Fifteen Minutes Outside: 365 Ways to Get Out of the House and Connect with Your Kids [Paperback]

Rebecca Cohen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2011

What if you got outside every day, and what if you could get your kids to come along? It sounds modest, but the effects, as dynamic outdoor spokesperson Rebecca Cohen herself can testify, are profound. This inspiring collection of activities gives families an idea for every day of the year, requiring little planning, no expertise and relatively little resources (time, cash, or patience!), no matter where they live. Simple and inspiring, this book is bursting with hundreds of easy ways to get your family out into nature a little bit every day.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Fifteen Minutes Outside is full of fun, creative ideas that make it easy for busy parents to give their kids much-needed outdoor time in any season. The games, crafts and projects presented in the book fit perfectly with National Wildlife Federation's Be Out There® movement and offer simple ways for families to connect with nature and each other."
--David Mizejewski, Naturalist, National Wildlife Federation

(20101103)

"Research now supports what our grandmothers already knew to be true: time spent outdoors is good for our health. In this book, Rebecca Cohen offers 365 prescriptions for healthier kids and healthier families." Daphne Miller, MD, author of The Jungle Effect: Healthiest Diets from Around the World--Why They Work and How to Make Them Work for You

(20101105)

""Every family will LOVE getting outside every day with the fun & easy tips in this book! Today, more than ever, we need to preserve our kids' love of the outdoors. Rebecca P. Cohen gives us everything we need to make outside time happen!" Whitney Ferre, author of 33 Things to Know About Raising Creative Kids, www.creativelyfit.com.
(20101108)

""Ready to get up and go? Open the pages and start to discover 365 amazing ways to connect and engage with your kids! Keep it in your kitchen, your car and by your bedside 'cause your family is about to be inspired."
Pediatric Psychologist Dr. Lynne Kenney, author of The Family Coach Method (20101115)

"Rebecca P. Cohen reminds us that we can be ourselves with our kids and grow closer as a family starting with Fifteen Minutes Outside every day. This is a must read book for people who want to bring more joy, connection, and fun into their family."
Mike Robbins, author, Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Already Taken
(20101119)

"Every parent wants to keep their kids healthy, but it often feels like a struggle. Rebecca's imaginative and fun ideas help even city dwellers like me take the 15-minutes a day challenge."
Frances Largeman-Roth, RD, senior editor at Health magazine and author of Feed the Belly: The Pregnant Mom's Healthy Eating Guide (20101129)

"Outdoor lifestyle expert, Rebecca P. Cohen, author of Fifteen Minutes Outside: 365 Ways to Get Out of the House and Connect with Your Kids, highlights the top 10 easiest vegetables and herbs to grow in your garden. How does your garden grow?" (Tiny Green Mom 20110218)

"And while an occasional snow day is fun, when they pile up, kids get a little rowdy. I just read about this book that might help you keep cabin fever at bay." (Lady and the Blog 20110219)

"If you've never learned to appreciate nature when the weather isn't sunny and warm, dare to venture outside your comfort zone. Not sure how? Pick up Cohen's upcoming book 15 Minutes Outside: 365 Ways to Get Out of the House and Connect with Your Kids (Sourcebooks, March 2011)." (SheKnows 20110216)

"Fifteen Minutes Outside is the inspiration of outdoor lifestyle expert Rebecca P. Cohen's commitment to spending time outside with her family every single day for a whole year...I need a book like this." (SheKnows 20110222)

About the Author

Rebecca P. Cohen is a gardening and outdoor lifestyle expert whose mission is to inspire people to get off the couch and discover how simple it can be to incorporate an active, outdoor lifestyle into a busy schedule. The mother of two small children, Rebecca incorporates the outdoors into every aspect of life, bringing invaluable tips and inspiration into her product lines, television segments, and website, rebeccaplants.com. Rebecca is the National Wildlife Federation's Be Out There™ Spokesmom.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks (March 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402254369
• ISBN-13: 978-1402254369
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #34,745 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #30 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Exercise & Fitness > Quick Workouts
  • #51 in Books > Parenting & Relationships > Family Activities

More About the Author

Rebecca P. Cohen is a gardening and outdoor lifestyle expert and producer of the television series, Get Out of the House. The daughter of educators, Rebecca left the corporate world after 15 years to teach families gardening and equip them with fun outdoor ideas that keep them healthy and connected year-round. Rebecca's website and products have been featured in Better Homes and Gardens, Parenting, and Family Circle magazines and on Rachael Ray's website, Yum-o!, for her events with schools. Subscribe for free to Rebecca Plants (http://www.rebeccaplants.com/subscribe.asp) and receive Learn Outside, Rebecca's monthly newsletter for parents and educators. For more information, visit RebeccaPlants.com.

