How are you doing with the outdoor challenge? As the weather becomes more summery in our region, we’re doing quite well. In fact, my daughter fell asleep exhausted tonight because she had been playing outside for almost twelve hours today.
It’s yesterday night that I want to talk about, though. Yesterday evening my husband was out. My daughter and I indulged in a ritual that we did frequently last summer. It’s a wonderful way to reconnect with your preschooler in the spring and summer months, even if you work outside the home. I find that working outside the home really cuts into our outdoor time together, but as the weather becomes sunnier and the days get longer we can go to bed a little later and enjoy an evening nature walk together.
What did we do on our walk? Last night we made warm milk to start. The warm milk is essential to the process. Then we took the warm milk about half a block away to a corner where the bats come to eat the mosquitoes. We sat there on a manhole cover that pokes out of the ground and waited for the bats to come. There were plenty of mosquitoes, but no bats. However, it was glorious to be outside in the dusk, drinking our milk.
Then we heard the frogs. In the park a few blocks from our house the tree frogs have been singing their hearts out for weeks. We walked into the forest in the near-dark and stopped at the frog pond to listen, then we made our way home again.
Even if it is a busy day, it’s possible to enjoy some outdoor time in the evenings with your child. In fact, it’s a perfect time to get attuned to the rhythms of the day and watch the sun set. Dusk is a quiet and relaxing time, the perfect time to be outdoors with your preschooler.
(Image courtesy of chemtec at stock exchange)