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7 Children’s Books To Inspire Nature Play

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This guest blog post was written by Vanessa Rendall of Sydney, Australia. She is an elementary school teacher and librarian who specializes in gifted education and library services. She has always loved teaching children about the world they live in and how they can make a difference. She is also the mom to a five year old and two year old. Her blog, Flicking On The Book, bridges the gap between global environmental issues and understanding these issues in our own lives.

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There is a lot of new research highlighting the importance of playing outside. It has been shown to increase happiness, problem solving skills, and motivation. When children play outside, they are free to be more imaginative since there are less boundaries. They can also solve problems more effectively and learn about the world they live in through their five senses.

As a teacher, I have always observed how children learn best when they are in a relaxed and informal environment. I love being outside; it just makes me happier. I love being in natural areas where there is less human activity and more time to sit back and admire what is around me. So when I became a librarian, I couldn’t think of a better way to get children outside than through reading books!

Now, you probably think of books as an inside activity, but what if we take the ideas from books and use them to inspire some outdoor play?

Here are several adorable children’s books covering various nature themes that will jump start your family’s outdoor adventures. We have also included a few examples of creative hands-on activities you can enjoy with your children based on each book.

Go On An Adventure

We’re Going On A Bear Hunt is a classic book that we all know and love. It is so much fun to read and sing along to. Follow along with the family as they wade through the grass, splash through the river, and squelch through the mud in search of a bear. What a surprise awaits them in the cave on the other side of the dark forest!

  • Go on your own pretend bear hunt. Look for some swishy grass, splashy water, and sloshy mud.
  • Search for the animals in your local area.
  • Pack a bag and go on a short hike. Think of the different supplies you will need to cope with rain, wind, hot sun, or bugs on your hike.

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Grow A Garden

The Curious Garden by Peter Brown is about one boy’s quest for a greener world, one garden at a time. While out exploring one day, the boy discovers a struggling garden and decides to take care of it. As time passes, the garden spreads throughout the drab city, transforming it into a lush, green world. This is a poignant book that has inspired many cities to explore how they can become greener.

  • Keep a seed diary. Plant seeds and watch them grow (use quick growing seeds like herbs, beans, or sunflowers).
  • Look at a local park or your own backyard and redesign it so there is more green space.
  • Make an inventory of the nature in your area. Discuss biodiversity of plants and animals with your children.

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Explore Insects

Mechanica by Lance Baldachin is an imaginative field guide for those who love the earth but wonder what will happen if we do not protect it. The book looks to the future when the earth is devoid of any natural life due to human destruction and consumption. However, mechanical creatures have been made to replace what was lost.

  • Find some insects and sketch them. Look at how they move their arms and legs. Try to recreate an insect out of natural or recycled materials.
  • Create an insect house for your local insects. Many insects are lacking in city gardens since there are not enough small holes for them to live in.
  • Teach your children about the life cycles of insects and see if you can find evidence of different stages in your area (e.g. cocoon, butterfly).

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Dig for Worms

The Worm Who Knew Karate by Terry Denton and Jill Lever is a hilarious book about a worm who decides to become braver and stronger through the art of karate. How can we help our children build their confidence?

  • Dig up some dirt and search for earth worms in your backyard.
  • Buy a worm farm or explore your local community garden’s worm farm.
  • Feed the worms and learn what food they like best.

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Discover New Places

Bogtrotter by Margaret Wild is about a delightful creature that lives in the bog. The book focuses on belonging, trying new things, challenging ourselves, playing outdoors, loneliness, and discovery. The illustrations by Judith Rossell are marvelous, really bringing to life the Bogtrotter and his feelings.

  • Visit a park, national park, garden, or any other outdoor space that you have not seen yet.
  • Take a path you typically go on, but do it slowly and mindfully, trying to notice the small things as you walk along.
  • Take something outside that you normally do inside (e.g. have a picnic, do an art activity). Does it make a difference?

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Stretch Your Imagination

Incredibilia, written by Libby Hathorn and illustrated by Gaye Chapman, contains pictures that really transport you to an imaginative world full of crazy creatures, whispy clouds, and natural beauty. You will love looking at each page and imagining what Georgie was thinking about, what she was playing, and how the others could play, too.

