Take a leisurely walk or bike ride around many of our local neighborhoods on a sunny summer afternoon, and you may find yourself wondering, “Where are all the kids?”

For starters, many of them are in camp. More than ten million kids attend the country’s 12,000 day and sleep-away camps during a typical summer. Others are in school—nationwide, about 4% of children in over 3000 public schools in 46 states are in year-round schools. Still others are on an “are we there yet?” vacation with their parents. Nearly 40% of traveling adults will have children in tow with them this summer.[1]

While many of these activities involve outdoor time, most will be adult-directed and far removed from the “free range childhoods” of yesteryear that trigger nostalgic memories for so many parents. But highly scheduled summers need not be without some good, old-fashioned cloud watching or tree climbing.

The many sights, sounds, smells, and textures of the outdoors make it a natural place for kids to explore and learn. The outdoor environment fits the exuberant physical and make-believe play instincts of most children. In fact, research indicates that young children engage in richer imaginative play outdoors than indoors because adults tend to control indoor play more closely, and many outdoor play materials like rocks and trees and leaves are more open-ended than indoor toys.

Another reason that outdoor play is so good for kids is that children often rearrange their social arrangements. This helps them develop the stronger social skills so central to success in school, because the nature of outdoor games and exploration offer children chances to break away from their regular alliances. The outdoors also eliminates the lure—for part of the day, at least—of overdependence on screen time (television and other electronic devices). And in a culture where one in five children is overweight[2], outdoor play can make a big contribution to children’s movement skills and physical fitness.

If you’re a parent worried about safety and wondering how you can fit outdoor play in an already jam-packed family schedule, here are som suggestions:

• Think of the long summer days as fun time and family time. Why not give yourself several weeks of a lighter schedule? For a few short weeks, take things off the calendar rather than putting them on.
  
  
• Remember that outdoor play does not require a playground or a park or an hour or a beautiful, sunshiny day. Put together a few outdoor activity ideas you can do in ten or twenty minutes. How about a vigorous session of jump rope? Watching clouds until they pass that tree over there? Making regular visits to a small area—say three square feet—of grass or sidewalk to monitor what’s happening in different weather or at different times of day? Above all, remember that there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes.
  
  
• Eliminate as much television time as possible—your child’s and yours—during the summer. Use that found time to soak in the fresh air, sunshine, and family togetherness.
  
  
• Go ahead and give yourself permission to enjoy your kids. So what if the house is a mess?

Playing outdoors, with its ever-changing wonders, offer endless opportunities for kids to learn, grow, and develop healthy habits. Every day brings new surprises and another nook or cranny for kids to explore.

Cooler days. Longer nights. More time in front of the television and computer?

As fall makes its mark on both the thermometer and family routines, it may be tempting for parents to let kids plop down more often in front a screen. “The primary inhibitor of play for American children is television,” maintains Dr. Bruce Duncan Perry, Senior Fellow at the ChildTrauma Academy in Houston, Texas. “On average, our children watch 28 hours of television each week — all stealing time from social interactions, abstract thinking, creativity, and play.”[1]

That’s not such a good thing for kids, but here’s an idea: parents can view fall as a prime time to be outdoors with their kids—and to extend the “as-one-with-nature” theme with fun family activities once you get back home.

Check out these ideas for autumn outdoor family experiences:

• Play “I Spy.” Make a list with your child of things you want to see outdoors. Keep it simple, focusing on shapes, colors, animals, and elements like wood, water, and stone. Check off each item as you find it and celebrate when you are done. (If you like to end your outing with a treat, you might add “hot chocolate” or “apple with peanut butter” to the list.) Encourage your child to draw or paint something she saw once you are indoors and all warmed up.
  
  
• Take a walk on the wild side. Whether it’s the woods, the beach, or along the banks of a river or pond, go for a walk somewhere that nature still owns and take along a bag to pick up a few of nature’s treasures along the way. Ask your child what the trees are doing and where the water is going. Listen for birds and wind and other natural sounds. If allowed, collect a few leaves, twigs, shells, pebbles, feathers, seed pods, and other remembrances of your hike. Back home, use these items for craft projects after baking everything on a cookie sheet for 45 minutes at 200◦ to eliminate any insects or their eggs. A favorite idea? Make a centerpiece with colorful autumn leaves and twigs by arranging them in a base of clay or Styrofoam and tie a pretty ribbon around it.
  
  
• Adopt a square foot. Bring out the budding scientist in your child by encouraging her to pick a small area outdoors—only about a square foot or so—to “adopt” for the season and beyond. It could be in your yard, in the park, on the sidewalk or anywhere that’s easy to visit regularly. Investigate what’s happening there. Are there plants? Insects? Evidence of other animals? Has it changed since we last looked? Does the weather affect what we see? How does it look when use a magnifying glass? This project will be a great way to get outdoors over and over again. Help your child keep a log of observed changes, accompanied by his drawings and photographs.

This fall, why not make a family commitment to get outdoors together regularly? Even if it’s not your favorite weather, remember the old saying that there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes. An afternoon outdoors with your little ones will do much more for them than an afternoon staring at the TV. And there’s nothing better for family togetherness and bonding.

