Unwind Outside After School

This week was back to school for our kids. With one going into third grade and another into kindergarten, it was a week of brand new routines and experiences for them both. The kids have a lot going on physically and emotionally in this first week of school. Our evenings together have never been more important to unwind and process the activities of the day.

Since the kids spend a majority of their school day inside, we try to encourage outside play in the evenings. We also try to provide quiet opportunities to reset and lots of opportunities to talk about their days at school.

Here are a few activities we've enjoyed after school this week to unwind as a family:

1. Homework has to be done first, so we complete any assignments on the back deck together, enjoying the sun before it sets. This gives me an opportunity to ask questions about what they did in school and make sure I've signed all their paperwork and agendas.
2. Read in a hammock: my third grader is assigned 20 minutes of free reading every evening. I've encouraged him to read in the hammock, enjoying the quiet of the backyard and proximity to the rest of the family as we get organized for dinner and other evening activities.
3. Swing: the rhythmic motion of the swing is a great quiet activity to reset. I'm usually close by pushing the littlest brother in his swing which gives me a great opportunity to ask about new friends they met at school.
4. Do something silly: changing pace from the rule reviews and academics of the day, as a family we'll do something fun and active together. Run a race, climb a tree, dig in the sandbox, anything goes.
   
5. Go for an evening walk: we usually walk the dog after diner, which helps us digest and unwind before bedtime. I try to ask, while we walk, about what they'll be doing in school the next day.

I hope you've had a wonderful first week of school wherever you are. What have you done to unwind and enjoy the evenings together after school?

Linked up at Learning for Life.

The Sandbox

We had a sandbox for just a few summers growing up. It was one of the green plastic turtle shaped sandboxes that we ultimately got rid of, I think because it drove my mom crazy. The sand got everywhere and it was hard to keep full of clean sand.

My boys have grown up digging in our yard. They would spend all day digging in the dirt along the edge of the forest, moving rocks and logs, climbing through the weeds. Who needed a sandbox!

Our new home has a wood framed sandbox in the backyard with a roof overhead. I hung some wind chimes there to make the space more sensory. And next spring I fully intend to grow topsy turvey tomatoes and peppers alongside the sandbox. During our move, the boys entertained themselves playing in that sandbox while we unpacked boxes and arranged furniture. I think the sandbox was what saved us from too many moving transition problems.

We've worked hard to establish rules to the sandbox: no throwing sand, toys back in the sandbox when you're done playing, wash off before you come into the house, etc. Otherwise, the sandbox is an entirely creative space. As long as everyone agrees, almost anything goes.

We've come up with some creative ways to play in the sandbox that have helped to maintain the magic of the space.

1. Just add water: the boys haul buckets of water over to the sandbox from the hose, essentially making a mud pit. It's great for sand castles and cleaning off afterward. The sandbox is admittedly off limits for a few days after until it dries.
2. Treasure hunt or dinosaur dig: before the boys go out to play, I go out to hide a few plastic gems or dinosaurs in the sand for them to unearth. In addition to shovels, they loved using paint brushes to dust off their dino finds.
3. Sandbox imprints: one boy makes an imprint in the sand, then the other boys have to identify what toy or tool made the imprint. When Mom gets involved, it gets educational. I scratch a letter or sight word into the sand to be identified.
4. Pan for gold: paint rocks in metallic gold then bury them in the sand. Kids can find the gold by sifting piles of sand through a sieve.
5. Make a sand timer: fill a plastic bottle with sand halfway. Tape a similarly sized and shaped plastic bottle onto the mouth of the first to make an egg timer. Have the kids find out how many tasks they can complete before all the sand drains through the timer.
6. Make a volcano: make a mountain of sand with an indentation in the top. Fill your volcano with baking soda. Slowly add vinegar and watch the reaction occur.
7. Make a river: fold several sheets of tin foil into long u-shapes. Fit the foil together to make an open tube. Dig a trench in the sandbox and lower the foil in. Fill the foil with water then float tiny boats in your tiny river.
8. Paint the sandbox: fill spray bottles with a liquid chalk paint, like the one we used to paint our fence. Paint pictures or write messages in the sand.

What fun games do your kids enjoy playing in the sandbox?

Finding a Canvas

We have one rather uninspired corner of our backyard. Behind the swing set, is the dark corner where grass doesn't want to grow because of kids and dogs running and a total lack of sunshine for the better part of the day. This part of the yard would be easy enough to ignore if the swing set and porch weren't situated in just such a way that we have no choice but to stare at it.

