the transformative gift of outdoor play …books to inspire us – orange marmalade
One of my core beliefs about raising happy, healthy children, and one of the undergirding values at Orange Marmalade, is the conviction that unstructured time spent outdoors is like a magic elixir for children (and grown-ups!)
Organized outdoor recreation and sports, camps and summer programming are all well and good in their own ways, but self-directed mucking about without the interference of rulebooks, adult agendas, and well-meaning lesson plans, is a whole different experience.
Time spent absorbing, noticing, lounging, frolicking, investigating, puttering, walking, somersaulting outdoors is an unparalleled boon for bodies, minds, and spirits.
It’s great for immune systems and mental health, appetites and good sleep, expansive ideas and curious thoughts, independence and confidence, strong limbs and lungs, an affectionate connection to the earth and all manner of life sharing this planet with us, contentment, happiness, and imagination – that supercharger of keen thinking.
And it’s free of charge, accessible to all, even those living smack dab in the city.
Parents – I’m looking at you, harried moms –
do not need another layer of guilt heaved upon their shoulders
for not taking their kids on pristine wilderness expeditions, enrolling them in forest schools, or even spending copious time ambling about the neighborhood park every day. They also do not need to feel inadequate for not enrolling kids in non-stop organized summer activities.
Getting young children outdoors can be extremely simple. And even a short amount of time will do a weary parent many favors as well, easing her own stress and engaging the children happily with refreshment that often carries over once we’re back indoors.
We start things off by simply taking babies outdoors
in strollers, in backpacks, in arms, on a blanket in the yard or park,
for ten minutes or for hours at a time, bundled in puffer buntings or floppy sunhats,
allowing them to gaze at the patterns of light and shadow, leaf and branch,
to breathe in the largesse of the universe.
How often have I taken a fractious baby outdoors to see them calm down almost immediately. The spaciousness seems to be like a magic wand on their nervous systems.
As they become ambulatory, toddlers in my experience beg to go outside, a space of enormous novelty. They don’t need a lot of instruction and projects, just freedom to explore, bumble around, get mucky and wet, taste a bit of sand or lick an icicle or nibble the end of a stick, focus on the tiny bits of the world they’re curious about…
…the way dry leave crinkle and crumble
…the way grass, sand, and mud feel on their bare toes
…the softness of moss, coarseness of tree bark, fragility of flower petals
…the sploot of a rock dropped into a pond, or the whirl of a leaf in a rivulet of rain water
…the bustle of ants and acrobatics of pillbugs
…the sound a stick makes scraping the sidewalk or whacking a log
…how dry sand pours and how wet sand scoops
…the different ways it feels to walk in the woods with big trees looming all around or climb a steep hill or plod through sand at the beach or wade in the lake
…the way a robin hops along looking for worms, and a duck goes bottom up looking for pondweed and a squirrel perches on his hind legs to nibble a nut
…the sound of frogs trilling or geese honking or a cardinal singing or a pigeon cooing
All of this is astonishing!
Make it easy on yourself and don’t get in the way of a child’s brilliant investigations
by trying to plan elaborate projects or teach complicated nature lessons.
Providing freedom, time, a blind eye to grubby clothes, and perhaps some basic extras – an old pail, something to scoop with, some battered cake pans – is all they need to carry on their incredible work of discovery. And of course dry clothes, water, and a snack when it’s time for today’s adventures to be over.
With regular outings, young children, say ages 4 and up, become not only comfortable but excited to navigate the bumpy, hilly, mucky, leafy, rainy, windy, buzzy, creepy-crawly, ever-changing world of nature. Now they’re sturdy enough to try occasional new adventures, learn more deeply, experiment more wildly, and gradually endure longer treks. Here is where learning from others with creativity and experience can really jazz up our outings.
I waded into my library to find books packed with interesting ideas to try, ace woodlore skills to acquire if that’s in your bailiwick, fun projects to suggest that funnel growing capabilities into outings with a bit more zip and dash.
Today I’m listing my favorites of what I found and I’ll also link to a post from a number of years back which has more of these creative, clever guides to outdoor explorations.
Wilder Child
written by Nicolette Sowder, illustrated by Myo Yim
published in 2024 by Random House Studio
This dreamy picture book will likely inspire grown ups as much or more than young children. It’s a beckoning to the “wild children” of this world who climb and run, sploot in mud and sing along the woodland trail, an affirmation of their desire for freedom and exploration, joyful mess, movement, and wonder.
These are the ones who acquire hearts that tend to the earth and to all the voiceless ones when they are grown, the author says.
It’s a sweet, aspirational glimpse of what we hope to instill in our kids. Give it a whirl for ages 3 and up, or just for yourself.
The Sense of Wonder
written by Rachel Carson, photographs by Nick Kelsh
reissued in 1998 by Harper
112 pages
Another lovely source of inspiration for parents or caregivers is this eloquent photo-essay by Rachel Carson, one of our early, highly influential environmentalists. Carson did not have children of her own but significantly raised her nephew spending summers together in her cottage on the coast of Maine. Here she reflects on what is gained by exploring the outdoors with young children — the delights, the sense of wonder — and encourages parents that no matter their familiarity with nature they are vitally important and capable of simply accompanying their child into these spaces. Carson expresses my philosophy of childhood curiosity beautifully:
“A child’s world is fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement. It is our misfortune that for most of us that clear-eyed vision, that true instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring, is dimmed and even lost before we reach adulthood. If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life, as an unfailing antidote against the boredom and disenchantments of later years, the sterile preoccupation with things that are artificial, the alienation from the sources of our strength.”
