Kids today are getting only 4-7 minutes of outdoor time per day. 

from Child Mind:

"It builds confidence. The way that kids play in nature has a lot less structure than most types of indoor play. There are infinite ways to interact with outdoor environments, from the backyard to the park to the local hiking trail or lake, and letting your child choose how he treats nature means he has the power to control his own actions"

"It promotes creativity and imagination. This unstructured style of play also allows kids to interact meaningfully with their surroundings. They can think more freely, design their own activities, and approach the world in inventive ways."

It provides rich sensory stimulation "It activates more senses—you can see, hear, smell, and touch outdoor environments"

from Elite Learning

"Exposure to vitamin D boosts mood, supports immune health, increases muscle function, and assists in brain cell activity."

"Outdoor play is a critical part of a child’s healthy development. From honing gross and fine motor skills to fostering creativity and a sense of connection with the natural world, exposure to outside activities from a young age can help a child grow in ways that an exclusively indoor education can’t replace."

"Researchers have found that children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who walk in a park for 20 minutes can improve their symptoms as effectively as if they took a dose of prescription medication."

"The results of an eight-week occupational therapy intervention with 28 pre-adolescent at-risk youths embedding a nature-based intervention vs. a non-nature intervention found preliminary evidence for supporting the use of nature-based interventions in decreasing heart rate and increasing positive emotions."

Working on balance and coordination on the forest floor, rocks, and logs

Mental health strategy exploration while tuning into nature 

Messy play acceptance in mud, dirt, grass, and sand

Building fine motor and visual motor skills through tool use, nature art, and "mud kitchen" play

Practicing writing skills by tracing or painting rocks, pinecones, and leaves

Outdoor experiments and crafts

Targetting exectuive functioning through outdoor games

Tree swings to improved sensory processing and integration 

Outdoor obstacle course fun to build hand-eye coordination, strength, postural control, and bilateral coordination 

...And More!