What do you think?
Rate this book
Fifteen Minutes Outside: 365 Ways to Get Out of the House and Connect with Your Kids
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. (20101103)
256 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2011
81 people are currently reading
974 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews
January 18, 2013
15 Minutes Outside isn't the kind of book you read, it's the kind of book you 'do'. After spending about five minutes reading through some of the intro, paragraphs, the afterword, and skimming some of all that's in between, I'm raring to go. The book contains 365 ideas, organized by season and month, to get you outside with your kids. Wow do we need this. I just wish I'd seen this before New Year's so I, like the author, could also have set our family an outside-every-day-for-a-year resolution. Nevermind, the year is still young. Here we go!
I've only really read suggestions for January, and I have to say I'm delighting so far. Most activity-idea books suggest a bunch of tired and been-there or totally unreasonable activity. And what can you do with winter but play in the snow, but if there isn't enough snow to make a snow ball, then what? Get on the driveway with a broom and *draw* in the snow! Genius! How about a bundled-up hot breakfast experience at dawn? How about just get outside and plan your garden? I love that the ideas are just kind prompts for an outdoor experience; you can get your inspiration, get outside and make the experience what you want.
I borrowed this book from the library, but we *need* this on our shelf year-round. I'll be getting this one.
I've only really read suggestions for January, and I have to say I'm delighting so far. Most activity-idea books suggest a bunch of tired and been-there or totally unreasonable activity. And what can you do with winter but play in the snow, but if there isn't enough snow to make a snow ball, then what? Get on the driveway with a broom and *draw* in the snow! Genius! How about a bundled-up hot breakfast experience at dawn? How about just get outside and plan your garden? I love that the ideas are just kind prompts for an outdoor experience; you can get your inspiration, get outside and make the experience what you want.
I borrowed this book from the library, but we *need* this on our shelf year-round. I'll be getting this one.
January 30, 2012
I did appreciate how this book inspired me to get out of the house more with my children, but was disappointed with the so called 365 ideas. Over 30 of the ideas were to plant something in your garden and there were way too many ideas that said "Ask your kids what they like to do and do it." also I felt like every other idea included roasting s'mores or drinking hot cocoa. I was just expecting a little more creativity and not so much redundancy. I took note of ten ideas to do with my kids...which is far less than I thought I would get out of it.
March 25, 2011
I picked this book up on a whim during one of our weekly trips to Barnes & Noble for story time. I needed some inspiration. The winter has been long and cold. For weeks at a stretch the only time we would be outside was to walk from our home to our car, from the car to our destination. I'm a library person who doesn't re-read, so I buy very few of my books in physical format, but I knew this was a reference book, it wouldn't do any good to check-it out from the library and read it, only to return it in three weeks.
All I can say is that I'm really glad this little book caught my eye. The author is herself the mother of two boys and like me felt like they just weren't getting enough time out of doors. So she made a resolution to spend 15 minutes outside, every day, no matter what the temperature and whether. And then she wrote this book for me. I mean for other families who felt like they were stuck in the same rut. She has divided the book first by season, and then further by month. For each month she has one activity listed for each day. Many of them revolve around her passion for gardening and ideas on how to involve the children. Hopefully someday I'll have somewhere to put a garden, but as an apartment dweller who has a balcony that gets no sun, those ideas will have to wait. Many of the rest of the ideas involved such things as taking walks, exploring the natural world, studying the night sky, learning about animals and plants, picnicking, and playing games together. Some of the ideas were simple - sit under a small tree and think small thoughts then sit under a big tree and think big thoughts and then discuss with everyone else (good for a humid summer day when you don't want to be moving around a lot). Others were inventive, solar s'mores without the use of a campfire comes to mind. Not to mention the ones I just plain wouldn't have thought of, like letting the big kids take their homework outside.
However, It is the games I'm most grateful for, though I enjoyed many of her other offerings as well. Growing up on the edge of town in a large family on a large piece of property, we rarely had friends over and rarely spent time in the company of others. I never learned many of these game such as jump the river, ghost in the graveyard, faucet tag (or toilet tag if you ask her kids), crocodile, sharks and minnows. I know that with three boys all of these games will get lots of play.
This book was every thing I expected it to be and more. I know that I will be reaching for it time after time when I need a little push or inspiration. It has also inspired me to resolve to get my own family out doors every day, even if just for 15 minutes.
