Category: Outdoor Learning

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Using Nature as a Classroom

My kids are on Fall Break, so today we decided to do a “fun” family hike to see some caves in a nearby canyon. The hike was difficult— 1.5 miles up a path with a 12% grade (and then back down the same path). It was a whopping 40 degrees and rained on us off and on. I was pleasantly surprised by how my kids handled it. I was expecting much weeping and wailing, but they did quite well. I also wasn’t expecting the hike to provide as many learning opportunities as it did, but was happy to find that it did.

We started at the visitor’s center to check in and explore for a few minutes. There were interactive boards and displays that showed various animals in the area, rock formations, information about caves, and preserved insects that (thankfully!) weren’t in the caves anymore. Even I learned a thing or two! It was the perfect way to start the hike, because my kids were able to see some of the things that they might get to see in real life as we hiked. They got excited about what was to come and they learned some new information— big win in my book!

Along the way up to the caves, there were several information boards and plaques on the side of the trail. They each contained information about what you could see from that particular point, what kind of rocks were by the part of the trail where we were, or even health check points to make sure you weren’t over doing it on the hike. One board had information about all the rock layers that were present where we were, and even included rock samples so that we could see what each layer looked like. It was so cool!

One stopping point had an interactive display about the types of birds that lived in the area. My kids were able to push buttons to hear what each species of bird sounded like. This was a great multi-sense activity, as they were able to see a picture of the bird, push a button, and hear what it would sound like. I always love a good multi-sense activity!

Once we finally made it to the cave entrance and made our way through the cave system, we were fed so much information about stalactites, stalagmites, helictites, calcite, and all sorts of other cave formations and structures. Our tour guide did a great job explaining things and letting my kids ask a ton of questions. It was fascinating for the kids and adults alike. I walked away having learned a lot of new information.

By the end of the few hours we spent there, I was exhausted! But as we drove away, I reflected back on our experience and was reminded that learning opportunities are all around us. We don’t have to be students in a classroom to learn new things. The world around us is teeming with information waiting to be discovered; all we have to do is open our eyes a little wider and be willing to explore a little bit!

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The Benefits of Boredom

If you grew up in the 80s and 90s like I did (or even in earlier decades), you know very well the reality of growing up mostly screen free. You know what it’s like to make your own fun. You remember times growing up when you were forced to come up with your own ideas, rather than relying on a little screen. Simply put, you know how to be bored– and how to be okay with it!

Today’s kids are becoming more and more intolerant of boredom. I can’t tell you the amount of times I hear my own children say, “I’m bored! Can I play a game on your phone?”, to which I always respond with, “Nope! It’s okay to be bored! Put your mind to work and think of something fun to do!” The majority of the time, they will complain about it and try to state their case again and again, but every now and then, if they will sit in their boredom long enough, it’s amazing what they can come up with! 

Classrooms are experiencing the same epidemic. Because of the mass amount of information they are being fed through screens and other devices on a daily basis, their brains just can’t seem to handle any amount of down time. It’s almost like a panic mode clicks on– they can’t even fathom not having anything to do or look at, and that seems to drive anxiety and stress. Students are afraid of quiet. They are afraid of letting their minds relax and think away from screens. 

Granted, boredom is a stark contrast to the go go go state that their developing brains are almost always in. Quiet, slow, imaginative thinking is becoming a foreign concept. Students are so used to information being fed to them at a rapid pace that they aren’t sure how to slow their brains down. It’s like rush hour traffic, when hundreds of drivers are trying to merge onto, navigate, and drive on the same road. It’s chaotic and sometimes messy. There is so much going on all at once that it’s hard to make any sense of it all. It’s easy to miss things that are happening. Compare that to a late evening freeway: the amount of traffic has decreased dramatically. Cars don’t have to fight for a spot on the highway. The chaos is minimized. The noise and messiness have almost disappeared. It becomes much easier to navigate the road and notice things that are happening.


Kids today can greatly benefit from being bored. Their minds will quiet down. They will learn to listen to their own minds and come up with their own ideas. Imaginations will soar. Anxiety will lessen. Boredom will become something that is okay, and hopefully at some point, something that is wanted because of the benefits that come from it. Boredom can be a powerful thing if we allow it to be.

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Raising Outdoor Readers: Picture Books in the Wild

While mindlessly scrolling social media I came across an Instagram post by @puddleparenting: 

I love how the trees in the book and the trees in the park match!

I love this idea and concept! Why haven’t we been taking picture books on more outdoor adventures with us in the past? They are a great addition to any outdoor learning.

Our town also recently acquired a little free library in the park thanks to a high school senior’s ambition to help a well-deserving community! This made it even easier for us to have a book to read while we were out and about at the park last week. 

The idea of reading a book outside at the park was so novel to my kids that they were more enthralled with reading than they were with playing. 

I can see many outdoor adventures that include picture books in our future. 

Do you take picture books outside with you on your outdoor adventures?

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We Failed At Achieving 1,000 Hours Outside This Year. But in the End, We Still Won

In December of 2021, I came across an Instagram page called @1000hoursoutside. A mom started the account while living in a townhome without a yard and was set on making a better attempt to focus her time and energy on spending time outside with her family. The whole idea behind the 1,000 hours spent outside came from a study done on screen time in children saying the average child spends about 1,000 hours on screens a year, she was trying to flip the narrative and spend this many hours outside instead. While I dislike blaming screens or writing them off completely, I too have found immense value in spending time outside for myself and my children. 

