On Outdoor Play: As good as any book

At the 2012 Early Childhood Conference in Tacoma attendee Oralia Banuelos, a bilingual family resource coordinator for early intervention birth to three with the North Central Educational Service District in Wenatchee WA describes a visit she made to Mexico to visit family in which she sees a boy playing outside by the side of a road and notes just how unique and special that experience can be for a child -- and for the adults watching who love that child. 

 

Hers is a passionate plea. Reading books with them is great, but taking time to be outside is just as valuable, if not more so. There is so much to see. When is the last time you saw a cow, a deer, a muskrat, an owl, a squirrel, a red-winged blackbird? Have you ever seen a flock of pelicans soaring high in the air? - gw