The Ultimate Playground for Kids

Today parents spend thousands of dollars on toys and activities for their kids. While many of these things are great for keeping young minds active, most of them are unnecessary and unhealthy. Sure kids need structured play, but they also need “free” play and this is easy to do when the world’s largest playground is right outside your back door.
Nature is entertaining and stimulating to the imagination, and educational. Nature teaches children the basics of science, economics, and creativity.
It’s cheap too! Depending on where you live, exploring nature is usually pretty inexpensive, if not free. It may mean going to a local park, beach, lake, river or perhaps the local nature center or state park, growing a garden or just going outside into your own backyard. You don’t need to pay for expensive toys, jungle gyms, or memberships to expensive entertainment centers, for your children to the benefit of stimulating and educational play.
There’s been a trend in education towards inquiry based learning. Researchers have found that if students explore and experiment to figure out answers on their own, they’re going to learn better, and retain more information. It also helps them develop skills to be able to learn things on their own later. What better learning environment is there than out in nature? There are countless lessons for kids of all ages to discover about the world around them.
These days many people are trying to be more green and more environmentally conscious. One important way is to teach your children about their own planet. This way they will learn to appreciate these things as they examine the wisdom of God. Start when they are young and when they grow up they will not turn aside from the things they have been taught.
It’s fun too. There is so much to learn and explore that you could not do it all in a lifetime. Remember there is a time for everything and childhood isn’t just for learning about how to be an adult, it’s also about having fun. Nature gives kids a chance to use their imagination and be free to skip about and just be kids.
You can also find places offering structured classes and learning sessions for kids that focus on the natural world. Check your local park, zoo, or museum. There’s a good chance they have classes you can sign up for, and since many of these are nonprofit, they’re usually affordable as well as informative.
Spending time playing outside and exploring is so important for developing minds. It's great for parents too!