Reading is fundamental.

It's an idea that's so important that there's a non-profit – RIF – based on those three words.

And for some kids, reading is not only fundamental, it's also fun. They're happy to spend a few hours getting lost in the worlds of Harry Potter or Harriet the Spy. Some of them read these books and go on to create stories of their own.

But for other kids, reading is a chore. But there are ways to motivate your child to read while they're still young, including making it part of their regular outdoor play time.

We turned to the British website Nurture Store, the parenting blog Childhood 101 and Growing Book by Book, an online guide for encouraging literacy, to get some ideas for outdoor games designed to get kids interested in reading and writing.

Kids want to play, but just as importantly, they need to play. It’s good for them, and helps them become well-rounded adults.

As Deborah J. Leong and Elena Bodrova wrote in a Scholastic article on the importance of child’s play: 

“There is a growing body of research that shows a link between play and the development of cognitive and social skills that are prerequisites for learning more complex concepts as children get older.”

Here are eight things parents should know about child’s play:

Trying to keep your kids occupied this Winter?

It's tough sometimes. Endless cold days and not enough ideas. Kids are little balls of energy, and all the backyard games that helped them decompress in the warmer months are off-limits because of cold weather.

Blogger Anna Luther was facing her first winter with staying home with a toddler, and decided to go looking for ways to avoid cabin fever.

Here are a few of her suggestions for wintertime toddler activities.

A moving child is a learning child.

That’s the central argument Gill Connell and Cheryl McCarthy make in their book of the same name.

“From grasping your finger to grasping her rattle to grasping the mechanics of crawling, standing, walking, jumping, and those hurtling-headlong-hugs, every move a young child makes—intentional or accidental—leads to learning,” they write. “Movement develops her physical capabilities, of course. But at the same time, it is building sensory perceptions and critical pathways in the brain necessary to reach her full potential.”

So when your son or daughter gets on the wooden swing set in your backyard, they’re having fun, but they’re also learning.

There’s even evidence that moving during lessons can help kids learn more effectively. A Dutch study published in the journal Pediatrics in early 2016 found that children who engaged in physical activities during lessons tested better than their peers who sat at their desks.