So, your kids are home for the summer, and a month into the break, your thinking “Did they really move the start date of school further back?” How am I going to keep them occupied? Did you know you can keep your children occupied and extend their education without them being in the classroom, or even opening a book? You can and maybe catch a bit of a break too.

Nature is Cool

The Hays Nature Preserve is fast becoming a great resource for our city. They have a new greenroof that greets you as you enter the property, and will showcase the benefits during this heat wave of how buildings could be cooler with plants.

But back to the kids, this summer Operation Green Team is putting on fantastic events for kids that is an excellent chance to get kids outside, help curb obesity, and possibly ADD and ADHD, and give them just a chance to have fun.

Have Some Sense

During the month of July, bring your kids outside to Hays and experience the first event “Using your senses” This is an important aspect of being in nature that is so overlooked. Inside of a house, in front of a TV or video game, kids only engage two of their senses. During this event, they will be able to engage all their senses making them more aware of their surroundings, and helping them with physical and even emotional stability.

The next few weeks will give children an opportunity to learn about the micro-ecosystems that existing not only in the preserve, but also in their own backyard and might just turn them in to the next great explorer, or maybe a biologist that discovers the cure for some disease.

In and Out

After that, they will have the chance to study and have fun learning about reptiles, and finding out that perhaps we have too much of a fear factor about nature. The Environmental Protection Agency now warns us that indoor air pollution is the nation’s number one environmental threat to health—and it’s from two to ten times worse than outdoor air pollution. That sounds like being in nature is a good thing.

So get your kids out to Hays Nature Preserve this month to help extend their education (without them knowing it) and make them healthier. After all we only spend 5% of our lives in a classroom, and there is so much more out there to learn and just maybe it will give you a chance to catch your breath!