Does your spirit need a lift?  Take your kids outside.

In a transition to Spring that has been hectic for me and my boys hopping from activity to activity, its simple outdoor time that keeps us grounded and connected as a family.  In my new hometown of Steamboat Springs, Colorado the last 48 hours have brought such amazing and simple joys with my kids that can be done anywhere:

1. Playing ‘Pooh Sticks’ (racing sticks) in rushing water from spring rain
2. Skipping rocks
3. Bringing a ball to a playground, inspiring new friends and games
4. Planting sugar snap peas

April is Let’s G.O. (Get Outside) month.  I encourage you to enter your zip code to find an event near you or create an informal event with some families for time outside.

In celebration of Let’s G.O., I will be planting sugar snap peas with other families at two events in my town:
1. Saturday, April 13th 4pm-5pm MT at Little Toots Park (next to library)
2. Saturday, April 20th 10:30am-11:30am MT at Legacy Ranch (Rt 40 S before Rt 131 on right).  Raised bed clean up through noon!  Limited parking; carpool with your friends.  Optional: bring an extra shovel or rake.

All events rain or shine. Supplies will be provided.  For more information, or directions to Yampatika’s Environmental Learning Center at Legacy Ranch, contact me.  Attending both events is encouraged, but not required. Sugar snap pea seeds will sprout within 7 days and can be brought back to Legacy Ranch to plant in-ground and will be ready for harvest in approximately 8 weeks.

Each Spring, I am amazed time and time again of the power of planting seeds together. Planting only takes five minutes, and the daily excitement and learning of watching seeds sprout and grow lasts for months!

Sugar snap peas love cool spring temperatures of 40 degrees Fahrenheit and up.  Its as simple as grabbing a clear cup from your kitchen and placing two seeds in moist newspaper instead of soil on a sunny windowsill.  Additional instructions are at the bottom of p.36 of 15 Minutes Outside.

Let’s Get Outside in April - and at least 15 minutes outside every day.  By stepping outside, possibilities open up that allow for unexpected joy and the sixty minute minimum that we all need.  You and your family will be energized, connected, and glad you did.

About Rebecca P. Cohen
Rebecca P. Cohen is the go-to spokesperson for outdoor activities any time of the year.  Rebecca is author of the book, 15 Minutes Outside: 365 Ways to Get Out of the House and Connect with Your Kids (Sourcebooks), the digital excerpt The Best Outdoor Activities for Families: Wintertime, and inventor of Rebecca Plants Curiosity Cards. Rebecca’s work has been featured in Better Home and Gardens, Parenting, Redbook, Working Mother, Family Circle, Backyard Solutions, and has appeared on live morning news shows around the country. Rebecca has been a proud ambassador of the Seeds of Change Sowing Millions Project and featured as a spokesmom for the National Wildlife Federation’s Be Out There movement on PBS Wild Animal Baby.  She has inspired thousands with her public appearances and community and school events, and motivates still more to follow their dreams and passions as the host of Wish It, Dream It, Do It! radio. For more information visit RebeccaPlants.com.

My mom is retiring this year after almost thirty years in teaching!  In appreciation of teachers’ dedication to our kids, here are some fun and easy ways to bring learning outside from my book, 15 Minutes Outside: 365 Ways to Get Out of the House and Connect with Your Kids, which I’m touched has a loyal following of educators too.

1. Plant seeds. My favorite are sugar snap pea seeds for their engaging example of the plant lifecycle and sweet taste at harvest.  There are so many ways to sprout seeds, including using moist newspaper instead of soil for easy classroom clean up.  Peas can be planted outside when temperatures are above 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Make bagel bird feeders. Tie twine around a half a bagel, spread shortening on the bagel, and dip in bird seed.  Want to get creative with your pantry?  Chop nuts, grapes, apples, and sprinkle corn meal instead of buying a bad of seed.

