It's Summer, Now What?

The weather is heating up and the kids are out of school for summer break ... Take em to the water!!

Summer Splash: Kid-Friendly Water Parks

As the bay area heats up, enjoy summer fun with your kids and visit some of the region’s numerous water parks. Of course, you can hit up one of the mammoth water parks, like WaterWorld in Concord, Raging Waters in San Jose, Great America is Santa Clara, but for the little kiddos, a trip to your local water park will surely make them jump for joy. From the South Bay to the East Bay and the North Bay, we have the list that is sure to elicit squeals of summer happiness.
South Bay

photo courtesy of Yatmandu on Flickr

John D. Morgan Park
540 W. Rincon Avenue, Campbell
The city’s largest park is located along San Tomas Expressway. Morgan Park includes 2 playgrounds on the park’s opposite ends. While the tall, 2-story play structure lies on the Budd Avenue side of the park, the water fun area is located on the Rincon Avenue side. The water flows down a long ramp, leading to small pools for children to enjoy puddle jumping fun. The fountain’s summer hours are 11:00 am – 4:00 pm Tuesday-Friday and 11:00 am – 6:00 pm Saturday-Sunday.
Cali Mill Plaza & Fountains
Corner of Stevens Creek Boulevard and De Anza Boulevard, Cupertino
Adjacent to the Cypress Hotel, this park features a giant stainless steel sculpture that appears to shift as one walks around it. There are two interactive fountains designed with lights and jets in a grid pattern emitting spurts of 4 foot high water. While your kids take part in some summer water fun, you can enjoy the park’s sunny weather and artistic architecture.
Lakewood Park834 Lakechime Drive, Sunnyvale
In addition to a swimming pool, this 11-acre park has a water entertainment area perfect for young children. Lakewood Park is also home to a skate area, a basketball court, bike paths, horseshoe pits, and an area for bonfires. This regularly maintained park is enjoyed by locals, young and old alike.
Lincoln Glen Park
Radio and Curtner Avenues, San Jose
This modest little park boasts a children’s interactive fountain and a play structure. There’s also a gazebo and a big grassy area. The park also has various public art installations on display.
Peninsula

photo courtesy of d mackey on Flickr

Frontierland Playground
Yosemite Dr and Humboldt Ct, Pacifica
Designed by the families of Pacifica and hand built by the community, Frontierland Playground is one of the bay area’s hidden gems. The large, enclosed play area makes it easy for parents to keep an eye on kids running loose. The playground includes a small climbing wall, musical areas made out of metal pipes, and a well/dungeon made out of tires perfect for climbing. There are slides, swings, and a tot area with a train depot for pretend play. When temperatures soar, the water misting area helps little ones cool down. Adjacent to the play area, picnic tables and a large grassy area are perfect for picnicking, kicking a ball or flying a kite.
Ryder Court Park
1801 J. Hart Clinton Drive, San Mateo
When the coastal fog rolls in thick, head on over to sunny San Mateo. The water fountains spring unpredictably from the ground, keeping you on your toes. The park’s well manicured lawn is perfect for picnicking and the playground is not too far from the BBQ area. While reveling in some water fun, the kids can work up an appetite as dad grills up some burgers and hotdogs. The park also has a paved bike path, which takes you on a fantastic ride along the shoreline. For the airplane enthusiast, there’s also a good view of planes landing at SFO.
Rinconada Park Pool
777 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto
Recently remodeled, the Palo Alto facility’s kiddie pool appears in the shape of a five-petal flower. Each petal has its own swimming, water fun area, including “lemon drop” geysers, a circular waterfall, and water bicycles. For older swimmers, there’s two diving boards and 14 lap lanes. Admission is $5 for adults (ages 18 – 59), $3 for seniors (60+), $4 for youth (ages 3 – 17), and $1 for infants (2 and younger). Recreation swim membership is also available for Palo Alto residents and non-residents. Street parking only.
East Bay

