Nature Fest: Outdoor Fitness

Get ready for kid-approved ideas that celebrate the great outdoors year round! Whether you're building forts or making fresh cider, there's something for every kid and every season. What might unfold if we put away our devices for an hour, a day, or even longer? What adventures await, when we press pause on technology? The Unplugged Family Activity Book invites you and your loved ones to connect, create, and celebrate all year long. With more than 50 projects, crafts, and recipes, plus ideas for seasonal celebrations to share with family and friends, there’s fun to be had, all through the year. Host a springtime tea party, where you’ll nibble shortbread cookies and make a mossy teacup fairy garden. Or gather with friends for a summer potluck party. Blow giant bubbles, race leaf-and-bark boats, or camp out in your own backyard. In the fall, enjoy a harvest party with your friends! Create a fall leaf rainbow, sip mulled cider, and bake bread over a campfire. When winter comes, celebrate the longest night of the year with twinkling ice lanterns. Try your hand at candle dipping and pen your wishes for the coming year. You'll find instruction and recipes for:

• Candied violets
• Herbal first aid balm
• Rose petal tea
• Infused honey
• Homemade ice cream
• Summer flower bunting
• Homemade dragonfly wings
• Felted acorn necklaces
• Autumn gratitude tree
• Decorative lanterns
• Baked apples
• Winter stargazing
• Maple lollipops
• Dried citrus garland
• Plus dozens more crafts, projects, and recipes!

In The Unplugged Family Activity Book, you’ll fall in love with every season–wherever you call home. So grab your family and friends, and get ready for an adventure that will last all through the year! Click here to reserve this title in the library catalog!

An introductory camping guide that belongs in the backpack of every adventurer and budding environmentalist. Have you ever hung a bear bag? Predicted the weather by examining pinecones and dandelions? Counted a cricket's chirps to calculate the temperature? Whether you're an expert camper or just a beginner, this informative book-with its innovative approach and design-is chock-full of camping ideas that will add spice to your next journey through the woods. Find out how to pick and set up a comfortable campsite. Learn to recognize constellations among the many stars in the summer sky. Uncover new games and campfire recipes that will make the camping experience even more exciting. And that's just for starters. From whatto pack to what to look for once you're there, this hands-on primer is the perfect tool for a safe and fun outdoor adventure-so pop it in your backpack and hit the trail! Click here to reserve this title in the library catalog!

Learn how to think like a scientist and discover the skills it takes to bring scientific theories and practical experiments together at home. Maker Lab Outdoors takes kids on a journey to better understand the world of science that will keep the whole family curiously experimenting for hours. Everything around your household is an apparatus. Maker Lab Outdoors book teaches your aspiring scientist how to use common household items to conduct dozens of mind-blowing science experiments. The book displays rich visual illustrations, easy to follow step-by-step instructions and rigorous attention to detail. It also contains activities that can be enjoyed by the whole family. Each science activity has a clear how it works explanation, revealing the fascinating science behind the experiments, along with real-world examples. The best way to learn is to have fun. This easy to read and understand book about science contains facts and experiments suitable for young aspiring scientists. Learn The Science Behind Every Experiment Play pretend your favorite scientist or become one at home. Maker Lab Outdoors takes you on a step-by-step guide on how to do sensational science experiments like creating enormous bubbles, explore freeze-thaw action and constructing a compass using everyday materials in the great outdoors. This book will inspire you to start conducting your own experiments and exploring the principles of science. This interactive science book supports STEM education initiatives, a must have for every young scientist curious about their surroundings. Written by Author Robert Winston, a world-renowned scientist who has combined ground-breaking academic work with an ability to communicate ideas in a method of general understanding. Maker Lab Outdoors explores the science of: - Earth and Sky - Water Power - Nature Watch - World of Weather - Space - And more Maker Lab Outdoors: 25 Super Cool Projects features twenty-five science projects and experiments to be done outside using common household items, sparking kids' creativity and helping them develop science skills through hands-on learning. Click here to reserve this title in the library catalog!

Your definitive guide to getting outside--for girls ages 9-12! In addition to basic outdoor skills, this entertaining guidebook includes easy camping recipes, outdoor projects including science experiments and crafts, fun activity suggestions, and inspiring stories of diverse historical and contemporary outdoorswomen (such as Arunima Sinha, an amputee mountain climber and first Indian woman to summit Mount Everest; Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts; and Libby Riddles, first woman to win the Iditarod). The goal is to improve the quality of girls' outdoor time by increasing participation and independence, making them feel comfortable and safe, and giving them essential skills and knowledge. Charming and approachable, this book will encourage both reluctant campers and budding naturalists to go wild and embrace the outdoors. Click here to reserve this title in the library catalog!