I started tracking our outside hours come January 1st. My youngest son was born at the beginning of January, so during the first week or so of the year we were not able to clock many hours. But once we were home from the hospital, even he got in on the action at only a few days old! 

One of the benefits of tracking our hours for us was the motivation behind it. If we knew we could add more hours to our tracker app to earn badges and see how far we’ve come, it made it more motivating (especially in the colder months!) to get out a little more. Even spending 20 minutes outside adds up eventually! 

Tracking hours may seem arbitrary, and to some, it may be. To us, it gave us motivation and a starting point to see how far we had come. For example, in the month of January, we spent 22 hours outside, but in February we were able to jump to 24 hours outside for the month! It may have only been a 2-hour difference, but it felt like such a big win to us. By March we were up to 36 hours and in April we spent 82 hours outside!! 

In the end, we didn’t end up getting a full 1,000 hours outside. We finished off the year with around 890 hours. But did we fail? 

If we’re only talking numbers, then yes. 

But did we also win? 

We won more family time. 

We won the development of gross-motor skills. 

We won the time spent being curious over snow hills left over in the spring. 

We won more fresh air. 

We won afternoons with friends at the park. And evenings gathered around a fire roasting hot dogs and marshmallows. 

We won a balmy spring day by the river, and a hot summer’s day lounging out by our camper. 

We may have lost the number game, but in the end, I think we ultimately won. And next year, we’ll shoot for higher. Not to meet a number from a random statistic in a study, but because time spent outside is never wasted. 

You don’t have to read a blog post or Pinterest quote to see the benefits of spending time outside. You just have to get outside and the benefits will show themselves tenfold. 

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Secrets of the Apple Tree

girl climbing apple tree picks fruit

I’ve been on this Earth for many years now,
Long enough to witness the different stages of life, multiple times.

The one I’m perpetually drawn to is childhood. 
The innocence of a child is unlike any other
Because they pick and climb and run and scream
All without a single worry about what tomorrow brings.

Always running.
Always climbing.
Always wondering.
Always growing. 

It doesn’t matter the time, the decade, or the season,
I’ve discovered one constant truth-
That children need movement and play and risk. 
They are drawn to me for that exact reason.

The constant I am in their lives, 
And have been in the past for others,
And will continue to be in the future 
To those that wander in. 

For I am the apple tree
That has nourished bellies
And held strong for endless climbing. 
My leaves provide them with shade 
And my branches hold them sublimely. 

As the years go on, 
As children grow,
I know they will lose interest with time.
But I worry not. 

The next generation will come
And pick and climb and run and scream.
All without a single worry about what tomorrow brings.
For there is a gravitational pull that an apple tree yields.

Risk and reward.  
Peace and tranquility. 
Havoc and uncertainty. 

We truly were created for one another,
The child and the apple tree. 

Photo by Zen Chung

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The Pure Bliss of Childhood

Their coats are washable. 

The shoes will dry, with time.

Pants can be washed and dried, as well as their bodies. 

Their socks will survive. 

Each and every worry that races in my mind

As they ride and splash and jump

Through every single tiny body of water,

It’s all such a minuscule anxiety

When you’re considering the bigger picture.

The picture that matters more than wet socks

Or muddy bikes

Or tiny cold toes. 

What matters more than all of those combined

Is the absolute bliss

Called childhood. 

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Kids Need Outside Time, Even in the Dark.

I am a firm believer in spending time with kids outside in the winter. But one problem that comes up repeatedly is the daylight hours lessening as winter pushes on. During the summer months, the days are long and the sunlight is plentiful, we’re typically outside by 7 am and the dark doesn’t force us inside until 9 or 10 pm. In the winter where we are, typically the sun starts setting by 5 pm. With school in session as well, this only leaves us roughly an hour of outside time during daylight hours, which is the busiest hour of our day as well, so finding the capacity to get outside can be hard.

But. If we make some changes and get outside even after the sun has gone down, it opens up so much time! It also proves to have its benefits as well. Simply changing up the lighting in which kids play, changes the way they have to think and problem solve. While riding their bike in the daylight hours eventually becomes a mindless activity to them, riding it during the dark forces them to pay extra attention to their surroundings and their bike, and use their intuition and senses to help guide them. Something that was once a mundane, everyday sport turns into an elaborate thinking process for them. 

Our tips for getting outside during the dark hours:

A little bit of risky play while we set up our Christmas lights

Wear the right clothing. The warmer you are, the longer you’ll last. You can read more about clothing here. 

Bring the light with you! Flashlights, lanterns, and glow sticks all work wonderfully. We like to buy our glowsticks on Amazon in bulk, making them more affordable. We’ve invested in LED light beanies also found on Amazon. We keep a handful of Dollar Store flashlights around for use as well as a few bigger, nicer ones that put off more light when needed. Pro tip: attach a glowstick to your child’s coat so you can always spot them. Flashlights are great for them to use, but can be easily dropped. Having something more secure that doesn’t require being held can be immensely helpful. 

Bringing light to the night!

Get creative with the light. Add in Christmas lights, brighter LED porch lights, or bust open spotlights used for working on cars. Our set typically stays up close to the garage door in the winter so it’s easy to access for when we need them. 

Have a set activity when you head outside. I talked about this before in my post about getting outside in the cold, but it’s relevant for the dark, too. Since it’s harder and takes a more active choice to go outside in the dark, choosing your activity before going outside can help. 

Visit well-lit areas. Window shop downtown, take walks around college campuses if they’re available in your area, or visit well-lit parks. 

Do you try to get your kids outside when it’s dark out? What tips would you add? 

Photo by Tobi