  • Take some ribbons, balls, string, and scraps and see what you can do with them outside instead of playing with a specific toy.
  • Create new names for the local insects, trees, and flowers in your garden or local park. Get those creative juices flowing!
  • Go somewhere or find something that you think is incredibilia!

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Go Green

Leaf by Stephen Michael King shows the love of nature that children can have when given the chance. In this magical story, a little boy grows his own seedling in his hair and loves it, cares for it, and shares many adventures with it. He spends every waking minute finding the best way to care for his seedling. Unfortunately, he needs a haircut and the adult world tries to take his small tree away from him. His determination and resilience shines through and he continues to care for the tree as he grows older. This is a beautifully drawn book which not only intrigues the reader but really hits the spot on how we need to take a step back and let the natural world become a part of our daily lives.

  • Perform a puppet show outside with leaves as the characters –draw on them and create a story.
  • What can you grow out of different substances? Explore how seeds grow and what they need to grow.
  • How heavy are different trees? Use problem solving to try and work this out.
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What creative outdoor activities have you done based on books you have read with your children?

Why Kids Need Unstructured Free Play

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Why Our Kids Need Unstructured

Do your children play enough? I am talking about unstructured free play when they are creating, using their imagination, and exploring on their own without your guidance. No electronics, no games with lots of rules, not even educational games and toys with a purpose.

Sadly, the art of free play has declined sharply in recent decades. “Over the past half century we have increasingly deprived children of opportunities for free play, and over that same period we have seen dramatic and continuous increases in all sorts of emotional disorders in children,” explains Peter Gray, an expert in this subject. He is a research professor at Boston College and the voice behind the Psychology Today’s blog by the same title that addresses ways we can create learning environments that optimize rather than suppress children’s play.

What’s The Problem?

When children do not have the opportunity to engage in enough free play, they suffer. Some of the drawbacks resulting from missing free play include:

  • Diminished joy.
  • Unable to learn self-control.
  • Miss out on discovering and exploring what they most love to do and their purpose in life.
  • Greater chance of experiencing anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders.

Lena Aburdene Derhally, psychotherapist specializing in anxiety at the Imago Center in Washington, D.C., revealed that “Sadly, I continue to see many instances where play and joy are not highly valued with both younger and older children, and as a mental health professional, I see it as detrimental to the healthy development of children. Because we have become such a work- and results-driven society, free, unscheduled play for children has taken a back seat. This lack of play affects emotional development and is thought to be leading the rise of anxiety, depression and other mental disorders in children.”

Benefits Of Free Play

Why should we encourage more free play? According to Ashley Soderlund, psychologist and author of Nurture & Thrive blog, research shows that children whose parents often engage in physical and pretend play have a stronger bond with their parents and get along better with their peers.

Free play also helps children learn to solve their own problems, control their own lives, develop their own interests, learn about the world around them, and practice many skills that are necessary for healthy development. Peter Gray points out that children practice physical and manual skills, intellectual skills, social skills, and emotional skills during free play. “In play, children learn how to regulate their fear and anger and thereby how to maintain emotional control in threatening real-life situations.” Over time, free play helps a child feel happier, calmer, and more confident.

What Parents Can Do

There are many ways that we can give our children the chance to freely play. The following tips will help you discover more opportunities for unstructured play:

