Activities:
Please click on the links below for ideas about where to go and what to do with your children outside in Idaho!
Take 5, 10, 30
Sometimes our lives get so busy that just the idea of planning an outdoor outing or scheduling outdoor time seems like a big chore—we just don’t have the energy or the time for it! One parent shared with Be Outside Idaho one way she came up with to fit in outdoor time with her young child:
“I am a single parent, and when I’d pick up my three year old daughter from daycare after a long day for us both, my daughter and I were often tired and irritable on the drive home. One day I decided to stop off at a city park we passed on our way home. My daughter and I spent a half hour walking, playing and enjoying a little outdoor time together before heading home. What a difference! We both were in a better mood – it really helped that transition back to home life!”
Go Somewhere
Idahoans are fortunate we have many incredible opportunities to get outdoors a short distance away. But sometimes we don’t have the time or the resources to travel to the mountains or visit a river or forest. That’s okay—we can still help kids experience the outdoors in our backyards, neighborhoods, schools and cities.
Take a nature walk in your neighborhood or at a local park or nature facility—or your child’s school after hours or on the weekend. Even if you have only 20 minutes to walk around the block, take that time to get outdoors with your family! Have a few hours on the weekend or a weeknight?
Check out your local family guide, newspaper’s community calendar or local, state or national resource agency for community activities, walking, bicycling, gardening or hiking opportunities in your area.
Tips and Ideas:
Don’t like to go it alone? Connect with friends or other families to get outside together! You can start a nature club, or incorporate outside activities into other kids’ and family clubs and youth groups to explore the outdoors as a group.
Be Outside Idaho partners have come up with 101 Things kids (and families!) can do outdoors.
Not sure where to go? Here are links to various city, state and federal parks and public lands websites where you can find information on outdoor places to go.