3.  Plant patterns. I did an outdoor lesson with a kindergarten class learning patterns.  The class voted on a patterns of orange and purple pansies.  Then, the children had a planting day where they each had a plant, organized themselves in the pattern, placed the flowers in the pattern and then planted!

4.  Plant milkweed. Watch the butterfly lifecycle in action by planting what monarch caterpillars eat!  Native to North America, milkweed returns every year (a perennial) and it attracts migrating orange monarchs to lay their eggs in the Summer.  By Fall, tiny monarch caterpillars will eat and eat and eat, form their chrysalises, and transform into butterflies just in time for the start of school.

5. Learn about temperature, clouds, and states of matter. Any subject can be taught outside, and a 15 minute daily walk with your class is sure to resonate with whatever you are teaching, anytime of year.  Want to connect with other teachers getting kids outside?  Become a Natural Teacher or sign up for Rebecca’s free newsletter, Learn Outside.

About Rebecca P. Cohen
Rebecca P. Cohen is the go-to spokesperson for outdoor activities any time of the year.  Rebecca is author of the book, 15 Minutes Outside: 365 Ways to Get Out of the House and Connect with Your Kids (Sourcebooks), the digital excerpt The Best Outdoor Activities for Families: Wintertime, and inventor of Rebecca Plants Curiosity Cards. Rebecca’s work has been featured in Better Home and Gardens, Parenting, Redbook, Working Mother, Family Circle, Backyard Solutions, and has appeared on live morning news shows around the country. Rebecca has been a proud ambassador of the Seeds of Change Sowing Millions Project and featured as a spokesmom for the National Wildlife Federation’s Be Out There movement on PBS Wild Animal Baby.  She has inspired thousands with her public appearances and community and school events, and motivates still more to follow their dreams and passions as the host of Wish It, Dream It, Do It! radio. For more information visit RebeccaPlants.com.

You can fill in the blank for yourself, but I learned one answer for me last weekend.

To me, happiness is falling and still having fun.

I’ve been reflecting lately on a quote from author Paulo Coelho in his book, Aleph:

“Traveling is never a matter of money, but of courage.”

The “traveling” Coelho mentions could mean getting on an airplane and exploring new places, but I’d rather think of traveling as the way in which one approaches every day life.  We can think of each day as an adventure, throwing our hands up in the air with nervous glee at unexpected twists and turns, or we can try to force structure and safety and expected outcomes, rigid and afraid.  Either way, there are going to be times when we fall.

I’d like to think that if I approach every day as a new adventure, the experience of falling might actually be the opposite of devastating.  Regardless of whether I fall, I’ll probably have more fun.

Last weekend, I experienced the surprising joy of falling.  On two occasions on the slopes, I flew out of my skis, and laughed hysterically the whole way.  I don’t think I had ever been so happy to “fail”.

I learned downhill skiing as an adult, of course not a prerequisite for winter fun by any means (as my eight year-old likes to remind me there are countless ways to have fun in winter outside; sledding, building snow forts, or exploring just to name a few).

What I have noticed with skiing is that you need to be completely present at every twist and turn.  In my almost two decades of not being an expert skier, I’ve had plenty of days that I have been worried about falling.  However, I can count only on one hand the number of times that I have fallen.  Why have I been torturing myself with worry?

Last weekend, for some reason I wasn’t worried about falling - I didn’t care if I did.  I was smiling and humming, and listening to the “woo hoo”s and “oh yeah!”s of myself and other skiers.  We were present with the adventure.

When I flew out of my skis, I had been attempting something new:  entering knee-deep powder, once in a turn and a second time over a bump.  Both times, my shins hit the wall of snow and my skis stopped, but my body kept going with a face-plant in the cold snow.  Instead of being embarrassed, I was elated and alive and belly laughing.  Of course I was glad not to be hurt, but I’m sure the fact that I wasn’t afraid to fall had a lot to do with how I walked away from it and kept on going.