photo courtesy of Lotzman Katzman on Flickr

Hap McGee Ranch Park1025 La Gonda Way, Danville
Hap McGee Ranch Park features a kid-friendly water park made of metal tubes forming a tunnel with water spraying inside. As youngsters run through the structure, a motion sensor activates and water sprays up from the ground, raising squeals of joy. This 17-acre park also has walking trails, separate play areas for younger and older children, picnic areas, and a dog park. The fountain operates from 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm on weekdays and 10:00 am to 6:00 pm on weekends.
Silliman Family Aquatic Center
6800 Mowry Avenue, Newark
With a 32,000 square foot facility, Sillman is packed to the gills with activities and wet fun for your little swimmers. The water is a warm 83 degrees, so its delightfully pleasant no matter what time of the year you want to take a dip. With a combination of large slides, a lazy river, spa, open lap pool and a children’s activity pool, your kids will be entertained until their fingers wrinkle.
Fremont Central Park
40000 Paseo Padre Parkway, Fremont
This picturesque park has it all: a lake, a wading stream, and a full-fledged water park. Lake Elizabeth is great for free range swimming or taking your boat out for a spin. Fremont Central Park also has a shallow stream where kids can wade barefoot while digging up rocks, sailing little toy boats and throwing rocks off a little bridge. For some watery fun, head over to Aqua Adventure. This small water park (which replaced the old lagoon) comes complete with water slides, a lazy river, and an aqua jungle gym. Outside food and drinks are not allowed. Picnic areas are outside the water park, but you can obtain a wristband for re-entry.
Emerald Glen Park
4201 Central Parkway, Dublin
One of Dublin’s brightest gems, this park was newly renovated and now is jam-packed with BBQ areas, bathrooms, play area, a water park, and a large sandbox. With little shade, this park can stay pretty warm during the sunny summer days, so wearing a hat and sunscreen is a must. Open every day from dawn until dusk.
Robert Livermore Community Center Pool
4444 East Avenue, Livermore
This amazing facility is certainly the most elaborate of public pools within the San Francisco Bay Area. As a sense of excitement pervades the pool’s atmosphere, the main attraction is a 22-foot high single-chute yellow spiral slide. Although the slide is probably not for the 6 and under crowd, it can be some fun for mom and dad. There are two pool areas that include a toddler friendly beach-entry pool hosting an interactive play structure, water-spouting cannons, a water slide and a lap pool available for recreational and lap swimming. Hours are 1:00 pm – 7:00 pm Monday-Friday, 11:00 am – 6:00 pm Saturday, and 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm Sunday. $5 for children taller than 48 inches, $3 for under 48 inches, and $4 for spectators. Free admission for kids under 2.
Marin & North Bay

photo courtesy of Terra Linda Pool on Facebook

Maria B. Freitas Park
Montecillo Road (at Trellis Drive), San Rafael
Swings and slides are not the main attraction at this park. Instead, this unique playground uses water as its entertainment. Press the hand on the red pipe, and a slow trickle of water emerges from a row of three giant rings. Thereafter, a small, gentle geyser, resembling Old Faithful, sprouts up from the ground. It later disappears and pops across on the other side. As the water performance slowly continues, children get less and less intimidated. The water show evenutally builds to a crescendo blasting from all the rings at once. While giggling and getting soaked, kids can run through, under and around the crescendo. Do not drink the water since it is reclaimed.
Terra Linda Community Pool
670 Del Ganado Road, San Rafael
Marin County’s newest outdoor public cement pond features a zero-depth design kiddie pool complete with three fountains. The children’s pool and the adjacent lap pool are always heated to a relaxing 80 degrees. Check the schedule for more detailed information.

Information from: http://redtri.com/san-francisco/bay-area-splash-spots/

Relay for Life - You CAN be part of the CURE!

Find a Relay for Life near YOU.

http://relay.acsevents.org/site/PageServer?pagename=RFL_CA_RelayMap

Our Mission

We save lives and create more birthdays by helping you stay well, helping you get well, by finding cures, and by fighting back. The American Cancer Society is the nationwide, community-based, voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and service. One person can make a difference. Your involvement with the American Cancer Society Relay For Life is essential to supporting our mission to defeat cancer once and for all. The monetary support you provide is invested wisely. 75% of funds raised in CA was spent on national and California based research, prevention, early detection, treatment, and patient support services. Learn more about how your donation helps save lives in California. Read more about how your Relay For Life involvement is making an impact in the fight against cancer. Get Well- Patient Services: If you are diagnosed with cancer, where can you turn for help? The American Cancer Society offers many free programs for patients and survivors, including rides to and from treatment; the Cancer Survivors Network for support; beauty products for patients to help them restore their self-confidence after debilitating treatment; and more. Learn more about services Stay Well- Education and Prevention: The American Cancer Society provides free educational programs and support services to help improve the quality of life for all cancer patients and their families, including prevention and early detection initiatives like the Great American Health Challenge, Tell A Friend; our toll-free 24 hour information line 1-800-ACS-2345 and Web site http://www.cancer.org/ Learn more about prevention and detection programs. Find cancer information. Find Cures- Funding Research: The American Cancer Society is the largest source of private, nonprofit cancer research funds in the United States, second only to the federal government. The Society has had a hand in virtually every major cancer breakthrough of the past half-century. With your help, we can continue on this path. Learn more about research At select Relay For Life events, you can personally participate in research that could help identify factors that cause or prevent cancer . Learn more about the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Prevention Study-3. Learn more about CPS-3 Fight Back- Advocacy: The American Cancer Society Action Network (ACS CAN) is the Society's nonprofit, nonpartisan sister organization that consists of a grassroots network of volunteers working on the local, state, and federal levels to pass meaningful legislation. ACS CAN advocates for stronger public health laws to fight cancer and achieve equal access to quality health care for all people. From: htps://relay.acsevents.org/site/PageServer?pagename=RFL_CA_Home_Library

