Can You Come Outside to Play?

And the winner is...

2011-05-02T10:40:00.000-07:00

Congratulations go out to Titus 2 Moments! You are the winner of the drawing for our $30 amazon gift card! Thanks to everyone for participating with us this month! Keep it up and have a great summer outside!

Here is a pic of her cute kids planting Sunflower Seeds.

Did You Come Outside to Play?

2011-04-30T20:34:00.000-07:00

Did you come outside to play with us? What were your experiences? What were your challenges? Your joys? What new games did you play? What new places did you discover? Did you make it every day? Most days? Was is hard or easy? I want to hear from you! Please comment or link up your experiences. I will randomly select a participant from the comments and links to win the $30 gift card to Amazon.com. (If you joined us at the beginning of April, shared on your facebook page, or blogged about the challenge, or linked up any time this month to our virtual play dates, those entries are entered as well). I look forward to hearing about your experiences!

April 29th-April 30th-Backyard Camp-out

2011-04-30T19:48:00.000-07:00

I wanted to do something special with the kids to celebrate our month outside. We were lucky enough to make it outside every day this month, without fail, rain or shine, sickness and in health. So we decided to surprise the kids with a backyard camp-out and spend the last of April outdoors. I love backyard camping! The house is there for those of us who would like to use the restroom indoors, the kitchen is accessible for late night treats, and if we forgot anything (like a very special bedtime lovey), we can hop right back in the house and get it! Don't get me wrong, our family also loves real camping, but backyard camping is its own kind of fun.

Here is our tent all set up and waiting for us.

We grilled outside for dinner. Then Daddy blew bubbles with the kids while I got things cleaned up.

We played a comical family game of kickball. Comical because the children couldn't remember having ever played before and kept mixing up the rules with soccer. Andrew didn't want to touch the ball with his hands. Ryan wanted to keep kicking the ball after the initial kick. Molly wanted to pick up the bases. As you can see, eventually we got the hang of it. Kind of.

After the difficulty with kickball, we decided to stay with a game we all knew the rules to. Hide and seek!

We moved next to jumping on the trampoline. Then we laid down on the trampoline and watched the sunset together, listening to the sounds of the crickets, birds, and neighborhood dogs.

Of course we made S'mores once it got dark. How can you have a camp out without them?

We put on our jammies and read stories and sang songs together until the boys fell asleep.

I'd like to say that Molly fell asleep soon after, but that would not be truthful. Our neighbors were having a party and played loud heavy metal music until after 11pm. Molly danced and sang along with the music.

In the morning, the kids crawled in our sleeping bags for snuggles, before we had hot cocoa and breakfast. We laid there and listened to the animals outside. Andrew was very excited because we heard an owl.

Later the kids helped take down the tent, and were happy and helpful, despite the fact that they wanted to sleep outside FOREVER!

We had a wonderful time together, last night, today, and EVERY DAY this month.

I knew this month would be challenging. April is such a busy month for our family. I was afraid that with all we had going on, I would be tempted to justify turning on the tv instead of going outside to play on exceptionally busy days.

Thank you for joining me in this journey, for taking this challenge with our family. I appreciate your support and enthusiasm. I hope that you have been able to spend more time outside than you usually do, even if you were not able to make it out everyday. I hope that you have been able to get some fun ideas from others who have posted. I hope you have been blessed to create happy memories with your loved ones outside.

***If you have participated in the challenge, please comment and let me know how you did. It is okay if you did not make it every day. I know sometimes weather or illness make it impossible to get outside. I just want to hear from you if you tried and want to know what the experience has meant to you and your family. All those who comment will be entered into a drawing for the $30 amazon card. I will draw on Monday. (If you signed up at the very beginning and shared it on your facebook pages and blogs, you will also receive entries for those)!

***There is now a linky up for anyone who would like to share any outside fun they have had this month! All those who link up will be eligible for another entry.

April 29th-Afternoon at the Park

2011-04-29T17:55:00.000-07:00

Friday was lovely and we decided to go to the park for lunch. Coincidentally, our cousin had the same idea! Ryan was so excited to play at the park with his cousin. They took turns pushing each other in the swing and the spinning chair. (Or as Molly calls it "Potty." I guess she thinks it looks like her little potty seat at home).

