It is a fact that kids are spending less time outside than ever. Head Start Body Start is an organization "dedicated to promoting physical activity, outdoor play and healthy lifestyles for young children and their families."

Hopefully, every week we will take our kids outside. Creating an outdoor space for kids will help encourage them to spend more time in the outdoors. Here are some inexpensive ideas to get started:

1. What child doesn't love to play in the dirt?  And what better way to harness that natural inclination than to help your child construct or adapt a planter box or small garden space that can be his or her very own?  It doesn't have to be elaborate, in fact, the simpler the better!  You can use any container large enough to allow for plantings and potting soil.  Be sure to make holes for drainage, adding sphagnum moss if you like to help hold in moisture.   Help your child select plants that will be the proper size for your container or garden space and start digging!  On a small scale, you could start with seeds in a clear glass container.  This way, your child can watch as the roots and stems emerge from the seeds, and observe how the root system develops downward as the stems move upward toward the light.  Just one of nature's little miracles!  When the seedlings are large enough, they can be transplanted to the container or garden where your little gardener can begin "tending" his or her garden, watering, weeding, and cultivating as the plants continue to grow.  This is a great way to teach responsibility and cause and effect (if you don't water, the plants wither, etc.)  Happy gardening!

2. Another way to encourage outdoor activity is to provide plenty of "equipment" stored  for easy access. This equpiment can be as simple as bubble-blowing items (make your own or buy them).  Your child can get a lot of exercise trying to "catch" the bubbles as they float on the air currents--and learn a little physics in the process!   Hula hoops and jump ropes are super for cardio workouts.  Hopscotch is a fun way to learn numerical order and get exercise at the same time.  All these can be done in small spaces. Even if you are in an apartment with a small green space.

3. Other outdoor equipment such as bats, balls and frisbees may require a little more space as well as adult or older child participation to really be fun.  (and to prevent accidental injuries!)  If you have several children playing, this can be a good way for them to begin learning rudimentary rules and playing "fair" with their "teammates".  Cooperation is a pretty basic requirement for life in general and it's never to early to learn how to get along with one another.

4. Recently we hung a tire swing in our playyard which has been a big hit with our almost-four year old.  We also have an infant swing for her one year old brother.  One of my favorite childhood memories is my daddy or mom pushing me in my swing, where I could be an astronaut flying through space or a bird soaring in the sunlight or even a fairy winging my way through the sky.  A child's imagination can really "take flight" in a swing

5.  If a child loves playing in the dirt, water has to be the next favorite medium!  If you are brave enough and patient enough, you can provide your child a fun place to indulge in this activity.  Your water space can be as small as a bucket or large bowl.  Having lot of different utensils of various sizes can encourage your child to learn measurement (how many cups of water does it take to fill the bucket? etc.)  Toy boats can become tankers or speedboats and can inspire any number of adventures as they plow their way through the "bounding main"!  Just be ready for lots of splashing!

6. Sandboxes are an age-old childhood pasttime.  They don't have to be large to be fun--you can use a small or medium plastic tub or even a child's wagon filled with sand if you don't have a "playground" version.  Providing toy trucks or other vehicles can spur your child's imagination to construct roads, hills, and all kinds of passageways for their small transports to travel.  There are ready-made sand stations which consist of a low table with a cutout for a tub containing the sand, but they are not necessary if you let your own imagination guide you to make your own! 

7. Create an obstacle course. This is great way to get your child involved in a "planning and constructing"project.  You can use whatever you find in your yard--lawn chairs, branches, rocks.  You can even outline your obstacle course with a garden hose to help define the space.  Let your child help place the "obstacles" around the yard and then watch as he or she runs, jumps, hops over, crawls under, and just generally figures out how to get through to the "finish line".  In your child's mind, the obstacle course can become a mountain trail with felled trees to climb over and underbrush to crawl through.  Your little adventurer can be trekking through the jungle, dodging vines and tall grasses.  It's fun to see things through a child's eyes.

8. A treasure hunt is always fun!  Hide objects around the yard.  These can be outdoor toys or nature items found on other adventures.  Before the hunt, you could draw out a simple treasure "map" (with pictures for younger children), giving directions to several points in the yard where an item may be found.  As an item is found, there could be directions for using the item in an activity ("See how many times you can jump this rope" or "throw this ball through the hula hoop", etc.  l 

When you run out of ideas, check out the book 15 Minutes Outside: 365 Ways to Get Out of the House and Connect wi..15 Minutes Outside: 365 Ways to Get Out of the House and Connect with Your Kids..  This is a super resource that gives fresh ideas for creating memories outside that will last a lifetime!  What better investment could you make?

I originally wrote this for Outdoor Baby Network, but thought it would be great to post here as well! --Kati