She wrote this essay in 1956. My copy of the book was published in 1965 with photographs by Charles Pratt
and I still prefer the evocative, timeless feel of that original edition, but the newer one is perhaps more available. Fill your heart with her wise words.
Vitamin N: The Essential Guide to a Nature-Rich Life
by Richard Louv
published in 2016 by Algonquin Books
304 pages
A second book directed towards caregivers including parents and grandparents, teachers, and community leaders, is this chunky treasure chest of ideas by the author of Last Child in the Woods, the man who coined the phrase “nature deficit syndrome” to describe the far-reaching losses to children and adults from the extreme shrinking of our connection with the out-of-doors.
It’s literally crammed with creative ideas, many of them very simple, to help adults get kids of all ages busy outdoors and keep them increasingly engaged with nature as they grow older. One thing I especially love about Louv’s writing is his carefulness to not shame or guilt-trip weary parents with these suggestions. It’s a smorgasbord to pick and choose from based on the wide-ranging interests and limitations in every family or community.
This is a book I’d suggest purchasing if that’s possible. You can get one used for less than $5 including shipping. That way you are less likely to be overwhelmed by the sheer number of suggestions and can keep consulting it for more juicy ideas as your needs change.
Wild Days: Outdoor Play for Young Adventurers
written by Richard Irvine
published in 2021 by Guild of Master Craftsman Publications, Ltd.
159 pages
On to some books formatted to appeal to kids but be used with adult companions.
Richard Irvine is a leader in the Forest School movement in the UK and thus has copious experience engaging children in nature, pushing the boundaries of what many modern children experience in terms of managing all sorts of weather, learning true woodlore skills, and feeling completely at home in the wild.
There are many Forest School guidebooks available but of the ones I perused this seems most accessible to parents who did not grow up with wilderness skills themselves. For example, he doesn’t just tell you to tie two sticks together, he shows children how to tie some basic knots, as well as how to whittle and saw safely.
Additionally this book is more of an overview onto a wide range of activities from art to games to observation rather than a deeper dive into, for example, the many kinds of shelters one might build, or a volume geared to those leading a forest school themselves.
Illustrated with beautiful, full color photos of children engaged in each of these activities, Irvine covers the gamut from leaf printing, making twig frames, or playing Pooh Sticks (one of my kids’ favorite games when they were very young), to building a proper campfire, making charcoal pencils, and building a simple stick shelter. Most of these suggestions seem geared to kids ages about 7 or 8 and up.
The Beach Book: Loads of Things to do at Lakes, Rivers, and the Seaside
written by Fiona Danks and Jo Schofield
published in 2015 by Frances Lincoln
231 pages
This is one of a series of books by these authors that I really like. I’ve previously highlighted The Stick Book and The Wild City Book, both of which can be found through the link I’ve included at the bottom of today’s post.
These British women offer loads of super fun ideas and each volume hones in on a specific environment. If you have a trip planned to the beach, they’ve got many ideas here from invented games to art using beach finds to imaginative play. These suggestions will work for a wide age-range and would be particularly grand if you’re planning a family reunion.
Some of this transfers to a lake or river, but honestly it is mostly geared to an oceanside beach. Do check out their other books if a beach is not on your agenda. They are wildly creative authors, the ideas are easy enough that they don’t require copious instructions or materials, and are accompanied by full-color photos.
The Observologist: A Handbook for Mounting Very Small Scientific Expeditions
written and illustrated by Giselle Clarkson
first American edition 2024 by Gecko Press
119 pages
Last, but definitely not least, is this delightful guide to one of the most important skills we can develop in ourselves and encourage in our children – observation. Noticing. Wondering. Admiring. In this case, Clarkson coaxes us to observe some very small creatures sure to be accessible to anyone on the planet…well, perhaps not in Antarctica but I think none of you lives there. Insects, spiders, fungi, ordinary plants many consider to be weeds – all of these provide ample opportunity for close inspection and fascination.
And Clarkson does a brilliant job of inviting us into this world, first by talking up the actual benefits of observation, then discussing scientific naming (nomenclature), suggestions for simple tools of the trade including a nature journal, and a dollop of invertebrate anatomy. Now we start exploring. What can we find in a damp corner or puddle? What might occupy a piece of pavement or patch of weeds? What is hiding in a corner of your house or behind your bedroom curtain?!
On pages brimming with her engaging illustrations, Clarkson doles out lots of cool scientific information about these creatures in a marvelous, conversational style. It’s a superb invitation to becoming a backyard naturalist for ages 8 and up, younger with a high degree of interest.
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Okay, here’s a link to a post I did a number of years ago with more encouragement and some of my favorite books encouraging these wild children!
Whether you’re taking baby steps towards weaning kids from electronics and screens into the mess and glory of outdoor life, or you’re a family that frequently hikes and camps together, I hope you’ll find more good fodder for this astonishingly beneficial way of living.
