Book Review: 15 Minutes Outside by Rebecca P. Cohen

15 Minutes Outside: 365 ways to get out of the house and connect with your kids by Rebecca P. Cohen

There is probably a guide for just about everything with 365 ideas. Usually they don't interest me very much.

This title caught my eye, though, because who doesn't want to spend more time with their kids outside?

Unlike most 365 idea guides I've seen, I pretty much read this one straight through. It is packed with motivation for getting the family out into the sunshine (or rain or snow).

Rebecca Cohen decided to take her children outdoors every day for a year. The results were better than she expected. They created hundreds of positive family memories and the kids learned to get along better.

Her ideas are simple and easy and done with things most people have around the house. They are organized by month and day. The book is geared toward parents with young children.

A few of the ideas that stood out include...

January 21st: "Stage a Flashlight Drama Outside. If you have flashlights and glow sticks at home, your kids can stage a fantastic outdoor display after the sun goes down."

September 18th: "Make Time for Reflection. On occasion, I will suddenly notice a beautiful reflection of puffy clouds in a window I pass by on the street, or my kids will notice their reflection in my sunglasses. Raindrops, puddles, or a nearby pond or a creek offer beautiful reflections too. Play a game where you count how many reflections you can see...The kids can draw pictures of their favorite reflections."

October 7th: "Create then Hide Pumpkin Faces...Each child pains a face on her pumpkin. Then, take and print photos of each face or draw quick renditions on paper. While the kids are busy with snacks, hide the pumpkins. Give each child the picture of their pumpkin that they need to find."

Ahh. The Joys of Autumn.

No words for you today. Just pictures of my favorite time of year. Here's hoping autumn is just as beautiful wherever you are.

Warmly,
Emily

Isn't it about...Time?

Remember the LDS commercials that said, Isn't it about...time?


Well, time is on my mind these days. Honestly, it's one of the main reasons I homeschool. So I have time with my children. So they have time to roam, imagine, and explore. So they have time to be best friends with each other. So we all have time to pursue our passions.


Recently, I came across the article, Old Fashioned Play Builds Serious Skills by Alix Spiegel. In it, Spiegel shows how play has changed over the last 50 or so years. Play has gone from unstructured, imaginative time to time that is scripted by toys and media.


Dorothy Singer, a psychological researcher at Yale, said the following:

"Because of the testing, and the emphasis now that you have to really pass these tests, teachers are starting earlier and earlier to drill the kids in their basic fundamentals. Play is viewed as unnecessary, a waste of time. I have so many articles that have documented the shortening of free play for children, where the teachers in these schools are using the time for cognitive skills."

In another article, written by Lenore Skenazy, entitled The Power of Free Play, the author compares modern day children who participate in many scheduled activities to those with plenty of free time.

Play gets everything going: the mind, the body, the will to live. It is so crucial to child health that the American Academy of Pediatrics released a huge report on it in 2006, recommending that we stop adding hours to the academic day, shrinking recess and supervising all our kids’ activities. It begged parents to remember that even though we desperately want our kids to “succeed,” play does not take away from that pursuit. “As parents prepare their children for the future, they cannot know precisely which skills they will need for the workforce,” wrote the docs. But confidence, creativity, tenacity, problem solving, decency and the ability to have a little fun will surely help.

Besides the research, leaders of the Church have warned about having too much going on. In Elder Oaks' talk, Good, Better, Best, he discusses the value of family time.

The amount of children-and-parent time absorbed in the good activities of private lessons, team sports, and other school and club activities also needs to be carefully regulated. Otherwise, children will be overscheduled, and parents will be frazzled and frustrated...Parents should teach gospel priorities through what they do with their children.

Family experts have warned against what they call “the overscheduling of children.” In the last generation children are far busier and families spend far less time together. Among many measures of this disturbing trend are the reports that structured sports time has doubled, but children’s free time has declined by 12 hours per week, and unstructured outdoor activities have fallen by 50 percent.2 The number of those who report that their “whole family usually eats dinner together” has declined 33 percent. 

Again, I homeschool to have time with my family. What is more important than building our eternal relationships and spending time gaining knowledge together that will also be eternal?

After all, isn't it about...time?

**This is a post I created for Latter-day Homeschooling. Hope you enjoyed it!**

The Usborne Science Encyclopedia

You are probably familiar with Usborne Books. Have you seen their Science Encyclopedia? It is a beautiful book that has gotten lots of love around here. It's basically a textbook, but one that is pretty enough and interesting enough to just sit down and read.

This book covers the basic topics of Materials, Mixtures & Compounds, Energy/Forces/Motion, Earth & Space, Light/Sound/Electricity, Plants, Animals, and the Human Body in a friendly way that will appeal to elementary age students. Then, when one of the topics strikes your child's interest, he can visit the websites recommended to go along with the topic or try one of the experiments.

We recently grew our own crystals out of alum, based on an experiment in this book. 

After letting them grow for a few days, we chose the biggest one, and using it as a 'seed crystal', put it in the jar and watched it grow some more.

