Welcome to the June Carnival of Natural Parenting: Outdoor fun
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have shared their stories and tips for playing outside with kids. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.
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We keep things pretty unscheduled here, so Paul just does what he feels like doing when we are outside. He loves being outside and plays until the bugs come out. Dolores spends her outside time sitting in the shade with me, or in the mei tai. She loves to watch her brother, the dogs and the chickens. Some days we meet a friend at the park and also there is the State Park a few miles away that we go to from time to time. We spend a LOT of time outside once the weather gets warm, partly because Paul likes to dig and also because we don't have A/C so being outside isn't much different than being inside. :) Usually a bit breezier :)
We live in an old trailer park so there are lots of neat things for our son to explore. Usually he is digging, whether it is rocks, dirt or grass clippings. I included a few random photos of a general day outside with Paul (and Dolores, who is mostly along for the ride right now).
Dolores enjoying the shade and giving her cute smile
Getting mulberries with Daddy and Pepper
Showing me one of his mulberries
Running to feed the chickens
Digging in the driveway, always has his excavator and a bobcat type tractor
Making footprints in the mud
More digging, this time with a rake
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Visit Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!
Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:
- Garden Treats — Asha at Mom Costume has once again been bitten by the gardening bug — and this time her baby's tagging along for some fresh air and dirt exploration. (@titbagsandsnoot)
- Outdoor Free Roam — Mamapoekie at Authentic Parenting follows her daughter's lead whenever they go outside. (@mamapoekie)
- Summer fun in Austin with a toddler — Jessica at This Is Worthwhile is brainstorming ways to beat the heat in Texas. (@tisworthwhile)
- summer fun… — Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children is looking forward to spending the summer outside with her children the way she used to spend summers with her mother.
- Outdoor Fun for Pre-Walkers — Maman A Droit has figured out ways to let her pre-walker enjoy the outdoors. (@MamanADroit)
- Summer Homeschool Fun at Camp Review — Deb Chitwood at Living Montessori Now discusses how Camp Review motivated and captivated her homeschooling family. (@DebChitwood)
- Digging, Tree Climbing and Puddle Jumping — Laura at Laura's Blog bemoans the loss of her girls' climbing tree but knows they'll find something else just as naturally tempting.
- The Sweet Smells of Summer — Erin at A Beatnik's Beat on Life is looking forward to the many smells of summer she and her daughters enjoy and identify. (@babybeatnik)
- June Carnival of Natural Parenting: Outdoor Fun — Sybil at Musings of a Milk Maker is a confirmed couch potato who can't help but be inspired by the outdoor opportunities Seattle offers her family. (@sybilryan)
- Take a Hike — Michelle at The Parent Vortex connects with her family and the Earth on frequent hikes in their Pacific wilderness. (@TheParentVortex)
- Following Paul — Julie at Simple Life gives her kids unstructured time to dig in the dirt and pick mulberries. (@homemakerjulie)
- Instilling a Love of the Outdoors in Your Baby/Toddler — Tessasdad at Stay At Home Dad in Lansing offers a photo book of tips for helping your little ones enjoy the outdoors. (@tessasdad)
- Camping, baby! — Jen at Grow With Graces has easy tips for tent camping with a little one. (@growwithgraces)
- Think Outside the Easel for Summertime Fun — Acacia at Be Present Mama finds several ways to bring art fun to the outdoors.
- Outdoor Learning in our Urban Environment — Andrea at Ella-Bean & Co. has found ways to get grass between her daughter's toes, even in the city.
- Outdoor Education — Alison at BluebirdMama offers parents tips and resources for making each outdoor excursion a learning experience. (@childbearing)
- Turning Inside Out — Christie of Childhood 101 finds kids get a kick out of taking indoor toys outside. (@Childhood101)
- Watching Peas Sprout — Deb at Science@home combines fun with purpose in this educational outdoor activity. (@ScienceMum)
- How To Create a Pirate Treasure Hunt & Other Easy Outdoor Pirate Activities (June Carnival of Natural Parenting) — Dionna at Code Name: Mama has pirate-themed play ideas for ye scurvy landlubbers. (@CodeNameMama)
- What We Do — Luschka at Diary of a First Child has managed to expose her 8-month-old to a wide variety of outdoor fun, even with the notoriously dreary UK weather. (@diaryfirstchild)
- Summer Fun — Darcel at The Mahogany Way finds her family's visits to the beach refreshing in so many ways. (@MahoganyWayMama)
- Playing outside without a backyard — Sheryl at Little Snowflakes doesn't let the lack of a backyard stop her family from enjoying the outdoors. There are plenty of things to do outside of your yard! (@sheryljesin)
- Having Fun Outdoors, Playset Free — Guavalicious at They Are So Cute When They Are Sleeping has resisted a backyard playset in favor of the regular backyard. (@guavalicious)
- Moon Gazing with your Toddler — Paige at Baby Dust Diaries is keeping her toddler up at night, but it's for a good reason: to share the wonders of the night sky! (@babydust)
- the great outdoors — The grumbles at grumbles and grunts wonders whether her urban child can experience the same free-range childhood she enjoyed. (@thegrumbles)
- Let's Take It Outside! — NavelgazingBajan at Navelgazing is looking for ideas: how can she spend time with her pre-walker outside this summer? (@BlkWmnDoBF)
- A home by the sea: June Carnival of Natural Parenting: Outdoor fun — Lauren at Hobo Mama is living her dream of a home near the beach, and taking full advantage of it. (@Hobo_Mama)
- An Outside Girl — Zoey at Good Goog moved her family to (almost) the middle of nowhere so that her outdoor-loving girl could have more grass and less concrete. (@zoeyspeak)
- Neighborhood Nature — Kelly at Kelly Naturally has learned to connect with the nature she has instead of mourning the nature she misses. (@kellynaturally)
- Building Lovely Memories of Swimming, Spiders and Gravestones — Joni Rae at Tales of a Kitchen Witch and her family are simply outdoorsy people. (@kitchenwitch)
- "Buh-Bye" Season — Danielle at born.in.japan must leave laundry behind and follow her son's call to the outdoors. (@borninjp)
- Backyard Camping — Becoming Mamas took her family camping very close to home! (@becomingmamas)
- The Color of Dreams — Seeking Mother at Woman Seeking Mother makes gardening magical by teaching her son that each flower is a faery. (@seekingmother)
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12 comments:
My 2.5 yr old finally discovered the sheer joy of digging in the dirt this spring. I was beginning to wonder if it would ever happen for him ;) Honestly, I could still sit and dig forever - as long as I had something comfy to lean back on from time to time. :) The chickens would be awesome - we recently had a cookout at some friends' property that sported about a dozen chickens. They were fun to watch and listen to; I would love to have some.
