One of our favorite spots...

In the middle of my city is our own "Central Park" though it is over 500 acres larger than it's New York version. (Yay us!) We spend a lot of time here. It is a hop skip and a jump from our house and it houses the zoo, the art museum, the science museum, the history museum, the Municipal Opera, the Shakespeare festival, the Great Balloon Race, etc. etc, etc. And one of our favorite spots to while the summer afternoons away. We just call it "The Rocks."

You have a spot like The Rocks around you, too. If you have not found it or you don't spend a lot of lazy days there, you need to fix that. Children and nature are an amazing combination. They will literally spend hours exploring creeks and the habitats around them. They will find crawdad carcasses that an egret has cleaned out, they will find ducks and water bugs and they will be completely entranced. They will learn physics as they create dams and bridges. If they aren't used to exploring or are used to being entertained by people and activities, it may take them a little time to adjust to this new mindset, but time spent poking around in the creek is very very valuable time. If you haven't read Last Child in the Woods yet, it really is worth the read.