  • Let go of your need to control their play time. This is probably the most difficult step for many of us. It is so important that we bite our lips and move aside, and let our children play as they please (of course, stepping in if safety concerns arise).
  • Keep it simple. Fun doesn’t have to involve expensive toys and trips to amusement parks. Let them enjoy simple activities like blowing bubbles, making up their own dances, and drawing on the sidewalk with chalk.
  • Focus on their strengths and interests. If your child loves an activity, then let them focus on it during their free time. My daughter loves singing her own songs.
  • Encourage physical activity. Exercise is healthy and fun, but it does not always have to be so structured with teams and rules. Let your children create their own sports and get their energy out in the way that makes them happiest. Try jumping rope or impromptu relay races. My son loves football and spends a lot of time making up plays and passing the ball to himself as he runs and slides around the house.
  • Get them outside. Children are spending less time outdoors and suffering from nature-deficit disorder. This is unfortunate because a growing number of studies show that spending time in nature can improve mental health, such as reducing stress.
  • Invite other children to play. Playdates may be scheduled, but we can allow the kids to use their imagination together. My daughter loves playing house with her friends when each child takes on a role in the family—no toys necessary.
  • Be playful with your kids. It is so important that we model fun free time to our kids. Get on the floor and monkey around with them, pretend you are princesses in a castle, or talk in silly accents. All of this imaginative play will encourage them to do it more often on their own. Check out 7 Habits of Highly Playful Parents for more ideas.
  • Understand the importance of play for kids of all ages. Even tweens and teens need to play freely sometimes and get a break from their busy, stressful lives.
  • Give them opportunities to play and create on their own. You don’t always have to hover over them while they are playing a game or working on an art project. Check out these side by side crafting ideas to foster independent creativity.

How do you inspire free play in your house?

What Happened to Playing Outside?

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What HappenedTo Playing

Do you remember playing outside as a kid? It was a time to run around and let loose, use your imagination, and explore. As a child growing up in the eighties, I remember walking to school, riding my bike to the swim club or just around the neighborhood to see friends, and making up all kinds of imaginative games in the woods behind my house. Well, that doesn’t happen much anymore. Today, children suffer from nature-deficit disorder.

This term was coined by Richard Louv, author of the book Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder and co-founder of the Children & Nature Network (C&NN). It refers to children having less experience with and connection to nature over the last couple of decades. Here are some facts:

  • Only 6 percent of American children ages 9-13 play outside unsupervised, according to Frances Moore Lappe in her book EcoMind: Changing the Way We Think, to Create the World We Want.
  • In a 2004 survey of 800 American mothers, 71 percent said they played outdoors every day as children but only 26 percent of them said their kids played outdoors daily.
  • The Outdoor Foundation surveyed 40,000 people and found an overall decrease in the amount of time children participated in outdoor activities.
  • A 2005 study indicated that 71 percent of adults reported that they walked or biked to school when they were children but only about 20 percent of children did in 2005. This is very true for my family. We live five minutes from my children’s schools, yet I spend about 2 hours each week in carpool lines.

Why This Is A Problem

Children spending less time outdoors has been linked to decreased appreciation of our environment, health problems including childhood obesity and vitamin D deficiency, diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties, and higher rates of emotional illnesses like anxiety and depression.

I want to focus on this last point and how nature helps reduce stress and anxiety.  If children are no longer outside playing and enjoying themselves, then how will they naturally calm down and relax?

Well, the statistics are frightening. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), it is estimated that 1 in 8 children suffers from an anxiety disorder. More worrisome, the National Institute of Mental Health reports that 25 percent of teens ages 13-18 will experience some form of anxiety. Additionally, the use of anti-anxiety medications is exploding. It increased by almost 50 percent for children ages 10-19 between 2001-2010, explained Scott Shannon, author of Mental Health for the Whole Child: Moving Young Clients from Disease & Disorder to Balance & Wellness.

How Nature Helps Reduce Stress

A growing number of studies from around the world show the importance of nature in our life such as improving mental health. Examples include recreation activities in the wilderness, community gardens, views of nature and/or gardens at hospitals, and contact with animals. Why is this the case?

  • Humans have a nature instinct known as biophilia—an innate bond we share with all creatures and plants in the natural world that we subconsciously seek.
  • Nature provides a sense of wellbeing.
  • The natural world offers solace and comfort unlike what we find in any manmade environment.
  • Spending time in nature reduces the level of human response to stress and allows us to recover from stressful situations more quickly.
  • Having contact with nature promotes healing. A breakthrough study in 2001 in the Journal of Environmental Psychology found that a healing garden at a children’s hospital in California had positive effects on users—about 85 percent reported feeling more relaxed, refreshed, or better able to cope after spending only 5 minutes in the garden.