I have made many attempts to reinvent this space. Some shade-loving plants would surely brighten up this space. But nothing could thrive in the poorly-drained, North Carolina clay when constantly being trampled by the kids and the dogs. I thought some brightly colored chairs would fit the space nicely and allow us to sit where the kids were playing. But the space was always rather muddy and buggy. Even the kids seemed to always run through the space, never interested enough to stay and play in the dirt that was exposed there unlike other more manicured parts of the yard.

The fence in this corner of the yard was warped and leaning, probably due to the moisture that lingered there and due to the large mature trees growing into the space from the other side. The fence became key to reclaiming this space; what was an eyesore became our canvas.

We mixed 1cup of water with 3tbsp. cornstarch and several drops of food coloring. With sponges, spray bottles, and squirt guns, we painted that dark corner of the yard (and each other). The old, wet wood of the fence absorbed much of the color and is shielded by the tall trees from direct rainfall, so our masterpiece has lasted almost a week. The corner of our yard is still dark, wet, and buggy, but it is no longer an ugly eyesore to stare at. And the boys had so much fun painting the yard!

It's Not Always Easy

I wanted to write today to provide some encouragement for parents who struggle to get their kids outside and playing. My older two boys especially, are some days very reluctant to go outside despite my strong held beliefs that playing outside would be healthier and more fun for them.

Today was one of those days. Everyone was inside, entrenched in whatever they were doing. That meant two were in their room playing army together and one was singing and dancing along to a TobyMac cd.

I had a fun day planned. We were going to spend the afternoon throwing water balloons at chalk targets in the driveway. I had planned to incorporate some late summer math review into our game. Then we were going to have a picnic snack in the shady front yard. However, no amount of cajoling could draw those boys away from their chosen activities leaving me rather frustrated and wondering why I, of all people, couldn't get my kids outside to enjoy a beautiful afternoon!

It's days like these that we need to cut ourselves some slack. My children were playing nicely together. They were being active but not destructive. No one was staring at a tv or computer screen. So I opened all the windows in the house, turned up little man's music and enjoyed an afternoon of singing and dancing vowing to incorporate an after dinner walk into the evening plans.

Check back, in coming weeks I will hopefully have the water balloon target practice math review game to report on! In the mean time, don't forget to link up your favorite ideas for outside play. We all need the inspiration somedays!

Get Outside and Play Link Up

Food for the Birds

My boys love to climb trees. We have been blessed so far in that the worst climbing-related injuries we've endured have been a few scratches. So I let them climb. I love to hear them discuss from above how big the yard looks from up there. I love to hear how they squeal when they climb right past a spider web. I loved the delight I heard when they discovered an old bird's nest.

They marveled as they observed how different materials were woven around and secured together with a paste of mud. I was so proud as my nature explorers looked, but did not touch, taking in all they could of this tiny litte home up in a tree.

As the boys descended, we were able to talk about the types of birds likely to have nested in our backyard trees. We talked too about how bird families care for each other, building a secure nest, sourcing and preparing food, teaching their young to fly. I talked lovingly about a fictitious family of birds as I thought about my role in rearing my own children, preparing them for a world that would have proverbial wind storms and backyard dogs.

My tender-hearted children wanted to welcome birds back to this tree for another season. As the days grow shorter and the nights cooler, birds will soon fly through our mild state in search of warmer winters. So we settled on a simple bird feeder of yarn and Cheerios - a snack and building supplies for another nest. We hung our feeders in the climbing tree and will keep our feet on the ground for a few days, giving the birds a chance to enjoy. Hopefully next year, we will find new nests and new feathered friends.

In what ways do you help your little ones connect to nature right in your backyard?

This post was linked up at Natural Suburbia's Creative Friday Link-Up.

If you could be any animal...

"If you could be any animal, what would you be?"

It's a simple question, and in our house, one that was raised by my eight year old. This question does provide a great opportunity for conversation to explore what children know about animals. The answers I got were varied:

An ant: because they are strong and busy
A lion: because they are fierce and really good hunters
A girl mosquito: because they go out and suck blood
A dog: because they are taken care of by families that love them

These responses led to great conversations about the difference between wild vs. domesticated animals. We looked at maps of where wild animals come from far away from where we live. We talked about how we can love and take care of our pets at home. We also talked the "work" that animals do in nature - bees pollinate food sources, spiders and bats eat harmful bugs, worms aerate soil, etc.

Ask your children today, if they could be any animal in the world, what would they be? And why? Like I was, you may be amazed at their answers.