As summer approaches, it is time to contemplate what we might do with (or for) our kids. How about “kicking them out?”
“No Child Left Inside” is a takeoff on the infamous “No Child Left Behind” Act in the U.S., the Act that has led to an enormous rise in the importance of “high stakes testing.” The overemphasis on testing has caused grievous harm to the education system in the U.S. and we can only hope that it does not migrate too far north.
The “No Child Left Inside” movement is something else altogether. It is a “… growing movement to reconnect children and nature, and to battle nature deficit disorder” according to Richard Louv, author of “Last Child in the Woods.”
Louv makes a strong case for ensuring that children are reconnected with nature when he states:
“We do know that when people talk about the disconnect between children and nature—if they are old enough to remember a time when outdoor play was the norm—they almost always tell stories about their own childhoods: this tree house or fort, that special woods or ditch or creek or meadow. They recall those “places of initiation,” in the words of naturalist Bob Pyle, where they may have first sensed with awe and wonder the largeness of the world seen and unseen. When people share these stories, their cultural, political, and religious walls come tumbling down.”
In addition to broader social benefits, there are numerous personal benefits to children who are reconnected with nature. As Louv’s article in Orion magazine states:
“Natural spaces and materials stimulate children’s limitless imaginations,” says Robin Moore, an international authority on the design of environments for children’s play, learning, and education, “and serve as the medium of inventiveness and creativity.” Studies of children in schoolyards with both green areas and manufactured play areas have found that children engaged in more creative forms of play in the green areas, and they also played more cooperatively. Recent research also shows a positive correlation between the length of children’s attention spans and direct experience in nature.”
As a former coordinator of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Programme I have been involved in taking a large number of kids “out.” My backpacking trips always had a profoundly positive effect on me personally and my observations of and conversations with the kids who have tripped with me suggest being “out” is a positive experience for them.
So why not “kick the kids out” this summer? Or better yet, go out with the kids. You don’t have to do grueling 10 day hikes through Auyuittuq National Park Reserve, but spend some quality time with your kids (and significant others) doing some day hikes in many of the fine conservation areas and parks that abound in Canada. Who knows, it might become a habit!
RELATED LINKS:
Camps.ca offers advice and a directory of summer camps, including day camps.
No Child Left Inside on Twitter.
Richard Louv, author of Last Child Left in the Woods, website.
Great article George! Getting outdoors during the summer were some of my favorite times growing up. Camping, nature walks, or even just picnics at the local park or beach.
Catherine Jarmain wrote an eye opening article about the Report that Active Healthy Kids Canada produced. The report focused on screen time vs physical activity and Canadian children received a ‘D’
As older parents, my husband and I were concerned that we were not spending the kind of extended time in the outdoors with our twin sons that we feel is essential to healthy growth of self concept, leadership, problem solving skills, etc. Back in the 1970s when we were teenagers, we took Outward Bound courses (he at Hurricane Island in Maine and me in East Africa on Mt. Kilimanjaro). Those were profound experiences that had extremely positive impacts on our development.
For our sons, we found an amazing college preparatory boarding school in New Hampshire called The White Mountain School. The boys get the full college preparatory experience, AND they learn from teachers who are outdoors enthusiasts and have taught them to safely and happily enjoy hiking, backpacking, white water kayaking, canoeing, rock climbing, ice climbing, every type of skiing and snowboarding, etc. In addition to spending 4 afternoons each week in sports that include these individual outdoor activities (as well as team sports), the entire school goes on week-long field courses, one in the fall and one in the spring.
I have always felt in partnership with my sons’ teachers, but my relationship with their White Mountain teachers is unbeatable. These folks really know and understand adolescents and love bringing out the best in them–in the classroom and in the outdoors.
Our friends sometimes ask about how our relationship with our sons has changed since they have been at the school, and I’m eager to share that our relationship has never been stronger. We have less time together, but it is a higher quality time. Nothing beats that.
Joanna