How Did We Get Here?

Five key changes over the last 30+ years have impacted our relationship with nature:

  1. How Society Developed. We are increasingly living in urban areas. According to the United Nations, almost 50 percent of all people in the world now live in urban areas, and this is projected to increase to 65 percent by the year 2030. Also, poorly designed outdoor spaces make it more difficult for children to play outside.
  2. Fear. Richard Louv wrote: “Fear is the emotion that separates a developing child from the full, essential benefits of nature.” Since the 1980s, we live in a more fearful society hyped up by 24/7 media reporting, which was intensified after 9/11. Parents worry about many safety concerns that impact the time their children spend outside, such as traffic, crime, strangers, injury, and nature itself (e.g. skin cancer due to sun exposure, bug bites, and harmful animals.)
  3. Technology. Children spend more and more time focused on screens instead of nature scenes. According to a 2010 Kaiser Family Foundation study, daily media use among children and teens has risen dramatically. Today, 8- to 18-year-olds devote an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes to using entertainment media across a typical day (more than 53 hours a week!). Common Sense Media reports a huge increase in the use of mobile media by young children in the past couple of years. Finally, in his book, Richard Louv sadly quotes a fourth grader: “I Like to play indoors better because that’s where all the electric outlets are.”
  4. Time pressures. Children are living an overly structured lifestyle involving sports teams, indoor play centers, homework, extracurricular activities, etc., that prevent them from simply enjoying free play outdoors.
  5. Education trends. Unfortunately, outdoor education is not a priority, and recess time and physical education classes are being threatened in many schools.

How Can You Help?

We are all struggling to balance a million priorities and to make the best decisions for our family. Now that you know how critical it is to our children’s wellbeing for them to spend time outside in nature, you may want to take some steps:

  • Spend more time outside as a family. Don’t overthink this. Keep your children’s outdoor time unstructured–go for a walk, visit a local park, garden, bike ride, or have a healthy meal in your backyard.
  • Plan day trips and vacations based on National Parks or other outdoor experiences.
  • Register your children for outdoor sports and summer camp.
  • Teach children to “stop and smell the roses”. In other words, be mindful of nature around you.
  • Lobby for your school to keep physical education and recess on your child’s schedule.
  • Start a nature group at your child’s school.
  • Get involved in a community garden or local environmental group.
  • Examine ways to minimize technology use in your house. Common Sense Media is a fabulous resource to explore.

There is hope. Recently, my son and I met a friend of his for a playdate at the local library. At first the kids played video games on the computers, but once the rain stopped the boy’s mother suggested we go outside to feed the ducks with some bread that she brought. I thought, “What a wonderful idea!” We ended up discovering some trails around the lake and really enjoyed ourselves. My son had a blast exploring in nature. Through this experience, I learned that it is very easy to be creative and add some nature experiences back into our children’s lives. Get them out from behind the screen, and go explore outdoors! (Just remember to bring your sunscreen and bug spray.)

How do you incorporate nature time into your family’s life?

5 Foods To Calm Your Kids

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We are all familiar with how some foods and drinks can calm our nerves like a warm, cozy cup of chamomile tea. But what are some kid-friendly foods that help reduce stress?

Here are the top five calm cuisine options that you can incorporate into your child’s diet. One way to give your kids a much-needed break after school is to offer them a healthy snack. These foods are ideal because they will nourish and calm them.

Oranges And Other Foods With Vitamin C

Oranges are loaded with vitamin C, a nutrient known to lower levels of stress hormones while strengthening the body’s immune system. Vitamin C has actually been found to fight brain cell damage due to the stress hormone cortisol. One study found that vitamin C helped people bounce back more easily from a stressful situation. In that study, blood pressure and cortisol levels returned to normal more quickly when people took vitamin C before a stressful event.

Additionally, stress makes our body release more free radicals than when we are in a good mood. Vitamin C helps to keep the free radicals in control, repairing the body. Basically, it helps protect the body from the cumulative effects of stress.

