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February 16, 2012

Get Outside Baby!

Posted by Tonya under Free Play, Nature, Parents, Places to Go
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Is it just me or are there TONS of families having babies right now?  If this is you or you know a new mom or dad, remind them that it is never too early to start taking your children outdoors.  

Outside gets a bad rap for being “dirty.”  When actually, the fresh air outside has much fewer recirculated germs and the surfaces many fewer ickies from us touching and sneezing on things all the time.  (door knobs, keyboards, etc).  Today’s blog is not about the gross-out factor or a stimulus to go sanatize your home.  It is a call to head outdoors with your kids, even the smallest ones.

What do you do with a baby outside?  Well, here are a few suggestions.  (Ideas borrowed from the Children & Nature Network’s “Together in Nature” publication).

  • Just take a walk.  Point out colors, wander under trees, say hello to squirrels.  Leave the cell phone at home and be present with your baby.  Do this when they’re fussy.  Nature is a great soother.
  • A Touch of Nature.  Help your baby touch bark, grass, moss, pebbles, etc.  These are great moments of sensory discovery.  If something holds their attention, linger. 
  • Nature Nursery Day.  On a nice day, spread out a blanket under a tree and spend the  whole morning or afternoon outside.  Bring books, snacks and a few toys.  Let the baby crawl freely, watch birds and play in the leafy shadows.  Take a nap.  Enjoy.  (Again, no cell phones.)
 

February 3, 2012

Parents Night Out Cancelled

Posted by Tonya under g2g Outside Events, Parents
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Due to too few registrations we are cancelling g2g Parents Night Out that was to be Monday, Feb 6.  We will make future blog posts with information and ideas that were going to be presented during this event. 

We are looking forward to AWESOME family events this summer!  Check out our schedule here.  See you there!!!

 

January 31, 2012

Register for g2g Parents Night Out

Posted by Tonya under g2g Outside Events, Local Initiatives, Parents, Places to Go | Tags: , , , |
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Parents, have you been carting your kids around to THEIR activities?  Are you ready for a night where the evening is designed just for you?  Well here you go!

g2g Outside is hosting a Parent’s Night Out on February 6th, 6:30-8:30pm.   We will provide an evening with refreshments, a bit of education, some lively discussion, and a few fun activities or ideas that you can take home and use.

The purpose of the evening is to give parents the time and space to talk about how outdoor play shapes children and benefits them.  We will trade ideas and activities that we use to engage kids in nature.

The event is free.  But, we ask that you please register here

 

January 14, 2012

Parents Night Out

Posted by Tonya under g2g Outside Events, Parents | Tags: , , |
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Parents, have you been carting your kids around to THEIR activities?  Are you ready for a night where the evening is designed just for you?  Well here you go!

g2g Outside is hosting a Parent’s Night Out on February 6th, 6:30-8:30pm.   We will provide an evening with refreshments, a bit of education, some lively discussion, and a few fun activities or ideas that you can take home and use.

The purpose of the evening is to give parents the time and space to talk about how outdoor play shapes children and benefits them.  We will trade ideas and activities that we use to engage kids in nature.

The event is free.  But, we ask that you please register here.

 

January 1, 2012

Resolve to Play Outside More This Year

Posted by Tonya under Camping, Free Play, Nature, Parents | Tags: , , , , |
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It’s the time of year when we all think about our lives and how we can improve them over the next year.  We typically do this in the form of a New Year’s Resolution. 

Wikipedia defines a New Year’s resolution as a commitment that a person makes to a lasting personal goal, project, or the reforming of a habit. 

 

g2g challenges you to make a New Year’s Resolution that will be fun for your entire family!  How about speding MORE time outdoors this year than you did last year?!?!

Think about how many hours per week you or your kids spent just playing outside this year (sports practices doesn’t count).  Now, can you add an hour?  How about doubling the time? 

Our lives get pretty busy, so schedule outdoor play time!  I know it seems contrary to the word “play,” to schedule it.  But, if it’s on the calendar you wont be tempted to skip playtime or start doing something else instead.  Once the kids are outside playing they will soon forget that this was a scheduled activity. 

Save time for kids to play outdoors on their own, time together as a family, time exploring new places, and time just relaxing and observing the world around you.

 

 

Tell us what your outdoor play resolution is this year!  Post in the comment section below! 

Resolution Ideas:

  • Our family will play outside for at least an hour 4 times each week.
  • I will send the kids outside to play for, at least, the first 30 minutes they are home from school.
  • Our family will go camping at least twice this year.
  • Our family will take a vacation to a national park this summer.
  • We will try out a new park each month this year.

  • The whole family will take time to read outside every Saturday as long as it is not too cold or rainy.  (We have an umbrella and a tent, so we’ll even try in the rain!)

What are your resolutions??????

