Today, when walking down a hill with my two children, an older woman and her dog passed by (don’t worry it was over 6 feet away!), and the woman said, “Oh, don’t go down there it’s treacherous down there! I just smiled and nodded as my son ran up the dry creek bed and tripped on a rock landing face first. What I thought in my head was, “It’s more dangerous going to the food store these days.”
I’m not about to lock the kids in the house, but I’m not going to take them to a crowded park. Getting outside is important for children’s brains to develop, grow, and learn; not to mention, to have fun and explore! So get outside and find new paths, hear new bird calls, have a picnic, get wet and jump in puddles for goodness sake! This is the times you and the kids will remember. In fact, after all this, the kids were exhausted. My daughter said it was the best day ever!
We saw frogs and toads, explored dry creek beds, found “hideouts” (make believe hideouts), looked for fossils under tree roots, climbed mountains (to a kid its a mountain), balanced and walked on logs (with mommy’s hand of course), jumped in puddles, and went through tunnels (under bridges).
So pack a backpack, even better, have your kids pack theirs with extra socks, a dish towel (to dry off their feet), snacks, water, magnifying glass, zip-lock bag or bucket (to hold things), binoculars and any other things they want to bring (but that their backpack wont be to heavy and you will end up with it!),
When we moved from a less populated wooded area to a more populated neighborhood, I didn’t think we would find so many fun outdoor activities for free this easily! Behind the baseball field that is near our house is a small woods with boy-scout paths and a creek, and this is fun for days for the kids to explore and play! I can’t wait for tadpoles!
So get out there and explore your surroundings!
Follow
Share