Besides oranges, look for these foods rich in vitamin C: blueberries, mangos, cranberries, strawberries, Brussel sprouts, leafy greens, broccoli, and red and green peppers.

Almonds

If your child is not allergic, then almonds should definitely be part of their daily diet. They are loaded with these vitamins and minerals that help reduce stress:

  • Vitamin E: Shown to fight the free radicals associated with stress.
  • Vitamin B: Makes us more resilient during stress.
  • Zinc: Key nutrient for maintaining a balanced mood.
  • Iron: Low iron levels have been shown to contribute to brain fatigue, which can increase anxiety.
  • Magnesium: Shown to reduce stress.

Almonds are now found in so many delicious forms for your children to enjoy. Let them try almond milk instead of cow’s milk and almond butter instead of peanut butter. You can sprinkle almonds on yogurt for a healthy breakfast or snack. Try spreading almond butter on apple slices or using it in a delicious smoothie.

Fatty Fish

Consuming omega-3 fatty acids–found in fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, sardines, anchovies, lake trout, herring, and mackerel–can prevent surges in stress hormones and improve our mood overall. In a study at Ohio State University, students given an omega-3 fatty acid supplement showed a 20 percent reduction in anxiety. The researchers suggest that people incorporate more fatty fish into their diet instead of just taking a supplement. According to Jonathan Davidson and Henry Dreher, authors of The Anxiety Book, a deficiency in omega-3 fatty acids in the brain can be related to anxiety disorder. Adding these foods to your diet can help ease symptoms of anxiety.

You are probably wondering how to serve these types of fish to your kids when all they want are fish sticks. It’s okay to get a bit sneaky and creative when cooking for your kids. Try mashing up different types of fish to make yummy fish cakes or creating your own baked fish sticks.

Turkey And Other Foods With Tryptophan

You know how on Thanksgiving you feel sleepy after eating a big turkey meal? It’s the tryptophan doing its job. Tryptophan is an amino acid known to produce chemicals such as serotonin in the brain that makes us feel happier and more relaxed.

So, pack those turkey sandwiches for lunch and put some turkey dinners on the calendar year-round!

Other foods that contain tryptophan and ease anxiety include milk, bananas, oats, soy, nuts, peanut butter, and sesame seeds.

Whole Grains

Complex carbohydrates, like whole grains, can boost serotonin levels in our brain, which help us to relax and calm down. They also stabilize blood sugar, improving anxiety symptoms since low blood sugar can make us feel anxious.

Here are some other reasons why whole grains help reduce anxiety:

  • They are rich in magnesium–magnesium deficiency can lead to anxiety.
  • They contain tryptophan, which turns into serotonin in the brain.
  • They create healthy energy while reducing hunger–both important for controlling anxiety.
Good sources of complex carbohydrates include oatmeal; brown rice; and whole-grain breads, pastas, and breakfast cereals. Here are some fun ways to serve oatmeal to your kids.

Meal Time Tips

I bet your children would love a smoothie with bananas, almond milk, and peanut butter. Or how about a dinner consisting of turkey meatballs and whole grain pasta? Now that we know the key ingredients of a calm cuisine, we can look for new recipes or create our own using these 5 types of foods. Bon appetite!

How Children Find Their Purpose At Camp

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(Although this post is sponsored, all opinions are my own.)

We all want our children to be happy and successful. Would you believe that letting them spread their own wings—without us by their side—may be the most effective way to do this?

Our job as parents is to give our children the tools they need to go out in the world and discover who they are and what they want to become–their purpose in life. A child can only truly grow if given some freedom and the chance to gain confidence by exploring new ideas and activities.

The Gift Of Sleep Away Camp

What better place for children to begin this process than sleep away camp? Sending children away for camp may seem daunting at first, but if you ask anyone who has spent several weeks bunking with their friends, they will tell you how it positively transformed their life and how lucky they are that their parents gave them that gift.

According to Michael Thompson, a clinical psychologist and author of Homesick and Happy, How Time Away from Parents Can Help a Child Grow, “…parents can sometimes seriously impede their children’s development. As a parent, there are many things you cannot do for your children. You cannot give your child confidence, you cannot pick or manage his or her friendships, you cannot always be his or her advocate/agent/manager/coach. …and most important, parents have a hard time urging their children to take psychological risks.”

