Can you raise a strong, outdoors loving child in the city or a development?

[rjperez1]

My two boys spent the first 6 and 7 years growing up on a wooded country lot. They had freedom galore and spent great amounts of time outdoors discovering and execising in the fresh air.

 

For some certain reasons (one being house size after the birth of my 4th) we moved to a development. I noticed a sharp decline in their time outside after moving. DD4 and ds2 have spent much more time indoors than the older boys did at their ages. I don't want to raise "house boys." I mean, I really enjoyed how they were developing.

 

 

I'm hoping to influence them to enjoy the outdoors as adults and to regularly seek outdoor activities when they grow up. I just think it's healthier and IMHO, the environment God made us to enjoy. Anyone else concerned about outside time? What are your outdoor routines? How much do you consider to be enough? Any ideas for making it meaning ful in an reduced nature environment?

[joannqn]

Kalanamak would be a good source of info. Admittedly, she lives in an area where her son can play outside without a lot of worry and right next to a very wooded park, but she's also in the city. Her husband and son spend a LOT of time outside in various locations....parks, hiking, etc.

[Peela]

I think its an important consideration. I grew up in the city, but we had bush areas nearby. We didn't worry about stranger danger in those days :) and used to run wild all over the place.

But also, my parents took us camping and bushwalking a lot. They are both nature lovers and I am a nature lover. When I was 14 I moved to the country with my mum. I used to spend hours hiking in the bush alone.

My kids are not such huge nature lovers as I am but Water Scouts has got them out in the bush and on the river in the outdoors a lot. My dh is not much of a camper, or a nature lover, so its not much of a priority for him, so I have had to find creative ways to share my love of nature with the kids.

Even just things like making a garden at home and getting them to plant seeds in it, or making a point of learning the names of the local birds, trees and insects, goes a long way toward keeping them in touch with the natural world. A simple walk aroudn the block every day can be amazing from the eyes of a child, especially if the parent can summons the enthusiasm for noticing the hawk in the sky, the insect trying to cross the road, that sort of thing. Charlotte Mason nature study ideas are good for that.

I walk every day in my area, and see all sorts of things over time.

Picnics are good- visit beautiful nature spots regularly as a family.

We have a spectacular wildflower season for a couple of months where I live, and I have always made a point of taking the kids to the bush- just local- to see what is out. Some years here certain orchids only come out if there has been a bushfire and it's exciting to see them.(I love bushfires too!) There are other shy little orchids - spider orchids, fairy orchids- that are hard to find but we love looking for them. Sometimes we take a sketch book and try and draw something. This is all within a few miles of home, in the city.

[stripe]

I just think it's healthier and IMHO, the environment God made us to enjoy. Anyone else concerned about outside time? What are your outdoor routines? How much do you consider to be enough? Any ideas for making it meaning ful in an reduced nature environment?

Do you have any parks near you? Can you plant a garden? Are there any community gardens, or can you start one? Can you join any groups like for birdwatching, fishing, orienteering, or anything of that sort? Can you go to a place with more "nature" on a regular basis?

 

I go outside often. I'm certainly not in a rural area. I have a communal backyard, and my kids go to playgrounds as well as walks and poking around. We have a small garden. (I think a few herbs/flowers/vegetables are enough to get the idea. A window box or a few plants inside work too.) We look at dirt, sticks, worms, birds, flowers, trees, and so on. We also visit public parks and gardens, and do things like picking a few fruits in season (mostly berries so far). I think it's important but I cannot pull off the Charlotte Mason ideal of nearly every waking hour out of doors!

[Wyndie]

A few months ago a local nursery gave my girls a few succulents to start a fairy garden. My son didn't want to be left out but didn't want a girlie fairy garden either so I gave him a few plants, dirt and a window box and he made an army fort. We scavenged around for anything he could use in his fort and he put a few plastic army men in there. He made a "tank gun" out of a pinecone he wedged onto a stick, he's made a barricade out of wood peices, he's made a "bonfire" out of tiny sticks, he made a look-out fort in another planter with some scallions (his guy hid under the green part), he makes all sorts of crazy stuff for his fort all the time. Up to that point, he was complaining about being outside; that gave him the motivation to be outside. The girls were tending their fairies (lol) so he did the boy version of that. He loves his army fort (and all the extensions he's built since then) and it helped him enjoy outside nature time much more. Now he helps water my flowers and he can often be found looking under leaves to see if there are any weird bugs or insects he can toss into his army fort for funsies.