What is it about Halloween that makes it such a popular holiday for children and adults alike—second only to the Christmas/Hanukah winter holidays?

Maybe it’s because Halloween is the one day a year when pretend play takes center stage in our culture. Starting as toddlers, we are drawn to the magnificent characters, stories, and worlds we can create in our own imaginations and the way they help us work out our goals, plans, and problems. For kids, Halloween celebrates and legitimizes their pretend play, and for adults it takes us back to that richly creative time of our lives.

Perhaps the most important thing about Halloween is how we can keep that imaginative Halloween spirit alive all year round. Pretend play fosters creativity and strong problem solving skills, and children don’t need any special props or toys to engage in pretend play . A simple scarf or piece of cloth can be a superhero’s cape, a doll’s diaper, a table cloth, or headgear for a princess. The trick is to use materials that give kids plenty of room to make it up on their own.”

Here are some suggestions for using Halloween as a launching point for a whole year of richly imaginative play:

• Keep that costume handy. Think of it as an everyday part of your child’s toy chest, not as a Halloween-specific costume. Keep it fresh by adding other items that can change or enhance the costume—scarves, gloves, goofy hats, shoes, or even pieces of cloth pinned onto the costume to transform it into a whole new character. Double check everything for safety before you offer it to your child.
  
  
• Encourage your child to make up stories about her Halloween character. Long after the treats are gone, the fun can continue through developing the personality of the Halloween character and creating stories that include it. Your child may enjoy dressing up and acting out the stories, and moms or dads shouldn’t be shy about joining in. (Yes, that means dressing up, too!) Younger kids may enjoy having you write down the stories they tell about their character, which they can illustrate, and older children can be encouraged to write out the story themselves.
  
  
• Offer other dress up opportunities. Getting “in character” by wearing a costume doesn’t need to be limited to Halloween. Other special events, like birthdays, Thanksgiving, April Fools’ Day, and other holidays can be celebrated through costumes that kids make up for the occasion. Any old day can become a party day for family and friends if you add costumes to the fun. Keep an eye out for potential costume pieces at your church rummage sale, thrift shops, and even the back of your own closet.
  
  
• “Extend the pretend” to other everyday situations. Costumes are fun, but not required for becoming your favorite imaginary character. Parents, grandparents, and kids can pretend in the most ordinary, everyday situations—doing the laundry as if you are penguins; shopping for groceries as if you are the king and queen of an imaginary country; switching roles so your child pretends to be the parent and you are the kid while you clean up the house.

As the holidays get closer, our children will be inundated with more and more messages about stuff—especially toys and other play products—they can hope to receive as gifts.

According to The Handbook of Children and the Media, kids are exposed to more than 40,000 advertisements a year on television alone, not including product placement.[1] Even young children learn to ask for what they see advertised. Various studies have cited the “nag factor” as responsible for 30% to 40% of sales of some children’s products and services.[2],[3],[4]

With all this focus on getting, are kids thinking about giving? November and December are ideal times for adults to focus children’s attention on thankfulness and doing for others rather than wanting for themselves. Before making a wish list for their own holiday gifts—or even instead of it—parents can help kids make a manageable list of people to whom they want to give a gift. Then help children think about simple gifts they could make for people on that list, with the emphasis on the extra special meaning of a gift made especially for a sibling or grandparent or aunt or uncle.

Helping your child make gifts does not need to be complicated—it’s really just playtime with some fun and meaningful outcomes. What are some gifts that work well for your little elves to make with their own hands? Here are some ideas:

• Holiday ornaments. The possibilities are as numerous as the types of materials you could use. You can buy preassembled kits for making ornaments or you can use the arts and crafts materials you already have at home. Almost any safe material—paper, cardboard, fabric, felt, salt dough, and much more—can be dressed up to decorate with a bit of paint, glue, glitter, and imagination. Find a recipe for salt dough at http://www.kidsdomain.com/craft/saltdoughgifttoppers.html. Another great idea: try making simple origami ornaments shapes, add some glitter if you want, and make a hanger out of ribbon.
  
  
• Baking projects. The holidays are a great time to get out the rolling pin and cookie cutters. Whatever your child’s age, you can find an appropriate role for him in mixing, rolling, cutting out, or decorating cookies or other treats.
  
  
• Framed photographs. Always a big hit, help your child pick out a photo she would like to give and offer ideas for how to frame it. Cardboard covered with fabric and “jewels” glued on? A paper plate decorated with painted macaroni? Magnets glued on the back to make it part of the refrigerator art gallery? Possibilities are limited only by the imagination.
  
  
• Books. Creating a book to give is another activity that can fit a wide age range. Whether your little one simply picks out pictures for you to cut and glue and then dictates a “story” or your older child creates a recipe book with illustrations or something in between, a handmade book can become a treasure for the lucky person who receives it.

You can find many more ideas for homemade gifts online or by visiting toy stores or arts and crafts stores. Remember, the real point of making holiday gifts with your children is to have fun and leave your kids with the message that it’s more important to give than receive. If you make it an annual tradition, you will create not only gifts, but memories of creating them together that will last forever.