I don't review many non-fiction books here, because I don't like the responsibility of having to read them on a schedule. But I loved the idea of this book, and now that I have read it, I love the execution as well. And I also love that I received the opportunity to review it just when the weather is starting to warm up, at a time when I have been thinking to myself that we need to get active outdoors again.
Author Rebecca Cohen has organized 365 ideas for spending 15 minutes outside with your children every day, rain or shine. The activities are categorized by month. Some are simple childhood classics like rolling down a hill, flying a kite, or climbing a tree, and others are more original or involved. Here is one of my favorite ideas for March:
Race to Spot the Most Critters
Give yourself one to five minutes to spot wildlife or insects. Just shout out what you see. This game can be played anywhere, whether in the big city, a park, car, or yard. See who notices the most, and then play it again.
And here is one for April
Ships Ahoy! Sail Juice Box Boats in Puddles
After your kids finish their juice boxes, find a puddle and float them like boats. Make up a story about their adventures. Once the children are done playing, they can write or draw a story about their adventure and tell you about it. What a great way to encourage their creativity!
I plan to look through the book with the Bibliophile and flag activities that he'd like to do. In the meantime, the book has really influenced my thinking for the better. We have gotten out much more this week, and I am considering this 15 minutes a day idea. My one hangup is how hard I know it would be to get the Bibliophile back indoors!
Cohen's book is a fantastic resource, and I highly recommend it. I can think of three different times this week that I have brought it up to other moms in conversation. I hope to glean many ideas from it in the weeks/months to come. Especially if this 60 degree weather keeps up.
Comment! What are your favorite outdoor activities with your children?
Disclosure: We received a copy of 15 Minutes Outside at no cost in order to write this review. If you click on any of the links in this post and purchase anything, we may earn a small commission through our affiliate relationship with Amazon.com.
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3 comments:
Getting outside for a little while each day seems to be crucial for my son, but it's also something I've been neglecting the last few weeks. I love that this book has activities that only take 15 minutes (or however long you want to spend!) and are organized by month! What a neat resource!
One of my favorite outside activties with my son is working in the garden. He also loves his sand table and washing the car.
We are doing SO much better at getting outside this month! Lily loves to go out first thing in the morning, and the nice thing is she'll stay right by the sliding door so I can get things done indoors without worrying about her. My favorite things to do with my kids outside are to go on walks, swing on our swingset, and read books! I also love watching them play in their sandbox and wading pool. We are extremely fortunate to have a nice yard (I like the outside of my house much more than the inside!), and that makes all the difference!
This post made me think how we tend to get in the rut about what we do outside. Perhaps my library has this book, so I can look for new ideas. Thanks for the review!
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