 

Anything that will give them a reason to be outside is good IMO. :)

[rjperez1]

Thanks for the replies! Couldn't find Kalanamak, JoAnne. It came up as Indian black salt. Is this right? I don't think so. I would love to check it out!

 

Peela, I love to hear you talk about "the bush." I think that's awesome, because it is what you are used to. I'm used to the woods with mushroom, moss, oppossum, etc. I loved reading your experience with nature and your kids. Thanks for reminding me about picnics, too- and just noticing the simple things.

 

We do visit parks, stripe, but I think I could make more of it as you suggested. It's just different, I have to accustom myself to it. We also have a garden that they participate with as they wish. My sons do like to pull weeds. Ds7 pulled all of my volunteer tomatoes this year and proudly called me out to show me how clean the garden was:glare:. We fetched them out of the woods where he threw them, and replanted together. It is a point of bonding for us even now, when I point out the tomatoes to show him how they've bounced back. Charlotte would be proud of my gentle approach to learning (I almost pulled his weed! ;)-just kidding).

 

Wyndie, I might borrow your idea. My oldest has been reminding me to buy him a pot to plant his seed. It seems like, maybe I am misinterpreting the situation. We all spend more time in the house because I can't let them out alone for long. But, I think I'm probably not giving us enough credit for the things we are doing. We are avid birdwatchers with our bird I.D. books in hand (from inside the house).:001_smile:

 

Thanks everyone! I love the stories. It makes me search my mind for my own. Like the times my boys played pirate ship on a huge stump of a pine tree that was unearthed by a hurricane in our area!

[Jeanne in MN]

I have no idea how large of a city you live in, but sometimes bigger cities have nature centers that offer classes or environmental education centers nearby. There are state parks all over and many times there are beautiful county parks. Visit places like that frequently. You can rent canoes and kayaks in some places. State parks often rent canoes and sometimes kayaks. Do you have rivers? lakes? ponds? One can often find crayfish, minnows, snails, turtles, fish, dragonflies and damsalflies, etc. in places like these.

 

Go camping! Plant a butterfly garden to attract butterflies. Hang up bird feeders of all kinds and see who you attract. Learn how to cook in a Dutch oven. I bet there are a lot of great opportunities around you!

 

Jeanne

[rjperez1]

Thank you so much, Jeanne, I will look into some of these. Yes, we do have a river and a well established group of river rats. I will check it out!

[Jill- OK]

...we haven't, always.

 

We've lived in a suburban neighborhood, and a more urban one, and I've tried to encourage a love of the outdoors and nature in both situations.

 

In the suburban development, there was a park and common area that included a lake. We took walks and regularly saw ducks and other things, including an encounter with a beaver, and I even saw a bobcat once. (Shudder. Keep in mind that this was in Oklahoma, though, so even "suburbs" are fairly woody, sometimes.)

 

Our city house was on a river, on the east coast, and so again, ducks were nearby (one even built a nest in our backyard), we saw rabbits regularly, and once had a nest of baby robins in our front shrub. We started watching birds more closely around that time, and the habit stuck. (This is something easy to do in the city.)

 

My suggestion would be to plant a garden in your backyard, or at least find some outdoorsy regular chores for them to do (one of the reasons I wanted a little land was for the work value, not just the aesthetic), get some wildflowers that would appeal to butterflies, and invest in a hammock or porch swing, or both. Things to heighten the pleasure of spending time outside. Go outside with them, learn to identify clouds and weather patterns (things that are pretty easy to do, even in the most citified areas), and just generally make it a priority.

 

We also had a few more natural areas that we found (parks, etc.) when we lived in the city, that afforded chances to get a little more 'wild'. (Canoe, take walks, etc.)

