Take a Child Outside Week
September 24-30, 2011


Take a Child Outside Week is a national, annual event that takes place every year from September 24-30.  It was started as a way to get parents and children interacting together outside.  It is our hope that parents will become more comfortable taking their child outside, and that children will develop a relationship with the natural world.  Parents, please remember – you don’t have to know what things are!  As Rachel Carson says, “It is not half so important to know as to feel.”  So when you are outside with your child, just relax, reconnect with your child, and rekindle your sense of wonder.
 

Below are some activities that we’ve developed in hopes that you will bring your child to Shangri La to explore the great outdoors.  The activities are so easy,  you could do them at home at any time of the year!
 

If you would like to learn more about Take a Child Outside, you can view the website at http://www.takeachildoutside.org.  We also recommend Rachel Carson’s book , The Sense of Wonder.  It’s short and easy to read.  Perfect for busy parents!
 

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Saturday - September 24 – Who lives at Shangri La?
Take a leisurely stroll out to our bird blind.  Along the way, help your child find evidence of animals that live or forage around Shangri La.  Can you find a leaf with a hole in it?  What made that hole and why?  Can you find a hole dug by an animal?  What is it used for and who do you think made it?  What birds do you see out at the bird blind?  Can you find a nest?  Discuss with your child what animals need to survive (food, water, shelter, space).   Our needs are very similar.  For older children, you may ask how habitat destruction (cutting down trees to build human homes) would affect these animals.
 
Sunday - September 25 – Sound Mapping
Materials will be available at a table in front of the Volunteer Center.
Materials needed: paper, pencil, clipboard
Choose a comfortable place in the garden where your child can sit and relax.  Once there, allow your child to sit, be silent and listen to what is around them.  On the paper, draw a small circle in the middle of the paper symbolizing where your child is sitting.  Then have them draw where the sounds are coming from in relation to where they are sitting in the garden.  You can even try drawing what the sound may look like (bird, squirrel, people, etc.).  Encourage your child to slow down and listen to nature.

Monday - September 26 – Pinecone Bird Feeder
Shangri La is CLOSED today.  This activity can be done in your home. 
Materials needed: pinecone of any size, paper plate, twine, vegetable shortening, spoon, bowl, birdseed, garden gloves
Encourage wildlife to visit your home!  Find a place to collect a pinecone.  Be sure to wear your garden gloves when handling your pinecone – they can be prickly!  As you collect your cone(s), look for animals that live in and around pine trees.  Can you find a squirrel?  Do you hear any birds in the trees?  With gloves on, collect as many cones as you would like and return home.  Pour some bird seed in a bowl, and place your cone on the paper plate.  Carefully tie some twine to the pinecone.  You will use this to hang it from a tree when you’re finished.  Using a spoon, smear shortening all over the cone then roll the cone in the birdseed.  Hang your bird feeder from a nearby tree so you can enjoy the birds that come visit your yard!
 

Tuesday - September 27 – Leaf Rubbing
Materials will be available at a table in front of the Volunteer Center.
Materials:  Six leaves, paper, crayons, a bench or other hard surface
Select one or more leaves and place a piece of paper on top.  Rub a crayon over the area where the leaf is placed, making an impression of the leaf on the paper. Notice the symmetry of the veins in the leaf. What do these veins do?  Leaves photosynthesize, making food for the tree.  This “food” flows through the veins to all parts of the plant.  

Wednesday - September 28 – Enjoy the Children’s Garden and Plant a Seed in the Greenhouse
Materials:  located in the Children’s Greenhouse: small pots, seeds, soil, watering cans
Come out to Shangri La and explore the Children’s Garden and Greenhouse.  Stroll through the Children’s Garden, focusing on the sensory bed and bird/butterfly bed.  Use your senses to smell, listen, touch and look.  Can you find a plant that feels rough like sandpaper?  What do you smell?  (Please don’t taste anything.  Some plants in our garden (tomatoes, tomatillos, potatoes) have poisonous leaves.
Go to the Children’s Greenhouse.  Close your eyes and listen to the sounds of the bubbling water and relax with a deep breath of fragrant plants.   Once you have relaxed, find the planting materials and plant a seed to take home.  Our pots are biodegradable.  When you’re ready to place your plant in your garden, put the entire pot in the ground.  It will decompose and fertilize your plant!

Thursday -  September 29 – Where is your tree?
Materials will be available at the Conductor’s Table.
Materials:  blindfolds
Go to the Great Lawn.  Blindfold your child and gently lead them to a tree. Stand with them while encouraging them to get to know the tree through touch and smell. Encourage them to feel the bark, find branches, smell the bark and estimate how large the tree is by hugging the trunk. While your child is still blindfolded, lead your child back to where you started. Now take off the blindfold and have them try to find their tree. When they find their tree, ask them what senses helped them to locate their tree? What things made that tree unique? Have them blindfold you and lead you to a tree.

Friday - September 30 – Scavenger Hunt
Materials:  a sheet of colors and shapes to try and find throughout the garden
Take your child on a hunt for shapes and colors throughout Shangri La!  Can you find a leaf in the shape of a heart?  Can you find one that is a star shape?  As you travel through the garden with your child, ask them questions about the time of year and which season we’re experiencing.  Why do we see different types of plants at different times of the year?  What makes the leaves turn in the fall?  Allow your child to write down or draw what they find.  You could also take pictures of the items that you find with your digital camera.