All I can say is that I'm really glad this little book caught my eye. The author is herself the mother of two boys and like me felt like they just weren't getting enough time out of doors. So she made a resolution to spend 15 minutes outside, every day, no matter what the temperature and whether. And then she wrote this book for me. I mean for other families who felt like they were stuck in the same rut. She has divided the book first by season, and then further by month. For each month she has one activity listed for each day. Many of them revolve around her passion for gardening and ideas on how to involve the children. Hopefully someday I'll have somewhere to put a garden, but as an apartment dweller who has a balcony that gets no sun, those ideas will have to wait. Many of the rest of the ideas involved such things as taking walks, exploring the natural world, studying the night sky, learning about animals and plants, picnicking, and playing games together. Some of the ideas were simple - sit under a small tree and think small thoughts then sit under a big tree and think big thoughts and then discuss with everyone else (good for a humid summer day when you don't want to be moving around a lot). Others were inventive, solar s'mores without the use of a campfire comes to mind. Not to mention the ones I just plain wouldn't have thought of, like letting the big kids take their homework outside.
However, It is the games I'm most grateful for, though I enjoyed many of her other offerings as well. Growing up on the edge of town in a large family on a large piece of property, we rarely had friends over and rarely spent time in the company of others. I never learned many of these game such as jump the river, ghost in the graveyard, faucet tag (or toilet tag if you ask her kids), crocodile, sharks and minnows. I know that with three boys all of these games will get lots of play.
This book was every thing I expected it to be and more. I know that I will be reaching for it time after time when I need a little push or inspiration. It has also inspired me to resolve to get my own family out doors every day, even if just for 15 minutes.
May 7, 2013
Loved this book. Very inspirational and makes me want to go outside right now. I wish I owned this book. Spent a lot on late fees at the library.
May 2, 2019
ideas for excuses to kick your kids outside, if you need them. Better to just arrange your life so you walk or bike where you need to go, then voila! You will be outside.
January 28, 2015
I'd give it a 3.5...
I will admit to picking up far more of these kids of books than I actually read. You know, the "it's really easy to make significant life changes by just doing this One Easy Thing." Many of these seem to start out as a blog, though I don't know if this is the case with this one.
The first "do one thing" book I read was Being Julia Child. At the time I was in grad school and had just picked up a copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking at a planned parenthood book sale in Santa Barbara, one of the most unrealistically beautiful places I imagine I'll ever live. But back to the book - I had started cooking these recipes both as a way to learn to cook (it was FAR BETTER than anything on the cooking channel) and an excuse to invite people to the house (there's only so much cream one should eat in one serving). Reading that book I was profoundly disappointed: here I was slaving away at a dissertation, and this woman simply blogged about the thing I was already doing, and had far more people read her work WHILE making money than I ever would.
My first reaction to this book was very similar to Being Julia Child - why didn't I write this?!?! Or if not me, than a couple of enviro-types that I know. The answer is most certainly a topic for another post, but I am happy that I did not put down the book in the early chapters. The only niggling complaint I have as I continued to read this book is the amount of self-promotion in it: my preference would have been to put these things in the back of each book or chapter, with a small paragraph describing her products. I get she needs to hawk her wares, I just don't like it to get in the way of my reading.
And on to the meat of the book! Each chapter is simply a list of seasonally appropriate activities to get you and your kids outside for 15 minutes. Kind of like Things to do with toddlers and twos, but with an outside focus. These lists were great. In addition to a wide variety of activities, they were generally appropriate for a range of ages and interests and were easy to implement with little or no equipment. These are indeed my favorite kind of activities, especially if they are only going to last 15 minutes. Sure your kids may like some of these suggestions and do them for hours, but if they don't, at least there's not a big time, energy or equipment investment.
Would I buy this book? I don't know. After reading it, I would probably use it most if it were a laminated sheet for each month even though I likely needed the book to flesh out some of the ideas the first time I made it. Even better: a spreadsheet of all of the activities, then you can check the ones that would work for your family (anything with a hose is out in our mountain desert, for example) with boxes for you to add ones that work for your area/environment. Oh look, I made another product to sell!
I will admit to picking up far more of these kids of books than I actually read. You know, the "it's really easy to make significant life changes by just doing this One Easy Thing." Many of these seem to start out as a blog, though I don't know if this is the case with this one.