Later that afternoon, on our last run down the mountain, a line of a dozen five and six year old downhill racers zoomed past my husband and me, one by one leaning forward in race mode with knees bent and poles back.  Clearly, these children approach life as an adventure and haven’t learned to think otherwise.

Here’s to approaching our every day with a little more ‘traveling’ and adventure, so that when we do fall, we are laughing the whole way.

About Rebecca P. Cohen
Rebecca P. Cohen is the go-to spokesperson for outdoor activities any time of the year.  Rebecca is author of the book, 15 Minutes Outside: 365 Ways to Get Out of the House and Connect with Your Kids (Sourcebooks), the digital excerpt The Best Outdoor Activities for Families: Wintertime, and inventor of Rebecca Plants Curiosity Cards. Rebecca’s work has been featured in Better Home and Gardens, Parenting, Redbook, Working Mother, Family Circle, Backyard Solutions, and has appeared on live morning news shows around the country. Rebecca has been a proud ambassador of the Seeds of Change Sowing Millions Project and featured as a spokesmom for the National Wildlife Federation’s Be Out There movement on PBS Wild Animal Baby.  She has inspired thousands with her public appearances and community and school events, and motivates still more to follow their dreams and passions as the host of Wish It, Dream It, Do It! radio. For more information visit RebeccaPlants.com.

One thing I love about my daily walk outside is that even when I take a familiar path, I always notice something new. Recently, however, my walk in the woods was becoming a little too routine. And I realized that I needed to take the opportunity to consciously pause where I previously didn’t see beauty, and look closer.

When I lived in Virginia, my walks in the woods were accompanied by towering white oaks, and I could easily see and appreciate the undulating ground and nature’s beauty along a winding path. Now in Colorado, my path takes me through much shorter scrub oak, which I don’t find particularly beautiful. In fact, I find the sight of their bare, twisted branches a bit abrasive. Rather than looking at the scrub oak, I’ve always chosen instead to look at the ever-present, sparkling snow along the path and mountains in the distance.

However, during my Friday afternoon snowshoe walk or “nature therapy” as I call it, I decided to stop, remove my ear buds blasting with a favorite song, and intentionally stare at what I typically avoid. I slowly took in the scrub oak all around me. And the beauty I saw surprised me.

As took a few moments intermittently to stare at large patches of scrub oak, I noticed subtle movements. In all directions, it was the same. I looked closer, and started to see black-capped chickadees all around. I heard their cheerful calls. Every day prior, I had passed the scrub oak and never took the time to notice what I thought not to be beautiful was teeming with life. I suddenly had a whole new appreciation for scrub oak as an important habitat for one of my favorite birds. Better yet, as I continued along the path, three chickadees seemed to be following me, which brought a huge smile to my face.

Yesterday, I was reminded of the lessons from Friday’s walk. When I asked my eight year old how he wanted to spend time together, he asked to go snowshoeing for the first time. And, once again, I experienced how fantastic it is to witness the natural world through a child. There was far less snowshoeing and a lot more pausing to notice the beauty beneath the surface: to follow tracks (elk), sit to hear sounds (an eagle’s screech), and observe subtle movements we would otherwise miss (a woodpecker).

My wish for you is the same. There is a special beauty in Winter; may you pause to discover and enjoy its gifts that are there for us every day.

About Rebecca P. Cohen
Rebecca P. Cohen is the go-to spokesperson for outdoor activities any time of the year.  Rebecca is author of the book, 15 Minutes Outside: 365 Ways to Get Out of the House and Connect with Your Kids (Sourcebooks), the digital excerpt The Best Outdoor Activities for Families: Wintertime, and inventor of Rebecca Plants Curiosity Cards. Rebecca’s work has been featured in Better Home and Gardens, Parenting, Redbook, Working Mother, Family Circle, Backyard Solutions, and has appeared on live morning news shows around the country. Rebecca has been a proud ambassador of the Seeds of Change Sowing Millions Project and featured as a spokesmom for the National Wildlife Federation’s Be Out There movement on PBS Wild Animal Baby.  She has inspired thousands with her public appearances and community and school events, and motivates still more to follow their dreams and passions as the host of Wish It, Dream It, Do It! radio. For more information visit RebeccaPlants.com.

