Outside the Kitchen
- Leah Roche
- Feb 25, 2020
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 30, 2020
Admittedly, I spend a lot of time in our kitchen, but you know where else I like to spend time? OUTSIDE! And are you all ready for this? According to Leah McDermott, a speaker on natural learning, who I had the pleasure of meeting last month, the average family isn't spending much time outside.
"...Research shows that the average child is spending only 4-7 minutes outside on a daily basis." ~ Leah McDermott
That's minutes people! Not only does Leah have an awesome name, but she also has multiple Masters of Education degrees and over 15 years of experience educating and working with children of all ages. During her discussion at my moms group she spoke about how important time outside is to a child's developing mind and I'm completely on board with her philosophy! Just as much as I believe food plays a major role in our physical and mental health so too does time outside. Going outside can fix a bad attitude, spark imagination, create motivation, and so much more!
“Children more than ever, need opportunities to be in their bodies in the world – jumping rope, bicycling, stream hopping, and fort building. It’s this engagement between limbs of the body and bones of the earth where true balance and centeredness emerge.” ~ David Sobel
With this in mind, and given the amount of bickering I heard between my two kids last Saturday morning, I finally got fed up and told everyone to get dressed because we were going on an adventure. Wouldn't you know it, not 15 minutes into our time outside and my kids, who were at each other's throats earlier, were best buddies again. Plus, this mom who was feeling rather frazzled and edgy herself felt renewed and strong enough to take her 8 year-old, 3 year-old, and fur baby on a hike that turned into a 5 mile trek along the Ridgeline trail system to the top of Spencer Butte and back. It was a glorious sunny day and I'm so glad we didn't miss it!
What was not a glorious sunny day was Sunday. Back to gray clouds and rain. Lydia didn't sleep well the night before and she was a whining, hot mess most of the day. By the afternoon her attitude had left me drained. What did we do? I popped her in the stroller and we walked out to the Christmas tree farm at the end of our road and back. It started pouring on us halfway, yet to me it felt cleansing, and it must not have felt too bad to Lydia because she fell asleep!
Guess what else? After a chilly walk I was inspired to warm up with some baking, which led to the creation of my plant-based cinnamon swirl bread! Yum!
Who else got outside this weekend? How does being outdoors affect you? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
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