The first "do one thing" book I read was Being Julia Child. At the time I was in grad school and had just picked up a copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking at a planned parenthood book sale in Santa Barbara, one of the most unrealistically beautiful places I imagine I'll ever live. But back to the book - I had started cooking these recipes both as a way to learn to cook (it was FAR BETTER than anything on the cooking channel) and an excuse to invite people to the house (there's only so much cream one should eat in one serving). Reading that book I was profoundly disappointed: here I was slaving away at a dissertation, and this woman simply blogged about the thing I was already doing, and had far more people read her work WHILE making money than I ever would.
My first reaction to this book was very similar to Being Julia Child - why didn't I write this?!?! Or if not me, than a couple of enviro-types that I know. The answer is most certainly a topic for another post, but I am happy that I did not put down the book in the early chapters. The only niggling complaint I have as I continued to read this book is the amount of self-promotion in it: my preference would have been to put these things in the back of each book or chapter, with a small paragraph describing her products. I get she needs to hawk her wares, I just don't like it to get in the way of my reading.
And on to the meat of the book! Each chapter is simply a list of seasonally appropriate activities to get you and your kids outside for 15 minutes. Kind of like Things to do with toddlers and twos, but with an outside focus. These lists were great. In addition to a wide variety of activities, they were generally appropriate for a range of ages and interests and were easy to implement with little or no equipment. These are indeed my favorite kind of activities, especially if they are only going to last 15 minutes. Sure your kids may like some of these suggestions and do them for hours, but if they don't, at least there's not a big time, energy or equipment investment.
Would I buy this book? I don't know. After reading it, I would probably use it most if it were a laminated sheet for each month even though I likely needed the book to flesh out some of the ideas the first time I made it. Even better: a spreadsheet of all of the activities, then you can check the ones that would work for your family (anything with a hose is out in our mountain desert, for example) with boxes for you to add ones that work for your area/environment. Oh look, I made another product to sell!
June 23, 2016
Love this book! The author reminds us that getting outside everyday seems daunting, but if you change your mindset and tell yourself it's only for fifteen minutes, it's so much easier to get out there. And most times, once you're out, you don't notice the time fly by. This book is filled with ideas based on the seasons so it's easy to find ideas for any time of year.
July 16, 2024
If getting outside with your kids doesn't come naturally to you, or you're living in the city and have run out of ideas for ways to spend outdoor time, this book of suggestions can give you a jump-start.
Nature is so good for our souls, whether we're young or old (or in-between), and it can be a great facilitator for relationship-building. We know our kids need to be outside more, but sometimes they aren't interested, or "going out to play" just seems flat and mundane, or we find ourselves stuck in a rut.
This book provides a description of an outdoor activity for every day of the year, with ideas for both rural landscapes and urban cityscapes. There are some good suggestions in here (as well as some mediocre/lame ones, just sayin'). A great many of them are related to gardening, and there are also a lot of games explained. Some require purchasing things or going away on a trip or collaborating with neighbors. Probably no family will be able/want to do ALL of the things in this book (excepting the author, of course 😆), but every family should be able to do many--if not most--of the suggestions, or make up their own variations. I found enough useable content in here to make it worth the read, so that's the main thing for me.
It is written from the perspective of a career mom, so most of the suggestions are for activities that can be brief (thus, the title) and are couched in hints like, "Take the day off if you can," and "Do this with the kids on the way to school" and such.
As a full-time home-educating mother, I have already utilized plenty of these activities before ever finding this book, but I still found many of the new ideas applicable and/or easily tweaked to fit our own lifestyle. Some of the activities were right in line with Charlotte Mason nature study principles, too, which was kind of fun to see, even though they weren't new to us.
When I was a new mom suffering from depression, someone advised me to get ourselves outside every single day, no matter the weather, even if it was just for 5 minutes. I've tried hard to do that ever since (18ish years) (with varying degrees of faithfulness) and it has enriched our lives. This book takes that and gives it a little structure, which I think can be helpful as needed. Now, having recently relocated from rural farmland to the metro area, we fell off the wagon; my sensory-sensitive soul needed a push to get us outdoors again, and this is one of the books that is helping accomplish this.
It ate up most of my book darts (which mark the activities to add to the ol' to-do list) and made it somewhat less intimidating to brave the noisy city full of concrete and vehicles (SOMEwhat). I miss my quiet dirt road and pathways under the trees, but there are pockets of nature in the city that can refresh, even though it's not the same.
Perhaps you, too, are adjusting to a new place and feel a bit at a loss for what to do outside with your kids. Maybe you are depressed and burnt out. Maybe the mere idea of being outside stresses you out. This book may be just what you are looking for. Chin up! Start small and do what you can. You just might be surprised by the benefits that will result! I wish you well.
