What is The Green Hour?
August 21, 2011 by Trish
Filed under Parenting From Balance©
from the Wildlife Federation:
A Green Hour is time for unstructured play and interaction with the natural world. In 2007, the National Wildlife Federation launched GreenHour.org, an online resource providing parents the inspiration and tools to make the outdoors a part of daily life.
NWF recommends that parents give their kids a “Green Hour” every day. This can take place in a garden, a backyard, the park down the street, or any place that provides safe and accessible green spaces where children can learn and play. Scientific research shows kids are happier and healthier when outdoor time is in better balance with indoor time.
And now, as part of Be Out There, Green Hour is strengthened by National Wildlife Federation’s nearly 75 years of experience connecting people with nature, including:
- Dozens of Green Hour’s outdoor activities.
- NatureFind: Find nearby parks, trails and nature centers with a few clicks.
- Frequently updated tips and articles to help you get outside every day.
- Wildlife Watch
- Schoolyard Habitats
- Great American Backyard Campout & National Wildlife Week
Today’s kids spend far less time outside than their parents did. For many of them, tweets are not bird calls but 140-character sound bites. Wii, the electronic game, has replaced “wheee!” — the squeal of delight.
Something important has been lost. And Green Hour has helped many families find it.
Share your Green Hour ideas with us here! We’d love to see your posts or see your shares on Facebook and Twitter. Have fun out there!
Just wanted to share this question that Jonas asked me today…”mum, why don’t we fall off the earth?” Me: “what do you mean?” Jonas: “well, when we’re on the earth, if we’re on the top of it or on the bottom of it, we don’t fall off. Why?” So I stared at this little inquisitive 5 year old, who is about to enter Kindergarten – actually I was gaping, wide eyed because I know I never thought about these things at his age. I scrambled for some idea how to answer. We talked about gravity being kind of like a magnet and held lego pieces in the air, then let them go and discussed what might happen if there wasn’t any gravity pulling them back down to earth. I don’t know if my information was correct and am currently googling about it. I almost don’t want to give him too much information as I fear it will limit what his incredible brain could imagine.
So please let me know when there will be any NVC classes I can attend as I can see more and more clearly after two years of attending Playschool that this style of guidance allows our children to work things out – without their thoughts being ruled and constrained by structures that pull them away from their natural leanings.
I would like to also thank Riviera Playschool and you wonderful teachers for encouraging young Jonas to pursue his interests, and for expanding on all things fascinating to his very eager mind. I have no doubt it is the child-centered style of teaching, along with your play based schooling that has allowed Jonas to freely play with his thoughts and ideas, and to challenge me with these concepts!