Navigating the new normal of social distancing, face masks, and hand sanitizer is just one part of the equation as children return to school across North America. With a smattering of options available in different states and provinces, many parents are finding that days spent at school will be shorter, fewer, or—in some cases—non-existent.
Into this vacuum comes digital learning. Zoom chats, virtual teams, and online lessons will be added to whatever platforms and games children and teens already use in their spare time. Technology is making learning possible like never before, but the cumulative effect of all this media is a whole lot of sitting.
Unplugging has never been harder (or more important)
While we know that too much screen time has negative impacts on children’s learning, we’re living in unprecedented times. Parents who once moderated tech use have found themselves struggling to adapt as everything from birthday parties to dance class have moved online.
Some school districts are using this opportunity to expand outdoor learning. Many teachers now have the option to move classes into the school yard or garden whenever possible. But families have an equally important role to play. By encouraging outdoor activities, parents can help balance out the effects of too much screen time and sedentary learning. The benefits include more than fresh air and exercise.
Benefits of outdoor play
- Improves creativity and problem solving: natural materials are open-ended and easily adapted. Nature gives children a space to test out new ideas and experiences.
- Offers opportunity for healthy risk-taking: students exposed to the outdoors have the opportunity to climb, run, jump, and more. Experiencing failure and success in this relatively safe environment helps develop physical skills and boundaries.
- Fosters an emotional connection to nature: children who have positive experiences in nature are more likely to become stewards of its care.
- Develops social skills: as different aspects of our personalities emerge through our engagement with the natural world, so do our relationships develop differently out of doors. Here kids socialize gradually, with more choice about how and when.
Resources for connecting kids with nature
Just in time, two books highlighting the special relationship between learning and nature are now available from your local bookseller. If you’re looking for ways to balance your child’s online learning with rich, hands-on activities, look no further.
Two new books offer families creative ideas for getting (and staying) outdoors this fall.
Nature Play Workshop for Families: A Guide to 40+ Outdoor Learning Experiences in All Seasons, by Monica Wiedel-Lubinski and Karen Madigan. Quarry Books.
Advocates for nature-based education, the authors of Nature Play Workshop share how outdoor play provides children with a chance to experience the unpredictable and grow as a result. Nature play is facilitated—but not led by—adults. In this realm, children stretch their skills and respond based on their evolving interests and needs.
“When we help children notice beauty, their spirits are nourished.” -Nature Play Workshop
Organized with seasonal and year-round activities, Nature Play Workshop provides creative and inexpensive ideas for families to experience the outdoors together. The outcomes are often open-ended: while some projects offer crafts and recipes, others give children a framework in which to explore inspiring themes and ideas. There’s less worry about a final product when—according to the authors—it’s the process itself that really thrills children.
Setting up nocturnal night-life labs, building shelters and roosts, creating wild sound shakers and natural dyes: these are just some of the rich activities they offer while connecting each activity to a greater lesson rooted in nature’s wild places.
“Play doesn’t require instructions from adults…independence, curiosity, problem solving, creativity, resilience, and fun collide in a flurry of learning when children are at play,” say the book’s authors.
The Unplugged Family Activity Book: 60+ Simple Crafts & Recipes for Year-Round Fun, by Rachel Jepson Wolf. Fair Winds Press.
The Unplugged Family is also arranged seasonally, with a focus on reorienting to the natural world in the wake of a digital existence. To that end, the author includes suggestions for how to check devices at the door, reminding readers that boredom is important for generating new and creative ideas.
With clear instructions, straightforward lists, and gorgeous photography, the book will provide a springboard for children to dive deeply into their areas of interest. From handwork to art work to scientific experiments, the authors offer something for everyone. Parents will learn new things, too, thanks to the nature notes, tips, and challenges that offer a new way of looking nature in the eye.
Related: Fairy House Building Kit
Recipes, activities, and crafts are thematically linked to offer children fun and original ways to explore and reconnect. Young children will enjoy making fairy-related crafts, summer flower bunting and spiced honey. Older kids will thrill at instructions for ice lanterns, snow caves, and more. The seasonal descriptions complement each section of the book, providing a rich context for learning together.
“Parents are as overextended as children in the modern world,” writes Jepson Wolf, “so it’s tempting to send our kids off to play, create, or explore without us. But spending time unplugged and together is where the magic happens.”
Nature play for everyone
Letting things unfold outdoors is usually a summer pastime, but more than ever, our kids will need outdoor time during the school year. Helping them achieve this is simple, especially when supported by the resources above.
Do you have a treasured nature activity that you like to do with your kids? Share with us in the comments below!