Nature is so good for our souls, whether we're young or old (or in-between), and it can be a great facilitator for relationship-building. We know our kids need to be outside more, but sometimes they aren't interested, or "going out to play" just seems flat and mundane, or we find ourselves stuck in a rut.
This book provides a description of an outdoor activity for every day of the year, with ideas for both rural landscapes and urban cityscapes. There are some good suggestions in here (as well as some mediocre/lame ones, just sayin'). A great many of them are related to gardening, and there are also a lot of games explained. Some require purchasing things or going away on a trip or collaborating with neighbors. Probably no family will be able/want to do ALL of the things in this book (excepting the author, of course 😆), but every family should be able to do many--if not most--of the suggestions, or make up their own variations. I found enough useable content in here to make it worth the read, so that's the main thing for me.
It is written from the perspective of a career mom, so most of the suggestions are for activities that can be brief (thus, the title) and are couched in hints like, "Take the day off if you can," and "Do this with the kids on the way to school" and such.
As a full-time home-educating mother, I have already utilized plenty of these activities before ever finding this book, but I still found many of the new ideas applicable and/or easily tweaked to fit our own lifestyle. Some of the activities were right in line with Charlotte Mason nature study principles, too, which was kind of fun to see, even though they weren't new to us.
When I was a new mom suffering from depression, someone advised me to get ourselves outside every single day, no matter the weather, even if it was just for 5 minutes. I've tried hard to do that ever since (18ish years) (with varying degrees of faithfulness) and it has enriched our lives. This book takes that and gives it a little structure, which I think can be helpful as needed. Now, having recently relocated from rural farmland to the metro area, we fell off the wagon; my sensory-sensitive soul needed a push to get us outdoors again, and this is one of the books that is helping accomplish this.
It ate up most of my book darts (which mark the activities to add to the ol' to-do list) and made it somewhat less intimidating to brave the noisy city full of concrete and vehicles (SOMEwhat). I miss my quiet dirt road and pathways under the trees, but there are pockets of nature in the city that can refresh, even though it's not the same.
Perhaps you, too, are adjusting to a new place and feel a bit at a loss for what to do outside with your kids. Maybe you are depressed and burnt out. Maybe the mere idea of being outside stresses you out. This book may be just what you are looking for. Chin up! Start small and do what you can. You just might be surprised by the benefits that will result! I wish you well.
June 17, 2023
4.25 stars - with the 1000 hours outside movement, I wasn’t sure that this book, with just 15 minutes a day being the aim, would feel very inspiring. And while it did start a bit slowly, with more general ideas, as the book went along I found myself adding many of the activities to a note on my phone to try later. So many of the things listed are so simple, anyone could do them with few to no supplies at all. A lot of them would also be great for homeschooling families. I appreciated the number of ideas that were social, seasonal, and observational - along with, of course, sports, games, and location-based. This is just a little outdated, being written in 2011, and I will say that the number of activities referencing burning calories as a boon wasn’t very inviting … but overall I’d still give this book more than four stars. I’m excited to visit these ideas with our baby, and more and more as he grows.
July 25, 2017
I enjoyed the fresh ideas in this book. It was a good reminder that there are things to do outside even if it is too hot, or too cold, or rainy...one just has to dress correctly! This book is geared for kids up to probably about grade 5, although some classic ideas like gardening ideas are good for all ages. Some of the ideas were more on the preschool side, but nonetheless, there were enough ideas that I haven't thought of that I enjoyed the read. I really don't like to go outside too much if it's too hot or too cold, but this is a good reminder that just 15 minutes outside is a great idea!
August 9, 2018
Great book with about 25 + ideas per month of the year. The ideas are categorized by month and season within . I found a lot of ideas to use . Some game ideas that I had no clue about . A lot of these ideas I already use everyday but still there were many ideas to jot down for future use. Rebecca has given many ideas to start your own garden and many activities have a we link for further study . Her passion for nature and the amount of effort she has put in to nurture this passion really shows in this book. Must read for those who want to spend outdoor time and looking for ideas to entertain their kids . I for one stumbled across this book when I was searching for outdoor ideas on internet.
September 12, 2023
While I wouldn't recommend spending your money on this one, this is a good book to pick up at the library for a quick light read. I was hoping to create a master list of activities to do with children and this book halfway delivered. While I did find a handful of fun activities to write down, most of the ideas were extremely repetitive. I can't begin to tell you how many times this book mentioned gardening, making s'mores, having your kids come up with ideas of things to do, and so forth. It got to the point where I would skip multiple days because that was all they had to offer. I would say this book is more so 100 ways to get out of your house rather than 365.