Ryan was very sad when his cousin left. I told him that there were lots of other kids on the playground his age he could play with. He told me he only wanted to play with kids bigger than him. So he proceeded to walk over to the tallest kid on the playground and introduced himself. "Hi, I am Ryan. I am 4 years old. I want someone big to play with me." The little boy was very sweet and let Ryan play with him and his friends.

April 28th-Putting on a Show

2011-04-28T19:30:00.000-07:00

One of my kids' favorite activities outside is "putting on shows" for the grown-ups. They like to show off their coolest tricks. It was fun to watch Molly get into the action. She was so proud of herself.

April 27th- More Fun with Bugs

2011-04-27T18:53:00.000-07:00

We had a bug themed Mommy and Me Book Club today. It was so much fun!

April 26th-First Fruits of the Season

2011-04-26T18:55:00.000-07:00

We found little strawberries on our plants this morning! Ryan was so excited!

Bug Hunt

2011-04-25T19:30:00.000-07:00

We had a great time this afternoon hunting for bugs in our own backyard! What did you do outside today?

Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-24T20:24:00.000-07:00

My 90 year old Grandmother couldn't wait for someone to get her a basket, so she made one herself! We had such a fun day hunting eggs together! Hope you had a joyous Easter!

Virtual Playdate Week 3

2011-04-24T12:14:00.000-07:00

I can't wait to see what all of you did this week! Anyone have fun Earth Day activities to share? The pic above is from our Earth Day fun! Take a moment away from hunting eggs and share your best outside fun from this week! I'll be back this evening with pics from our outdoor egg hunting!

April 23rd-Outdoor Easter Activities

2011-04-23T20:37:00.000-07:00

Today we painted eggs outside. I love painting eggs with the children. It is a great alternative to traditional dying. The children are able to be involved in the entire process.

We also made a Resurrection Terrarium. We loved this idea we found on Impress Your Kids.

April 22nd-Earth Day

2011-04-22T19:35:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Earth Day by planting basil, oregano, and daisies together this morning. And, no it wasn't raining yet. We have found that rain coats are awesome for gardening! The dirt rubs right off and our clothes stay dry whenever someone ~~accidentally~~ purposely aims the hose in the wrong direction!

When it did begin to rain we were at our cousins' house! They have a fun fort on the back porch!

April 21st-Backyard Fun

2011-04-21T19:40:00.000-07:00

My kids enjoyed the beautiful weather this afternoon. It is always fun to watch them try to settle into an activity. All of these pictures were taken within a 30 minute time period. They jumped from activity to activity, until they finally settled into sidewalk chalk spelling for the rest of the afternoon. Does anyone else have children who try out 10 different activities before settling on one?

April 20th-Teddy Bear Picnic

2011-04-20T18:56:00.000-07:00

We held a picnic outdoors for my daughter's 2nd Birthday! We had a great time and perfect weather!

April 19th-Helicopters

2011-04-19T20:21:00.000-07:00

Ryan discovered the joy of throwing helicopter seeds off the balcony today!

April 18th- Walk through the Neighborhood

2011-04-18T18:49:00.000-07:00

What did you do today?

Virtual Play Date and Favorite Outdoor Books Link Up

2011-04-17T12:46:00.000-07:00

I am a children's book addict. I read a lot. And I collect a lot of books. I am a little embarrassed to admit how many we own. I'll just say that we have more at our house than my son's small school library at his charter school. So trying to come up with a few of my favorites to share has been a bit daunting. I decided to limit myself to my top 3 in each category. For one, so that you can also share your favorites below in our link up. And two, so that this post is short enough that someone might actually read it!

Favorite Grown-up Books About Being Outside

1-Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv

This is my favorite book for grown-ups about why children need to connect with nature each day. It is a wonderful book that describes a relatively new problem "Nature-deficit disorder" and several solutions. He discusses how removed we are from nature and how little time our children spend outside in unstructured play. He also has a new book out that I can't wait to read! If you have not read it yet, bump it up to the top of your to "must read" list.

