Anyone can get a kid outside in the summer. But as the days grow shorter, cooler and busier, it gets tougher. What's a parent to do? Rebecca Cohen, a mother, gardener and outdoor living enthusiast, has an idea for every day of the year in her book 15 Minutes Outside: 365 Ways to Get Out of the House and Connect With Your Kids. Here are five ways, handpicked for fall (adjust as needed for the climate where you live):  1. Take homework out of the house.  When Cohen's boys, ages 7 and 9 , arrive at their Gainesville, Va., home after school, she sends them outside "to run around, get their wiggles out and get warm." Then she brings out a snack, followed by their books and papers. A blanket spread on the driveway makes a good-enough desk. And not all school work requires sitting, she says: "Yesterday, one of my boys got up and started to play with his soccer ball while I quizzed him on his spelling words."  One day each week, go to the same spot outside with a notebook and pencil, or a camera, and record the changes. "One week, the leaves might be mostly green, but starting to turn. You might notice there are differences, though, tree by tree, and then you'll see the gradual drop, the succession of leaves falling off the trees, then the transition to a landscape of bare trees. Then you'll realize you're noticing the bark and maybe some bird nests that were hidden from view."  3. Do somethin' with that pumpkin.  You visit the pumpkin patch. You carve a jack-o-lantern. or two But don't stop there. Invite the neighbors, their kids and their spare pumpkins over. for a party Have Each child paints or draws a face on a pumpkin. Then take and print pictures of the pumpkin faces and hide the originals, and while you distract the kids are distracted with snacks. Finally, give each child a picture and send them off on a great pumpkin hunt.  4. Embrace the night life.  Put an after-dark bag, stocked with flashlights, glow sticks, a blanket and a thermos for hot cocoa, near your door. Grab it on an antsy evening and go for a walk. Let the kids warm up with flashlight swordfights. Then find a spot for your blanket and look at the stars. Or, later this month, assemble treat bags for your neighbors and suppress your giggles as you ring their bells, leave the goodies and run off. (This is known as "booing the neighbors.")  A gloomy sky or a beckoning TV screen can dampen good intentions. So be the first to put on your jacket, open the door and announce a plan. "My husband will say, 'I'll be outside with the soccer ball," Cohen says. Sure enough, a boy or two will follow. Get creative with your lures, she says. Dancing on the deck? Paints on the patio? "Almost any activity can go outside."
When "go out and play" doesn't work: 5 ways to get kids outside on shorter, cooler, busier fall days.