In my recent post for PBS Parents, I proclaim to hate being cold - this is true.  But I love winter gear and bundling up; I can’t get enough of winter hats and layers, and routinely wear them inside too.  I just require more layers for being outside.  Layers - for me and my kids - are the name of the game.  Because once we are outside and moving, we get warm, and can easily peel those layers off.

After moving from Virginia to Colorado only five months ago, it has felt like Winter for awhile now.  Here, we can’t wait for the beautiful sparkling snow.  But even when there is no snow on the ground, we still need our layers, and my kids are responsible (even when I have to remind them!) of keeping their hats and gloves in their marked bin by the door.

To celebrate all that Winter offers us with our families, I’m excited about the launch of a digital excerpt of my book, 15 Minutes Outside, specifically for the season:

Best Outdoor Activities for Families: Wintertime

Available exclusively as an eBook short.

What if you got outside every day, and what if you could get your kids to come along? It sounds modest, but the effects, as dynamic outdoor spokesperson Rebecca Cohen herself can testify, are profound. Excerpted from her book FIFTEEN MINUTES OUTSIDE, this inspiring collection of wintertime activities gives families an idea a day ranging from December through February, requiring little planning, no expertise and relatively little resources (time, cash, or patience!), no matter where they live. Simple and inspiring, this eBook is bursting with easy ways to get your family out into nature for just a few minutes every day.

*******

So, what are you waiting for?  Start dreaming of how you want to spend time outside.  Then, get out of the house, and see what happens.

Wishing you a season of magical moments outside together,

Rebecca

About Rebecca P. Cohen
Rebecca P. Cohen is a finalist for the 2012 Outdoor Inspiration Awards and the go-to spokesperson for gardening and outdoor activities any time of the year.  Rebecca is author of the book, 15 Minutes Outside: 365 Ways to Get Out of the House and Connect with Your Kids (Sourcebooks) and inventor of Rebecca Plants Curiosity Cards. Rebecca’s work has been featured in Better Home and Gardens, Parenting, Redbook, Working Mother, Family Circle, Backyard Solutions, and has appeared on live morning news shows around the country. Rebecca has been a proud ambassador of the Seeds of Change Sowing Millions Project and featured as a spokesmom for the National Wildlife Federation’s Be Out There movement on PBS Wild Animal Baby.  She has inspired thousands with her public appearances and community and school events, and motivates still more to follow their dreams and passions as the host of Wish It, Dream It, Do It! radio. For more information visit RebeccaPlants.com.

Inspiration comes in many forms: compassion, beauty, heroism, a job well done; the list is endless. Images of nature, in particular stunning landscapes, lift my spirit instantly.

If you could look at any scenic view, what would it be? The answer could depend on your mood in the moment or the adventure you would like to have for your next vacation.

Mountains can be grounding and centering, inspiring you to achieve your best.

Beaches remind us of the ebb and flow of life, remembering that there is a natural rhythm to challenges that will pass, and remembering to celebrate when we find that “perfect wave”.

Rivers consistently flow in one direction, at times powerfully or more gently. The water always finds a way around obstacles, even if it has to swirl for a while before finding its way.

Forests show us the beautiful cycle of the seasons and the transitions of the animals who spend their seasons there or migrate at different times of the year.

Deserts are a display of extremes and the resiliency of its inhabitants during night and day.

Sunrises and sunsets connect us all to the daily beauty that is available to us anywhere

What is “your” landscape?

Check out more inspiration this season with my latest feature for PBS Parents and a recent review of 15 Minutes Outside.

