Balancing screen time and green time

Finding it hard to get your children off their gadgets and going outside to play?

Maybe it’s time to take the “If you can’t beat em, join em!” approach which is what the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) seems to be taking.

A constant challenge for parents to balance the role of technology in their kids lives with the simple pleasures and enormous benefits of outdoor play, an NWF report explores the positive benefits of technology and outdoor exploration. The report doesn't try to scare parents about how much time their kids are spending with technology. Instead, the authors offer ways that kids' media habits can both positively and negatively impact health, learning and social development.

So how do parents use technology to get kids moving, exploring and interacting with the outdoor world around them?

Here are some of their tips:

- Use technology to help plan or inspire your next outdoor adventure.

For example if you are going somewhere outdoor, you can work with the children to come up with more information about the place/outdoor activities to do, so that the experience becomes a lot more meaningful and increases their excitement and curiosity.

- Keep a record of outdoor experiences with the help of electronic photos, videos or an electronic journal of adventures

- A technology themed adventure can provide an equal balance between technology and nature.

Such as the app Ubooly ( www.ubooly.com/rangerrick ) lets kids turn a walk in the park into an interactive experience with scavenger hunts, nature hikes and mindfulness games.

- Use technology to learn and play outdoors - let kids use their gadget's camera to try to capture the most amazing nature shot. Or let them surf the Web to look up the tree or bird that they saw in the park.

Bottom line: Technology is here to stay, so why not embrace it and utilize it as a tool to help your children fall in love with nature?

So take some time out, unplug, disconnect and get your kids to connect with the outdoors, not shutting them off from their virtual world but rather helping them find that balance between their virtual and real world.

So Let's Pledge to Be out there! 
Watch the NWF video below -

References:

http://www.heraldextra.com/lifestyles/recreation/how-to-get-kids-and-their-gadgets-outdoors/article_5bdd69fa-8fc3-5fd7-af96-39067c336cc7.html

http://www.nwf.org/Be-Out-There/Why-Be-Out-There/Balancing-Technology.aspx

Outdoor activity with kids - Make a compost pit

Last week Raghu and Meera decided to make a compost pit from vegetable scraps and dry leaves they had gathered. Today we bring to you an outdoor activity you can do with your children in your garden. Making compost will introduce kids to the natural cycle of growth and decay and should encourage them to become recyclers! 

An effective and environmentally friendly solution for turning yard waste and kitchen scraps into a beneficial soil additive, here are the steps to build a compost pit in the soil with kids -

1. Explain to the child what composting is in a fun and simple way. Let  them know - Composting, although managed by people, is a process entirely undertaken by small "critters" such as insects, fungus, and bacteria that will work in nearly any conditions.

2. Find a place in your lawn/backyard and dig the hole for your compost pit. Your compost hole should be about 1 foot (30 cm) deep. The area of the hole will be determined by the amount of organic matter you want to add.

     3. Chop your composting materials finely. Underground composting proceeds more slowly than above ground setups, and maximizing the surface area of your scraps is key to speeding the process. Aim for pieces of scraps no bigger than 2 or 3 inches (5 - 8 cm) in any dimension.

    4. Add the organic materials to the compost pit. Pile your food scraps and yard waste into the hole you dug to a depth of about 4 inches (10 cm).

Put in	Don’t use
Fruit and vegetable peelings Dead flowers and plants Grass cuttings and nettles Small branches and twigs Tea bags, coffee grounds and filter paper Shredded and scrunched paper and cardboard Egg shells Saw dust	Meat and fish Dairy products Processed foods such as pasta and bread Pet litter Large branches

  

    5. Cover your compost with soil. Once you have finished adding your organic scraps to the compost pit, you can refill it with the soil you removed.

    6. Keep the compost pit wet while it is decomposing. Underground compost decomposes slowly, because it doesn't have access to as much fresh oxygen as aboveground piles. To speed the process, ensure the area stays fairly wet. You can use a garden hose to wet it in the dry weather.

    7. Sow plants/vegetables above the compost after it has decomposed. A major benefit of underground composting is that you don't have to perform any extra steps to harvest the compost and amend your soil. The soil below is now perfect to create a vegetable garden on it!

Compost

May 5th - 11th 2014 International Compost Awareness Week ...
Let's Recycle and make some compost!

Outdoor activities with kids - Storytelling around the campfire!

Sitting around the campfire at night is one of the most intimate parts of camping. It’s as though in those moments, all the people sitting around the campfire are connected to each other through an invisible thread of vulnerability and adventure. It is at this time that fed by the dancing flames, ones creative energy finds stimulation under the moon and stars. Use this time to connect with your children through stories that are engaging. They could be traditional tales, myths, legends or simply inspirational stories. If you involve the kids in the process in a fun way, they’ll never forget the story you told them!

We share with you one such inspirational story below -

“When I travelled to the Himalayas sometime back I met a man there who knew how to get many things done with very little resources. He had almost nothing to work with, but accomplished great things.
Whether the task was to build a fire underwater or stop a waterfall from falling, it seemed he could take care of it. I was so amazed to see the things he could do, I finally asked him how he did it.

He told me that a long time ago he had found a magical solution to nearly all challenges that came along. He said it was all contained in a single, ancient word that had mystic powers. When you understand the meaning of the word, it unleashes immense strength and abilities; it makes your mind more clear; it makes your imagination run wild with ideas.

Well, of course, I could hardly contain myself and I just had to know what this powerful magic word was. I pleaded with him to tell me and he finally agreed.

He said the word is, 'YAGODDAWANNA'. <ask the children to say it along with you>

In order to accomplish anything, whether it is small or big, easy or difficult, trivial or of utmost importance, in order to be successful, YOU’VE GOTTA WANT to do it. To earn good grades, you gotta wanna earn them. To become an champ you gotta wanna be one. The main reason people don't succeed at something is because they don't really want it bad enough. By really wanting something, you come up with ideas, make plans, and then do it.

Remember, to do something YaGoddaWanna do it. So next time you come upon a task that seems almost impossible, you gotta stop and tell yourself “YAGODDAWANNA” “

Here we give you a few ideas for storytelling in the outdoors –

Create your own story: let the kids tell you a story, or come up with your own to tell them. 

Visit myths and ancient stories from further back than you remember from your own childhood, maybe ones you learned about in a college class, or from a grandparent

Take a peek deeper into the civilizations the children are studying in school in their history classes, find a story from that culture and time to help make it real and tangible for them.

Look into your own family lineage, and heritage for stories and ancient traditions, old customs or practices and share them with your children.

Research tribal tales and stories to tell your children.

Ghost stories and other scary stories are always a favourite with the ambiance created by the campfire!

Outdoor activities with kids - Day sky watching activity

Sky Watching: When was the last time you saw a cloud that really looked like something?  If it has been a while, it is time to do some sky watching.  The great thing about the sky is that it is always changing - sometimes it's colours, sometimes the shapes of the clouds!  On a warm winter day, lie down in the grass or on your house terrace and watch clouds go by. Look for interesting shapes, animals, people, objects. Use these to create a story of your own.

You could write it down and draw the cloud shapes on the side. A great way to enjoy a winter day!
Share with us your stories. We'd love to hear them!