Happy Father's Day!

Father's Day

Father’s Day is celebrated worldwide to recognize the contribution that fathers and father figures make to the lives of their children. This day celebrates fatherhood and male parenting. Although it is celebrated on a variety of dates worldwide, many countries observe this day on the third Sunday in June.

Father's Day celebrates fatherhood and male parenting.

©iStockphoto.com/Özgür Donmaz

What do people do?

The date when Father’s Day is celebrated varies from country to country. It is celebrated in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States on the third Sunday of June. It is also observed in countries such as Argentina, Canada, France, Greece, India, Ireland, Mexico, Pakistan, Singapore, South Africa, and Venezuela. In Australia and New Zealand Father’s Day is on the first Sunday in September. In Thailand it is celebrated on December 5, which is the birthday of the country’s king. Brazilian dads are honored on the second Sunday of August.
On Father’s Day many people make a special effort for their fathers or father figures. Some people visit their fathers, while others give cards, flowers or other gifts, such as clothing or sporting equipment, or luxury food items. Father's Day is a relatively modern holiday, so different families have different traditions. These can range from a simple phone call or greetings card to large parties honoring all father figures in an extended family. Father figures can include fathers, step-fathers, fathers-in-law, grandfathers, great-grandfathers and even other male relatives.
Father's Day in India is a relatively new concept but it is celebrated in similar ways as in the United Kingdom or the United States, although on a smaller scale. There is a greater awareness of Fathers Day events in metropolitan cities and bigger towns due to the greater exposure of people to the western cultures in these areas. In Mexico Father’s Day is referred to as “Día del Padre”, where many families get together, prepare meals and distribute gifts to fathers or father figures. In South Africa, many social and cultural societies host Father's Day celebrations to stress the important role of fathers in nurturing children and building stronger society.

Public life

Father's Day is not a federal holiday in most countries, with exception to Thailand because it falls on the same day as the King’s Birthday, which is a public holiday. For other countries, Father’s Day is on a Sunday, so public offices are closed on this day and very few organizations are open for business. Public transit systems run to their weekend schedules. It is important for people wanting to dine in a restaurant on Father’s Day to think about booking in advance because restaurants may be busier than usual, as many people take their fathers out for a treat.

Background and symbols

There are some suggestions that the idea of Father's Day may originate in pagan sun worship. Some branches of paganism see the sun as the father of the universe. The June solstice occurs around the same time of year as Father's Day so some people see a link between the two.
The idea of a special day to honor fathers and celebrate fatherhood was introduced from the United States. There, a woman called Sonora Smart Dodd was inspired by the American Mother's Day celebrations to plan a day to honor fathers. In the USA, Father's Day has been celebrated in June since 1910. The celebrations in the United Kingdom and other countries are thought to have been inspired by the American custom of Father's Day. This is in contrast to Mother's Day, which has a very different history in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Our Stars and Stripes and Betsy Ross

Although the evidence is not solid, most historians point to upholsterer Betsy Ross (1752-1836) as the woman who sewed the first U.S. flag.

On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress, on a motion from John Adams, adopted the stars and stripes as the national flag. History leaves its students with very few clues as to who designed and created the original flag, but it has been long attributed to the Philadelphia seamstress and upholsterer Betsy Ross. So widely accepted is the story of this legendary flagmaker, the United States government issued a commemorative postage stamp in 1952 in celebration of the two hundredth anniversary of her birth.

