Use all of your senses.

Being close to nature, in general, helps boost a child's attention span.

In our bones we need the natural curves of hills, the scent of chaparral, the whisper of pines, the possibility of wildness.

Children need nature for the healthy development of their senses, and therefore, for learning and creativity.

In medieval times, if someone displayed the symptoms we now identify as boredom, that person was thought to be committing something called acedia, a 'dangerous form of spiritual alienation' -- a devaluing of the world and its creator.

We tend to block off many of our senses when we're staring at a screen. Nature time can literally bring us to our senses.

These days, unplugged places are getting hard to find.