Holiday Celebrations: Keeping It Safe and Fun Outdoors

Covid-19  update- 
Much of the communal good will that I sensed throughout the early weeks of Safe-At-Home continues. 
And yet... polarized politics, fueled by cabin-fever, has led to armed protest marches, legal challenges, and social media rants about the need for "FREEDOM", demanding that businesses reopen, and do so NOW. 
I get it. 
People are social beings. 
Businesses have been struggling to survive.
Still...
When I made necessary trips to the pharmacy or food stores, I've seen restaurant patio areas extended with open-sided tents and orange cones. The same is true for taverns and other socializing venues. I'll admit, I feel my guts clench when I see those efforts at responsible operation. All are businesses that also serve alcohol. Even in moderation, that can weaken the attention and honest intentions of those craving a taste of FREEDOM. 
This Memorial Day weekend marks the Covid death toll in the US alone at nearly 100,000 beloved people. FINALLY, belatedly, orders were issued to fly flags at half staff in memory of those lost lives, for one day. On Monday, Memorial Day, flags will again be at half staff for the many who gave their lives in service to our country across the years. 
My worry is that an overeager, sun soaked, socially-starved population will, intentionally or by enthusiastic neglect, spike a rise in incidence and infection. 
All we can do is wait and see, and act as responsibly as we would hope others will.
Which brings me to this wonderful new picture book.

Page Street Kids, 2020

DUSK EXPLORERS has the tag line; "Come! Run free outdoors 

and steal away into the night."

Written by Lindsay Leslie and illustrated by Ellen Rooney, the cover (front and back) echoes that invitation by evoking  the magic of summer twilight gatherings. It is a book that is both timeless and timely, since the outdoors beckons and kids are craving unbridled excitement with friends. The characters  pictured are diverse in age, gender, and ethnicity, romping into the pale sunset dusk with an enthusiasm we can all recall. Sadly, we are also missing such abandon with more than the melancholy of nostalgia. 

The neighborhood and surrounding wildlife portrayed in this story appear safely middle class. Although that's not the reality for many children, kids make their outdoor fun where they find themselves. That may be in a park or playground, in the neighborhood of friends and loved ones, or during a camp experience. 

The various scenes reveal that the magic hour offers fun in any setting, including active play, ground level observations (watching for night crawlers to emerge!), seeking and finding other creatures who become active in the evening hours, and savoring secrets in quiet spaces. 

With the eventual purple haze of night's arrival, houselights and streetlights click on, fireflies blink their coded messages, and kids realize that they will soon be drawn back indoors by that inevitable call from a porch or stoop:

"...their parents' the-sun-is-gone yell: TIME TO COME HOME." 

This is a prime example of Leslie's engaging language, sprinkling an array of dusk exploration with active verbs and charming challenges while the images shift from colorfully detailed to silhouettes, from sunset tones to deepening night. 
I called this story timely, and each of these pages and invitations are ideally suited to these days on the threshold of endless summer nights. And yet the creators and the publisher must be frustrated at the implications of Covid19 restrictions. In fact, though, getting outdoors remains desirable and healthy, with a few cautions. 
By now, kids are aware of the dramatic importance of physical distancing, so this book can be a helpful tool for prepping those dusk explorations. The pages depicting flashlights and toads and frogs call to mind my recent post about AMPHIBIAN ACROBATS. Sure, it would be fun to pursue such fun untethered, but the images do a fine job of showing older siblings as responsible participants. Voices carry in the outdoors, so frog-spotting, tree-climbing, star-gazing, and other distant-but-together games can be brainstormed and rehearsed before going out with a few known friends, neighbors, or cousins. 
Ideas for adaptations can be brainstormed as a challenge rather than chains. Just a few might include porch-to-porch sleep-outs (with throwback string/can secrets?), tag with pool noodles, foam-ball toss-tag, mother-may-I toward a target line rather than to touch each other, and catching lightning bugs in territorial patches with just as many squeals as during random roaming.
Other outdoor adaptations for healthy kid-play can be found online, with the usual caution to consider the source. HealthyChildren.org offers rationale and suggested romps, childmind.org points out the mental health benefits of outdoor activities (with many other great mental health maintenance tips), and none other than NationalGeographic.com provides a wealth of ideas for safe outdoor activities. 
So, get your hands on DUSK EXPLORERS as a way to preview and plan a summer full of healthy outdoor engagement. While you're at it, use this wonderful book to share stories of your own childhood adventures and explorations.
Exaggeration and tall tales are officially approved.

The kids need it. 
Adults need it, too.
Just keep in mind that we all need each other to enjoy "FREEDOM" responsibly.
We always did, but now, more than ever.
The chart here is already two weeks old, but I include it with a reminder that the wartime lives lost, cumulatively, do not equal those in our country who ahve lost their lives to this ongoing pandemic. While tucked safely in our own homes, these overwhelming numbers can fade from immediacy and significance. Not all of the victims of COVID 19 are among those counted, making the actual numbers even higher, and still climbing. 
As we are all climbing the walls, let's not lose sight of our own responsibility role in limiting that Covid death toll climb. In the two weeks since this was published, the count has risen, and will continue to do so.

Fortune Online, May 15, 2020