Discover the Great Outdoors!

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

  • Trees are so important for our breathing! Just one tree releases more than 260 pounds of oxygen each year. Imagine how much oxygen is in a forest!

  • Trees and forests make up 80% of the shelter for wild animals. Think of all the deer, squirrels, and other animals that live in the woods. The trees protect them from the weather and predators.

  • Mountains are on every continent. The longest mountain range is over 40,000 miles long and 90% under the ocean! Can you imagine a mountain underwater? This is called the Mid-Ocean Ridge and wraps all the way around the world.

  • “Leaves of three – don’t touch me!” Poison ivy and poison oak are all plants that seep out an oil that makes you itchy if you come in contact with it. They are pretty plants and easy to want to touch, but if you remember this rhyme, you may save yourself an itchy time!

    Poison IvyPicture of poison ivy

  • The total amount of water on Earth remains constant because of the cycle of water – condensation, evaporation, and precipitation!

Water Cycle
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.

  • Biking – Biking is a great way to get fresh air, exercise, and be a part of nature! While you ride, you get to see, hear, and smell all different kinds of animals and environments.

  • Hiking – Do you love to walk and climb? Hiking is very fun and is a great form of exercise. A lot of hikes are on trails near mountains, so you might discover some land, plants, or animals you’ve never seen before!

  • Outdoor lunch – One way to experience and enjoy the outdoors is to have a picnic with your family and friends! You can go to your favorite park or a new park, lie out a blanket, eat sandwiches or snacks, and play games.

  • Playing sports – Playing sports is a fun and exciting way to get outside! You can run around and play tag with your family and friends, play basketball, soccer, or even go swimming! All of these physical activities you can do outdoors, get that vitamin D from the sun, and have lots of fun being in nature.

  • Camping – Camping is very exciting and different because this time, you get to sleep in the great outdoors. You can cook and eat outside (especially s’mores!), set up a tent, tell stories at a campfire, and explore the different land, plants, animals, and water that are around you. You will get to hear the sounds of the mountains or forest while you sleep–maybe you’ll hear an animal or insect you’ve never heard before! How cool!

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 and 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

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.

The Highlights Book of Things to Do Outdoors : Explore, Unearth, and Build Great Things Outside

“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.

The Highlights Book of Things to Do Outdoors : Explore, Unearth, and Build Great Things Outside

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.