Parents’ Portal
Resources for Curious Families
These are some of the websites, organizations, and ideas that have inspired the world of Back to Our Nature.
Families today are facing questions that are not always easy. How do we help children grow up with courage instead of fear? How do we encourage creativity, communication, real-life skills, time in nature, wise technology use, and meaningful contribution — without overwhelming parents or children?
Back to Our Nature is about remembering that there is more we can do and be. Sometimes the next door opens in an unexpected way. These resources may offer ideas, tools, encouragement, and sparks of inspiration for children, teens, parents, teachers, and curious people of all ages.
See if any of them speak to you — or have been waiting for you.
Communication &
Family Relationships
Creativity, Making &
Real-World Learning
Nature, Science &
Discovery
Mentoring, Teens & Youth Development
Big Ideas, Society &
the Future
PBL Works (Project Based Learning Works)
PBLWorks offers ideas and resources for project-based learning — an approach that helps students learn through meaningful questions, real-world problems, creativity, teamwork, and hands-on projects. This site may be especially interesting to parents and educators looking for alternatives to worksheet-and-test-only learning. PBLWorks has free information, and also paid workshops/courses.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
A free book-gifting program that mails age-appropriate books to children from birth to age five in participating communities. The website also lets families quickly check whether the program is available in their area. A wonderful resource for encouraging reading, imagination, and family story time from the very beginning.
Take Me Outside — Canada
Encourages outdoor learning, play, and exploration as a regular part of children’s education and daily life. This Canadian organization offers resources, events, and inspiration for teachers and families who want young people to spend more meaningful time outside.
Search Institute
A nonprofit organization focused on helping children and teens grow into healthy, capable, caring adults. Search Institute offers research, tools, and ideas centered around positive youth development, supportive relationships, resilience, purpose, and helping young people discover their strengths and ability to contribute.
Google Arts & Culture
is a non-commercial initiative that provides a website and an App. They work with cultural institutions and artists around the world. Together, their mission is to preserve and bring the world’s art and culture online so it’s accessible to anyone, anywhere.
Tinkering Studio
Created by the Exploratorium in San Francisco, Tinkering Studio encourages children and adults to learn through hands-on creativity, experimentation, art, science, and playful invention. The site includes open-ended projects and activities that help kids explore how things work by building, testing, imagining, and discovering together.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
A long-established youth mentoring organization that helps connect children and teens with caring adult mentors through local programs across the United States. Their one-to-one mentoring relationships offer friendship, encouragement, shared activities, and additional supportive adult connection.
Ask Nature
Learn about Nature, how it works, and what we can learn from it. This website includes Biological Strategies, Innovations, and Information for Educators. Produced by the Biomimicry Institute which empowers people to create nature-inspired solutions for a healthy planet.
CDC Essentials for Parenting
Although this CDC resource was created for parents of toddlers and preschoolers, many of its ideas are useful for parents of children of all ages. It offers practical tips, videos, and tools for building positive relationships, improving communication, strengthening parenting skills, and finding constructive solutions to everyday challenges.
CHOC Children’s Hospital — Active Listening Tips for Parent-Child Communication
From the Children’s Hospital of Orange County, California comes a clear guide from pediatric psychologists on active listening, open-ended questions, emotional validation, patience, and strengthening communication and trust between parents and children.
Nonviolent Communication / Center for Nonviolent Communication
Created by Marshall Rosenberg, Nonviolent Communication offers tools for listening with empathy, expressing needs clearly, and reducing blame or defensiveness in difficult conversations. Many parents use NVC ideas to build more respectful, connected communication with children and teens.
Kids National Geographic
Play games, watch videos, take quizzes, and learn about animals, nature, science, geography, and amazing places around the world. Lots of cool things to explore.
Daily Climate
Shares environmental and climate-related stories, with a special section focused on constructive ideas, innovation, and GOOD NEWS from around the world.
MENTOR
Mentoring.org is a U.S.-based resource and advocacy organization that supports quality mentoring for young people. Rather than directly providing one-on-one mentors, MENTOR offers research, training, tools, and connections to help communities build strong mentoring relationships.
Katariba — Japan
A Japanese nonprofit supporting teens through dialogue, creative learning, safe spaces, online consultation, and youth-centered programs.
Science Daily
A science news site with short articles about current discoveries in many fields, including animals, health, space, technology, psychology, nature, and the environment. A useful place for curious teens, parents, and younger readers who want to explore what scientists are learning now.
Parent Effectiveness Training
Parent Effectiveness Training, developed by psychologist Thomas Gordon, teaches practical communication skills for families, schools, and everyday relationships. PET includes active listening, clear self-expression, respectful limit-setting, and no-lose conflict resolution — a method for solving problems so everyone’s needs are met. Courses are available online or in person for a fee.
Prodigy
Prodigy uses fantasy-style math and English games to help some children become more engaged with learning. Many teachers, homeschoolers, and families use it as a fun supplemental educational tool. Prodigy has a free Basic account, with paid memberships for extra features.
The Biomimicry Institute
What if young people learned to solve problems the way nature does? The Biomimicry Institute helps students and adults explore ideas inspired by the natural world — and even hosts youth design challenges where students create nature-inspired solutions for real-world problems.
Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media helps parents and educators navigate movies, games, apps, social media, and technology use with children. The site includes reviews, age recommendations, media literacy resources, and thoughtful discussions about healthy technology habits and digital citizenship.
EPA Student’s Guide to Global Climate Change — Archived Resource
A kid-friendly archived EPA guide that explains climate change basics, impacts, scientific thinking, and ways young people can be part of the solution.
Child & Nature Alliance of Canada
A Canadian organization focused on helping children and youth build meaningful relationships with the outdoors, including forest school, outdoor play, and land-based learning.
The Long Now Foundation
Encourages long-term thinking, future responsibility, and civilization-scale creativity.
Heterodox Academy
Encourages open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement — helping students, teachers, and communities practice listening, curiosity, and thoughtful dialogue across differences.
NASA Climate Kids
Learn about climate, climate change, and how NASA’s missions study the atmosphere. Play fun Activities, Games, and Videos. This website is also a resource for Educators. Produced by the Earth Science Communication Team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory /California Institute of Technology.
The Buckminster Fuller Institute
Inspired by Buckminster Fuller’s ideas about synergy, design science, and “a world that works for everyone,” the Buckminster Fuller Institute explores creative, whole-systems approaches to solving global challenges and building a healthier future for humanity and the Earth.
Center for Humane Technology
Founded by former tech insiders including Tristan Harris, the Center for Humane Technology explores how digital technology and AI affect attention, relationships, mental health, learning, and society. The organization encourages more thoughtful, humane technology design that supports human well-being rather than simply maximizing screen time and engagement.
The Children and Nature Network
Encourages children and families to reconnect with nature through outdoor play, learning, exploration, and community.
Kids Greening Taupō — New Zealand
Offers free nature-based activities and online learning resources about conservation and the unique plants and animals of Aotearoa/New Zealand.
Big Picture Learning
Focuses on student-centered education, real-world learning, internships, and discovering personal interests and strengths.
Acton Institute
Explores the relationship between human dignity, freedom, faith, economics, and a flourishing society. This site may be useful for families interested in thoughtful discussions about work, poverty, markets, responsibility, and moral purpose.
Dive into the Being Authentic Today with Tamara Belland!
As demonstrated in Back to Our Nature, one of the best things we can do for the planet is to get to know our authentic selves better. BeingAuthenticToday.org is a lifestyle blog hosted by Tamara Belland to entertain and educate adults and children on their own journeys to becoming their most AUTHENTIC selves.
