by Julie Hall and Sarah Lane
The inaugural edition of the green, progressive thematic monthly ProgressiveKid Reader is about something we love to do here at PK—get outside. There are many reasons we each need to get outside every day, but perhaps our kids need it even more than we do—for exercise, adventure, Vitamin D, sensory experience, connection with animals, plants, and Earth’s elements, and so much more. We all have favorite outdoor activities, from walking the dog to picnicking to bike riding, but sometimes it helps to be reminded of …

by Julie Hall, author of A Hot Planet Needs Cool Kids
Big grass lawns are dead. And if yours isn’t, you’re probably wasting water. Whether your priority is getting your kids outside, reducing CO2, eating healthier, saving money, supporting wildlife, conserving water, bird watching, or all of the above, turning your yard into an edible Eden is ecologically savvy and a fun and meaningful experience for kids. Sure, you can leave some grassy open space, but do you really need that much? A good rule of thumb is to have no …

from the National Wildlife Federation
The National Wildlife Federation’s Be Out There campaign helps parents find easy ways to for their children to get outside. Here are ten tips to get you started:
1. Enjoy The Simple Pleasures
Sometimes the simplest outdoor activities leave the most lasting memories for kids. Remember how to skip a stone, make a daisy chain, or blow a grass whistle?  These easy games could be making your child  happier, too. Research by Cornell University environmental psychologist Nancy Wells shows that children with more exposure to nature have reduced …

by Lynn Brunelle, author of Camp Out! and Emmy-winning writer for Bill Nye the Science Guy
Remember when we were kids and our parents would say, “Go outside and play!” Those were words to live by. And as kids my brother and I took those words to heart and spent pretty much every waking hour that wasn’t school time outside puttering and playing. We caught polliwogs and watched them transform as if by magic from swimmy little creatures into leggy, hoppy ones.
We gathered leaves of every shape and color. We hammered …

by Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods and recipient of the 2008 Audubon Medal

Parents, grandparents, and other relatives are the first responders, but they cannot resolve society’s nature-deficit disorder by themselves. Educators, health care professionals, policy-makers, business people, urban designers—all must lend a hand. Many of the activities presented here and in the book are adult-supervised, but it’s important to remember that one of the most important goals is for our children to experience joy and wonder everyday, and for them to be encouraged to create their …