g2g Outside

Looking for some things to do with your kids this summer while they’re out of school?  Check out all the nature and outdoor stuff they have going on at the Great Plains Nature Center!  And, don’t forget about the g2g events!

Here are just the ones coming up in May and early June!

• Story Time – Wednesdays, 11am.  Free, no registration required.  Meets in the lobby of the Nature Center.
• Herp Hunt! – Thursday May 24, 9a-11a & Friday May 25, 9a-11a.  Fee = $3 members/$5 non-members.  Must pre-register.  Click here for registration form.  Be prepared to get wet & muddy.  Go off trails to hunt for snakes, frogs, turtles, toads, etc! 
• Make Your Own Telescope – Ages 8+.  3-day program.  May 29 & May 30 from 1:30-2:30 and June 1, 9p-10p.  Fee $10 members/$15 non-members.  Must pre-register.  Click here for form.  2 days to make the telescope and an evening of star gazing!
• Nature Adventures – Wednesdays, June 6-July 25, 1:30.  Free, ne registration required.  Each week a naturalist shares about nature and wildlife.  Meets in the lobby of the Nature Center.
• Full Moon Walks – Monday June 4, 9pm.  Free, please pre-register by contacting Lorrie Beck, 316-683-5499 etxn 108.  Celebrate the full moon with an evening stroll through Chisholm Creek Park and see what nocturnal creatues see.
• Incredible Bugs – Ages 6-12 (must have completed Kindergarten).  Tues, June 5, 10a-11:30a.  Repeats Thurs, June 7, 10a-11:30a.  Fee = $3 members/$5 non-members.  Must pre-register.  Click here for registration form.  Learn about and hunt for all kinds of bugs! 
• Nature Journal Wonders – Ages 5-8 (completed K).  Tues, June 12, 10a-11:30a.  Repeats on June 26, 10a-11:30a.  Fee = $3 members/$5 non-members.  Must pre-register.  Click here for registration form. 
• Nature Journal Wonders – Ages 9-12 (completed 3rd).  Thurs, June 14, 10a-11:30.  Repeats Thurs, June 28, 10a-11:30.  Fee = $3 members/$5 non-members.  Must pre-register.  Click here for registration form. 

Tell us what you did to celebrate Earth Day!  I practiced archery in the backyard.

Did you know that 85% of kids want more adventure in their lives!?!?! 

Even if we, as adults, are a little nervous about this, let’s try to give our kids some good, clean, fun adventure!

Read this great article on the bringing more adventure in to our family lives: click here.

The goal of the g2g program is to connect kids (and families) to nature.  Your kids will want to do more outside and spend more time in nature if we, as adults, share with them why we love the outdoors.

I am reminded of a quote by Rachel Carson,  “If a child is to keep alive their inborn sense of wonder… they need the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with them the joy, excitement, and mystery of the world we live in.”

Take pictures together outside

You don’t have to be a biologist or ecologist to share your love of nature.  Names and facts are less important than how the wind or the shade of a tree makes you feel.  Share with your kids why you love a park or what makes you want to return to that tree year after year. 

Nature is constantly changing, when you’re outside, be in the moment.  Watch.  Listen.  Ask questions.  Guess.  Have fun! 

Whether it’s the calm of watching the clouds on a warm spring day or dancing crazy while chasing dragonflies, your kids will enjoy the natural world alongside you if you show them your love of nature in the simple, personal ways. 

Catch bugs together

For more ideas about how to share nature with your children check out our g2g Outside Parents Night Out.

Here are some wise words from Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods and inspiror of the Children and Nature Network as well as the g2g Outside program. 

The vision for the Children and Nature Network is A world in which all children play, learn and grow with nature in their everyday lives. 

Suzanne Perez Tobias wrote a great article in this week’s Wichita Eagle, about how she was inspired to spend more time outdoors with her kids (playing, walking, homework, etc).  Check out the article here.

Click here for the article.

Leave a comment about what we can do here in Wichita/Sedgwick County/Kansas to promote safe outdoor play for our kids where they can imagine, explore, discover, play and create.

Packing the kids’ lunch is not that much fun.  But, one way to spice up the chore is to challenge yourself and your kids to make the lunch as waste-free as possible. 

In one year an average size school will create 10 tons of trash just from lunches.  Here are a few hints to reduce your lunch waste:

1. Send the kids to school with a reusable lunchbag or box (Remember those cool lunch boxes with our favorite cartoons on them we carried when we were young?)
2. Put sandwiches, apples, and cookies in reusable containers instead of plastic baggies.
3. Cloth napkins are vintage-chic.

Check out this mom’s blog and her ideas for a waste-free lunch!

(We at g2g Outside realize that today’s post has nothing to do with outdoor play, but we thought that this green message was a good one to talk about at the start of the school year.  The more we consider our environment the better it will be for our children when they are grown and packing their kids’ lunches.  Now, go outside and play a good ol’ game of freeze tag with your kiddos!)

We are fishing this week at the Great Plains Nature Center , Wednesday from 6:30-8pm.

The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks will be our fishing guides.  Come and use their cane poles.  They’ll also provide the worms.  This is a great fishing experience for kids that love to fish, and those who have never fished before. 

For directions to the Great Plains Nature Center click here.  It is a gorgeous place to fish, hike and explore.  Don’t forget your tennis or other sturdy shoes.