Time Out: How to Get Outdoors with Kids as the Weather Gets Colder

I am the nesting, heat-seeking type, so now, as the days are gradually getting colder, darker, and shorter, I find myself not exactly "revved up" to go outside with the kids. Cuddling up on the couch with them (and our velvety dog) for a cozy storytime, under a big, fluffy throw, is much more to my liking. However, I've just read two very good books that strongly make the case for getting children outside almost every day (barring hurricanes and the like), so the validity of my excuses is dwindling rapidly.

Funnily enough, right in their titles, both books set a specific time for aiming to be outside--sort of an acknowledgement of my own feeling that, even for nature-lovers, it's just not that appealing to get out there sometimes, especially for long stretches. The first book is called 15 Minutes Outside: 365 Ways to Get Out of the House and Connect with Your Kids, (Sourcebooks, 2011), and the second book lengthens your outdoor goal to The Green Hour (Trumpeter Books, 2010).

Both of the authors have the right credentials for their subject matter: Rebecca P. Cohen, author of 15 Minutes Outside, is a "spokesmom" for the National Wildlife Federation's "Be Out There" movement and hosts her own "Get Out of the House" TV and radio programs; and Todd Christopher, author of The Green Hour, is the creator of the National Wildlife Federation's GreenHour.org.

When I first read the title of Ms. Cohen's book, it seemed just a wee bit pathetic to me. I mean, what's the point of spending ten minutes to get your kids properly bundled up in their winter gear (after you locate the orphaned mitten, the pair of boots that aren't two lefties, the scarf that doesn't itch, etc.), if you'll be out and about for only 15 minutes? Then I found that the author is just using that timeframe as a springboard. If you can head outside with the goal of spending at least 15 minutes out there, chances are pretty high that you'll stay out longer.

Mr. Christopher makes such thoroughly convincing and intelligent arguments that I'd feel guilty, as a self-proclaimed environmentalist, if I didn't take his thesis seriously. As he writes in the introduction: "Many parents today--even those who enjoyed a childhood full of nature play and discovery themselves [as I did--see the post entitled Beyond the Back Yard]--now raise children who are over-scheduled, over-exposed to media, and essentially disconnected from the natural world in any meaningful way." As the studies he cites suggest, "green time" has been replaced nowadays with "screen time." Childhood obesity and ADHD are just two of the side effects.

While Mr. Christopher's book is geared toward more in-depth activities (there are whole chapters devoted to studying clouds, leaves, and animal tracks), Ms. Cohen's book gives short, clever suggestions for activities, some of them so simple, I can't believe I never thought of them myself: painting on the snow with food coloring; having a snow-shoveling race; playing hockey with a big piece of ice; making designs in light dustings of snow with a broom. But in all honesty, I don't have a problem coming up with snow-day activities. Snow is a great prop that naturally lends itself to all kinds of fun. It's the bone-chilling, overcast gray days in between the snow days that present the biggest creative obstacles for me. Ms. Cohen is helpful here as well, with ideas such as bringing muffins fresh out of the oven and hot cocoa outside for a winter picnic and watching the steam swirl up into the chilly air; or birdwatching with binoculars, now that the leaves are off the trees and the birds are easier to spot.

So, I've been inspired to get the kids (and myself) outdoors more, even as the weather gets colder. I found one of the best reasons of all in The Green Hour: "Cornell University researchers have found that children's participation in nature activities is positively associated with the development of pro-environmental attitudes as adults."

It's hard to drive home the message to kids about caring for nature and the changing world around them if we can't be bothered to take them outside in the first place.