Review By Gabrielle
Gather the kiddos for some outdoor fun with The Family Guide to Outdoor Adventures.
Favourite Quote:
“Nature is all around. There is a misconception that you must be secluded in a remote wilderness off the grid to learn outdoor skills. This couldn’t be further from the truth! Most adventures can be had just a few steps from your backdoor.”
Goodreads Synopsis:
Explore and experience nature with your kids with these 30 fun and educational family activities dedicated to spending more time outside.
Less screen, more green! In the world of smartphones, tablets, and online learning, the need for children to engage with nature has never been more evident. Outdoor activities and projects inspire exploration, creativity, curiosity, learning, and a sense of wonder. Interacting with nature also fosters a healthy love and respect for the outdoors.
The Family Guide to Outdoor Adventures features fun and engaging hands-on nature, camping, and bushcraft projects that get you and your children outside having more fun, strengthening your bond, and creating memories that will last a lifetime. Written by expert survival instructor Creek Stewart, each project is designed to get parents and their kids outside and teach them about nature and the great outdoors.
From casting animal tracks and dyeing t-shirts with walnuts to building a debris hut and catching minnows with a spider web your family with get your hands dirty, learn some cool nature facts, and complete some awesome projects with your family. Explore, create, laugh, love, and experience the great outdoors together with The Family Guide to Outdoor Adventures.
This book is a terrific resource for parents or teachers looking to get their kids away from screens and into the great outdoors. I only wish I had this book when my kids were little! It’s no secret that I love being outside and having a book like this makes it easy to come up with interesting things to do with your outdoor time. Forget “boring” hikes (as my son would say) and try some of these.
The book is absolutely jam-packed with terrific activities and is organized into helpful categories such as “foraging and food,” “wilderness shelters,” and “fun and games.” No matter your location or the resources available, you can find something here to do. Most of the activities don’t require unusual or hard-to-find materials or supplies, and I liked the emphasis on reusing or upcycling materials from your garbage or recycling wherever possible.
Projects range from simple, like pinecone bird feeders or a planter out of a recycled milk carton, to more advanced, like making pine pitch glue or weaving a cattail duck decoy. This makes it easy to select activities suitable for your kids’ age and ability. And don’t think this book is just for kids! You can bet I will be trying out some of the activities myself, like harvesting my own clay or making a vagabond stove.
I also loved how Creek inspires us to get outside no matter where we live or what areas we have access to. In chapter one, he recounts how he used to live in an apartment and made good use of a patch of landscaping between the parking lot and the dumpster. So even if all you have is a strip of grass between sidewalks, there is lots of fun to be had.
The Family Guide to Outdoor Adventures is sure to inspire you to get out and enjoy the great outdoors.
Thank you, Simon & Schuster for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
