Free Range Summers
5 Ways to Reconnect With Nature This Summer
1. Go camping. Spend a night in a tent in a
campground. Hear the wind rustling through
the trees. Watch for shooting stars. Cook over
a camp fire and watch the wildlife around you.
2. Go for a day hike. Bring a book on native animal or plant species and try to identify your
surroundings. Hug a tree. Take a few minutes
to sit down and listen to the sounds nature
makes.
3. Plant a garden together. Teach your child firsthand where her food comes from. If you don't
have space for a garden, rent space in a community garden or plant a container garden.
Make sure you teach your child how to care
for it, weed it, water it and harvest it. Collecting seeds for the next year is also a teachable
moment.
4. Head to a more secluded beach or riverbed.
Forget the plastic beach toys and help your
child find driftwood, shells, rocks and leaves
to play with. Sit back and let her explore.
5. Go on a picnic to an area with natural surroundings. It doesn't have to be a forest or a
massive, empty field. Even just a park (minus
the monkey bars) or a neighbourhood green
belt. Somewhere you can sit back, relax and
share a healthy snack with the ones you love.
Make sure to give your child plenty of alone time
to observe and interact. Enjoy a laid back, noschedule summer this year with plenty of free
range time to learn, grow and connect with the
beauty and reality of Mother Nature. Build memories and learn life lessons. Your children will
always remember these moments and will thank
you for them some day.
Free Range Mama blogs for My Healthy Green
Family. She is a home-cooking, organically-growing, eco-friendly, sustainably-living mom of three.
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