I know this for a fact, because this weekend, our kids reminded us!
Saturday morning was spent sleeping-in (far too late), but after we got moving, we really GOT MOVING! After long discussions about how we should spend the day, we decided to make the best of an unseasonable warm Ohio day (68 degrees!) and simply get outdoors.
We went to our daughter’s school and ran around looking at all of the amazing wonders in her school’s Land Lab. This area in front of her school has a pond, decks, walking paths and large planter boxes that the families can adopt. We cultivated our box and planted some bulbs (and will eagerly await their Spring arrival) and added a little metal sign that said “GROW”! (…somewhat of a double entendre for growing some of nature’s gifts as well as growing little minds!)
We came home and planted more bulbs in our own yard, raked leaves, the kids ran around playing every sport imaginable and jumped in (and sometimes destroyed) our perfectly raked piles. Fortunately, living on a ravine, our leaves are simply raked down the hill so they can decompose and be recycled by nature.
The kids spent a half hour cracking open acorns to “make hors d’oeuvres” for the squirrels! We even made ourselves S’mores over an outdoor fire and continued to run around and play, and enjoy the day long after darkness fell. Everyone was in a fabulous mood. And I don’t doubt for a second that it had everything to do with simply being outside and enjoying breathing the fresh air.
I sometimes forget that a great day with my family doesn’t need to include museums or amusement parks, trips or expensive events or vacations. Everything we need is outside our own backdoor or a short, local drive away… all found in nature, most often for free.
Kids today spend twice as much time indoors as we did (a very sad fact), so if you need ideas, reasons or simply more encouragement, check out NWFs “Be Out There” program and you’re sure to find something that clicks!
At the end of the night our daughter could hardly relax as she settled into bed. She talked about how excited she was to see our flowers grow and proclaimed the day as “the best day ever”!
Thanks for the reminder, my little sweet pea!
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I love it! What a great reminder for all of us! Thanks.
Karla
.-= Karla Heaman´s last blog ..$50 Gift Certificate Giveaway for Toys from Bright October =-.
As a mother I couldnt agree more. Kids love the toys and electronics but often when they speak of good times past, it is of camping, or playing in the park, or even our evening strolls. Thank you for sharing.
RR
Voyage Home Loans
Karla – glad you appreciated the post!
Voyage – you’re welcome too! And you’re absolutely right!
I love that your daughter’s school has families adopt flower boxes. What a great idea! And I have to share that my mom asked me if she could buy my son the “cute video game with the bicycle that will keep him active” to which I promptly replied . . . I’d rather him be outside on his bicycle being active than in front of the television being “active”!!! I mean, thanks but really!
Frannie – we’re really excited about our flower box too! In the summer, we’ll plant vegetables since our local, neighborhood deer devour everything in sight! And the “grandma thing”… yikes! Yea, you would think that our moms would remember to appreciate the qualities of REAL exercise and activity!
[...] always! O – Organics, Outdoors, Oceans – Buy as many organics as you can… simple as that. Getting outdoors will remind you of this beautiful world we are trying to preserve, and even if you can’t see an [...]
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