Don’t forget!  Saturday, June 26th is the Great American Backyard Campout.  What is that?  First of all, it’s super easy and fun as a family because you set up a tent in your backyard and have a campout.  Of course, you can gather in another family’s backyard or sign up with a group to share your first camping experience at a local park. The best part of all is you make memories as a family close to home.

Last June, I invited my girlfriends and their kids for a “Moms and Kids Only” backyard camp out; just take a look at how much fun we had!

And did you know? Saturday, June 12th is National Get Outdoors Day, and June is National Get Outdoors Month.  Here are some more simple ideas for how to get outside and spend meaningful time together as a family:

We’ve started the s’more roasting in Virginia. With last week’s temperatures in the 40s and feeling like December, my kids and I welcomed a beautiful fall Wednesday evening this week by walking the dog, watching bats at dusk, collecting kindling for the fire and then roasting a s’more. “Look up!” said my seven year-old, pointing to the stars.

It was a perfectly clear and comfortable evening, just like for our last backyard campout in June. The success of the event for the kids led us to camping down the street in July for our first overnight away from home, and then in August, we had an overnight camp out in the West Virginia mountains.

It’s about time for another backyard campout, I thought. My first backyard campout was last March, on a cold Friday night when my four year-old begged me to sleep out back with him. Then, he wanted to sleep in the tent on Saturday night too. Nursing my sore back from a too-thin sleeping bag pad that somehow ended up on a tree root, I informed my husband that it was his turn to sleep outside.

We had subsequent backyard campouts before June 28^th, when the National Wildlife Federation filmed my backyard campout. I invited two girlfriends, their kids, and my mom to join us for a “moms and kids only” campout. NWF’s Dave Mezejewski took us on a nature walk, and the kids spent hours outside, hanging on until almost bedtime before they had their s’mores.

With the launch of the National Wildlife Federation’s Be Out There campaign, let’s join together and continue to be the amazing influence in our neighborhoods and communities that inspires all families to get their kids outside.

Rebecca P. Cohen is Founder and President of Rebecca Plants LLC, a gardening and outdoor lifestyle company that inspires families to be outside and improve their well being. Mark your calendars for Thursday, November 19^th at 10:30EST for Rebecca’s next radio show, Get Out of the House, where callers will share favorite multigenerational ways to get outside for the holidays. http://www.rebeccaplants.com.

Copyright 2009 Rebecca Plants LLC

Expensive family vacations were not on the agenda for us this Summer, so when we were asked by some neighbors to camp with them by a nearby lake for the Fourth of July, the adventure sounded like a great idea.  At this time last year, my husband and our two young boys visited Mount Rushmore and Badlands National Park.  But even if we were close to home this year, I still wanted a wonderful family memory of the holiday.

Packing up the car, we had enough to keep us comfortable for one night:  two tents (just in case the five kids wanted their own to sleep together); hot dogs, s’mores, and breakfast snacks; our pillows, sleeping bags, and a favorite stuffed animal for each child; toothbrushes, toothpaste, and toilet paper; a picnic blanket, magnifying glasses, binoculars, flashlights, battery-operated glow sticks for fun (and for safety to keep track of the littlest ones in the dark).

My neighbor, a teacher, brought along a brilliant idea:  clipboards for each of the kids with a pencil for each and print out of a scavenger hunt.  My seven-year-old son and her eight-year-old daughter got a more advanced list of 10 things to find (a pattern in nature, something hanging, animal tracks) and the three, four, and five year-olds got a list that had more pictures:  six pinecones, three birds, one acorn.  The older and younger kids worked in teams and guided themselves through the activity.

Our neighbor’s husband brought along fishing gear and he and his oldest daughter taught my boys how to fish, which they loved, and the rest of the time, the kids explored nearby.  They came across small and big toads and waded in the water, playing with rocks and even found a crayfish.  Not once did they say they were bored or scared, and when the last fireworks died off in the distance around 10:30p.m., after some giggles and talking in the tent, they fell asleep with ease. 

Whether the back yard or nearby park, it’s easy to have a fun adventure close to home.  And the convenience of the location makes it easy for new campers to try it out, especially with some friends, and create memories that will last a lifetime.

Rebecca P. Cohen is Founder and President of Rebecca Plants LLC, a gardening and outdoor lifestyle company that inspires families to be outside and improve their well being.  For a free list of 50 Outdoor Activities for Busy Families, visit http://www.rebeccaplants.com/outdoorliving.asp