The Truth About How Much Time Our Kids Should Spend Outside
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The Truth About How Much Time Our Kids Should Spend Outside

In Home Education, Charlotte Mason famously (or perhaps infamously) says that children should spend four to six hours outside every day – a bit less in winter. Time and time again, I have seen parents respond in one of two ways. Some panic at the thought that they are failing their children by not meeting…

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Creating an Ideal Outdoor Play Space for your Preschooler

As I mentioned last week, we’ve moved house recently. The backyard in our former home was mostly a brick patio, with a patch of grass roughly the size of a postage stamp. Our new garden isn’t enormous (especially by American standards). However, there is plenty of room for the boys to run, play, and enjoy…

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Eight Inspiring Elements for Mud Kitchens

We are getting ready to move! We’ll be going from a tiny yard to a decent-sized garden, and I’m so excited. One of the things I’m looking forward to is creating a mud kitchen for the boys. Sensory, open-ended, loose parts play. It’s going to be awesome! I’ve been gathering ideas for a while, and here are…

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The Lie I Told Myself: I don’t have time to get my kids outside.

I’ve mentioned before that I’m not always the best person at getting outside, despite the many reasons to do so. Part of this is because it is simply inconvenient. Our backyard is the size of a postage stamp. We have a patch of grass that is maybe six by six feet, and that’s being generous. We have…

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Book Review: Outdoor Learning in the Early Years by Helen Bilton

[sc name=”Disclosure”] Outdoor Learning in the Early Years by Helen Bilton takes a broad look at outdoor play in early years settings (affiliate link). Bilton’s book starts from the increasingly familiar premise that outdoor play is quite often neglected: Outdoor play spaces are often either small or non-existent, exclusively tarmacked hard surfaces with few natural elements….

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Book Review: Risk and Adventure in Early Years Outdoor Play

[sc name=”Disclosure”] Taking risks is a key part of growing up, one that many kids these days are missing out on. They are never out of sight from an adult, they are plucked from the top of playground equipment before they have a chance to think about how to get down, they certainly don’t climb…

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Five Reasons to Stop Making Excuses, Bundle Up, and Get Outside with the Kids

My relationship with the outdoors, historically, is mixed. I remember enjoying some outside activities when I was growing up in Indiana. As a family, we went hiking in state parks and wandered to the creek near our house. These are fond memories, but I have even more memories of sluggish, sweaty  summers of band camp, snow…