If you woke up tomorrow in Egypt with a yen for a good game of tag, you could find it. Then you could hop on your magic carpet and fly to Thailand to play Go Fish with some new friends. Later, you could seesaw until the cows come home in Ireland. Everyone loves to play and the universal appeal of games and goofing around is joyfully evident in COME OUT AND PLAY. Brilliant, full-color photographs portray exuberant, playful kids from over 35 countries engaging in games of all kinds. The It's a Kid's World series is dedicated to the fascinating, imaginative lives of children everywhere. Each compact little book is jammed with bright, kinetic photographs of kids from around the world playing, going to school, caring for their animals, and much more. These action-packed and engaging books are sure to inspire and educate young minds about the world around them while introducing them to kids just like themselves. Click here to reserve this title in the library catalog!

Remember recess? It was that refreshing break between classes that cleared the cobwebs, refreshed the mind, and got everyone moving. Recess is the ultimate illustrated guide to the best games of the playground, for inside and outside. With detailed instructions, diagrams, and a can-do, kick-butt attitude, this tome isn't meant to be read--it's meant to be played! This fun and interactive guide includes the rules to over 150 games and variations, including over two dozen international games from schoolyards around the world, plus various tips and strategies not just to play, but also to win! Click here to reserve this title in the library catalog!

It's that special time of evening, when the hours and the possibilities seem endless: Light is fading. A buzz of excitement and wonder takes over the neighborhood....What outdoor adventures await? Join a diverse group of suburban kids as they dash and dodge in classic street games like tag and kick-the-can and reconnect with nature's simple pleasures catching frogs, hunting fireflies, and climbing trees. These explorers play, laugh, and make the most of their own front yards right up until their parents call out that "It's time to come home!" But when the sun begins to set tomorrow, they'll be back for more evening excitement! This ode to the timeless magic of summer evenings spent outside will remind kids of the fun and friends that wait just outside their doors and leave adults smiling with nostalgia for their own dusk explorations. Click here to reserve this title in the library catalog!

An Instant New York Times Bestseller * An Instant Indie Bestseller * An Indie Next List Selection Feeling fried? Peel yourself on the couch and meet your new pal-tato! The winning fourth picture book from the #1 New York Times bestselling creators of The Bad Seed, The Good Egg, and The Cool Bean, Jory John and Pete Oswald, will get you and your kids moving! The Couch Potato has everything within reach and doesn't have to move from the sunken couch cushion. But when the electricity goes out, Couch Potato is forced to peel away from the comforts of the living room and venture outside. Could fresh air and sunshine possibly be better than the views on screen? Readers of all ages will laugh along as their new best spuddy learns that balancing screen time and playtime is the root to true happiness. Click here to reserve this title in the library catalog!

Whether its bug hunting in a city courtyard, counting stars, planting a neat little window box or building a cool woodland hideout, this brilliantly innovative activity book will open children's eyes to an awesome outdoor playground. Packed with exciting stuff to do, make and discover, the activities are arranged in themed sections, from the garden, the woods, and the shore, through to rainy days, sunny days and night-time. This book is guaranteed to turn any stay-at-home kid (and their family) into an enthusiastic and accomplished outdoor adventurer! Click here to reserve this title in the library catalog!

"Hey, you! Sky's blue!" a girl shouts as she runs by the window of a boy bent over his digital device. Intrigued, the boy runs out after her, leaving his shoes (and phone) behind, and into a world of sunshine, dewey grass, and warm sand. Filled with the pleasures of being alive in the natural world, Run Wild is an exquisite and kid-friendly reminder of how wonderful life can be beyond doors and screens. Click here to reserve this title in the library catalog!

The Hike is a plucky and sweet adventure story about three intrepid young female explorers who set out to conquer the outdoors in their local forest. This spirited picture book is filled with lyrical language that captures the majesty of the natural world, coupled with a fun narrative. • Features a glossary and scientific backmatter • Includes a sketchbook by one of the characters that highlights discoveries the girls make along the trail • Abundant labels throughout for learning about various plants and animals Click here to reserve this title in the library catalog!