Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Tues Toolbox~OUTSIDE...


I know the outdoors is a simple thing we all have access to in our But just how much are we accessing it for the greatest benefit for our children?  Benefits are many to getting outside even in the winter months for our kids.  The study of nature and the elements of the weather systems are wonderful natural opportunities to increase knowledge.  We've lived in three states that each carried their own unique patterns of fauna, flora and weather so each place was a unique classroom of sorts.


Where you live can be accessed for interesting studies and fun.  Recreation, exercise and overall good health are added benefits.

Often when my kids were little, we would head to the park and allow them to burn off steam.  We found too in the hottest months that strategically planning our outside time was crucial to overall enjoyment.  Could it be if you live in the hottest of climates that schooling during such miserable days would be a better options than schooling in milder ones where it's pleasurable to get out and enjoy the season?  When we lived in southeast GA it was sooo hot during the summer! The sun would bake the ground and us along with it, so instead of trying to be out in the "heat of the day" we found ourselves schooling with other indoor activities during this time and opting for the outside stuff when it was milder with less cause for heatstroke and sunburns.  Conversely, we are now in a frigid winter climate where the temperatures are often well below zero in windchill during our dry and cold blustery winters.  Can you guess when we are schooling the hardest? But what fun it is when the temperatures return to a mild experience and we can get outside...grass growing, flowers to be planted and garden to be tended...wild life to be observed...nature, weather, seasons..exercise~my kids are planning to run a 5K in a couple of months....time to work at this, right?  Amazing what good mild weather brings so we can utilize the natural classroom!

Sooo are you or have you planted that garden? Natures lessons are free and great!

Enjoying the shade,
SisterTipster<3

1 comment:

Susan said...

Good points. I tend to let the kids play outside as much as possible when the weather is mild, but that gets me into a little trouble because we do try to loosely follow the public school year---to be in sync with friends who go to school and grandparent expectations.