
Welcome to the start of summer! The first day of summer is June 20 this year, but I’m sure you have already seen and felt how beautiful it is outside. Sometimes, even when it’s beautiful outside and prime play-outside weather, we have so much fun on our iPads or watching our favorite shows on TV that we forget about all of the fun and beauty of our world. Well, June is National Great Outdoors Month, which is an important reminder for us to love our planet, connect with nature, and explore all of the beautiful, diverse landscapes, mountains, seas, trees, and beauty that the outdoors shares with us.
Did you know that Great Outdoors Month started as just one week? In the year 1998 (I know, it sounds so far away…I promise it wasn’t!), former president Bill Clinton designated a week in June, but in recent years, more than half of the states in the US have dedicated a whole month to discovering and appreciating the outdoors. Within Great Outdoors Month are lots of fun, specific days to celebrate the outdoors, such as National Trails Day on June 1 and National Get Outdoors Day on June 8.
To celebrate Great Outdoors Month, I would like to share five facts about nature and share fun activities you and your family and friends can get into in THE GREAT OUTDOORS!
Cool Facts about Nature
I hope you learned something interesting about nature and what it has to offer. Now, after reading all of that, you may just want to run outside and get some fresh air, which is awesome! But first, I’ll share with you some fun things you can do outside this summer to celebrate National Great Outdoors Month.
WOW! We learned so much about the great outdoors that I think, with your guardian’s help, you can get outside, learn more about nature, appreciate the outdoors, and have an absolute blast!
Here are some awesome books and movies about the Great Outdoors, so please have fun, and Happy National Great Outdoors Month!
Exploring the Great Outdoors by Mercer Mayer
Little Critter and his classmates take a field trip into the woods to study their natural surroundings. They see little bugs, big trees, and lots of animal tracks. There’s so much to see and do and explore! Little Critter discovers that there are plenty of surprises in store when it comes to the great outdoors.
Curious George. Fun with animals: Leaky faucet/George loves a parade — Cuckoo cockatoo/A bunch of ballooney — George and the guide dog/Whatever floats your bost — Blowin’ in the wind/George’s noisy new neighbor — Jurassic George part 1/Jurassic George part 2 — Duck helper George/George’s new home — George gets the hiccups/The trash cam — Over the edge/A rose by any other name.
Fatima’s Great Outdoors by Ambreen Tariq; illustrated by Stevie Lewis
Excitedly joining her family for an outdoor camping trip in a Midwestern state park, Fatima Khazi helps set up a tent, build a fire, and fend off a daddy longlegs before settling down to sleep surrounded by the near-magical sounds of the forest.
Rick & Rack and the Great Outdoors by Ethan Long
Rick the raccoon and Rack the moose spend a day fishing, tracking wild animals, and canoeing on a lake.
“Seek, imagine, write, draw, observe, make, create, connect. This book is all about kindling your curiosity and taking adventures in the great outdoors.”
-Page [4] cover.
All of Me is Nature: Exploring My Five Senses Outside by Ashley Renee Jefferson; illustrations by Kristiana Vellucci
There is no better way to learn about our five senses than stepping outside! Follow kids of all colors, genders, and ability levels, as they explore nature with their fingers, toes, noses, ears, and taste buds. Written as a sweet poem that will become an anthem for all nature explorations, these beautiful full-color photographs show how we can sense and experience nature everywhere.