2-The Green Hour: A Daily Dose of Nature for Happier, Healthier, Smarter Kids by Todd Christopher

This is a wonderful resource that gives practical ideas for creating rich experiences outside with our children on a daily basis.

3-Roots, Shoots, Buckets, and Boots: Gardening Together with Children by Sharon Lovejoy

An excellent resource on ways to make gardening fun, and engaging for children. Includes practical tips on how to include your children in creating a magical garden together. I can't wait to try the Sunflower House with my little ones this summer!

Favorite Children's Books About Being Outside

1- We Were Tired of Living in a House by Liesel Moak Skorpen
This is a delightful story of a group of children who flee outdoors and discover nature. They move from outdoor location to outdoor location looking for the perfect place to live. They climb trees, explore caves, build rafts, and play in the water. In the end, they decide there is no place like home, but they bring a piece of each place they explored with them. There are 2 versions of this book, and I, like most reviewers, prefer the 1969 illustrations. But the new version is also enjoyable and worth sharing with your little ones. My 2 year old enjoys the story, but so does my 6 year old son.

2-Are You Ready to Play Outside? by Mo Williems
I am a big Mo Williems fan! Especially his Piggie and Elephant books. In this story the two are very excited to go outside to play, but then it begins to rain. Piggie becomes very upset, but then after watching some worms splash and have fun in the puddles, discovers that she actually likes playing outside in the rain. So of course the rain stops and she is disappointed that it is not raining! It is a sweet lesson about playing outside and making the best of any weather! It is also just plain silly and laugh out loud funny! I love anything that will make all 3 of my children laugh!

3-The Puddle by David McPhail

We recently shared this book in our Mommy and Me class. The illustrations and simple words tell the story of a young child's imaginative play outside with his boat in a rain puddle. He is visited by several animals including a frog, crocodile, elephant, and pig at this small puddle.

Now it is your turn! Please share the fun you had outside this week. And if you have a favorite book about playing outside or favorite BOOKS, please share those as well!

April 16- Rainy Day Fun

2011-04-16T18:16:00.000-07:00

We awoke this morning to a lovely gentle rain. I knew we were expecting thunderstorms and high winds this afternoon, so we went out to play in the rain immediately after breakfast.

I hope all of our friends that were effected by the storms today are safe and well. Did you make it outside today?

April 15th-Crazy Busy Day!

2011-04-15T19:09:00.000-07:00

My little ones did get to play outside today! (But I have no pics)!!!! Tonight was our school's spring fundraiser and I was decorating while they played on the playground. I know...I am lame to have no pics of the kids outside, but here is a pic of the room I was decorating while the kids played outside. I will do better tomorrow! What did all of you do today?

April 14th-New Park

2011-04-14T19:28:00.000-07:00

We headed to a local park this morning that just remodeled. We brought lunch and stayed until nap time. It was such a fun day. The playground is really TALL! The kids loved it! The moms at the park were all a little nervous.

Although this park is located close to downtown, they have done a good job of leaving some beautiful natural areas to play in. There is a bridge that the little ones kept throwing sticks off. I have never met a child who didn't love throwing sticks into the water and watching them float away.

April 13th-Planting with friends

2011-04-13T19:37:00.000-07:00

Today was our Mommy and Me class. We planted strawberries in our garden and planted seeds in Terracotta pots with our friends. After planting, the kids just had a fun time digging in the square foot garden we hadn't planted in yet. I will have the rest of the fun activities on my Mommy and Me blog later in the week.

April 12th - Picking Dandelions

2011-04-12T18:29:00.000-07:00

We were worried that the rainstorm this afternoon would turn into a thunderstorm, so we stayed close to home. (That just means we will get to do two parks one day this week). While we were outside, my mom offered to pay my little ones for picking the dandelions in the yard. We have A LOT!

My kids have jobs that they do just because they are part of our family and we are a team, but they also have some "money chores" they can do to earn a little money of their own. We follow a plan in a book called Parenting Breakthrough by Merilee Boyack. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this book!

All 3 had a great time looking for the dandelions, but Andrew was HIGHLY MOTIVATED. He kept going, even after it started to rain hard. He picked 207!