It is fun just watching kids outside, they are so inventive. We've recently been playing in the mud but today it's dried out, the girls were fascinated to go back and see the shapes it had dried in and feel the hard lumps. There were even a couple of little footprints in there.
We just discovered a mulberry tree in our backyard! They are pretty good.
Aw, so sweet! I love the simplicity of children just finding even a pile of gravel to play in. Always a reminder that they don't need anything fancy!
I missed where you live-- it sounds like somewhere pretty warm, though? I've become such a wuss about hot weather, but I grew up without AC, too. I think it makes kids more likely to be outside, since being inside can be downright unbearable!
I'm jealous of your chickens, and I look forward to blackberry season here. They are everywhere! When the sun warms them, it's just like a mini blackberry pie.
It looks like you know just what kids need: not much to keep them happy! That picture of Dolores hanging out in the lawn chair is priceless.
I think it is great that you let your son explore freely. It is easy for me to try to make something educational happen. I've never had a mullberry!
Welcome to the Carnival! :)
Thank you everyone :).
@Dionna ~ Paul was about 2.5 also when he found the joy of digging. I was hugely pregnant and he'd sit out there digging for an hour or more and I'd sit in the shade with a book. We love the chickens. Just wish the stray dogs would stop coming by for a snack. I want to bring then in the house, but that's not really feasable (or sanitary :)). On a side note, I live about 60 miles southwest of Kansas City, I saw on your blog that you are in KC. We are soon moving about 25 miles from Lee's Summit.
@Deb, Paul LOVES the mud too. I wonder what it is about mud? He'll often ask for water to make mud, or to fill a spot in the driveway that gets a puddle. The footprints in the dried mud, those are my favorite.
@Holly, my husband really likes the mulberries, the first one Paul tried wasn't quiet ripe, so it was a little bitter, he liked the one after that. They are very prolific trees! I like that they fruit so early.
@mamamilkers, I live in a town called Knob Noster, in west central Missouri. It's not crazy hot like Arizona, but the last few weeks have been much hotter than normal for this time of year. I totally agree about the a/c. We have one in the bedroom, and I know I have a hard time leaving it :). But thankfully, Paul has not preferred the bedroom to being outside. We did finally break down and get a unit for out in the main living area. But my favorite time of day is as the sun is going down, that is also when I go out and do outside chores, so I'm hoping Paul will still want to go outside :).
@Lauren, I do love my chickens. I can't wait to get the first eggs. We have to get them a safer house (this weekend, I can't wait! no more staying up all night listening for the tell tell crow that says something is bugging us). We have a few meat birds too, I'm nervous about that :)
I don't now where Dolores learned that super cute, tilt your head to the side and smile, but it is SO cute! And thank you :).
@Paige, thank you for the welcome. I can't wait to read all the entries! :)
As for Paul (and when she's mobile) Dolores having freedom, we are lucky to live in a place that allows that. If we lived in the city or even in town, it would be harder. Less space and all. Currently he uses about an acre or two for exploring. Once we move our whole 5 acres will be totally fenced so he'll have a lot more room. I think he'll miss some of his digging places, but hopeful he'll find ones he likes more.
I loved seeing all the pictures of your babies! What a great post! :)
Nothing beats unstructured play in the great outdoors :)
I love unstructured playtime outside. I grew up in a trailer park and there is almost always something interesting to find in them. I had a wonderful, fun childhood spent outside and I really look forward to the stories I'm sure I'll hear from my kids as they get older about their adventures in the great outdoors.
My littles LOVE digging in the dirt. Favorite way to pass the time!!!
I love watching them play!
Lovely pictures!
<3
So sweet. One of my favorite things to do in the summer is exactly what you wrote about. Sit outside with my itty bitty watching my 3 year old play freely. It's awesome.
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