look and suppose that was the intent all along.

            I was pleasantly surprised to see the article was affirming the need for children to play outdoors more. Having seen firsthand from years of teaching how much happier and healthier children are when given time outdoors, I hold to that belief as well. 

           It’s great to see organizations, such as the National Wildlife Federation, partnering with universities and local museums to spread the message. A good example of that is the Charlotte Nature Museum, which has a nature area designed specifically to encourage outdoor play through activities, such as digging in a garden and climbing on logs and stones. NC State University professor, Robin Moore, was the design consultant for that play area and hopes the project will inspire parents to set aside an area in their backyards for children and active play.

            The National Wildlife Federation’s goal is to inspire 10 million children in the next three years to play outdoors. They say the health and happiness of our children are at risk. “Years ago children played outside for hours. Now it’s minutes.”

            Let’s help the National Wildlife Federation reach their goal by spreading the word.  To learn more about their project and what you can do, check out their website at the following link:

            http://www.nwf.org/Get-Outside/What-We-Do.aspx

           I’m sure the Charlotte Nature Museum would appreciate a visit from you, too.

           http://www.charlottenaturemuseum.org/

            By the way, the children in the photo are the son and daughter of a teacher friend of mine.  Climbing trees is just one of the activities they love to do while outdoors. Playing in the dirt is another.

            If you know of other projects inspiring children to play outside, or if you have a funny story about your child playing outdoors, I’d like to hear from you. Leave a comment on my blog, message me on Facebook, or send an email to dicysm@yahoo.com.

            Thanks,

            Dicy

           http://www.dicymcculloughbooks.com/blog