The variety of green activities to do with kids is pretty extensive. I got to wondering, what are your favorite green activities you do with your kids? Do you like to be active – climb trees, hike, or chop wood? Do you like to potter around looking up close for small stuff like pillbugs and worms? Maybe you like to visit farms and farmers markets, or to be inside creating things like pressed flowers, recycled crafts, and yummy things to eat. Is writing in a journal your ‘cup of tea’ or would you rather take photos, plan your garden, read a book about nature, act in a play about a favorite naturalist, or write a shopping list of new, sustainably produced, foods you’d like try.
Or maybe you like to do ALL of the above! When you dream about the perfect ‘green’ time with your kids what are you doing? Is there something you’d really like to try, but just don’t feel ready? Is there something you just want to know how to do, but you’ve not found out yet? Do both mom and dad at your house get involved when doing this kind of stuff? If only one parent is involved, do you wish that both were? What about grandma, grandpa, neighbors, friends, and other relatives. Do your kids spend time doing activities with them?
I can’t wait to hear!
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The activity I like to do most with my 6 year old daughter is to just go outside on some excuse and watch what she does. It never fails. If we go out with no agenda we always find something amazing to look at or do.
I love how you are following your daughter’s lead Wendy. Too often parents think it’s their job to come up with a project to excite their kids when, given the right space, kids are perfectly capable of being the instigators. Now I’m wondering about the excuses you use and the amazing things you discover!
i started pressing flowers when my now sixteen year old daughter was just a babe…as she grew and continued to follow me around in the garden and the woods, we would examine the really kool leaf with a fabulous pattern of bug bites, pick up the stray pinecone, etc. and take them home as memories:-)…
as my art began to evolve, some of these beautiful pieces of nature found their way into the artwork!:-)…i’m working on a landscape now that contains a piece of a lilypad gathered from the great mississippi river!:-)…leaves from a journey to new england!:-)…and bits and pieces from our own backyard:-)…i think that’s part of the reason that i love what i do so much!:-)…a little bit of our life’s history is in each picture:-)
All of the above! As a preschool teacher, my favorite things to do with the kids were taking care of the chickens, watering plants in the garden, and going for nature walks. One time we visited a beautiful community garden and I asked each child to explore and find one thing that was their favorite in the garden & then draw a picture of it. The kids took this very seriously! My favorite was one child who chose "dirt". It was awesome. She spent a long time drawing her favorite patch of dirt
Rebekah – I love your idea of gathering items from nature and your travels and incorporating them into your art. Place is so important and the little things really do count.
Laura – I am wowed by your story of the girl who drew dirt. Kids are amazing when we give them to space to explore in their own way! Thanks for sharing that one.
This sounds fun! Playing with pets is also a favorite activity of kids!
Quite right baby harness, we can learn a lot from playing with and observing pets.