Or The Short Adventure of Big Bill
Since we have been working on getting 300 hours outside this year, I have developed a much better attitude toward cold weather. I used to be quite the hibernator during winter but have learned to embrace the chill. Another development from this has been some great memories with my kids where I was part of the action and not just watching them enjoy an experience.
Here are two excellent reasons that you should not just supervise the kids outside but get in on the action. The first I already mentioned. When you are part of the experience you and your children have a shared memory. It’s not just “that time the kids made the giant snowball to roll down the hill.” It becomes “the time that we did…” whatever it was.
Another development from this has been some great memories with my kids
The subtitle of this post has just such a story to go with it. We got our second snow of this season last week. It wasn’t much by northeast USA standards; only about a half inch to an inch. However it proved to be good for sledding and snowball making.
After a little while Jocelyn started making a giant snowball like one would make for the bottom portion of a snowman. She insisted that she was NOT making a snowman though. Once the snowball grew big enough that she could barely roll it anymore, she made her way over to the sledding hill. She and Lexi loaded it onto our sled. It was enjoyable for me to watch them figure out how to make that work.
I got involved at the point of pulling the snowball now named Big Bill up the hill. There is a revised nursery rhyme waiting to happen here. The plan all along was for Big Bill to take his own sleigh ride and burst apart on impact. The sled proved to be too much protection to demolish him. This did however make me feel good about the sled’s safety rating for the children.
At this point I suggested that we pull Big Bill back to the top, unload him from the sled, and let him roll. Jocelyn liked this idea. So I pulled and they pushed and we managed one more trip up the sledding hill. We unloaded Big Bill and aimed him at a tree. He ended not with a spectacular explosion but more of gradual crumble. Oh well, we had fun anyway. Thus ended the brief adventure of Big Bill.
The second worthy reason to get in on the action with your kids is that you get some much needed movement into your day. Pulling that snowball up the hill twice was cardio and strength training combined. I only regret that I didn’t check my step count before and afterward. When it’s not easy to fit a formal workout into a day, we can find these small opportunities to keep ourselves moving physically.
What are your favorite outdoor activities to do with your kids? Leave us a comment! We’d love to hear from you.