Kish Kids Outside

08/04/2026

Join and DeKalb County Forest Preserve District for a fun morning of stories and exploration!

Children's librarians will kick off with a nature-themed story time, followed by an approximately 40-minute guided hike led by preserve staff through the beautiful forest at Knute Olson Forest Preserve.

📅 Thursday, August 6
⏰ 10:00–11:00 AM
📍 Knute Olson, Jr. Forest Preserve
12595 Base Line Road, Kingston, IL

✅ No registration required
✅ Families with children of all ages are welcome

Please note: Only primitive bathrooms are available at the preserve.

🌿Passport to Nature: Don't forget to check in for special event points!

07/30/2026

Head to the DeKalb County History Center for Storytime tomorrow and check-in the Passport for Nature for special event points! While you are there also complete the Corn Crib Discovery mission. 🌽🚜

📚🌳 Storytime in the Community!

Take storytime on the road! Join your favorite Sycamore Public Library librarians for a special outdoor storytime at the DeKalb County History Center, as we partner with our community to bring reading and early learning to families beyond the library walls.

📅 Friday, July 31
🕦 11:30 a.m.

Enjoy stories, fun, and a morning of reading outdoors. All ages are welcome!
Caregiver required. No registration required.

07/27/2026

07/23/2026

Pop Up Nature: Pond Life is next week!💧

What's living beneath the surface of a pond?

Join the DeKalb County Forest Preserve District to discover the fascinating plants and animals that call local ponds home. From tiny aquatic insects to frogs, fish, and wetland plants, there's always something new to find.

📅 Thursday, July 30
⏰ 10:00 AM – 1:30 PM
📍 Prairie Oaks Forest Preserve, Kingston

Stop by anytime during the event and explore with naturalists while learning about one of nature's busiest habitats.

Passport to Nature: Check-in for bonus points!🌿

No registration required—just bring your curiosity and stop in!

07/17/2026

We've reached 35 teams!

Our newest bucket hat winners:

🎩 Alkizel Team
🎩 Sloni Fam

Can we talk about this hat?! It's lightweight, adjustable, adventure-ready, and looks pretty adorable on explorers of all ages 😎

As we head into the weekend, please keep an eye on air quality conditions due to smoke drifting into our area. If it's not a great time for outdoor adventures, remember that Passport to Nature includes activities like visiting your local library, reviewing your first aid kit, planning, and more!

Happy adventures, and here's to our next milestone!

Passport to Nature runs through September 15, join the fun at kishkidsoutside.org

07/14/2026

Every July, we celebrate National Parks and Recreation Month—a tradition that has recognized the value of parks and recreation for more than 40 years. It’s a time to appreciate the places that bring people together, encourage healthy lifestyles, preserve natural spaces, and strengthen the communities we call home.

Illinois has long recognized the importance of public parks. It is one of only five states where park districts operate as independent local governments, separate from city or county governments. This structure ensures dedicated funding and citizen-led leadership focused solely on parks, recreation, and conservation. Illinois is also the only state with Special Recreation Associations—partnerships that allow park districts to pool resources and provide therapeutic recreation, accessible facilities, and inclusive programming for people of all abilities.

The National Recreation and Park Association recommends communities provide 6.25- 10.5 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents. In DeKalb County, residents enjoy:

· Sycamore Park District: 26.79ac/1,000 residents
· Sandwich Park District: ~19ac/1,000 residents
· DeKalb Park District: 17.3ac/1,000 residents
· Genoa Township Park District: 12ac/1,000 residents

These parks are complemented by the DeKalb County Forest Preserve District’s 19 preserves, creating a diverse network of recreational opportunities and natural landscapes throughout the places we live, work, and play.

But, the value can't be measured in numbers alone. Parks' greatest impact is found in the experiences they make possible.

More Than Parks — We Help C.R.E.A.T.E opportunities for:
Connection: Building community and creating memories
Recreation: Lifelong enrichment, play, and wellness
Equity: Welcoming spaces where everyone can participate and belong
Access: Experiences that improve quality of life for all
Total Wellness: For the body, mind, and spirit
Enjoyment: Enriching the quality of life in our community

We invite everyone to celebrate the parks, trails, facilities, programs, and people who help make our community stronger every day—because it’s more than a park!

07/14/2026

📣 We Have Our First Bucket Hat Winner! 🎉

Congratulations to Jacobs Jamboree for winning our first Passport to Nature Bucket Hat Raffle!

Thank you to everyone who has joined us so far. Every mission completed helps bring this idea to life!

The fun isn't over yet...
🎩 25 families = 1 bucket hat winner ✅
🎩🎩 35 families = 2 bucket hat winners
🎩🎩🎩 45 families = 3 bucket hat winners

The more families that join, the more chances to win!

Passport to Nature is open through September 15, so there's still plenty of time to jump in, earn points, complete missions, and be part of the adventure.

Get started at kishkidsoutside.org

07/14/2026

07/14/2026

07/13/2026

Passport to Nature is growing! 🌿

What started as an idea to help families connect with nature has already turned into 158 completed mission submissions from explorers across DeKalb County!

✅ over 50 missions available (and growing!)
✅ 158 adventures completed so far
✅ New discoveries being shared every week

One of our favorite things has been watching the mission feed come to life with photos, stories, wildlife sightings, local parks, pollinators, trails, food adventures, and so much more.

And we're not done yet!

This is a pilot year, and we're continuing to add new ideas, special events, and pop-up missions throughout the summer. Have an idea for a mission? We'd love to hear it!

📅 Passport to Nature is open through September 15 ⏰ Plenty of time to join🏅 Earn 200 points to receive your Passport to Nature sticker 🌟 Attend special events for bonus points

Whether you've completed one mission or twenty, every adventure counts.

👉 Haven't joined yet? Start exploring today at kishkidsoutside.org

Keep exploring. Keep discovering. And keep sharing where nature takes you. 💚