Home » Education » Learning Activities for Kids » Celebrating the Outdoors with Kids

Celebrating the Outdoors with Kids

Spend time as a family enjoying nature

Getting outside is one of my April goals, and we spent most of our free time outdoors this week – mostly on after dinner walks. We also (finally!) tried out our local pool, and were surprised to find that it is heated to surprisingly warm temperatures. So we spent a few afternoons there. Hopefully the kids will all learn to swim by the end of the summer!

I love spending time outdoors with my kids! They have such a natural curiosity. They have all been learning a lot about how the earth moves in relation to the sun by watching their shadows at different times of day.

Learning about shadows by playing outside

The kids find all sorts of interesting plants and rocks while playing outdoors, and we talk a lot about those – sometimes from a science perspective, and often simply admiring their natural beauty and complexity.

Kids develop their natural curiosity by playing outside

The kids like to little tree overhangs and piles of branches that they use to build forts and houses. They all work together to find these spots!

Playing outdoors is a great way to promote sibling bonding

Being out in nature is also a great opportunity for me to work on photography – one of my other goals for this month

Exploring nature as a family

The kids also got to play with their cousin S a lot this past week! Anna is finally starting to catch up with him enough that it is fun for them to play together, and that was very cute to see! They also got to see Mike’s aunt, uncle, and cousin, some family friends, AND we spent Saturday in San Francisco!

spending time with cousins

Then we started this week off with some excellent excitement – little cousin S became a big brother, and I got to practice my newborn photography on his gorgeous little sister V. She showed up very early Sunday morning, and my kids can’t wait to meet her!

Baby photography - toes

How was your week?

afterschool linky

2014 After School Party HOSTS

The Educators’ Spin On It
Planet Smarty Pants
Boy Mama Teacher Mama
Coffee Cups and Crayons
Little Wonders’ Days
Mama Smiles
Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational
The Measured Mom
This Reading Mama
What Do We Do All Day

Please share you elementary school aged activities in the linky below (by doing so you are giving the linky hosts permission to feature your post and to pin it to our After School Activities board on Pinterest). I adored these Storybook Inspired Easter Eggs from Growing Book by Book and this Sticky Face contact paper craft from the connection we share that were linked up last week!

MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.

21 thoughts on “Celebrating the Outdoors with Kids”

  1. Congratulations on your newest family member! Your photography is amazing!! It looks like a wonderful week.

  2. We’re so excited for your new family member too! It was a wonderful news to start this week. This week has gone by quickly, but we’re taking it day by day without any major goals but to rest and take it easy.

  3. Oops, I’d had this open, but forgot to comment. Some days…..
    Happy sigh for newborn babies. My niece was born a couple of months ago, and she’s a cute little girl and fun to see. I hope they get time to enjoy their new cousin in the coming months.

  4. Even before I got to the part where you said you wanted to practice photography, I was thinking, “these are really nice photos!” :) Still waiting for it to warm up here, but I think the last little bit of snow in my yard melted this weekend!

  5. Elisa | blissfulE

    Lovely photographs! Especially that one of all your kids and their cousin S eating together! And Anna walking!! :) Yay for a newborn, and newborn photography! Sounds like a terrific week!

Comments are closed.

Scroll to Top