Here are some activities to bring love of the earth and care for our bodies together! Enjoy!
SPRING HUNT: Go for a walk with your children, in search of signs of spring. Buds on the trees, seedlings, flower stems, young animals. Breathe deep breaths of spring air. Feel the spring breeze on your skin. “Crouch down with your child and practice sprouting like blades of grass. Slowly straighten your legs and grow upward. Extend your arms toward the sky, breathing, relaxing, and taking in spring. Crouch low and pretend that you’re a flower, getting ready to bloom. Then do it–slowly. Get into action and find a smooth, grassy area where you can tumble in somersaults.” From the book I Love Dirt! by Jennifer Ward
VISIT A BOTANICAL GARDEN: Explore the science and wonder of growing things. Many museums and botanical gardens offer free admission days. The LA County Arboretum and Botanical Garden is free every third Tuesday of the month. The Huntington Library & Botanical Garden is free the first Thursday of the month. Call ahead for required advanced tickets.
ARTS, CRAFTS AND POETRY: Draw pictures, write words, do a dance that tell the story of a plant, a rock, a patch of sunny ground, or the squirrels & birds in the trees. Frame the pictures and words. Or make a book. Or display them in a special “celebrate the earth” place in your home.
LISTEN: Lie on the earth–in your yard, at the park. Feel the solid ground. And listen. How many different sounds do you hear? How many are nature sounds? What other sounds do you hear? Try this at different times of days. Does the ground feel different? (Warmer; colder). What different sounds do you hear?
EAT MINDFULLY: Cook together! Prepare a meatless and/or organic meal. Dance while you set the table! Sing while you chop vegetables or fruit. Then, laugh! Eat mindfully–appreciating and commenting on the colors, tastes, textures of the nourishing food you have prepared.
More ideas for enjoying our bodies and earth:
Enjoying nature
Bouquet of Color
Sring into Spring
Groovy Gravity
Take a Walk on the Wild Side
Poetry about the earth and our bodies
For Girls
For Teen Girls
Relaxing our bodies
Take a Vacation from your Mind