I discovered a great game you can play with your children or grand children that gets them outdoors AND teaches them to recognize letters and numbers.

I take my granddaughter, Braelyn, outside for a walk after her nap on most days and we walk through an open field behind our house and while we are walking we pick up sticks and branches along the way. Once we have a handful, we sit down under a "shady" tree and I break off pieces of the branches in the shape of letters and numbers and have her identify what  they are. Yes, you are limited to what letters and numbers you can find but you will be surprised at what you can create. I even found and 8, an O, several J's and even a 9. You just have to be creative and you can stimulate their imagination, teach them about letters and numbers all the while spending time outside.

by Gary Hillery

The Green Path Company
www.thegreenpathcompany.com