“Mama! LOOK!” My four-year-old daughter eagerly pulled my hand, pointing to a little patch of blue flowers growing at the base of a fence.
We were on a walk with a goal of finding every color in the rainbow out in nature; we call it a Color Walk. The color blue was proving to be very tricky, and the last color on our list. With my one-year-old daughter in my arms, my girls and I crouched down to get a closer look at this delicate flower.
“Can you believe it, Mama?! We found the color blue!” My daughter beamed with pride.
I could believe it, because my little girl wasn’t going to give up until she succeeded. Later, we looked up the name of the flower we found: Forget-me-nots.
This memory from last week, along with so many other moments of pure, homeschooling joy, I won’t forget. There are countless reasons why homeschooling is the best fit for our family, but one of the main reasons is the abundance of time we get to spend outside.
My interest in homeschooling came as a complete surprise to me. I’m a former high school English teacher and felt so fulfilled by this career and motivated to ignite a love of learning in my students.
Then, I became a mom.
I left the classroom because I couldn’t bear to be away from my baby for eight hours a day. I pieced together odd jobs as I created my writing business, a job that could be done from home so I could care for my children. This was one of the most terrifying, bravest, and best decisions my husband and I have ever made.
The decision to send our oldest daughter to preschool never felt quite right, so we began discussing alternate ideas. I instantly felt thrilled about the prospect of homeschooling, and to be honest it feels too good to be true. I still feel the same motivation to ignite a love of learning, but now my daughters and I learn together.
A popular Norwegian saying that we use in our house is, “there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing.” I often hear others say, “it’s too hot outside” or “there are too many bugs to go play right now.” This is the mindset I want to expel from my family’s language. If we wait for the perfect weather to go outside, we will spend all of our fleeting days indoors, away from all the beauty and wonder waiting for us right through our front door.
I passionately believe (and research shows!) that being outdoors enhances learning, builds resilience, teaches an appreciation for our planet, and helps children to be happier and healthier.
Here are a few ways the outdoors is the foundation for our homeschooling journey:
Daily Walking
Going on a family walk is a vital part of our daily routine. Depending on the weather, we either layer up or put on our sun hats and hit the sidewalk. Sometimes it takes us 45 minutes just to find shoes and get out the door. (If you’re a toddler parent, you know what I mean!) But it is always worth the effort to get exercise and fresh air. We like to add fun elements to our walk, such as looking for all the colors of the rainbow. We also play “I spy”, my daughter practices her numbers by reading addresses, or we identify different bird sounds we hear. There are also many owls who live in our neighborhood, and we’ve often chased the sound of the barred owl up and down our streets until we find our friend, perched in a tall oak tree watching us.
Gardening
This summer my daughters and I planted a wild flower and herb garden in the front of our yard. They helped me with every step of this exciting process: we cleared the garden of dead leaves, got the new soil ready, planted the seeds in rows, and watered our garden all summer. (Mosquitoes did not scare us away from this task!) Is there anything better than the smell of fresh dirt and the site of a bee landing on a flower you grew? Speaking of bees! We also made a little water dish for bees; it was my daughter’s job to fill up the water dish every day. We learned so much through this process, all while soaking up the sun and spending meaningful time together. Before a deep freeze, we have also been clipping and drying our herbs to use this winter. Incorporating the herbs into our cooking adds flavor and fills us with a sense of pride to eat food that we grew.
Farming
My mom has pet chickens, and my daughters and I help her raise them. Because my mom travels a lot, we often watch her chickens for weeks at a time, chasing away hawks, or giving them ice in the summer and extra hay in the winter. Sometimes, it’s below 0 degrees outside, but the chickens still need care. So, we put on our chicken boots and wool socks and get to work. My four-year-old knows just what to do at night when we lock them up, and watching her herd the chickens back in the coop, feed them corn, collect the eggs, and tell them goodnight is a happy sight. I love that my daughters show no reservation in picking up chickens or feeding them out of their hands. In this process they are also learning where their food comes from and how much work goes into producing it.
Fishing
One of our all time favorite things to do outside is FISH. My dad is an enthusiastic fisherman, and he loves nothing more than to take his daughter and granddaughters out on the lake. Just two days ago we were fishing at sunset, bundled up in wind breakers for the cool October weather, watching the wildlife and trying to catch a bass. We didn’t catch any fish, but we did see thousands of seagulls gathered on the water, hunting for food before the cold weather arrived. This is a memory I will always cherish, and moments of wonder with my loved ones fills me with a deep appreciation for my life.
Star Gazing
My oldest daughter is obsessed with the moon, so we regularly have PLANET PARTIES. A good planet party consists of sitting outside, eating snacks, wearing cozy jackets, while gazing at the stars and the moon. I have an app on my phone that allows us to identify different constellations; we love memorizing the names of stars! Swooping bats, owls, and neighborhood cats often join our nighttime celebrations. Learning at its finest!
Final Thoughts
The first reason we homeschool? Time together. Time to learn together, be bored together, work through our emotions together, cook delicious meals together, read together, and BE OUTDOORS together.
While I do have dreams of living on a small farm in the country someday, I’ve learned that wide open spaces or mountain tops aren’t necessary to instill a deep connection to nature in my daughters. Watching a honey bee visit our zinnias or marveling at a hard working robin building her nest is just as special as watching an eagle soar above a lake. I’ve also learned that the more I observe and appreciate these moments, the more my daughters do too. As Richard Louv, one of my favorite authors said, “We have a brief opportunity to pass on to our children our love for this earth and to tell our stories. These are the moments when the world is made whole.”
Our homeschooling journey will be forever evolving as our daughters get older and their interests change. However, one constant will always be the essential time we spend outside, our North Star guiding us on our compass of learning and exploration.