Perhaps you’ve heard of Forest Kindergartens. At these schools, children play outside for at least half of the school day, regardless of the weather. I think there’s an important lesson in that for all of us. Rather than waiting for the perfect weather to live, we’d all benefit from taking in nature – even if it’s a little more humid, or chilly, muddy, or mosquito-y than we’d prefer.

Here are eight ideas to savor this season with your family and friends today.

1. Play in the mud, then wash off in a creek. Isn’t that what mud and washing machines are for?!
2. Climb a tree.
3. Pick up trash in a park. Make it a math challenge by awarding points for different materials (we did 10 for “normal” trash and 20 for bottles or glasses). It’s the fastest my kids have ever hiked, and amazingly the points system kept them very motivated.
4. Play in the water. Skip rocks, float sticks, find crawdads. Play. Get wet.
5. Climb around on logs. Teeter totter, hop, use a log as balance beam. Fun for all ages.
6. Play on rocks. Find some boulders to climb around on, and if you have the opportunity to actually rock climb, read my post on that before you go.
7. Fly a kite. Find a baseball field or other area without power lines and enjoy the workout!
8. Plant a tree. It’s a good life skill, and everyone will benefit from some extra oxygen in the air.

What are your favorite outdoor spring time activities? Share in the comments below!