Thompson goes on to explain how sleep away camp succeeds at doing all of these things and how critical it is that children and teens have these experiences. He says that true independence is something parents cannot give their children; they must live it on their own.

Benefits of Sleep Away Camp

There are five invaluable aspects of sleep away camp that can lead children and teens in discovering their purpose:

Confidence

One of the most important benefits of sleep away camp is that children build confidence and self-esteem while living away from their parents. These positive attributes stem from belonging, learning, and contributing. Camps provide many unique opportunities for children to succeed in these three areas: 1) they belong to their sports team and bunk; 2) they learn from trying new activities and making new friends; and 3) they contribute by helping during meals and serving as team leaders.

Camp also provides ways for children to feel a sense of accomplishment. When they succeed, they are empowered and have more confidence when faced with the next challenge. They also learn from their mistakes and failures, which only makes them more resilient in the future. Also, the kind of encouragement kids receive at camp makes it the perfect environment for them to overcome setbacks, try new things, and see improvement. Some camp experiences even allow them to conquer their fears, whether it be learning to swim in a lake or climb a ropes course.

Finally, many children will purposely choose to attend camp where they do not know any other campers when they arrive. This special experience gives them the chance to start fresh and explore who they truly are in a different environment. All of this confidence building brings them closer to figuring out their interests and goals.

Broader Perspective

At camp, children begin to see the world a bit differently. They are away from their comfort zone and exposed to new people and experiences that give them a new, broader perspective. They realize that they are part of something bigger than themselves and their immediate family. They meet people from different backgrounds, locations, and interests. They may participate in community service projects that they would have not otherwise had the chance to do. Sleepaway camp is so valuable in how it introduces children to new ways of seeing the world and themselves.

Community

Children benefit from being part of the special community found at sleep away camp. It gives them a sense of belonging, which will ultimately improve their ability to cooperate, contribute, and serve their future communities as caring citizens. Campers also gain new social skills from being in a group setting. They must share a room with others, manage chores, resolve conflicts, communicate effectively, and be kind and accommodating to their fellow campers. Being part of a close-knit community can be challenging at times, but children who learn how to adapt and get along with others will benefit for a lifetime.

Peter Scales, Ph.D., a senior fellow with the Search Institute in Minneapolis, says, “Camp activities and group living in a natural environment are the tools used to create camp communities that provide for successful, healthy development… They learn to work together, make choices, take responsibility, develop creative skills, build independence and self-reliance, and gain confidence. All are necessary steps on a child’s path to a healthy, productive life.”

Skills

Sleep away camp is chock full of unique activities and events that children can’t find anywhere else. Going to camp allows them to learn new skills, whether it be in sports, art, or outdoor exploration. Being exposed to so many new programs enhances their knowledge and capabilities, allowing them to get closer to finding what they enjoy most.

Camp also helps children become more independent. They learn how to make their own decisions without parents and teachers always telling them what to do. They are expected to manage daily chores, show up on time to activities, and keep their belongings neat and clean. These are life-long skills that will help them succeed in whatever they do.

Self-Reflection

The school year is a busy time, but camp provides a chance for kids to slow down and listen to their own thoughts. Camp is the perfect environment for self-reflection and meditation because kids unplug and soak in the beautiful nature around them. When kids take a break from television, video games, texting, and surfing online, they become more mindful of their surroundings and their own emotions. They are able to focus on the simple things in life like going for a hike, watching a sunset, singing around the campfire, and talking in-depth to their friends.

Camp also provides a time for unstructured play. Campers are encouraged to use their creativity to solve problems and have fun. They learn how to keep busy with activities that have been used for centuries, such as swimming and boating in a lake, woodworking, and theater performances. This carefree living gives them a chance to relax and laugh without the pressures of their hectic, overly-scheduled lives back home. This change of pace can lead to emotional and spiritual growth.

How has your (or your child’s) experience at sleep away camp helped you find your purpose?