Raising a Tree Hugger

Mental and physical activity are key in raising our children. All families can enjoy the freedom of local parks, spray parks and natural areas like rivers and lakes during the hot summer months. Encourage your children to collect natural items, or identify flora and fauna with help from the library.

There are community programs in every city that are perfect for family enrichment. Local art schools may offer scholarships; it pays to do your research when choosing various programs. Community centers also may offer financial aid to those who qualify, and can be a great resource for fitness, fun and team sports which is crucial to my home schooling family.

Don't forget our itty bitty tree huggers that want to learn about the world around them. Parent/baby activities are more abundant than ever. Now is the time to enroll you and baby in swimming, many of these programs begin at 6 months or 1 year of age and can be quite fun. Movement classes were always a highlight of my week with my one year old. Now that my second child has turned one, I am going to do another set of classes for her age group, baby Pilate's sounds interesting.

Whether your summer takes you outdoors to commune with nature or indoors for reflection and growth, be safe, have fun with your children and always live in the Now.

author: Ann M. Pugh