Welcome

I work at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History where I lead students in our Outdoor Nature Exploration program. I hear amazing things from kids. This blog is a chance to share the quotes, stories, and insights. Most students are very uncomfortable being outside. Some are terrified. Indoor childhoods have robbed kids of the very personal connection to nature that I experienced as a free-range kid of the fifties. With just a bit of encouragement, kids go from fear to wonder and curiosity in a very short time. There seems to be a genetic memory of the natural connection children feel with the natural world. After all, this was how children developed for eons of human history. We know that children who have unstructured time to play in a natural setting are happier, healthier, and smarter. It's time to reconnect children and nature.

Helpful Hints for adults taking kids outside

Do more and talk less. 

Dirt is good for kids. Soap and water are adequate clean up measures.

Nature is amazing and children are naturally curious. Allow them the experience.  Don’t pass your fears to your kids. 

Relax and let the kids decide what they want to do.  "Let's look for something interesting" is a good way to start. Follow the kids' interest, not your own agenda.  With small children, you'll take a very short walk for a long time.  They are close to the ground and will see more than you.  

Your choice of words can make a big difference. Instead of “Be careful,” which expresses your fears, tell the kids to “Be smart!”  “Be aware.”  “Look where you are going.”  “IF you fall, get up!"

Cuts, bumps, and bruises are a normal part of childhood. If a child has an accident, don’t panic.  Children read you!  When the child is calm, ask, “What did you learn?”  They will tell you.  Expect children to learn from these mistakes.  You did!  It's empowering. Assure a child that it won't hurt forever.  

Encourage trial and error.  Give a child a chance to meet challenges and assess risk.  This is how kids develop self-confidence.  Encouragement acknowledges the difficulty and expresses confidence in the child's ability to master the task.

Let them figure things out for themselves.  Problem-solving is good for kids.

Kids that experience non-structured play in natural settings are smarter, happier, and healthier.

The power of nature to inspire

Fifth grade student from Porterville on seeing the creek and climbing down into the creek bed:
"I will remember this until the day I die!" Nature inspires us in unimaginable ways. To a child with "nature deficit disorder," it is transformational.

Favorite kid remarks and conversations in the natural world

All of these were heard during creek exploration behind the Museum of Natural History in Santa Barbara. We have Mission Creek and 4 acres of undeveloped oak woodland right in the middle of our city. To kids who have no experience outside, this is an adventure.

• "Is this nature?" -- 7 year old standing by creek
• "We're in the wilderness!" 9 year old ignoring the buildings
  
• "How do you get on the rocks?" "You climb." "How?" - 7 yr old who had never climbed on a boulder.
• "We're in the jungle? Was that a monkey?"
• "Are there piranha in the creek? Are there sharks in the creek?" Kids know more about the rain forest than their own backyards.
  
• "Thank you for letting us be in real nature."
• "This is better than Disney Land!"
  
• about an earthworm --"Will it bite? Is it poisonous?" Same comments about every living organism.
  
• "I feel free and alive!"
• on finding a frog with part of the tadpole tail still showing - "Metamorphosis just blows my mind!" age 8
• "My mother doesn't want me to get dirty." "Is your mother here?" "No." "Well then...""
• "Where are the frogs?" "You have to find them." "But where are they?" "Aisle 10!" The concept of actively making your own discoveries is new to most kids.
• "I feel like a real scientist exploring the creek." 9yr old girl

Getting Kids Outdoors