About Rebecca P. Cohen
Rebecca P. Cohen is a finalist for the 2012 Outdoor Inspiration Awards and the go-to spokesperson for gardening and outdoor activities any time of the year.  Rebecca is author of the book, 15 Minutes Outside: 365 Ways to Get Out of the House and Connect with Your Kids (Sourcebooks) and inventor of Rebecca Plants Curiosity Cards. Rebecca’s work has been featured in Better Home and Gardens, Parenting, Redbook, Working Mother, Family Circle, Backyard Solutions, and has appeared on live morning news shows around the country. Rebecca has been a proud ambassador of the Seeds of Change Sowing Millions Project and featured as a spokesmom for the National Wildlife Federation’s Be Out There movement on PBS Wild Animal Baby.  She has inspired thousands with her public appearances and community and school events, and motivates still more to follow their dreams and passions as the host of Wish It, Dream It, Do It! radio. For more information visit RebeccaPlants.com.

My kids went back to school last week:  a new place, a new school, new teachers and friends.  Everyone gets the first day jitters; we can take comfort in we’re not alone.

There is also something extremely exciting in a new routine. It’s a chance to start over, fresh, and form new habits.

The season is also shifting gradually into Fall, and it’s time to savor and appreciate the beautiful weather.

After we walked to school the first day, I gleefully road my bike to the library - soaking in the sunshine.  Overlooking a river, it’s a beautiful place from which to be productive.  Before school started, I wasn’t able to fit in the welcome quiet of the library during the ever-changing camp schedules.

I’m excited to welcome my kids home after school. Now that they have structure for the majority of their day, I can focus on how to make the rest of their day FUN: homework outside, evening walks and bike rides to take advantage of the long daylight, and even outdoor playtime before school.

My 3rd grader’s teacher reminded us to ask our kids what funny stories they had from the first day.  What another wonderful perspective on transition - to appreciate the humor in it all.

And now that we’re all in a new routine, I’m also appreciative of what we noticed as a family this Summer outside:

• Teenage boys at a BMX park like to climb trees even better than racing their bikes
• A swimming hole cools you off just as well as a pool
• Tubing on a river is better than an amusement park
• Hummingbirds will show up out my window in Colorado just like they did in Virginia thanks to native Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)

I’m also grateful that my kids know outside time is good for them.  With school back in session, my eight year-old invited me to join him for homework outside.  When my ten year-old had to stay in bed on on Sunday due to a fever, he asked me later in the day if I would go play tennis with him.

Mid-match, I asked him how he was feeling. “Much better”, he said.  “I think I just needed to get outside.”  In fact, he was well enough to go to school the next day.

With the excitement of a new routine, how do you want to enjoy this time of year for you and your family?

About Rebecca P. Cohen
Rebecca P. Cohen is a finalist for the 2012 Outdoor Inspiration Awards and the go-to spokesperson for gardening and outdoor activities any time of the year.  Rebecca is author of the book, 15 Minutes Outside: 365 Ways to Get Out of the House and Connect with Your Kids (Sourcebooks) and inventor of Rebecca Plants Curiosity Cards. Rebecca’s work has been featured in Better Home and Gardens, Parenting, Redbook, Working Mother, Family Circle, Backyard Solutions, and has appeared on live morning news shows around the country. Rebecca has been a proud ambassador of the Seeds of Change Sowing Millions Project and featured as a spokesmom for the National Wildlife Federation’s Be Out There movement on PBS Wild Animal Baby.  She has inspired thousands with her public appearances and community and school events, and motivates still more to follow their dreams and passions as the host of Wish It, Dream It, Do It! radio. For more information visit RebeccaPlants.com.

We are in the thick of Summer.  Too hot?  Too humid?  Too dry?  Are your kids (gasp) bored already?  Are they bouncing off the walls?  Lessons and clues about how you can savor the rest of your Summer are everywhere.  Are you noticing them?

