Sunday in the Park

I spent part of the day outdoors today. My husband and I had a lovely picnic lunch in the park. There were lots of families with children spending time together hiking, biking, swimming, walking dogs. Everyone was having such a good time, engaged in play and conversation. It was a great Sunday afternoon and I was grateful to have the time to relax and recharge. It also reminded me of the importance of simply being outside. One of things I hope to remember in my work is to bring the outside in to the hospital as much as I can. Things I can do to incorporate nature into time spent with children in the hospital:

• Advocating and helping to arrange for outdoor time for children who are well enough to spend time out-of-doors. This can range from playing on the playground to simply wheeling a wheelchair to a shady spot in the garden near the hospital.
  
• For room-bound patients, I can create activities that involve looking outside the window (keeping track of the weather, I-Spy games, looking for signs of the seasons, etc.)
  
• For long-term patients consider planting seeds in a window container and watching them grow.
• Use natural materials such as leaves and rocks in art projects
• Have children visit one of the aquariums throughout the hospital, help feed the fish

These are just a few of my ideas. Feel free to leave any suggestions for other activities in the comments section.