Kids & outdoors

Yesterday in the paper and today on NPR, they were talking about how children aren't spending enough time outside. There are many downsides to this- for instance, rickets is actually making a comeback, children don't value the environment when they it isn't a part of their every day lives, children spend more and more time in front of TVs, computers and gaming systems, getting more and more obese. Texas has a very bad problem with obesity, and my county is projected to have an over 700% increase in diabetes by 2040!
So, how do we get our kids outside more? When I was growing up, in the summer, we left the house in the morning, played in the neighborhood all day and came back for meals. In most neighborhoods, that isn't doable anymore. However, we can still turn off the TV and shut down all "screen time" and send the kids outside. If you've got a yard of any size, they can play in it. Put out some pieces of wood, have a little sandbox, give them pieces of chiffon bought on sale and let them play! Our children are also losing out on imagination, and that comes largely from playing "pretend" and reading wonderful books. If you do nothing more that put out a comfy chair under a tree outside for them to sit & read, at least they're outside.
I sometimes hear parents lamenting that they "can't" get their kids away from the TV, computer, games, whatever. Sure you can- you just tell them to turn it off! Then send them outside to play. Our daughter would be delighted to be a couch potato, but she knows that there is no screen time during the week, and on weekends, it is very limited, and only if she's done her chores to "earn" her screen time. Given the option of sitting in front of a TV or taking a "nature hike" with her Daddy, I think she'd take the nature hike any day of the week. (It helped in our home from our daughter's standpoint that our First Lady says that their children do not get screen time during the week-Lettie "gets it" that we're not being "mean", but that it is something we do because we care. It doesn't mean she always likes it, but she knows it is how our family operates.)
We're fortunate to live in rural setting, with neighbors who don't mind us crossing fence lines to go down to the creek, and it is fun to walk and see what you can see. We've got deer, and sometimes foxes and turkeys around. We've got chickens to put up at night and let out in the morning, a pony to feed & groom (and tell to whom to tell secrets) and dogs & a cat to play with. While I don't think she spends quite as much time outside as I did as a child, she does spend quite a bit.
Her school is another place where outdoor time is valued. Instead of having to go sit on the floor in the cafeteria before school as she did when she went to public Kindergarten & stand quietly in a line after school, she and her friends play outside (in just about all weather) before and after school. Usually there is a kickball game going on when I go to pick her up in the afternoons. They have 2 recesses, and they do things like jump rope when memorizing their "times" tables. They have imaginative play at school as well. They're encouraged to be outside. When it is raining, they've got raincoats and boots, and when it is cold, they've got coats, gloves and hats. It is certainly easier with 4 students as opposed to 800 for sure, but none the less, the Steiner influence on our daughter's school is a good one- it puts being part of nature as an important part of education.
On the report on NPR today, a group who is concerned about this lack of connection to the earth is encouraging new schools to be built with "outdoor spaces" that can be used as classrooms and gardens. I think it is a great idea, and hope it goes over in Texas. I'm not overly optimistic, however, because our local principal told me that every time a new (and often good) idea comes their way, the first question asked is "how does it help us with the TAKS test?" Is that REALLY how we want our children's education measured, not by whether we're educating well-rounded caring citizens, but by how everything they learn helps them do well on a test? I don't blame the principal, but I do blame the Legislature & Congress, and yes, parents. If parents demanded going back to actually educating instead of basically training to take tests, the Legislature & Congress would have to listen. I have teacher friends who say they love it once the TAKS are over and they can finally actually TEACH for the few remaining weeks of school. That is a crying shame. It is a reason that some of us homeschool or use other private school models. I wish for all children to have the connection to the environment that my child is getting. It is good for her, and it is good for our community.