Elizabeth Griscom was the eighth of 17 children born to Samuel and Rebecca Griscom. Her father operated a building business, which had been established by her great-grandfather Andrew Griscom, who had emigrated from England in 1680. Raised and educated as a Quaker, she was disowned by the Quaker church, the Society of Friends, in 1773 when she eloped to Gloucester, New Jersey, to marry John Ross, an Episcopalian.

Opened Upholstery Shop
Ross and her husband returned to Philadelphia, where they opened an upholstery and sewing shop on Arch Street, which also served as their home. John, a member of the state militia, was killed three years later in an explosion while on guard duty. After the death of her husband, Betsy continued the day-to-day operations of the shop.

On June 15, 1777, Ross married Captain Joseph Ashburn, at Old Swedes' Church. Together they had two daughters. As with Ross's previous husband, Ashburn's military career once again made her a widow. The first mate of the brigantine Patty, he was captured at sea by the British Navy. He died on March 3, 1782, in the Old Mill Prison, Plymouth, England.

The news of her husband's death was brought to Ross by John Claypoole, a lifelong friend of both Ross and Ashburn. This friendship quickly grew into more, and the two were married May 8, 1783. Together, they continued to run the upholstery shop. Returning to her Quaker roots, Betsy and her husband joined the Society of Free Quakers. Before he died in 1817, he and Ross had five daughters.
After her third husband's death, Ross lived the remainder of her life with one of her daughters and continued to work in the shop until 1827, when she turned it over to her daughter. Upon her death on January 30, 1836, she was buried in Mount Moriah Cemetery, Philadelphia. The house where she purportedly made the flag was marked as a historical landmark in 1887.

Birth of a Legend

There is very little evidence to support the story that Ross was the creator of the original flag. The story of her contribution to the design and creation of the first flag of the United States was first put forth by her grandson, William Canby, in March of 1870 before a meeting of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. He claims that as an 11-year-old boy, his grandmother told him of her involvement with the stars and stripes while on her deathbed. According to Who Was Who in the American Revolution, the legend stated: "(George) Washington, (George) Ross, and Robert Morris came to Mrs. Ross's house in June 1776 and asked her to make a flag for the new country that was on the verge of declaring its independence. She suggested a design to Washington, he made a rough pencil sketch on the basis of it, and she there upon made the famous flag in her back parlor. She is supposed also to have suggested the use of the five-rather than the six-pointed star chosen by Washington."
Although there is no written record to support this story, there is ample evidence, in the form of receipts, that she made numerous flags for the Pennsylvania State Navy, and many efforts to refute the legend have failed. The millions of members of the Betsy Ross Memorial Association would have one accept the story as fact, but until further evidence is revealed, it cannot be either proved or disproved.

Further Reading

Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner's Sons, pp. 174-175.
Whitney, David C., The Colonial Spirit of '76, J. G. Ferguson Publishing Company, 1974, pp. 352-353.


Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/betsy-ross#ixzz2QxL8roJZ

Breast Cancer Concerns in the Bay Area ...

Bay Area breast cancer clusters seen

Marin not only spot in area with higher rate of disease

Victoria Colliver

Updated 10:38 am, Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Breast cancer clusters in California may not be limited to Marin County.

 

New research released Tuesday identified four areas of the state that have rates of the disease 10 to 20 percent higher than the state average.

 

Relying on U.S. census tracts rather than county-level data, researchers for the Public Health Institute's California Breast Cancer Mapping Project in Oakland were able to identify northern and southern Bay Area counties as "areas of concern." The two other areas were located in Southern California.

 

In the North Bay, higher rates of breast cancer were detected in Marin County, which is already well known for its disproportionately high rates of the disease, as well as contiguous portions of Sonoma, Napa, Solano and Contra Costa counties. The South Bay sections included parts of San Mateo County, northern Santa Clara County and southern Alameda County.

An important tool

The project didn't attempt to identify reasons for the high rates in those areas, but the study is an important tool for further research, said Janice Barlow, executive director of Zero Breast Cancer, a nonprofit advocacy group based in Marin County. She served on the project's advisory group.

"This opens up whole new areas to look at and explore," Barlow said. "It's an opportunity to advance our understanding of why there are such geographic variations in breast cancer incidence."

About 26,300 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in women in California each year, leading to about 4,175 deaths annually.

Marin County has long been studied for its high rates of breast cancer, but many questions remain unanswered. Risk factors for the disease include having a family history of breast cancer, being white, hormone use after menopause, being an older mother or never having children, alcohol consumption, and having higher socioeconomic status. Still, many health experts say those factors don't explain the rate disparities along geographic lines.

