Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine put together a great article on 50 Ways to Get Kids Hooked on the Outdoors. I’d love to do all 50 with BW in the next few years. We’ve already done several of them, but have a long list to go. I’ll periodically do updates on each as we get outside to try them!

OUTSIDE FUN WE’VE HAD

Look for shapes in clouds (We did more looking at the moon and for airplanes, than for shapes in the clouds.)

Attend an outdoor performance (We took BW to his first Old Settler’s Bluegrass Festival. This is a great festival for kids – lots of tie dye and dancing.)

Stargaze (Late one night we arrived to my friend’s casa outside of Medina  and BW and I rocked outside on the patio watching the stars and the moon over the bluff until he fell asleep. The whole family ended up spending the night under the stars on the porch. Does this count as his first camping trip?)

Wade in a running stream (On the same trip out to Medina, the boys went down to check out the creek on the last day and I found BW playing in the creek with the dog – best day ever!)

Go swimming (We spent our whole summer swimming! At the YMCA and local neighborhood pool mostly, but were able to jump in the Medina and Blanco rivers for some Hill Country minerals.)

Take a hike (Had a great hike on the Barton Creek Greenbelt one Sunday morning before summer got super hot. Lots of fun playing with rocks in the dry creekbed and watching the rock climbers climb up the cliffs. I definitely plan on more of these hikes this fall.)

MORE FUN TO GO

• Go barefoot
• Build a sand castle
• Walk in the rain
• Make mud pies
• Jump in a pile of leaves (waiting for fall for this one)
• Open windows
• Watch fireflies
• Explore a mini-landscape
• Harvest fruit or nuts
• Have a picnic
• Play old-fashioned games
• Go fishing
• Fly a kite
• Find art in nature
• Have a campfire
• Go camping
• Build a dam
• Relax in a hammock
• Dig a hole to China
• Litter scavenger hunt
• Sensory walk
• Use your inside games
• Make a boat
• Plant a little garden
• Go orienteering or geocaching
• Cook outside
• Use a pocketknife
• Target practice
• Bike course
• Sidewalk games
• Make a whistle from a blade of grass
• Build a fort or treehouse
• Get an early start on birdwatching
• Start a collection
• Nature treasure hunt
• Butterfly garden
• Engine-free travel
• Learn how to hunt and fish!
• Climb a tree
• Volunteer
• Contests!
• Skip stones
• Walking stick
• Go digital

Ya’ll get outside and share stories of the fun you have!