1000 Hours Outside

 There: I said it! We are a month into 2021 and I'm brave enough to declare out loud (read: in print) that we are making an attempt at spending 1000 hours outside this year.

I won't bang on about the benefits of outdoor play for children. I think we all know how important it is, and why, but the challenge remains with how to go about it!

Why 1000 Hours? 

With all the additional challenges that a global pandemic has thrown at 2021 there are a couple of further advantages to spending lots of time outdoors. 

Firstly, there's nothing else to do! In previous years we have spent time at garden centres, the library, swimming pool, soft play etc. With all of our usual haunts being closed we needed to find other ways to keep the little monkeys out of trouble.

Secondly, we need a positive focus. We are better off than many households during lockdown, but it can feel a bit like groundhog day after a while. Plus Big J is king of statistics and likes having tasks to tick off!

But How?

True to form we always have a plan! The research is almost as fun as the challenge itself and we are entering the year armed with a list of dozens of different ways to get outdoors. We'll share some of the best (and worst!) as we go along. 

The basic outline is as follows:

- Walks - this will be a feature of everyone's lockdown I'm sure! We are working hard to find new, local, and child friendly walks in our local area. We are aiming for 2 or 3 trips each week. 

- Take the inside outside - simply put, we're going to move bits of our day to day life outdoors. Meals, crafts, games, school work... I'm sure we'll get more creative as the year progresses.

- Camping - this is going to be an important one I think! For every night under canvas we get to tuck 12 hours under our belts. Plus the majority of the family think it's a lot of fun (Big J still to be convinced)!