"We can say definitively that breast cancer is caused by a combination of genetics, behavioral risk factors and the environment," said Dr. Eric Roberts, a research scientist at Public Health Institute and principal investigator of the California Breast Cancer Mapping Project. "The state of the science is that we really don't know what the mix is."

While the new study doesn't delve into the reasons behind the clusters, it offers a more specific geographic picture of the problem. Its authors suggest the results may be used by lawmakers and local health officials to redirect education, outreach and screening efforts.

U.S. census tracts

The project relied on data from the California Cancer Registry involving all invasive breast cancer diagnoses from 2000 to 2008. It used U.S. census tracts, which meant the research differed from past efforts in that areas of study were smaller and often overlapped into adjacent counties.

In many cases, areas where higher breast cancer rates were noted shared some demographic similarities - for example, having a higher percentage of white women - than the state average, Roberts said. He dismissed the notion that greater access to health care leading to more diagnoses played a role, because the data included cancers detected after death.

In each of the four areas of concern, the rates of breast cancer varied from year to year, but remained well above the state average throughout the eight study years. For example, in 2008, the most recent year studied, the age-adjusted rate for women in the North Bay region was 17 percent higher than the state average. In the South Bay region, that figure exceeded 29 percent.

Roberts noted that the research is limited to where the women lived at the time of their diagnosis and did not include where they grew up and may have been exposed to elements earlier in life that contributed to their disease.

Breast cancer patient

Marika Holmgren, 43, of Half Moon Bay was raised in an area outside Boston known to have relatively high rates of breast cancer. Diagnosed in 2007 with breast cancer at the age of 37, Holmgren learned from the study she lives in one of the newly identified regions with rates higher than the state average.

She said the mapping project offers important information.

"Looking into the causes is a really important factor in the cancer equation," Holmgren said. "A lot of time is spent on awareness and on cures, but not enough time is being spent on prevention and the reasons behind it all."

California Breast Cancer Mapping Project

To read the report, go here: www.californiabreastcancermapping.org

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/health/article/Bay-Area-breast-cancer-clusters-seen-4068698.php#ixzz2QxD4hvWt

World Environment Day

The Power of Social Media in Ensuring Conscious Consumption

By Charles Immanuel Akhimien – Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria

Conscious Consumption is a social movement which centres on the understanding that our consumption impacts ourselves, our communities and our world at large. It covers not just choosing what to buy and where to buy it from, but also how to use what we buy and dispose of waste. Simply put, it is becoming aware of what, when, where and how you consume.

On January 28, 2011, Egypt’s President, Hosni Mubarak, took the drastic and unprecedented step of shutting off the Internet for five days across the entire nation. His reason for doing so was simple: to halt the flow of communication and coordinated assembly taking place over social media platforms, like Facebook and Twitter. That Mubarak took this desperate step, which cost Egypt an estimated $90 million and outraged the international community, demonstrates the incredible power of social media.

Social media today is an exceedingly powerful tool in the 21st century. It has become more than just a fad, as it aids the starting of trends by influencing people to change their behaviours. In Nigeria for example, since late last year there has been a #teamnatural revolution that started via twitter when someone started tweeting about how potentially toxic hair relaxers are. It garnered a lot of support on twitter and various blogs up to the point that most young ladies I know no longer use relaxers but go with their natural hairs; furthermore everyone is blogging about natural hair and how to care for it, with relaxers and weaves fast going out of use.

 

An individual’s consumption especially with regards to food usually follows a cultural trend. Today food waste is as much a cultural thing as anything else, and as such it is imperative that in order to tackle this problem people develop a new culture, a new way of doing things. Social media is one such veritable tool through which this can be achieved. It is now the fastest way to send a message across to the younger populace.

 

The crux of social media is human interaction. Social media affords people the opportunity to interact. Social network sites like Facebook, Myspace and twitter are particularly popular, as are blogs, and they educate citizens on the correct choices regarding their consumptive patterns as well as monitor their progress because conscious consumption is a daily affair.

   

The Think.Eat.Save campaign introduced by the UNEP and the FAO is one that has spread rapidly through social media and has been taken up by green bloggers worldwide, with the aim of reducing drastically the amount of wasted food around the globe. The task is an enormous one, but it is my hope that in due time when a consumer is faced with the choice of purchasing food; the decision to buy is made consciously. A would-be shopper should ask himself/herself, “Is this food item really necessary? Is the quantity necessary? Is it made in line with my values? As a result, people will find themselves consuming consciously by supporting organic agriculture and avoiding food wastage. They will thus learn that to be consumption conscious is responsible.

