If you haven’t spent much time on our site, welcome, and if you have, welcome back! You will find that this is the key inspiration for all that we do. We want to get outside. We want to get our kids outdoors. We believe Nature is the best teacher. We believe kids are natural inquirers who take in so much of the world around them. We believe that taking our kids outdoors only fosters that inquisitive nature even further and allows them to connect to the world they are exploring, and in turn to the people in that world.
As an educator, I have taught children ages 4 - 12 for the past 15 years. I’ve taught in private schools in California, public schools in the United Arab Emirates and an international school in Singapore. I’ve been lucky enough to meet and learn from other educators from all over the world. This is where my love of outdoor learning came from. I got a slight taste of it with some experience in our outdoor classroom in Singapore. But most of my inspiration comes from my fellow colleagues who are passionate about and have worked in forest schools and other outdoor learning schools in all corners of the world. I have been listening, reading and researching it for a while now, and I am so thrilled to be starting this journey now on my own.
As a mom to a 21 month old little girl, I have never wanted to find and create outdoor learning opportunities more. I am always trying to do what I can to get her outdoors. It’s not always easy. If you’re a parent (or really any adult living in the world today), you know the struggles. We are tired. We are overwhelmed. Sometimes we just want to hide out in the house. Sometimes (or often times for me) we don’t have the time or energy to be the perfect “pinterest parent” or “instagram mommy” or want to come up with different creative and interesting things for our kids to do. But then we feel guilty, and feel like we’re not doing enough. It’s a never ending cycle. The good news is, you don’t have to be any of those things. You don’t have to spend hours creating and setting up an activity for your child that they end up playing with for 5 minutes and then quit, only to have to clean it up. Getting outdoors is simple. Learning outdoors is natural. You don’t have to plan anything. You also now have me (and countless others) who have done the research and will make it even more convenient for you. And the very best part is, even if it’s hard to get motivated to get outside, once you’re there, your energy and mood will only improve as well (trust me…this may be hard to believe in the moment but I always feel so much better after getting outdoors)!
In this blog I will speak to different aspects of getting outdoors and the benefits to our children. I will generally focus my topics on Nature Explorers and Messy Art, the same as the child and caregiver (aka mommy and me) classes we currently offer. I will talk about the specific benefits of getting outdoors with our little ones and give ideas for different activities when you find the time and energy for them. I will also talk about art and its benefits, and give ideas for that as well. It will all be written through the eyes of a dedicated educator, but also a tired parent, knowing there are some days we are ready to be and do everything, and there are other days we are barely hanging on just to stay awake! This is my first blog, so bare with me as I get the hang of it and get comfortable with it. I hope to be an ally to other tired parents who want the best for their kids (ok, so all parents!). I hope to offer my expertise as an educator of our youngest kids. If you can read this and say, “this sounds like me”, awesome. If you get some new ideas to engage your kids and get them outdoors and/or get them doing art, even better! If this inspires you and lets you know that you can do it too, that would be the very best outcome!
So for now, just keep it simple. My only message for this week is: get outdoors! Go for a walk. If you have a dog, take them and be the multi-tasking pro that you are, and if not, just take your little one. If you like to hike, go do that. Either strap your little one in a carrier and go for a hike that gets you moving, or find a flat hike where your little one can walk around and explore as well. Get into your front or back yard. Just bring out a blanket or towel (and your coffee even). Sit and watch your child. What do they see, what do they do, what excites them? Don’t have a front or back yard? Take them to a park and do the same. Just watch your kids. They are natural inquirers, they will find all kinds of things that interest them. Follow their lead. Don’t plan anything. Literally just get outside in any way you can! Have fun exploring!
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