May is National Physical Fitness Month: Get the Kids Outdoors

Melinda’s Garden Moments is heard Mon.-Fri. at 7:45 and 10:45 a.m. and 4:45 p.m. on WHAV.

Melinda’s Garden Moments is heard Mon.-Fri. at 7:45 and 10:45 a.m. and 4:45 p.m. on WHAV.

Celebrate National Physical Fitness Month this May by getting the whole family out into the garden. It is a great way to stretch, increase muscle strength, reduce stress and improve your mood. And if your garden includes some vegetables you will be increasing your health and fitness with nutritious and flavorful homegrown produce.

And don’t forget to bring the children along to the garden. Allowing children to explore nature in a garden, natural setting or your backyard will help them focus and do better in school. Give them a pile of dirt to explore; leaves, twigs and cones to create fairy gardens; branches to construct a hideout; and most importantly give them time and space to explore the outdoors. Unstructured outdoor play is important for mental, physical, emotional and social development.

Need some ideas? Check out these kids gardening projects.

A bit more information: For more ideas on helping kids connect with the outdoors see conservationtool.org’s Nature Play booklet. Part 1 explores the essentials of nature play. Part 2 provides actions that organizations can take to help put nature play back into children’s lives. You’ll read about how to create spaces and features to include for nature play no matter what your budget is.

For more gardening tips, how-to videos, podcasts and more, visit www.melindamyers.com.