Summarize the following:
If you live in a rural or suburban area with a yard, host a weekend campout! Invite neighbor children over, pitch a tent, and provide some fun games and activities such as sing-alongs, stargazing, and story time. The National Wildlife Federation sponsors an annual "Great American Backyard Campout" that includes public campout events. If you live in an urban area or don't have a backyard, joining one of these events could be a good option. Get your children involved in planting and maintaining the plants as they grow. There are many websites that offer suggestions for kid-friendly gardens. You can even build fun projects such as a "bean teepee" (bean vines grown up long poles tied together) that your kids can use as an outdoor play space. If you don't have a lot of outdoor space, you can still have a garden area! Try making a fairy garden, or planting a planter box with herbs such as rosemary and thyme that are easy to grow (and you can use them in meals!). If you have a little more space, you can grow a container garden. You can make a bean fort or bean teepee, or you can give your kids the raw materials to make their own forts. All you need are some old sheets, some long branches, and maybe some cardboard. Let your kids use their imagination to build a fun play space! " There are many places online to find scavenger hunt lists, or you can make your own. Having a challenge will keep your kids occupied and give them a sense of accomplishment when they've finished the quest. This will work for kids who live in the city as well as those in rural or suburban areas! If your children like collecting stuff, send them outside with a bucket or basket to find items for fun craft projects. Seeds, pine cones, rocks, flowers, and leaves can all be made into fun crafts and gifts. In the summer time, turn on the garden hose, add some buckets and squirt toys, and let your kids go wild! Squirting some soapy water on a tarp will give your kids a homemade slip 'n slide for hours of fun. Give your child an inexpensive camera (either film or digital) and encourage them to explore the outdoors and take pictures of what they see. This will help them get more involved with and curious about their environment, and there are many kid-friendly cameras available for under $100. Toys like jump ropes, soccer and basketballs, and sidewalk chalk simply don't work indoors. They may tempt even reluctant children into heading outside. Chores such as raking leaves and shoveling snow may not immediately appeal to kids, but teaching them to see the chore as producing a reward -- like a big pile of leaves to jump in or the makings of a great snowman -- will encourage them to be active and responsible.
Host a backyard campout. Plant a garden. Build a fort. Institute a "nature scavenger hunt. Get crafty. Create a waterpark. Buy a cheap camera. Provide toys that have to be used outdoors. Convert chores to fun.