The Great Outdoors

As a Mom of two young active kids I'm always on the lookout for fun FREE things to do. The great outdoors provides so many opportunities to learn about our environment and what mother nature has given us. Plus it also helps put those "I'm bored" and restless syndrome to rest.

After work I pick the kids up and as soon as they get home, they pick up their bike or scooter and head out around the cul de sac. I'm fortunate that we live on a cul de sac and that there are a lot of kids in our neighborhood and mom's and dad's outside to supervise. Its wonderful to see the kids race each other or set up kick ball or impromptu baseball games. The adults often get involved in pitching and coaching and they stay out till dark. Now that Fall is closing in, these outdoor activities are even more precious after school. However, it soon picks up at the weekend as the door knocking and "can Dylan come out to play" brings a big smile on my sons face. I try to stay fit especially with my sedentary working life and so weekends we try to head out for a walk. We have a walking path and its fun to go pick up acorns or find deer in the forest and maybe a garden snake cross our path. We often come home laden with leaves or interesting rocks. My son loves to go for long bike rides with me too. We do several rides around the block and its fun to meet new neighbors on the other side.

Once in a while we head out in the car and head to the park, we are fortunate to have a "Kids Castle" where local volunteers built this beautiful climbing stucture with numerous slides and nooks and crannies and a kids dream playground rolled into one. There are also sand areas and swings and the kids play house or find new friends. I bring a magazine or my ipod or find some other moms to chat with. I let the kids run till they are either ready for an icecream or pretzel which I use to entice them to head out. Let kids be kids and head outdoors for some free fun! It also will help you be more active and healthy and create great memories for your children.

Please join Clorox2 Play 2Day by pledging to play outside with the kids! It's important to their overall health and well-being. Plus, it's just plain fun! Click here to pledge... http://clorox2play2day.com/

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Clorox2® blogging program, for a gift card worth $40. For more information on how you can participate, click here.