Welcome to the June Carnival of Natural Parenting: Outdoor fun
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have shared their stories and tips for playing outside with kids. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.
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Backyard camping!
One of my favorite things about summer is taking our indoor activities to the outdoors. Over Memorial Day weekend, my husband put the tent up in our backyard and all three of us (well, four of us including the dog) slept outside. We had so much fun falling asleep to the sound of bugs making noises in the trees. Of course, Gavin had a ton of fun playing in the tent until bedtime. Toddlers and tents just seem to go together.
Since any routine that we normally have for bedtime was useless, we let Gavin decide when he was ready for bed. We couldn’t believe how easily he fell asleep out there. The outdoors just seem to naturally relax him and ease him into sleep.
Gavin loves grazing while he plays outside.
I will admit that we didn’t stay out there all night. Around 2 a.m., the nearly full moon was high in the sky and shining right into our tent. I found myself sleeping on a rock and Gavin was finding it difficult to go back to sleep after waking (okay, I was moving around everywhere and kept waking him up). My husband and my dog seemed to be sleeping fine, but I decided not to torture myself anymore. The next morning, my husband and I questioned our sanity as we realized that we intentionally deprived ourselves of the sleep that we were already missing. Oh well, it was fun and we had the rest of the weekend to nap.
The next morning, we had “brunch” in the backyard to continue our outdoor experience. There is nothing like farmer’s market veggies on a hot day! Hopefully we’ll have our own veggies from our garden in the next month or so. If you are hoping to start your own garden soon, check out our article about composting. Check back soon for part 2 of Starting a Garden!
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Visit Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!
Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:
- Garden Treats — Asha at Mom Costume has once again been bitten by the gardening bug — and this time her baby’s tagging along for some fresh air and dirt exploration. (@titbagsandsnoot)
- Outdoor Free Roam — Mamapoekie at Authentic Parenting follows her daughter’s lead whenever they go outside. (@mamapoekie)
- Summer fun in Austin with a toddler — Jessica at This Is Worthwhile is brainstorming ways to beat the heat in Texas. (@tisworthwhile)
- summer fun… — Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children is looking forward to spending the summer outside with her children the way she used to spend summers with her mother.
- Outdoor Fun for Pre-Walkers — Maman A Droit has figured out ways to let her pre-walker enjoy the outdoors. (@MamanADroit)
- Summer Homeschool Fun at Camp Review — Deb Chitwood at Living Montessori Now discusses how Camp Review motivated and captivated her homeschooling family. (@DebChitwood)
- Digging, Tree Climbing and Puddle Jumping — Laura at Laura’s Blog bemoans the loss of her girls’ climbing tree but knows they’ll find something else just as naturally tempting.
- The Sweet Smells of Summer — Erin at A Beatnik’s Beat on Life is looking forward to the many smells of summer she and her daughters enjoy and identify. (@babybeatnik)
- June Carnival of Natural Parenting: Outdoor Fun — Sybil at Musings of a Milk Maker is a confirmed couch potato who can’t help but be inspired by the outdoor opportunities Seattle offers her family. (@sybilryan)
- Take a Hike — Michelle at The Parent Vortex connects with her family and the Earth on frequent hikes in their Pacific wilderness. (@TheParentVortex)
- Following Paul — Julie at Simple Life gives her kids unstructured time to dig in the dirt and pick mulberries. (@homemakerjulie)
- Instilling a Love of the Outdoors in Your Baby/Toddler — Tessasdad at Stay At Home Dad in Lansing offers a photo book of tips for helping your little ones enjoy the outdoors. (@tessasdad)
- Camping, baby! — Jen at Grow With Graces has easy tips for tent camping with a little one. (@growwithgraces)
- Think Outside the Easel for Summertime Fun — Acacia at Be Present Mama finds several ways to bring art fun to the outdoors.
- Outdoor Learning in our Urban Environment — Andrea at Ella-Bean & Co. has found ways to get grass between her daughter’s toes, even in the city.