 

HTH.

[stripe]

Go outside with them, learn to identify clouds and weather patterns (things that are pretty easy to do, even in the most citified areas),

That's brilliant. As an extension - watching the skies for stars/planets. (Although it's definitely easier in a rural area!) Tracking the cycles of the moon and the changing times of sunrise/set in different seasons.

[TravelingChris]

I would suggest looking at urban wildlife books in the library. Many birds like the city and if you put bird feeders out, they will come. I grew up in apartments and grew up as a nature lover. In the one I lived the longest, there was a wooded lot next door where the very elderly owner let us wander. My parents also took us at least once a year to the mountains, once a year to the ocean, and our vacations were usually to a state park with a lake and woods. THey also would occasionally take me to nature centers where there would be a program. They bought me guides as a showed an interest and although we live in the woods, I am going to be buying individual bird guides for my daughters this summer so they can start their own life-lister list. CHeck out AUdubon society and similar groups because they may have some easy bird hikes to go with them on locally. You learn so much from experienced guides. The kids can get very excited when they spot owls or hawks or whatever type of birds they like.

[Tabrett]

A few months ago a local nursery gave my girls a few succulents to start a fairy garden. My son didn't want to be left out but didn't want a girlie fairy garden either so I gave him a few plants, dirt and a window box and he made an army fort. We scavenged around for anything he could use in his fort and he put a few plastic army men in there. He made a "tank gun" out of a pinecone he wedged onto a stick, he's made a barricade out of wood peices, he's made a "bonfire" out of tiny sticks, he made a look-out fort in another planter with some scallions (his guy hid under the green part), he makes all sorts of crazy stuff for his fort all the time. Up to that point, he was complaining about being outside; that gave him the motivation to be outside. The girls were tending their fairies (lol) so he did the boy version of that. He loves his army fort (and all the extensions he's built since then) and it helped him enjoy outside nature time much more. Now he helps water my flowers and he can often be found looking under leaves to see if there are any weird bugs or insects he can toss into his army fort for funsies.

 

Anything that will give them a reason to be outside is good IMO. :)

What are "succulents" and "fairy gardens". It sound really fun.

[Harriet Vane]

My ds really loves being outdoors. In the summer he often goes outside at 7:30am right after his father leaves for work, and we can hardly get him inside all day.

 

Ds' love of the outdoors has been challenging as we live in a difficult urban environment. It would be challenging to raise this child anywhere in a city, but it is doubly so here because our neighborhood is unsafe. My kids play in the back alone (we have a high, secure fence) but are absolutely never allowed in the front unless under supervision.

 

We thank God for our large walnut tree in the backyard. Ds is in the tree constantly.

 

We also encourage ds to garden as much as he likes. It's a real interest of his, and he is actually quite diligent about weeding. He will often willingly weed the gardens that are not specifically his (for a nominal fee;) ).

 

One section of our yard space is ds' "digging spot." It started when he was a little guy who had just turned 4yo. I checked on him in the backyard and saw, to my surprise, that he'd brought out a large garden shovel and was digging right in the middle of the yard. "What are you doing?!?!" I asked, a little outraged at the damage to the grass. He looked at me like I was crazy and answered patiently, "Digging." I thought about it a moment, realized that a boy gets to be 4yo just for a short time of his life, and let him dig. He is 8yo now, and still digging. It is elaborate. He is constantly rearranging canals and hills and water features. We had to move the digging spot because his original choice was located right over the gas line. We also have rules about putting equipment away and hosing down, and sometimes he has to throw his clothes directly into the washer before he comes through the house. I have never regretted letting him have this freedom, even though part of our yard is muddy and kind of unsightly.

 

We are also very, very intentional in making time to visit parks and nature preserves as a routine part of our life. Ds genuinely really needs a lot of space. Dh and I love being in nature as well, so our family just loves spending the afternoon at a forest preserve.

