WILD CHILD: Early Spring Outdoor Play Adventures are the BEST + the MESSIEST

Do you see the weather through adult eyes? Most commonly I do this during seasonal transitions. Those cold, wet, rainy, windy days that make you think of staying inside with warm blankets and hot drinks.

I find myself reflexively expecting my children to whine and complain if I take them outside, and that discourages me from trying. But when we do venture out despite the grey skies, they rarely complain at all. In fact those are some of our best outdoor adventures. The mud, the puddles, the breakable ice, the newly exposed sticks that have been hiding under the snow pack, it really is a child’s paradise.

My washing machine may be full afterward, but we always come home smiling. So next time you see the weather forecast and think ”yuck”, stop and ask yourself “is that what my inner child would think?” Then try playing outside.  Just remember to put a laundry basket at the door for when you get home.

Written by Tandy Morton, WILD CHILD Playgroup Facilitator