Do you ever pay your kids to help in the yard?

April 11th-Park Play Date

2011-04-11T18:49:00.000-07:00

We had a fun time at the park today. The kids played on swings, climbed up trees and slides, and spent a lot of time in these spinning seats. Enough time to make Andrew pretty dizzy. (Not dizzy enough to stop playing in them, though)! I only have pics from the park, but we played outside in our backyard and did some yard work this evening. Lots of fun time outside today! Enough that we have pink cheeks. How about you?

April 10th-Outside Storytime

2011-04-10T18:52:00.000-07:00

We read stories outside underneath the trees this afternoon with our Daddy! I know this is completely unrelated to our outdoor challenge, but I have to say that my husband reading to our children is probably my favorite thing to see in the whole world. I love these pictures of him and I love him! We are so blessed to have him as the kind and loving head of our home. Having grown up in a home without a daddy for most of my childhood, I try to never take for granted the gift he is to our home.

First Week Favorites- Virtual Playdate

2011-04-10T06:18:00.000-07:00

I think I would have the hardest time choosing my favorite from this week! We have had the best time outdoors EVERYDAY! Each day was an opportunity to create new memories. Now it is time for you to share your favorite or favorites from this week in our virtual playdate!

How does a virtual play date work? If you have a blog, please share your website with us by clicking on the linky below. Then take a few moments (or more) to visit the other participants and comment on a few. Let them know that you are participating in our virtual play date. Part of the fun of our challenge will be seeing what our friends around the world are doing to meet the challenge! You can even come back and comment on my blog and tell me which of the play dates were your favorites!

April 9th-Petting Zoo

2011-04-09T20:15:00.000-07:00

We spent a fun afternoon outside at a local petting zoo today. We had also planned to go to the park, but the weather was not safe. We still made more than our 30 minutes, luckily. What did you do?

April 8th-Parallel Play in Our Own Backyard

2011-04-08T17:51:00.000-07:00

Andrew had a great time playing with the dog.

Molly insisted on wearing her new boots. (That are two sizes too big). She ran around the back yard yelling, "GO, GO!" Then fell down after every 4 or 5 steps. She'd get back up again and yell "Go, Go!" She refused to change shoes. She is Two with a capital "T"!

Ryan spent the afternoon chatting with the backyard neighbors.

Notice how he and his brother have figured out how to stack this chair onto a platform and stand on the top to chat with the neighbors. The neighbors are standing on their trampoline on the other side of the fence.

April 7th-Backyard Fun

2011-04-07T19:42:00.000-07:00

Today we played outside in our own backyard. The kids had a great time on the swing set and in the sandbox.

April 6th-Sailboats

2011-04-06T19:12:00.000-07:00

I host a Mommy and Me Book Club at my house once a week. Today we read the book The Puddle by David McPhail. We made cute little sailboats and took them outside to sail in our swimming pool. (You can click on the link to see how). It was such a fun way to use our pool. The pool usually doesn't get pulled out until the middle of May. Ryan had a great time! Later that afternoon, Andrew and Molly had fun playing in the water with funnels and scoops. We sailed little boats we made out of bark.

April 5th- Rainy Day Fun Linky

2011-04-05T18:20:00.000-07:00

The rain last night left a beautiful, wet backyard to explore this morning. We were lucky enough to have neighbor friends come over and play in the mud and splash in puddles with us! The kids even made mud pies that they shared with the dog. (She was unimpressed). We are looking forward to another rainy day to play outside.

Now it is your turn! Please share your favorite things to do outside in the rain with your family!

April 4th- Hiking

2011-04-04T20:29:00.000-07:00

We live near a beautiful area with nature trails, a garden, pond, and great trees. I love bringing the children here to play. There is no playground equipment. The children just have a wonderful time exploring and playing with nature. This gigantic magnolia is our very favorite part of the gardens.

There is a huge opening beneath the tree that the children love to climb inside and play pretend. They call it their secret fort. They were a little disappointed today that there were other children inside "their" hide out when we arrived. I think they believed we were the only ones who knew about this place.

We hiked on the trail and had a fun time throwing sticks in the water.