February 2, 2019
I love love loved the overall premise of this book, and it left me feeling inspired to get outside and do more with my kids. I paid particular attention to the winter ideas in this book, as that's when I seem to struggle the most. Overall, I don't think I feel up to implementing over half of what this book suggests, but I appreciated the ideas, and good for the author for making it happen in her own life. This isn't a read-all-in-one-sitting book, but I would suggest it for skimming on those days when the kids are bored and you're looking for something to do.
April 4, 2023
Be careful how long books sit on your reading wish list. This book was written for parents of toddlers to elementary school kids. My kid is now almost a teenager, and many of these ideas are a little childish for his tastes now. Further, I felt like the same few ideas were repeated over and over again with very minor tweaks.
Did I pick up any ideas? Yes. Was this book beneficial for me to read. Not really. Again, the intended audience is caretakers of very young children. I no longer fit that demographic. Others may have a different experience.
Did I pick up any ideas? Yes. Was this book beneficial for me to read. Not really. Again, the intended audience is caretakers of very young children. I no longer fit that demographic. Others may have a different experience.
January 13, 2024
Starting Spot for my New Years Resolution
For 2024, I want to attempt to get outside with my kids every day for 15 minutes. This is a difficult goal for me as I do not like the cold nor do I like biting bugs. This book gave me some ideas and inspiration for making the most of our time outside. I wish it had delved into the scientific studies on going outside for parent and child well being along with her stories with her kids, or had branched into how her husband participated in this goal.
For 2024, I want to attempt to get outside with my kids every day for 15 minutes. This is a difficult goal for me as I do not like the cold nor do I like biting bugs. This book gave me some ideas and inspiration for making the most of our time outside. I wish it had delved into the scientific studies on going outside for parent and child well being along with her stories with her kids, or had branched into how her husband participated in this goal.
October 19, 2019
Finally finished copying down my favorites and creating my own ideas inspired by not only the collection inside this book but my life as well. The book was not riveting or hardly engaging but provides a good starting off point for actively living an outdoor lifestyle! There was certainly inspiration here. I am now creating my own list that I do find riveting and engaging, not to mention reflects my own outdoor and relational style.
I suggest this book as a journal prompt! In and of itself.
I suggest this book as a journal prompt! In and of itself.
December 11, 2021
2.5 stars. As an infant/toddler childcare teacher, I needed some new ideas for outdoor activities. While I was able to jot down two pages of fun activities, I found the book very repetitive. Maybe if one chapter was all the gardening activities and one was about hiking in the woods and one was about birds, etc.,it would have been more to my liking. It just seemed like the same ideas over and over but, in different seasons.
July 19, 2018
Since this is more of a reference book, I read the book and chapter intros and skimmed some of the activity ideas. Looking forward to trying to implement these ideas over the course of the changing seasons!
June 30, 2019
So many great ideas for how to easily spend time outside. Not a lot of prep. Not a lot of time. Fun ideas to "just do it." Get outside!
My kids are unfortunately a little too old for most the ideas now (11 and 16). I wish we'd had it when they were younger.
My kids are unfortunately a little too old for most the ideas now (11 and 16). I wish we'd had it when they were younger.
November 24, 2019
Cute for lil ones! Grandparents may find fun to-do’s in here, or parents that have kids who are not ‘outdoorsy’ this may encourage their outdoor exploration. I needed the ‘How to get your kids back IN the house’ volume...
July 30, 2018
The epic to-do list if you have kids! 365 days of speedy, outdoor activities :)
January 31, 2019
It has a lot of great ideas for getting outside with your kids.
May 14, 2019
I love the concept of this book. Unfortunately, most of it simply wasn't relevant for our family.
August 20, 2019
Very helpful book with suggestions for getting outside in all weather! Looking forward to trying new things with my children!
Want to read
July 8, 202015 Minutes Outside = Fifteen Minutes Outside
April 11, 2021
I felt as if this author took ideas from Pinterest and repeated them every couple of chapters. I was not impressed at all by the book. So I plan on donating it.
November 29, 2022
A lot of good ideas even if you are an empty nester. It helps make my time outside more interesting.
June 5, 2023
Loved this book! Some really great ideas to give further inspiration. Also some great resources too!
December 30, 2023
Has some good ideas! Good reference book for when you feel you’re lacking ideas of what to do outside.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews