We're Joining the 30 Day Outdoor Challenge...Anyone Wanna Join Us?

As our summer winds down and the "school year" is quickly approaching, I have been working on getting organized, making materials, and just thinking about what this coming year might have in store for us. Well, this morning, while perusing some of my favorite blogs, I happened to discover a new favorite called Kids Discover Nature.  They have kicked off the Second Annual 30 Day Outdoor Challenge. 

Basically, how it works is that you are to commit to 30 minutes of outdoor time with your children for a full month...rain or shine...busy or not so busy schedule...you just get out there and do it!

We are normally very good about taking in the sunshine here in the Sunshine State, but not so much when we get huge storms.
Our rainstorms here are not the type that you can go out with rain slickers on and enjoy playing in puddles. they are usually very powerful tropical storms...heavy downpours and thunder and lightning.
We do not get the gentle rainstorms I remember as a child growing up in Pennsylvania.
The storms are usually awesome to watch from inside the windows of our home...they are not something that you can go out and enjoy first hand.

But, with that being said, I need to be more proactive and have a plan in mind...
Big Bro, Little Bro, and I should get our time outside even when we have days like these, as the storms never last all day and night. My goal is to either get our time in before we get these storms or else, to get out there and take in some outdoor time after the storms subside.

Dear Hubby has a degree in meteorology and even though he no longer works in that field, traded weather in for computers, he still is very on top of what the weather has in store for us, so there should be no reason why I can't plan things out and make the most of our windows of opportunity for outdoor fun...

So, that is the plan...
Am working on a way to let my sons have more fun doing a Florida version of a mud pie kitchen, as we really don't have mud here, unless you are near a construction site and they have hauled in dirt. My plan is to scoop up some sand from the area beaches and put it in a bin and let the rain beat down on it and then, we will have our own Florida style sandy mud for some mud pies!
For anyone wanting inspiration, please check out Jenny's post at let the children play.
Am also coming up with some art projects that we could start before it storms and then, we could use the rain to help us with the art project, such as putting some dried paint powder on some paper and then, waiting for the rain to do its thing. Think that we will get out and do some chalk drawings and then, we could watch them wash away...or maybe do some marbelized art...we will see...

We have loads of ants (all of the nasty biting varieties), along with ticks embedded in our St. Augustine grass...not to mention cottonmouths, rattlesnakes, and coral snakes, which can easily hide in the thick, sandy grass in our yard. Our neighbors have swimming pools and there are ponds virtually all  around us, so our block is ripe for snakes and ants.
The snakes have only been an issue in our front yard a few times...just a little creepy though, as twice, the snake was literally at our front door...and then, once in the bush by our front window.
Our neighbors had to call the Florida Fish and Wildlife to ask what to do about the rattlesnake in their garage this week. Our other neighbors have had to deal with cottonmouths hanging out in their backyards and pools, so it has been an interesting few weeks...
But we do have lots of cool frogs and toads, along with loads of lizards and grasshoppers.
We like to get out and about to play with these...
So, the key is for me to navigate through the weather and dangerous critters so that we still get some decent quality time outside every day...no matter what.

If  you want to join the 30 Day Outdoor Challenge, please be sure to check it out, as it sounds like it will be a blast!
We are going to give it our best and really take in more than just the sunshine.

Fun!!!

Thankful Thursday - Inspirations and Different Perspectives

Karen Tyler is a wonderful Montessorian and has been a real inspiration to many of us,  largely   homeschooling moms...

Karen gets it...
She gets that there may very well be great reasons (ranging from spiritual to physical, from financial to philosophical) WHY we homeschool and why we choose to utilize Montessori materials and the Montessori philosophy in our homes.
She gets the notion of a Montessori inspired home and also gets the idea that some of us choose to not only use Montessori but also to incorporate some other materials and philosophies into something that works for our children.
She gets that we are all on our own life journey and that one size does not fit all with respect to educational settings, for some children have very specific environmental or learning needs, so Karen has been willing to share her expertise in helping us to navigate how to try to "do Montessori" in the home. 

Karen gives it...
She gives freely of herself, her experiences, her materials, her insights...
She has made her online training, her excellent albums, and her lectures, essays, helpful hints very accessible.
She is incredibly generous. She does not charge nearly what her training is worth...she wants to share her wealth of knowledge and does so out of the goodness of her heart.

Although I have additional degrees in education and have classroom teaching experience, going through Karen's program really helped me to chart a course for homeschooling my sons. Homeschooling is a whole other "ballgame" than being in the classroom in a school setting, regardless of whether it is public or private, traditional or progressive, etc.

So, from the bottom of my heart, Karen, thank you!
Karen is the founder and instructor for Montessori Worldwide Album Class and runs A Montessori Marketplace.


Now, for some inspiration and a very different perspective...

Jenny is a Reggio Emilia inspired, progressive education preschool teacher and blogger and new one to me...

Her blog, called let the children play, is something to behold, as it challenges my comfort zone with what I would consider safe for my sons to do...but to grow, we need to be challenged...we need to re-evaluate from time to time and think about the authentic learning process, and that includes letting children get messy and taking risks...

Here are two of her thought provoking sentences:

While we don't want children to come to harm, our fears can lead us to overreact to risky play.  If we remove risk from play, we are not encouraging children to persist at challenging tasks.  If we remove the challenges we are not developing resilience in our children.

Being a bit of a chicken comes most naturally for me...
I am good (bordering on very good) at being a chicken...

When you have three very high risk pregnancies, you lose one dear one at 20 weeks, your oldest child is born with tracheomalacia, and your youngest child has Von Willebrand's, and both of your sons have asthma and allergies, it is very easy to be overly protective...keeping them in a bubble would not be wise, nor really even feasible, nor would it be good for their intellectual / physical / emotional growth...
They need to go out and explore the world, and that is what we do try to do...but in all honesty, allowing them to try things that I would normally consider dangerous makes me feel nauseous, almost like how I feel going down a big twisty water slide ride.
Absolutely do not like feeling like I am completely out of control, so just as it completely freaks me out when we go to a water park and go on water slide rides where your whole family is all thrust togther on a big inflatable donut and you spin uncontrollably round and round as you simultaneously go downhill, without being able to see where you are going...without being able to control the direction you are headed or the speed or the trajectory of your ride... 

But as I read her blog and some of the ones she has in her sidebar, feel compelled to loosen up a bit and maybe just maybe them try some more risky outdoor activities.

So, Jenny, thank you from the bottom of my heart...you have given me so much food for thought!

We were told outright that under no certain circumstances can Little Bro play contact sports. 
Not up for consideration...just out and out, No... don't do it.

So, with that being the case, that makes us question what other outdoorsy fun will he not be able to do while growing up that usually other boys love, such as rock climbing, tree climbing, or building structures that could lead to him getting injured.

It is a tricky balancing act...but I do realize that I have to be willing to loosen up at least a little. 

Then, the other question that eats at me is how do we then make it"fair" for Big Bro, if Little Bro can't do these things?

How do I make it fair for both boys?

 If you have a child or children whom you feel you very well might shelter a little too much, then please pop over to check out Jenny's interesting blog. 


Well, thank you to both of these dynamic, insightful, intelligent women. 

They have made an impact on me. Hope that they will make an impact on you, too... 

One more thing, please be sure to read my post about the upcoming scavenger hunt for this weekend...it's gonna be fun!!!