 

Finally, we camp every year. The more rugged the camping, the better everyone likes it. One favorite spot for us is Sleeping Bear Dunes in the northern part of lower Michigan. It's a well-maintained park with lots of diverse nature options, but one feature we especially love is their "walk-in" campsites. We get to walk a short distance into the woods and camp in a lovely, woodsy, slightly more secluded spot. (This is a contrast to many other parks at which we have camped, where the camping is more like being in a big flat field with lots of tents.) We also like camping in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in Minnesota, specifically because it scratches that itch to be out in the "real" wilderness. The kids just thrive on playing in the woods and seeing racoons and beaver and moose.

 

To raise a child like this in a city or suburb requires planning and intentionality, IMO. We have to make it a priority to go to parks and nature preserves, and we have to plan it as a routine part of our life.

[EKS]

My parents were able to do this with me. I grew up in Los Angeles but just about all of our vacations were either camping or backpacking trips. Also we very frequently took day trips on the weekends either to the mountains or the desert outside of the city. So it can be done, but it takes dedication and planning.

[Heather in the Kootenays]

Just observing can teach them what kind of wildlife there is in the city.

 

I love the astronomy idea and would encourage a garden.

[Wyndie]

What are "succulents" and "fairy gardens". It sound really fun.

 

Succulents are a type of plant that hold water. Cacti (cactus?) are a type of succulent. There are many beautiful flowerly-looking plants in this category and they are also the type that you can pinch off a little and stick it in the dirt and it will grow a new plant.

 

A fairy garden is to bring "good luck" to your garden. Legend has it if you make a fairy garden, fairies will come tend your garden in the night while you sleep (or something like that! lol). Of course we don't really believe in luck but it was a fun way to get the girls interested in gardening. Basically we have several succulents, a few river rocks and a bunch of tiny glass stones. First we laid down the river rocks in a nice pattern, then used the glass stones to create a stream, which we then surrounded with tiny little pebbles to create a shore. Then we got a bunch of small sticks and made a fire pit so the fairies could warm up at night if necessary (later the nursery gave the girls a fire-orange flower to put in their pit so it looked like a real fire). They also gave us a cheapy plastic planter thing (you know the kind that flats of flowers come in?) and told Chrystine to turn it upside down and cut a door in it for a fairy house. At the nursery, they built a fairy hut out of tiny twigs and twine but we just used the plastic thingie and covered it with moss.

 

After arranging the rocks, stream and house, we put the succulents all around them until the entire ground cover was either succulents, river rocks or glass stream. Succulents don't have to be watered often and can take straight sun so we just set the whole thing in the yard and she plays with it but it doesn't require too much upkeep. For funsies, we put a windchime above her fairy garden as a fairy bell. lol Your imagination really is the limit on this. The nursery changes their fairy garden often so we go there to get new ideas and come home and try to duplicate it. Chrystine will frequently find a pretty weed and plant it in her garden. They last awhile and then die so she just pulls them out and looks for new stuff to put in. The important part of a fairy garden is the river rocks (so the fairies can tend plants without getting their feet dirty), succulents so you have constant ground cover and any type of glass - magical looking beads. I bought a bag of them at Walmart for $3.00 I think - they were in the craft section.

 

:D

[lvbnhome]

after moving to the city...from 80 acres of land, all to ourselves. We were surrounded by another 80, and had to move due to my husbands job.

What has helped us, is lots of outdoor work, camping, fishing at the local lakes, and boy scouts. = more camping :)

[VanessaS]

Even just things like making a garden at home and getting them to plant seeds in it, or making a point of learning the names of the local birds, trees and insects, goes a long way toward keeping them in touch with the natural world. A simple walk aroudn the block every day can be amazing from the eyes of a child, especially if the parent can summons the enthusiasm for noticing the hawk in the sky, the insect trying to cross the road, that sort of thing. Charlotte Mason nature study ideas are good for that.

I walk every day in my area, and see all sorts of things over time.

Picnics are good- visit beautiful nature spots regularly as a family.

 

Excellent advice! We do nature study in our backyard.

 

And I recommend container gardening. We've got some tomatoes, herbs, chilies, and strawberries growing on our deck. It's pain-free (especially in self-watering containers) and absolutely entertaining, as well as a great way to learn about plants. And it tastes soooooooooo good.

