Go Outside!

Over the course of the summer we like to talk about good books to read, ways to prepare for next year or for college, or how to challenge yourself. But let's not forget the most important part of summer - being outdoors. Being outside without a phone, or a computer, or a tablet, and without anything in particular to do. Just to catch fireflies, look at the flowers, walk in the woods, and enjoy the world around us.

Several recent books encourage parents to take their kids outside. The most famous of these is Richard Louv's Last Child in the Woods, which he followed up with The Nature Principle. Scott Sampson's How to Raise a Wild Child and Angela Manscom's Balanced and Barefoot also discuss getting your children back to the basics of nature.

You can read these books if you want. But go climb a tree first. No, you don't need to Google how to do it - it will come back to you, like riding a bike. And think about doing that, too. A Michigan summer is a completely beautiful thing, so don't waste it.