Outdoor Activities for Young Children
What do you think of when you hear “arboretum” or “botanical garden?” Do you think of great learning opportunities and fun for the whole family? If not, it is time to check out your local gardens!
As a nanny, I was introduced to Morris Arboretum (https://www.morrisarboretum.org/), a beautiful garden outside of Philadelphia. The grandmother of the children that I cared for was a member and that was the first time that I learned how educational and entertaining gardens can be for children. I had been to gardens as an adult, but I had never thought about the benefits of bringing young children. Morris Arboretum has specific areas catered to children that are also fun for adults. Make sure to watch the video that I have included in this post.
As a teacher, we took our students to Longwood Gardens for a field trip, which cemented my love gardens as a wonderful source of outdoor activities for kids. I am so fortunate to live near many great ones, but I’ll include a list at the end of the post of about 350 gardens across the United States. I just recently learned about this list through McKee Botanical Garden, which we visited while we were in Florida. Check out my Instagram for a short video about their exceptional children’s garden.
As I mentioned, we were recently in Florida. We visited McKee Botanical Garden three times during the two weeks there. Purchasing a membership was more cost-effective than paying admission three separate times so we became members. Through our membership application, we learned about the American Horticultural Society and the Recipricol Admissions Program (RAP). Depending on the cost of membership for your local garden, an AHS membership may save you some money since some garden memberships are more expensive than others.
Since we were already members of Morris Arboretum and Morris Arboretum is part of RAP, we did not need to purchase a membership for McKee Botanical Garden. We learned this after purchasing the membership, but if you are already a member of a local garden, make sure to find out if you are entitled to special admission privileges to other gardens in the United States. Check out this RAP Map to find more than 345+ gardens that you can access through this program.
I am so excited to explore more gardens across the United States. As a homeschool educator, I have many travel plans for our future and I look forward to referencing the RAP Map during our travels. Even when we were in the Bahamas, I found a local garden to visit. My love for gardens is international. Haha! I hope that this information helped you to find more fun things to do outside with your children. Don’t forget to check the seasonal activities that gardens offer, as well!
