Leave No Child Inside!
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Forum Registration (printer-friendly)
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* Social changes have led to a generation of children disconnected from nature. The lack of unstructured outdoor playtime for children may be linked to childhood obesity, attention deficit disorder and poor social skills.
* Reasons for this include the prevalence of TV, the Internet, video games and green space lost to development, as well as parents' concerns for their children's safety.
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* Volo Bog State Natural Area, the Friends of Volo Bog and other Chicago Wilderness members are experts in connecting children and adults to nature. With Leave No Child Inside, we want to foster caring for nature in today's children and future generations.
* Volo Bog State Natural Area and the Friends of Volo Bog are members of the Chicago Wilderness consortium, a group of more than 200 public and private organizations working together to protect the Chicago region's natural spaces, help conserve the diversity of plants and animals, and enrich local residents' quality of life.
* Children need regular time outdoors, so come back to Volo Bog State Natural Area often. There is something new to experience every time the weather changes and we offer wide open, natural places where your kids can run and play safely.
Enjoying the outdoors with your children is a fun, healthy way to spend quality time with your family. Experts also believe giving children unstructured playtime outside fosters creativity and healthy childhood development, while helping prevent childhood obesity, attention deficit disorder and emotional stress. Don't know what to do? It's easy ‑ here are some tips to get you started:
* Give your children unstructured time outside. Children benefit from casual playtime in nature, when they can interact freely with the natural world. These experiences build their curiosity and confidence.
* Spend
time with your children outside. Research shows that videos, films, photos and
other media cannot take the place of direct experience. Get your child out into
the parks and preserves or to the
* Enjoy nature in your neighborhood. Planting a garden, watching birds and climbing trees with your kids can launch a life‑long love of plants, insects and animals.
* Let your children take the lead. Instincts can be their most valuable guide when discovering nature. With their natural curiosity, your kids will quickly find something for the family to explore.
* Hold a scavenger hunt in the backyard. Ask kids to check off items on a list that could include flowers, bird tracks, squirrels, something that makes noise, colors in nature, worms and insects in the soil.
* Play games to encourage looking, such as "I see something you don't see and its color is¼." Use yes‑and‑no questions to give your kids clues.
* Direct your children's attention ‑‑ and join in their fun. Research shows that children learn more when someone participates in an experience with them. It's as simple as pointing out trees or touching a leaf with your child; encouraging her or him listen for birds, smell the flowers, or feel the wind or soil.
* Don't be afraid of not knowing the answers. You don't have to know everything about plants and animals to help your children enjoy them; half the fun is asking questions and building a sense of curiosity and wonder.
* Go online to http://www.KidsOutside.info to learn more about where, when and what to do to enjoy nature with your family. Through this Web site, you can sign up to receive monthly e‑mail bulletins year‑around that offer tips on where to go and what to do with kids. Also, subscribe to Chicago Wilderness Magazine.
Volo Bog & Chicago Wilderness invite you to a
Round-table Forum
Leave No Child Inside!
Saturday, February 9
9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Guided by the wisdom of
Last Child in the Woods
Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder
by Richard Louv
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Beyond Ecophobia |
Noah’s Children |
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Reclaiming the Heart in Nature Education
by David Sobel |
by Sarah Stein author of Noah’s Garden |
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Participants are encouraged to have read
at least one of the above books and will be invited to share their stories
and ideas! |
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Where?
28478
Facilitated by Naturalist Stacy Iwanicki
of the Illinois Department of Natural
Resources at
featuring
a program featured in Public Television’s Edens
Lost and Found
Key-note Speaker John Elliot, Cook County
Forest Preserve District
Jan Ward, Lake County Forest Preserve District
- Mary Kozub, McHenry County Conservation District
Naomi Dietzel-Dulin, Prairie Crossing Val Keener, IDNR Education Services
Marty Kenahan,
and lots of FREE handouts & resources!
Who should come???
Formal Teachers School Administrators School Psychologists/Social Workers
Special Education
Teachers Naturalists/Environmental
Educators Pre-service Teachers
Park Managers Developers Community Planners Park Designers Religious Leaders
Youth Group Leaders Volunteer Naturalists Home School Parents Retired Teachers
Big Brothers/Big Sisters
of
$20.00 includes box lunch and a book
(several to choose from)
Please Pre-Register by February 2 at
815-344-1294 or dnr.volobog@illinois.gov
and
send registration form with payment to
The Friends of Volo Bog at the Volo
Bog SNA address above by Wednesday, February 6
A joint forum of Volo Bog State Natural Area, the Friends of Volo Bog, Of Bogs & Books Discussion Group and Chicago Wilderness Initiative