1.) Phone the School Principal/ Daycare Director to complain when your children come home too clean, or if they stay in for recess. Praise the school when they come home dirty.
2.) At meet the teacher night be sure to share with your child’s teacher that it’s important to you for your child to go outside daily.
3.) Join the Parent Advisory/PTA/School Board and start a movement to start School Garden’s, Nature Playgrounds, Outdoor Classrooms at your child’s school. Better yet do that for the school your children will be attending in the future- it might take a couple of years.
4.) Spearhead a walking school bus in your neighbourhood. Better yet- turn your neighbourhood into a walking neigbhourhood- like Lakewood, Ohio
5.) Join/Start a Family Nature Club in your neighbourhood or Free Range your kids
6.) You’ve heard about family game night- what about family nature night?
7.) Start a fundraising drive to buy the whole class Muddy Buddies, Puddle Gear or other full body rain gear.
8.) Fill up those parks! Make a plan with the neighbours to start sending your children to the park alone. Or take turns watching all the kids if you need a stepping stone. The more people who are using the park the safer it will become. If the whole neighbourhood sends their kids to the park on their own the police won’t be able to charge the entire block…
9.) Buy your child’s teacher/principal a copy of Lenore Skenazy’s book Free Range Kids and bring them to An Evening with Lenore Skenazy
10.) Tell your child’s school and your teacher friends about the 2014 Manitoba Nature Summit– a nature-immersion conference for educators that will be held this September 12,13 and 14th at Camp Manitou in Headingly, Manitoba. Visit www.naturesummitmb.com for more information!