Last Summer, believe it or not, I traveled too much.  I was so excited about traveling that I bounced from one week of airplane and road trips to the next with my boys, and trying to run my business at the same time was a bit too much.  I felt…guilty…when I would work instead of be available at all times for play.

This Summer, I’m even busier with work, and back in February, my husband and I (and kids) decided to take the plunge with location independent jobs to move to Steamboat Springs, Colorado.  We arrived a week ago, and ‘camped’ in our home without furniture for three nights to the tune of “I hate this” and “why did we do this at all!!!!” from our back-in-February-excited kids.

The only thing that felt normal in the first week of the move was our usual outdoor stuff that can be done anywhere - riding bikes, walking the dog, playing tennis and soccer, and tonight grilling and eating outside.  As Family Gone Free blogger noticed, home was when her family was spending time together.  And I will add to that, home to me is when we are spending time together outside.

My soon-to-be 5th grader made a family crest this past year in school that had the quote, “Will you play outside with me?” as the anchor to the meaning of our family.  This - no matter where we are - is our home.  And that, is my clue, to savoring the rest of the Summer, and to savoring every day.

About Rebecca P. Cohen
Rebecca P. Cohen is a finalist for the 2012 Outdoor Inspiration Awards and the go-to spokesperson for gardening and outdoor activities any time of the year.  Rebecca is author of the book, 15 Minutes Outside: 365 Ways to Get Out of the House and Connect with Your Kids (Sourcebooks) and inventor of Rebecca Plants Curiosity Cards. Rebecca’s work has been featured in Better Home and Gardens, Parenting, Redbook, Working Mother, Family Circle, Backyard Solutions, and has appeared on live morning news shows around the country. Rebecca has been a proud ambassador of the Seeds of Change Sowing Millions Project and featured as a spokesmom for the National Wildlife Federation’s Be Out There movement on PBS Wild Animal Baby.  She has inspired thousands with her public appearances and community and school events, and motivates still more to follow their dreams and passions as the host of Wish It, Dream It, Do It! radio. For more information visit RebeccaPlants.com.

Some busy days, fifteen minutes outside and away from distractions seems like such an Olympic feat, whether family members want to go in different directions or you are so busy taking care of other people that you forget to take care of yourself.

I recently had an experience that made me realize how disconnected I have been from what makes me feel “whole,” and how time outside is the fuel that gives me relaxed space so I can continue on to my to do list while also being true to myself.

One Friday evening, we had a brief break from several days of rain, and I went outside and started pulling weeds and clipping faded blooms from my perennials (pruning) so they would bloom again. It wasn’t scheduled; the weeds weren’t out of control and it didn’t have to be done; my day was done and no one else would be calling. I was drawn outside.

Several minutes into my therapeutic garden maintenance, my seven year old joined me and asked if he could help. “Can you prune for me?” I asked? He excitedly replied that he loves pruning.

Working side by side in silence for a few minutes, my son started humming a tune. Then occasional rain drops fell, which felt so refreshing. We continued to work and the rain eventually became a consistent, light shower that showed no sign of stopping.

“Let’s keep going, Mom. I don’t want to go inside.”

We both started humming, and kept pruning, and eventually found ourselves smiling at the sky and catching raindrops like snowflakes.  Several buckets of clippings later, we were pleased with our work and fun, and were ready to go in and dry off.

By stepping outside, we made time for ourselves and created a special memory together that we could not have planned.

Moments later, I received a call from my friend Starla J. King - our Friday tradition. “I feel like myself again,” I told her. I had been so busy the week before that while I effortlessly went from one task to the next, I forgot to take care of me.

And that 15 Minutes Outside not only took care of me, the experience was wrapped in a bow for my son too.

If I don’t make space for myself outside, I run until I run on empty and crash with exhaustion, and it takes me several days to recover.

Let’s all remember to take our 15 Minutes Outside, not only for the special people in our lives, but also just as importantly, for us.

