With Screen Free Week coming up next week, I wanted to touch on a concept by a renowned author, Richard Louv. He is the author of 8 books, including one titled Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature Deficit Disorder.
From his website:
In this influential work about the staggering divide between children and the outdoors, child advocacy expert Richard Louv directly links the lack of nature in the lives of today’s wired generation—he calls it nature-deficit—to some of the most disturbing childhood trends, such as the rises in obesity, attention disorders, and depression.
Last Child in the Woods is the first book to bring together a new and growing body of research indicating that direct exposure to nature is essential for healthy childhood development and for the physical and emotional health of children and adults.
It is our hope that you will join us in taking the pledge to be screen free [technology free] with your children for the entire week! Connect with your child, play a board game, take a walk, check out from media! What we do at farm school is so important for children! They walk the Earth, feel the ground, get dirty. They connect with the animals. They climb trees. They are healthy individuals because they are given this time to “just be” in nature. Thank you for supporting this important work and allowing us to work with your children. We are blessed to be able to do this work!
Parting thoughts–When was the last time you climbed a tree? Skipped rocks across a creek or pond? My family did both this weekend and it was freeing and cathartic!
-Janie
