In fact, being outside is good for our kids! With our busy lifestyles, it’s often hard to find time to work in a family trip to the park and not everyone has access to a rural Missouri farm, so we have to find other ways to get our kids outdoors. Here are some kid friendly and fun outdoor chores that may help connect your kiddo to nature right around your home:

1. Get them involved from the start.  Talk to your kids about what you’re trying to do. Walk the property with them and take inventory of stuff that you all already have and come up with ideas of how you could use those things for “play.”  Let their imaginations run. You may be surprised at what ideas they come up that may turn into a really fun family project.
2. Create an adventure pathway around the lawn and through your landscape beds. You can strategically place logs, rocks and boulders, pavers, bricks or other materials as step stones. If the landscape allows, maybe the path even leads to a secret hideaway for them. You can also bang around on these things to make music
3. Build a fort!  Probably one of my boys’ favorite thing to do when they were kids (probably still!) was to build a fort. We had the luxury of a wooded lot behind our home and with that came lots of fallen sticks and limbs that they could tie together with twine or just lean and weave them together to hold some shape resembling a teepee or a log cabin. Speaking of, a good log can serve as seating or a table to carry out their adventures or just a good place to hang out. A word of caution though -- Watch out for splinters and poison ivy!
4. Inspect for wildlife.  You would be surprised at the number and variety of interesting creatures around the lawn and landscape. You may have an opportunity to watch bees and butterflies pollinating, birds hunting for food, frogs hopping about, squirrels doing their busy work or maybe you’ll spot a “blue tailed” skink crawling out of its hiding place. You might even camp out in the lawn one night just to listen to all of the critters that move about your neighborhood.
5. Remember the benefits of a thick, healthy turf area where you can host picnics, story time, group games, or just kick back and watch the clouds pass by. Building a healthy lawn with colorful buffers around it can make for a luxurious getaway for you and the kiddos.
6. Play a good game of “I Spy” as it can help you figure out what draws your child’s attention. It also helps get them engaged in looking about the entire lawn and landscape trying to figure out where your clues lead.

We hope that you are able to find ways to pull your kids away from technology and introduce them to the natural surroundings at your home. Get outside and make some memories!! And remember, if ever you need help getting things in shape, let us know. We can help you with that!