About Rebecca P. Cohen
Rebecca P. Cohen is a finalist for the 2012 Outdoor Inspiration Awards and the go-to spokesperson for gardening and outdoor activities any time of the year.  Rebecca is author of the book, 15 Minutes Outside: 365 Ways to Get Out of the House and Connect with Your Kids (Sourcebooks) and inventor of Rebecca Plants Curiosity Cards. Rebecca’s work has been featured in Better Home and Gardens, Parenting, Redbook, Working Mother, Family Circle, Backyard Solutions, and has appeared on live morning news shows around the country. Rebecca has been a proud ambassador of the Seeds of Change Sowing Millions Project and featured as a spokesmom for the National Wildlife Federation’s Be Out There movement on PBS Wild Animal Baby.  She has inspired thousands with her public appearances and community and school events, and motivates still more to follow their dreams and passions as the host of Wish It, Dream It, Do It! radio. For more information visit RebeccaPlants.com.

On newsstands now, Backyard Solutions magazine features an article by me entitled, Sprouting Young Gardeners.  But, you don’t have to think of yourself as a gardener to share the joy and excitement of planting seeds together. And, with the warming weather, now is the perfect time to sprout vegetable seeds.

Each Earth Day, a tradition of mine is to teach a whole school to plant pea seeds, seeing the plant and roots, learning about its life cycle (the pod grows from the flower!), and taste a fresh pea pod. You won’t believe the number of kids in this video of kindergartners who ask, “May I have another?  I want another one!” when tasting the sweet peas.

The best thing about peas are teachers and kids can plant them as soon as the temperatures warm to 40 degrees Farenheit, so they are likely to be able to harvest peas before the school year ends.

In addition to sprouting peas, another must-do educational planting activity on my list for Spring is planting milkweed. By planting milkweed, which is native to North America and returns each year, you will be helping Monarch butterflies in their migration.  In Summer, Monarchs will pass through your garden and lay eggs on Milkweed for their caterpillars to eat, and eat, and eat until they make their chrysalis and transform into butterflies just as the kids are making their way back to school.  What a great lesson in the butterfly life cycle while creating a habitat at the same time.

Milkweed plants can be put in-ground Spring, Summer, and Fall. Plant milkweed seeds in fall to give the plants a period of cold temperatures required to sprout in Spring. See p.26 of my book, 15 Minutes Outside, to learn more.

Subscribe to Learn Outside for timely outdoor activity ideas and to get inspired by more people making a difference with their outreach to keep kids healthy and active!

Have a dream?  Listen to Rebecca’s radio show, Wish it, Dream it, Do it! and take steps to make your dream a reality.

About Rebecca P. Cohen
Rebecca P. Cohen is a finalist for the 2012 Outdoor Inspiration Awards and the go-to spokesperson for gardening and outdoor activities any time of the year.  Rebecca is author of the new book, 15 Minutes Outside: 365 Ways to Get Out of the House and Connect with Your Kids (Sourcebooks), which was named a ‘Best New Parenting Book’ by Scholastic Parent and Child (April 2011) and host of the television series, Get Out of the House, which shows fun ideas for time outside in every season.  In addition, she appears on live morning news shows around the country on the how-to’s of gardening and outdoor lifestyle. Rebecca’s work has been featured in Better Home and Gardens, Parenting, Redbook, Working Mother, Family Circle, Backyard Solutions, and Washingtonian magazines, as well as on Rachael Ray’s website, Yum-o!, SheKnows.com, and WorkingMother.com and in countless social media outlets. Rebecca is also a proud ambassador of the Seeds of Change Sowing Millions Project and has been featured as a spokesmom for the National Wildlife Federation’s Be Out There movement on PBS Wild Animal Baby.  She has inspired thousands with her public appearances and community and school events, and motivates still more to follow their dreams and passions as the host of Wish It, Dream It, Do It! radio. For more information visit RebeccaPlants.com.