 

December 6, 2011

Family Game Night

Posted by Tonya under Local Initiatives, Parents | Tags: , , , , |
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g2g Outside is taking a break from Play in the Park activities this month because 1)  it’s too dark after parents get off work, 2) it’s such a busy time of year.

However, there is one great family event sponsored by Sedgwick Co Extension that you and your family can attend on December 9 from 7-9.  It’s Family Board Game Night.  Yes, yes, this is supposed to be and outside play program, but once it’s warmer you can always take your family game night outside.  :)

Come play board games before you buy them.  Take this opportunity to scope out new board games for your kids as potential holiday or birthday gifts. 

We live in a busy world in which time together is often lost in the buzz of activity. Setting aside a time to play board games (a Family Night) can bring fathers, mothers, grandparents, friends and other loving adults together with children. When played in the right spirit, games provide a shared experience in which the minds of those playing engage each other in challenging ways. Having fun together is the priority goal in playing board games.

Are you tired of the same old games?  Need some inspiration for a family board game night?  Come to the Community Family Board Game Night at the Sedgwick County Extension Office on Friday, December 9 from 7-9pm.  This event is a free, come & go event where you can try out all sorts of games for ages 5 to 95.  Check out the details Community Family Board Game Night Event- December 9, 2011 English, Spanish

 

 

November 28, 2011

New Website – Nature Rocks!

Posted by Tonya under Nature, Parents, Places to Go
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I found this website and I think it’s kind of fun.  It’s called Nature Rocks.  My favorite feature is on the main page.  You can select the amount of time you have, the age of your kids, and where they’re going to play and it will come up with fun ideas to fit your needs.

They have a newsletter you can sign up for.  And, they have a link to this Nature Conservancy “Treasure Hunt”.

 

November 17, 2011

More Inspiration for Our World

Posted by Tonya under Local Initiatives, Parents | Tags: , , |
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I realize that the past two posts have simply stolen the ideas and words of Richard Louv and the Children & Nature Network.  However, I just cannot pass up passing this along to you.  This is an exerpt from the Holiday Letter from the CNN.  Enjoy.

Come, my friends, ‘Tis not too late to seek a newer world.
   – Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Dear Friend,

I’m writing to ask your help, first by imagining a newer world. A world in which all children grow up with a deep understanding of the life around them, where they know the animals and plants of their own back yards as well as the televised Amazon rainforest, or better.

A newer world where the point of education is wonder and awe, where every school has a natural play space or garden. Imagine a world in which pediatricians prescribe nature. A world in which families become closer, and join with other families to explore the natural world. Where children, in inner cities and far suburbs, experience the joy of being in nature before they learn of its loss, where they can lie in the grass on a hillside for hours and watch clouds become the faces of the future. Imagine a newer world where every child has a human right to a connection to the natural world, and shares the responsibility for caring for it. Where every child has the opportunity to help create that world.

Richard Louv
Chairman Emeritus,
Children & Nature Network

 

November 8, 2011

Christmas Gift Ideas

Posted by Tonya under Free Play, Parents | Tags: |
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Well the Christmas decorations are out in the stores, so I guess it’s not too early to start talking holiday gift ideas for the kiddos.

I was chatting with a teacher-friend the other day, and she was telling me that after a classroom science experiment using funnels, sand and water that her students were asking her if they could take the funnels home.  Of course Mrs. Grafton can’t just give away her classroom science supplies, but what a simple, low-cost gift idea!  (Shout Out to Mrs. Grafton and her 5th grade class!)

Mrs. Grafton’s students are 5th graders and they were so excited about funnels and all the potential play opportunities that funnels presented.  She blew their minds when she told them that funnels come in all different sizes; from micro-mini to huge!

Kids today love the complicated, the electronic, and the digital, but they can be facinated with the simple as well.  Try to think a bit more about what kinds of simple, hands-on toys and games your kids would enjoy.  And, hey even if they don’t play with them forever they were less than $10.  And, a funnel can’t be ruined by dropping it or getting it wet!

More Funnel Ideas:

  • You can buy funnels of all sizes at big box or auto-part stores.
  • Use a funnel to play with sand, rice, water, cereal, etc.
  • Check out this game that uses a funnel (it’s Halloween themed, but you could change the ghosts for anything – mini cars, spools of thread, pine cones, etc)

What other inexpensive kids gift ideas can you think of?  At g2g at the WATER Center last Thursday, we used socks to make puppets that could help us collect seeds from plants.  What else????

 

September 26, 2011

Conference for Parents and Teachers

Posted by Tonya under Local Initiatives, Parents, Places to Go
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The Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education (KACEE) will host thier annual Environmental Education Conference in Great Bend this November. 

 

Check out the details:  Save the Date Flier KEEC 11

 

There will be great field trips and a pre-conference workshop at the Wetland Education Center.

 

 

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