A back-to-nature guide for kids

A back-to-nature guide for kids

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...ealthyliving2/
stories/DN-nh_brief3_0304liv.ART.State.Edition1.4654a22.html
http://tinyurl.com/26pyvm

Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Leslie Garcia

Richard Louv's book Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From
Nature-Deficit Disorder (Algonquin Books, $25), discusses the
consequences of the disconnect between children and nature. Not just
obesity, but also emotional and mental health.

That said, we offer five ways to keep such trauma at bay and to get
kids enamored of the outdoors. We nabbed them from the March issue of
Texas Parks & Wildlife.

1. Yoo-hoo, butterflies! Over here! What is cooler than a butterfly
in your yard? How about a swarm? Bring 'em home by planting lantana,
black-eyed Susans, purple coneflowers. Migrating species need
flowering plants even through November.

2. Branch out. Find gnarled, sturdy-branched trees and hoist a kid's
fanny up into the branches. C'mon, you remember how it's done. Bring a
book if you'd like, or just imagination.

3. Collect your thoughts. OK, enough about thinking. Instead,
encourage kids to start real collections: Rocks, shells, leaves,
frogs. Egg cartons make good storage spots (except for the frogs).

4. Time wades for no one. Teach 'em the fun of wading in a moving
stream. Yes, a slowly moving one. If it moves too fast or is too deep,
find another.

5. If I had a hammer. Help a kid build something. A fort. A
treehouse. Heck, a birdhouse made with Popsicle sticks would do just
fine.