- Outdoor Education — Alison at BluebirdMama offers parents tips and resources for making each outdoor excursion a learning experience. (@childbearing)
- Turning Inside Out — Christie of Childhood 101 finds kids get a kick out of taking indoor toys outside. (@Childhood101)
- Watching Peas Sprout — Deb at Science@home combines fun with purpose in this educational outdoor activity. (@ScienceMum)
- How To Create a Pirate Treasure Hunt & Other Easy Outdoor Pirate Activities (June Carnival of Natural Parenting) — Dionna at Code Name: Mama has pirate-themed play ideas for ye scurvy landlubbers. (@CodeNameMama)
- What We Do — Luschka at Diary of a First Child has managed to expose her 8-month-old to a wide variety of outdoor fun, even with the notoriously dreary UK weather. (@diaryfirstchild)
- Summer Fun — Darcel at The Mahogany Way finds her family’s visits to the beach refreshing in so many ways. (@MahoganyWayMama)
- Playing outside without a backyard — Sheryl at Little Snowflakes doesn’t let the lack of a backyard stop her family from enjoying the outdoors. There are plenty of things to do outside of your yard! (@sheryljesin)
- Having Fun Outdoors, Playset Free — Guavalicious at They Are So Cute When They Are Sleeping has resisted a backyard playset in favor of the regular backyard. (@guavalicious)
- Moon Gazing with your Toddler — Paige at Baby Dust Diaries is keeping her toddler up at night, but it’s for a good reason: to share the wonders of the night sky! (@babydust)
- the great outdoors — The grumbles at grumbles and grunts wonders whether her urban child can experience the same free-range childhood she enjoyed. (@thegrumbles)
- Let’s Take It Outside! — NavelgazingBajan at Navelgazing is looking for ideas: how can she spend time with her pre-walker outside this summer? (@BlkWmnDoBF)
- A home by the sea: June Carnival of Natural Parenting: Outdoor fun — Lauren at Hobo Mama is living her dream of a home near the beach, and taking full advantage of it. (@Hobo_Mama)
- An Outside Girl — Zoey at Good Goog moved her family to (almost) the middle of nowhere so that her outdoor-loving girl could have more grass and less concrete. (@zoeyspeak)
- Neighborhood Nature — Kelly at Kelly Naturally has learned to connect with the nature she has instead of mourning the nature she misses. (@kellynaturally)
- Building Lovely Memories of Swimming, Spiders and Gravestones — Joni Rae at Tales of a Kitchen Witch and her family are simply outdoorsy people. (@kitchenwitch)
- “Buh-Bye” Season — Danielle at born.in.japan must leave laundry behind and follow her son’s call to the outdoors. (@borninjp)
- Backyard Camping — Becoming Mamas took her family camping very close to home! (@becomingmamas)
- The Color of Dreams — Seeking Mother at Woman Seeking Mother makes gardening magical by teaching her son that each flower is a faery. (@seekingmother)
[...] http://www.becomingmamas.com/backyard-camping/(@childbearing); Turning Inside Out — Christie of Childhood 101 finds kids get a kick out of taking indoor toys outside. (@Childhood101); Watching Peas Sprout — Deb at Science@home combines fun with purpose in this educational outdoor activity. (@ScienceMum); How To Create a Pirate Treasure Hunt … (@Hobo_Mama); An Outside Girl — Zoey at Good Goog moved her family to (almost) the middle of nowhere so that her outdoor-loving girl could have more grass and less concrete. … [...]
I have been begging Tom to take us camping. I have fond memories of camping, and I want to share them with Kieran. Tom is worried about what you’re describing here though
I like the idea of trying it close to home – you guys were really close! We have a couple of campgrounds within 20 minutes of our house, that’s probably where we will venture out to first. I’m going to have to bring the air mattress though – no rocks for me, thankyouverymuch!
Yeah – we did it the easy way this time! This did make me more confident that we could go a little further from home next time.
What great memories you’re creating! And you’re making me hungry for fresh garden produce! For your toddler to develop memories of veggies fresh from the garden is priceless. I still love visiting my parent’s garden in the summer and really miss it when I can’t.
I still have memories of eating sugar snap peas from my grandma’s container garden, and I think I try to recreate those memories every summer. The taste of fresh veggies is priceless.
I especially like that you bring up the idea of moving our normal indoor activities outside in the summer. We eat our dinner outside almost every evening in the summer and we often sit outside in the hammock or on a blanket to read books with the kids. I’m also hoping to have a clothesline this summer so even laundry can come outside.
I remember backyard camping as a girl. I’m sure you are creating lifelong memories for your boy that will make up for a little less sleep here and there!!
You are right – the memories are worth it. We started a clothesline last year and we love it! I have a few pictures of my husband hanging the clothes, but he wouldn’t let me post them
I’ll have to sneak them on here someday.
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[...] Backyard Camping — Becoming Mamas took her family camping very close to home! (@becomingmamas) [...]
[...] Backyard Camping — Becoming Mamas took her family camping very close to home! (@becomingmamas) [...]
[...] Backyard Camping — Becoming Mamas took her family camping very close to home! (@becomingmamas) [...]
[...] Backyard Camping — Becoming Mamas took her family camping very close to home! (@becomingmamas) [...]
Oh hooray for backyard camping!!! I remember doing this with my sisters as kids; so fun. Thank you for sharing.
These sorts of experiences are the ones that memories are made of. Good for you for doing something so simple but yet extraordinary. I’m sure your little one will be asking to go camping again this summer.
[...] Backyard Camping — Becoming Mamas took her family camping very close to home! (@becomingmamas) [...]
[...] Backyard Camping — Becoming Mamas took her family camping very close to home! (@becomingmamas) [...]
I love backyard camping! It was always a treat when we did this as kids. Plus, when we were older (not sure how old, I’ll have to ask) Mom and Dad used to let my sister and I camp out in the backyard alone! It was so “grown up” and yet we could run in the house if we wanted to. I think this is the first time I’ve been to your blog – glad to have found you!
[...] Backyard Camping « Becoming Mamas [...]
[...] Backyard Camping « Becoming Mamas [...]
[...] Backyard Camping — Becoming Mamas took her family camping very close to home! (@becomingmamas) [...]
[...] Backyard Camping — Becoming Mamas took her family camping very close to home! (@becomingmamas) [...]
[...] Backyard Camping — Becoming Mamas took her family camping very close to home! (@becomingmamas) [...]
What a delightful post! I’ll look forward to more of your gardening series — excellent. I used to love backyard camping as a girl; I don’t have a backyard anymore, but maybe we can do camping-camping.
I will say, though, that eating outside makes the food taste that much better. I love it!
[...] Backyard Camping — Becoming Mamas took her family camping very close to home! (@becomingmamas) [...]
I love this idea, and I plan to camp out very close to home with my older girls as soon as we move and have our first yard!
[...] Backyard Camping — Becoming Mamas took her family camping very close to home! (@becomingmamas) [...]
[...] Backyard Camping — Becoming Mamas took her family camping very close to home! (@becomingmamas) [...]
[...] Backyard Camping « Becoming Mamas [...]
[...] Backyard Camping — Becoming Mamas took her family camping very close to home! (@becomingmamas) [...]