It was a fun experiment, and though the Usborne Science Encyclopedia seemed a little expensive for this cheap mama, I'm really glad we have it.

The Boys' Second Annual Backpacking Trip

This summer (which is insanely almost over!!!), the boys (excluding Y) went on their yearly backpacking/fishing trip. It looks like a lot of fun, doesn't it? On the way home, Robby called, and when I asked how it went, he said, "Ohhhh. It couldn't have been a more perfect trip."

I'm glad they had such a fun bonding experience.

Next up, I get to bond with Robby. He's planning to take me on a backpacking/fishing trip sometime soon. I'm excited (and a little nervous....) He says I have to leave my books at home because we are going to be doing some serious fly fishing.

I'm pretty sure I'll be able to sneak one in, though.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Crazy Bob's Used Trucks

We took a field trip last week to Daddy's work, because the Y-Y--that boy LOVES trucks. He pretty much said, Oh Wowowowowowowowowow! the entire time (except when Daddy pulled the big horn...oops.)

Daddy's a salesman...a good (and not-annoying) one. BUT, sometimes he likes to refer to himself as Crazy Bob, the Used Car Salesman. 

The other night, we were all talking about Crazy Bob, when Y-Y got in on the action and started saying, "Bob, Bob, Bob". We were all highly amused, so Y calls everything Bob now to make us giggle.

The convo usually goes like this...

Mom: What's you name, Y?
Y: Bob.
Mom: Who are you calling?
Y: Bob.

Everyone: Snicker. Snicker.

Happy Memorial Day!

Today turned into a wonderful home school day. I didn't have a single thing planned, but it was a perfect example of life-led learning.

First thing this morning, I hung the American flag in the front yard. The kids, seeing that I was outside, quickly got dressed and joined me.

We recited the Pledge of Allegiance, placing our hands over our hearts. Saying the words with the kids, I realized that they might not understand some of it, so we sat there in the grass and had a big discussion about the words of the Pledge and the purpose of Memorial Day.

Then, we came inside and read Holes by Louis Sachar for hours. (A review is forthcoming...) When we finished, the kids (all on their own) decided to make their own books. Bub's is about animals, and Welly's is about princesses. Shocking.

Next, our home schooling neighbors came to play. They played for a little while, and then my kids went and had lunch and quiet reading time at their house.

Finally, we took a walk, delivering birthday invitations for Welly's upcoming Tea Party.

And that brings us to late afternoon. The kids are still playing, and I'm sure they will until I call them in to go BBQing at Grandma and Grandpa's.

Just a normal (but wonderful) day.

Hope yours was great, too.

Homemaker in the Making and a Cook Book for Kids

My little (but growing bigger) Welly-girl loves to help me in the kitchen. Last time I went grocery shopping, I had both of the (big) kids choose a recipe for my dinner menu. They helped figure out what we needed at the store, checked the items off the list as we found them, and helped prepare the meals.

Welly chose a yummy (if fattening) "Totally Awesome Tortellini Alfredo" that turned out to be a big hit. Bubs words were, "That cook book IS kid-friendly" when he tasted it. The dinner was quick to make, and the kids enjoyed helping. The illustrations and recipe titles are fun, too. The recipe is from the Better Homes and Gardens New Junior Cook Book. We've only used it a couple times, but so far, so good.

Forest School

You'll probably think I'm a hippy, but I love this.

Taking My Own Advice

When Bubs and his friend, Ben, wanted to cook up some weed paint in my kitchen, my knee-jerk reaction was to say no. And I almost did. But then I remembered that I want to say yes when possible.

I'm so glad I did. It turned out to be a wonderful little homeschool project.

Here's their process...

1. Collect weeds that leave marks on the sidewalk when you rub them there. Mash up the pieces.

2. Boil in a small amount of water, stirring frequently.

3. Use a collander to separate the chunks from the paint.

4. Paint!

Here's a sample. It turned out like watercolor paint. They made yellow out of dandelions, too which made me sneeze like a maniac...but still...

I'm glad I decided to swallow the 'no' and go for 'yes' instead.

Dear Mother Nature. Thanks for the Snow.

One day last week, My Bebe said that he didn't have that much work to do. Hallelujah! I said. Let's do something fun in the morning. Then I told the kids, and Bubs, in an unusually sarcastic tone, said, What? Like go to the store and not buy anything?

We're certainly feeling the pinch of the economy like most of you probably are. I wracked my brain in frustration for a free place to go in freezing weather, other than, you know, the store...and came up empty.

BUT, the next morning we woke up to snow. Not a whole lot. Just enough for a free family activity.

Thanks, Mother Nature.

Doll Houses Made from books!

Who needs an expensive doll house when you can make mansions out of books?

The Tumbling Gym for PE

It has become a tradition for us to go the tumbling gym when my youngest bro is in town. This time, they added sumo suits to the fun.

And on a completely unrelated note...It's really important to me to be close to family. When I hear people say that they don't want to be too close (as in where they live) to their parents/siblings, it makes me sad. I hope my kids will want to live nearby when they are old and grown.