Six Fun Ways to Get Your Kids Off Electronics and Into Nature This Winter
By: Corrine Corcoran
Tags: Wellness, Gardening, Nature, Outdoors, Parenting

Photo by Kobby Mendez on Unsplash

The slow, long months after the holidays can stretch out endlessly as we wait for spring. The weather is cold, wet and uninviting, leaving even the most well-intentioned of parents tempted to throw in the towel on screen time rules and chalk it up to the pain of the season. Unless there is a fresh white snowfall begging the kids to come out and play, getting them motivated to turn off the screens and go outside can be tough.

Finding a purpose for your trip outdoors can help get your kids interested. There are many fun ways to connect with nature in winter that will get your family moving and maybe even learning at the same time.

Animal Tracking

Winter is the perfect time of year for tracking animals. Snow is a favorite medium for trackers because the prints are easy to spot. If it’s not snowy, the ground is usually damp, and mud is also great at capturing signs of creatures. Take a local class or check out one of the many great introductory tracking books. Even in your neighborhood, you will likely find cat, dog, and squirrel tracks.

Aside from prints, tracking also involves looking for the other signs left behind by creatures as they go about their daily life. The rocks and logs where squirrels crack and eat nuts are known as squirrel kitchens and are easy to identify with a little effort. Scat, of course, is every kid’s favorite part of tracking. Animal scat is a great indicator of an animal’s presence and is surprisingly unique to each species of animal.

Plants

While you are outside looking for scat, check out the plants as well. Herbalism is a great way to get kids interested in botany and learning the amazing things that plants can do for us. There are several great kid’s books on herbalism with simple instructions on how to make classics such as immune-boosting elderberry syrup or cold and cough salves. You may have to visit a health food store or order elderberries from Amazon, but many of the chest rubs and teas that are best for kids are all the common household herbs you most likely grow in your garden or have in your pantry. These are herbs such as lavender, sage, lemon balm, thyme, peppermint, ginger, and chamomile.

Indoor gardens

Take your herbalism to the next step by starting a window garden to bring nature indoors this winter. You can purchase a ready-to-go kit that will provide you with containers, soil pods, and seeds to start your crop, though a few pots and a bag of potting soil will also work. Kids will enjoy checking on their seeds daily and watching them come to life. After the frost in the spring, you can transplant them outside and enjoy your produce all summer long.

Backyard bird watching

When the weather is too rotten to venture far from home, or even outside at all, backyard bird watching can be a great way to connect with nature from inside. Reuse your empty juice and milk cartons to create homemade bird feeders. Once the feeders are hung it will take a few days for the birds, and eventually squirrels to appear. Watching birds and identifying them will help your children appreciate the smallest of creatures and get them thinking about how they survive outdoors all winter long.

Moss hikes

When everything else is dormant, there is an amazing variety of life still thriving on the forest floor. Moss, ferns, and mycelium are all alive and well during the winter months and waiting to be studied. Encourage your children to appreciate without destroying by taking pictures and sketching in a nature journal. Research the different types of moss and how they are specially adapted to your part of the world. Younger kids will love building fairy furniture with small twigs and acorn caps and leaving them set up in the moss for the next lucky group of forest sprites to venture upon.

Full moon hikes

Night hikes under a full moon will be sure to create lifetime memories with your children. Whether you stick to the neighborhood or venture out into the woods, there is a certain awe of being under the winter sky that will help your family slow down as they marvel at the stars. My son never tires of hearing the names of the full moons from cultures around the world and the stories behind them.

Getting outside can take a little research and preparation this time of year but is always well worth the effort. Making time for nature this winter will help your family connect to the wonders of nature as well as each other.