It was really windy this afternoon. Look at Molly's pigtails!

April 3rd-Family Walk

2011-04-03T17:34:00.000-07:00

Our entire family took an hour long walk through our neighborhood this morning with our Nana and Papa and their doggy, Lizzie! What did you do today?

April 2nd-Getting the Garden Ready

2011-04-02T19:05:00.000-07:00

Today we mixed the soil for our newest square foot garden and refreshed the old ones with compost. We added new sand to our sandbox and spent all morning outside! What did you do today?

April 1st- Field Trip to Natural Science Museum

2011-04-01T15:54:00.000-07:00

Today was our last day of Spring Break! Andrew, my eldest, is obsessed with all things birds and wolves these days. The Greensboro Nature Science Museum has new baby wolf pups (and a few birds), so we headed there today for one last fun outing before school starts back on Monday. We had a fun time outdoors together, even though it was very windy and chilly (44 degrees). Unfortunately, the little pups were a little too frightened and a little too cold to come out and say hello. But I did manage to snap this one shot of his little head peeking out of the tree. The mommy wolf was enjoying the sunshine...the first we have had here in several days. She kept walking over to the tree and appeared to be trying to coax the babies out, but they wouldn't budge, even for her.

We spent over 2 hours outside visiting the animals. Molly was very excited to brush the "Doggies" (aka goats) in the petting zoo area.

The Animal Discovery habitat is thoughtfully landscaped and has lots of neat bridges and stumps and little pathways to play in as you walk between exhibits.

When we were finished at the museum, we drove home and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon outside jumping on the trampoline and playing tag until dinner.

I would love to hear how your first day went. Comment here or on our facebook page and let me know! I will be posting a link up next Sunday for you to share your favorite post from the previous week's outdoor fun!

Favorite Outdoor Activity Linky

2011-03-28T01:00:00.000-07:00

Our family came up with a list of 30 of Our Favorite Things to Do in Our Own Backyard. Hopefully it will spark some fun ideas for you as you prepare for our 30 Day Challenge. Don't forget that begins on Friday! Sometimes you don't have to travel away from home to have a great time! While it is fun to go on field trips and do elaborate activities with our kids, sometimes all you really need is some dirt and water. Here is our list, with a few pics. The list is in no specific order.

1-Help plant a garden.
2-Play with the wagon.
3-Catch and release bugs and worms.

4-Andrew's current favorite-bird watch!
5-Sports (We love soccer and basketball right now).
6-Throw bean bags at the fence.
7-Skateboard, bike, and ride scooters.
8-Ryan's favorite-Play chase (or as Ryan calls it "I'm Gonna Catch You).

9-Paint- the house with water or on the easel with real paint
10-Draw with sidewalk chalk.
11-Mommy's Favorite-Read stories outside under our trees.
12-Use tools.

13-Blow bubbles.
14-Play in the sandbox.
15-Splash in puddles.
16-Play with the water hose.

17-Molly's favorite-Ring Around the Rosie
18-Have a picnic.
19-Climb a tree.
20-Take a walk.
21-Play on the swingset.
22-Camp in the backyard.
23-Build Forts.
24-Play pretend. (We currently spend a lot of time make believing we are super heroes, spies, and Star Wars characters).

25-Jump on the trampoline with Daddy.
26-Explore with Magnifying glasses.
27-Daddy's Favorite-Pushing the kiddos down the hill on the ride on cars.
28-Play in the sand and water table. Right now ours has bird seed in it.
29- Making mud pies and playing restaurant.
30-"Putting on shows for Mommy and Daddy where we do cool tricks."

Now it is your turn to share! Please feel free to link up your blog posts that share lists of your family favorites. I can't wait to see all of your fun ideas! Thank you for sharing this fun challenge with our family!

It is not too late to join our April challenge! Click here to sign up. All you have to do is leave a comment and say you are in! If you haven't joined in the fun yet, I hope you will!