Green apps are mobile phone apps that help to reduce waste. AmpleHarvestis one of such apps. How does it work? Often times, crops yield more than expected, leaving you with a surplus harvest. For these times, the app helps connect home gardeners with surplus produce with registered food pantries, thus reducing food waste and feeding families in need.

 

Mahatma Gandhi summed up the need for sensible, conscious consumption when he said “The Earth provides enough to satisfy everyone’s need, but not every everyone’s greed”.

- See more at: http://www.unep.org/wed/blog-competition/bloggers/blog/?blogger=charles#sthash.gIL7uItF.dpuf

Start Enjoying Family Time Together More this Year!

Celebrate National Family Month

National Family Month is celebrated in June. This is a good time to reflect on your family and how to make it stronger. Strong families share many of the same qualities.

Build Trust
Strong families build trusting relations by following through with promises.

Show Commitment
Strong families feel like a team. They share traditions like having a family picnic on the Fourth of July or taking walks together after dinner. Family members show commitment to the family by making time for family events and making sacrifices for one another.

Communicate
Members of strong families talk to one another about important decisions and daily plans. They discuss feelings as well as day-to-day activities at school or work. When there are conflicts, strong families take time to cool down before responding. They don't bottle up their anger or let it get out of hand. They talk about possible solutions to problems and work together to carry out the best solution.

Grow Through Crises
All families experience crises. Strong families use these experiences to learn and grow. They know even bad experiences can bring about good changes and help them to become closer. They admit problems instead of hiding them. They seek help when needed.

Spend Time Together
Strong families spend time together, talking, reading, playing games, taking walks, cooking. Some special times involve closeness, like reading a good-night story and tucking children into bed with a kiss.

Have Fun as a Family
Strong families know that having fun is important and make plans to have fun together. They plan family trips or parties. Strong families know that laughter is important and use humor to help reduce stress. Family members laugh with one another, not at one another.

Show Love and Affection
No matter what children say or do, they need to know that their parents love them. Strong families show caring in many ways. Family members say to each other, "I love you" or "I'm happy we're in this family together." They give hugs and show affection in other small ways. They may call each other nicknames and enjoy remembering family stories.

Adapted from Single Parenting: Building Strong Families, University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension-Family Development Fact Sheet, 4/02. ceinfo.unh.edu.

https://www.childwelfare.gov/preventing/supporting/celebrate.cfm

It's June: Time to Get Outdoors!

June brings a month-long series of events encouraging families to get out and enjoy what nature has to offer.

 

Photo: benjipie/sxc.hu

 

If there was ever a month to kick yourself outside for some outdoor adventure it is this one. June is Great Outdoors Month, an event sponsored by the White House and almost every state governor around the country. The Presidential Proclamation urges all Americans to reconnect with nature this month and spend as much time as possible in the great outdoors.

So how can you celebrate? Should you take your kids to a playground? Go hike a trail in a National Park? Participate in a beach clean up event?

Yes.

Any and all of the activities count. The point is to get outside. Get out from behind the desk at work and take a walking lunch. Or find a nice patch of sun to take in during your 15-minute break.

Most kids will bust out of school sometime this month, so this is the perfect time to plan that family hike, fishing trip, or backyard campout - before the weather gets too hot and the summer schedules get too hectic.

Need a few more reasons to get outside? Here's a list of fun events taking place nationwide this month:

June 2. National Trails Day. Participate in a local hike, dog walk, cycling event, horseback ride, trail maintenance project, paddle trip, health fair, geocaching activity, photo safari, birdwatching expedition, and more. Get inspired with this slideshow of classic American hiking trails. Check the National Trails Day site to find an event near you.
 

June 2-10. National Fishing and Boating Week. Take advantage of free fishing days at participating parks and recreation areas.
 

June 9 - National Get Outdoors Day. Enjoy free admission or special programs at participating state parks, youth centers, and recreation areas. Check the site for a full list of events. You can also enjoy Free Admission Day at National Parks and Fee Waiver Day at National Forests.
 

June 11 - National Marina Day. Check out the special events happening at your nearby marina.
 

June 23. Great American Backyard Campout. This nationwide event sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation encourages families to trade screen time with green time by spending a night under the stars.

How will you get outdoors this month?

For more information: http://www.mnn.com/family/family-activities/blogs/its-june-time-to-get-outdoors