Two years ago, on February 11, 2010, the State of Michigan passed the “No Child Left Inside” act. That act declared that every child in Michigan should:
- Have the opportunity to visit a Great Lake
- Sit beneath a 100 year old tree
- Go fishing
- Plant a native flower
- Star gaze
- Follow animal tracks in the snow
- Hike a trail
- Listen to a chorus of frogs
- Canoe, kayak, or float in a river
- Cook a marshmallow on a campfire
I agree! I am a big advocate of “taking a child outside. And leaving them there“. When the weather is warmer, we like fishing and camping {even if it is just in our backyard!}, but until then some of our favorite places to get outside are the Calvin EcoPreserve and Blandford Nature Center {and their cool Smart Phone App!}.
How many of these has your child had the chance to do?
I live in Ohio, but spent part of my childhood in Michigan and still have many family members living there. I hadn’t heard of “No Child Left Inside” until now… I love it! We vacationed in the U.P. last summer with our young children, hiked dunes, swam in Lake Michigan (beaches are as beautiful as the coast of Florida), watched the stars (and a beautiful sunset), fished, caught crawdads, and more.
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Big Binder Reply:
February 16th, 2012 at 9:18 pm
It’s a cool idea, isn’t it?! Sounds like a perfect UP vacation for your family
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