Favorite Outside Activities

2011-03-24T05:55:00.000-07:00

I wanted to give you a head's up! I plan on posting a link-up on Monday, March 28th to share ideas on outside play with our kiddos. We will do this throughout the month of April, each time with a different theme. The first one, however, will be for Lists of Fun Outdoor Play Ideas. So if you have your own blog and would like to share your family's favorite outdoor activities, write a blog post and share it with all of us on Monday! Or maybe you already have a great list you have shared previously on your blog. That is wonderful, too! It will be a great resource to all of us as we seek for fun new ways to enjoy the great outdoors with our loved ones! (Others coming up will include research on benefits of outdoor play, nature play, rainy day fun, and books about nature to share with our little ones).

Inviting Friends to Play!

2011-03-23T06:36:00.000-07:00

If you have joined the challenge, please consider "Liking" us on Facebook. The tab is to the right of this post. This way we can have an easy location to check in with each other every day to say "Yes! I played outside today!" It is always motivational to me to have someone I can be accountable to.

If you have your own blog, feel free to grab a button and let your readers know you are up to the challenge!

Can You Come Outside to Play?

2011-03-21T15:06:00.000-07:00

Right now I have the door open and I am listening to my 3 children giggling together in our backyard. The wind is blowing, rustling the leaves, the birds are singing, and here in North Carolina, it is a lovely 60 degrees. All of a sudden I am 8 years old again, playing in the woods with my cousins in Cedarland. Cedarland was our special hideaway in the woods that the grownups ~~pretended they~~ knew nothing about. We created towns in the fall, where we raked out leaves to make houses and roads. I was always the town school teacher. In the winter we dared each other to walk in the creek with no shoes on. In the Spring and Summer, those more adventurous than I, chose to catch and observe lizards and toads. There were nights filled with catching lightening bugs in jars. Mud pies in the rain. Blackberries to pick that stained our already "filthy from playing outside all day" fingers. I remember this huge empty barrel we climbed inside of and rolled down the hill, and wagon races down that same hill, where we used the handle as our steering wheel. We packed snacks and set off exploring in the woods. We brought books outside and read under trees. I directed my cousins and friends in plays outside that our parents ~~enthusiastically watched~~ patiently endured. I know it sounds idyllic, but it really was my childhood. We were sent outside after school, EVERYDAY! And all day long in the summers. I am guessing that those of you who are my age, have very similar memories.

I have such happy memories of my childhood and playing outside, and I really want my children to have this as well. This is why we bought our house with the big fenced in backyard So why does it seem so hard to make sure my kids ages 6, 3, and 1 make it outside EVERYDAY? (especially the youngest). There are lots of logistical challenges and these are things I plan on blogging about and confronting over the next month, but it really shouldn't be THAT HARD! Should it? I feel it is imperative for their development and growth as a human being, I have read MANY books and blogs and articles on the subject. We do try and play outside almost everyday, and usually we make it outside. But still there are nights when I tuck them in and wonder where the day went? Why they spent all day in the car or in the playroom instead of time outside.

Hence my challenge to myself and to all of you. Let's play outside this month. Every day. No matter the weather. No matter how pressing our to-do list seems. Let's share fun ideas to do with our kids outside. Tips for getting your kids to play outside WITHOUT you. (Not all play should be structured). Let's talk about where we play. Share books and articles and blogs with each other. And let's savor each and every beautiful spring day in April. Whether it is rainy or sunny or snowy where you live, play outside.

Can You Come Outside to Play?

*If you would like to accept the challenge to play outside EVERY DAY in the month of April, please comment on this blog post below and become a follower of this blog. . Also share your FAVORITE place to play outside as a child. At the end of April I will ask you to post again if you met the challenge. There will be a drawing for an Amazon Gift Card.

*We will share ideas throughout the month of April on how to reach this goal. We will include books and blogs about the benefits of outdoor play. If you have a book or blog you think we should highlight, please message me at daniellescribner at juno.com.

*Each week I will also host a "Weekly Virtual Play Date." Something that we all do in our separate locations. On Sundays, I will add a link-up where you can share pictures and blog posts about your outdoor play that previous week, if you wish. This isn't required.

*For it to count, I think the playtime should be at least 30 minutes total that day. (Although much more would be ideal). At the end of the month your child(ren) will have been outdoors at least 900 minutes!