How to encourage kids to get outside more – is this something that has been on your mind as the summer holidays loom. If so read on for some top tips.
Love Exploring – A challenge for families to get outside this summer
As more of us are choosing to holiday in the UK this summer we are going to need more get outdoors inspiration. Love exploring is an educational app that has set aa fun and free challenge for families and kids of all ages to get outdoors by attempting to walk the distance to the moon.
Love Exploring is a free to download app that allows users to choose a dinosaur safari, space walk or guided trail in their local park or town. It uses clever augmented reality technology to bring the dinosaurs and planets to life and also tests users on their knowledge with fun quizzes. What great way to make walking less boring for kids.
Get outside and walk to the moon
Last year over 40,000 users of the Love Exploring app walked the equivalent of 2.5 times around planet Earth! That’s 62,252 miles in total. This year, the team behind the app have set an ambitious challenge to beat last year’s total.
They believe with the increase in families staying in the UK that together they can walk the distance to the moon, a whopping 252,088 miles!
There are over 50 locations across England the app will show activities for and as it recognises your location, it’s ideal if you’ve driven to a campsite or even the coast for your staycation. You’ll be able to see the nearest trail, walk or safari and learn more about the area you are visiting.
Love Exploring founder, Tom Matthews, comments in regard to how to get outside more with kids:
“Parents of young children know that going for walks and getting fresh air has always been important, especially to burn off excess energy. But it’s easy to stick to the same routes and locations. Our app helps give some inspiration on new walks to take, but also makes it fun for both kids and adults. When you’re hunting Dinosaurs, you’re not worried about your legs getting tired! We’ve every faith our app users will smash our walk to the moon challenge and can’t wait to see the photos of lots of families having fun this summer.”
How can you get involved and encourage your kids to get outside?
- Download the free Love Exploring App
- Choose a location close to you and then a Dinosaur Safari, Space Walk or Guided Trial near you or your UK holiday destination
- The distance you cover will be tracked on the Love Exploring App and used towards the challenge total
- Use your phone or a fitness tracker to monitor your own steps and share your numbers along with a photo of your family having fun using this hashtag: #WalkToTheMoon tagging @LoveExploringHQ on Twitter
The app is free to use, but the system uses Augmented Reality and so unfortunately it won’t work on all phones.
Check out your App Store for details by searching for the Love Exploring app on Google’s Play store or the Apple App Store and then check out the compatibility guide. Let’s get outside with our kids. Oh and don’t forget about sun safety and hydration as you get outside more
Nature Craft and Play also helps kids to get outside
My new book Nature Craft and Play is also a great way to get kids interested in the world around then and encourage them to get outside too.
It is filled with activities from art to craft to science to games, play and even foraging. brilliant resources to help kids get outside and get closer to nature.
Final thoughts on why we need kids to get outside
Encourage your kids to get outside this summer and they will be much happier and healthier as a result.
Harsh words hear but well worth treading form the Child Mind Institute
The national panic about kids spending too much time indoors has become so extreme that the crisis has a name: Nature deficit disorder.
While calling it a disorder might be merely rhetorical, it’s clear kids spend significantly more time inside than outside. This shift is largely due to technology: The average American child is said to spend 4 to 7 minutes a day in unstructured play outdoors, and over 7 hours a day in front of a screen.
You mihgt also like to take a look at my summer nature crafts for kids blog post and if you are an instagram fan following these nature hashtags to get inspired to get outside.
It is time for a change and this summer is the perfect time to make things more interesting and help kids to get outside more.
Metal detecting anyone?
You might also like my post on autumn nature crafts