Search 'Curiosity Cards' on Amazon for Rebecca's companion tool to the book.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars My new best friend! March 21, 2011

By Aloha Momma

Format:Paperback

Review originally posted on MoanaSaves (dot) com
"What if I got outside every single day, and what if I could get my kids to come along? It would be easier to pull this off in the middle of summer, but what if we did it all year round, no matter what the weather was like?"

These are Rebecca Cohen's words in the introduction to her book 15 Minutes Outisde, 365 Ways to Get Out of the House and Connect with Your Kids. At the time when Rebecca had this outdoorsy idea she and her husband had demanding corporate jobs and it seemed the moments she was at home were spent indoors rushing from one demand to the next, leaving her at the end of the day feeling exhausted and unfulfilled in regards to time spent with her children. Well, I'm not a working mom but I can definitely relate with the life of running around without really spending time with my kids outside.

After reading this book I think I can honestly say that it's my new best friend. 365 ideas of how to spend meaningful time with my kids outside? This translates to: 1) bonding time with my children 2) cleaner house because we're outside! 3) getting the wiggles out 4) great health benefits 5) increased appreciation of nature 6) low to no cost entertainment ... and the list goes on and on. This book's worth is priceless!

Last week was spring break and I took the opportunity to try a few of the book's ideas on my kids. Our first favorite was "get to know a tree" where one person closes their eyes and another leads them to a tree where they use their sensory skills (excluding sight) to observe the tree. That person is then led to a central location where they open their eyes and try to guess what tree they touched. My kids loved trying to fool Mommy with this fun activity. Our second favorite activity, one that I'm sure we'll continue with for months to come, was creating a nature journal. My kids loved writing short stories of our adventures, journaling interesting seeds or leaves they found, describing and drawing pictures of new birds or bugs, etc.

15 Minutes Outside is filled with thought-provoking ideas on how you can spend time outdoors with your children. The book is broken into 12 chapters with month headings with an activity per day of the month. To keep things interesting the author includes random highlighted text boxes that help you reevaluate your time spent outdoors and make it better than it already is. There are ideas for all seasons, genders, ages, locations, etc. I highly recommend the purchase of this book to any mother, grandmother, aunt or even babysitter who is looking for new and innovative ways to enjoy time outdoors with children.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy outdoor fun! March 18, 2011

By Mommy to Kyle

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I'm somewhat surprised at how useful this book has been to me. How hard is it to think of things to do outside? But I love that I can flip through it quickly (by month and day) and see quick, easy to pull off activities for my family. I'm a strong believer in getting kids outside, but live a busy life (like most everyone) and don't always make time for the outdoors. Already this week, we've planted peas, onions and spinach, pulled on rain boots and splashed in melting snow and took a walk in our small creek. And you know what? Rebecca is right, outdoors time is like a release valve for our family. We all are in a better mood, with just a small amount of time outside. Thanks!

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars So Much Fun August 10, 2011

By Miriam C. Brown

Format:Paperback

We are having such a great time with some of the ideas in this book. I picked it up off of the library shelf on a whim and was captivated. I decided just to try inviting my kids to do the activities with me every day instead of nagging them to turn off the t.v. The ideas are simple, and inexpensive, often things you could have thought of yourself, but didn't. It's nice to have a quick list to look out so you don't have to plan anything or be creative when you are busy. Fifteen minutes is so achievable. I thought my kids would drag their feet and want to stay inside because they are addicted to electronics but I think I underestimated how much they wanted to spend time with me. Every day they ask me "Hey mom can we spend 15 minutes outside today?" Once we are outside, the neighbor kids come over to play and the fifteen minutes turns into hours, even if I go back inside to do what I need to do after a while. I am really glad I found this book when I did before their childhood slips away.