 

Take them for a daily jog or walk around the neighborhood (a health bonus, too). Make photos of your yard and note the changes. When you go for a Nature Walk, take your camera. Take a picture of anything interesting and then look it up online or in a nature guide when you get home. Keep a journal or a blog.

Edited June 9, 2009 by VanessaS

[VanessaS]

Are there any community gardens, or can you start one?

That reminds me! We found a farming co-op near here and they let us visit. It's fun to go by occasionally and see how things are developing and growing. And it's fun to walk around their property.

And we've made friends! :D

 

I think it's important but I cannot pull off the Charlotte Mason ideal of nearly every waking hour out of doors!

High-frequency is nice but I think the most important thing is regularity. I needs to be a regular part of their life. We do the nature walk once or twice a week and even that seems to make a difference.

Edited June 9, 2009 by VanessaS

[stripe]

If you have any farms, go to them. My kids visited a dairy farm last summer -- it was fun, they saw other animals besides cows, and they ate ice cream. (Always a plus!) We also go to farms that grow produce. But this depends where you live. My grandma was amazed that there are still any family dairy farms in existence.

 

By the way, Lang Elliott has nice CD series (CD+book) with nature recordings. There is one on night sounds, another on insects, and others on common birds -- very nice. I borrowed them from my library, and I've seen them on Amazon.

 

One is this:

 

Know Your Bird Sounds, Volume 1: Yard, Garden, and City Birds

The Know Your Bird Sound guides give detailed coverage of the songs and calls of common birds. Volume 1 covers 35 species found in residential settings, city parks, and urban areas across eastern and central North America. The book includes color photos plus clear descriptions of the songs and calls of each species. The accompanying compact disc gives detailed narrated introductions to each bird's "sound repertoire."

 

 

 

 

Edited June 9, 2009 by stripe

[Rosie_0801]

What are "succulents" and "fairy gardens". It sound really fun.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Fairy-Houses-Beyond/dp/0970810466/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_c

Really cute!

 

:)

Rosie - with toadstools, moss and possums :)

[Amber in SJ]

Try these books. http://www.takeawalk.com/about-our-books/

My nature loving dd thinks they are great. She has always loved taking walks and these books give us a little boost in the focus department.

 

Amber in SJ

[Janet in WA]

You might consider getting them involved in something that emphasizes outdoor activities. The best organization for this purpose that I can recommend is the Boy Scouts.

[Wyndie]

http://www.amazon.com/Fairy-Houses-Beyond/dp/0970810466/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_c

Really cute!

 

:)

Rosie - with toadstools, moss and possums :)

 

 

Waaaaaay cool!!! Thanks for posting the link. :)

[stripe]

I was reading Susan Shaeffer Macaulay's For the Family's Sake, and she talks about an incident in her childhood when she went to an art museum and saw a Rembrandt painting (p 38-39). But she is clear -- we don't need to have a great art museum for such encounters.

 

Do you have puddles where you live? Is there mud anywhere? Is there grass or trees, flowers or ants? "Small children want to do a lot of things that get them dirty, and those things are good for children too. They love to dig in earth and sand, wade in mud puddles, splash in water in the sink. They want to roll in the grass, squeeze mud in their hands. When they have chances to do these delightful things, it enriches their spirit, makes them warmer people, just the way beautiful music or falling in love improves adults." [This is a quote from Dr Spock's Baby and Child Care, 1945 edition, p 423]

 

NATURE! Unless our homes are located in the most naturally deprived places, basic elements are nearby to be explored and enjoyed. They have been designed and created by the greatest artist of all -- God. Don't think you need a Rembrandt original for you or your child's spirit to soar, inner self to be satisfied, or creativity to be nurtured.

Then she goes on to talk about "mud, glorious mud," and how she had a corner of the yard (in her childhood home in St Louis) for digging, which she enjoyed greatly, including once painting the porch with mud. :)

[LizzyBee]

My husband grew up in a rowhouse in Baltimore. I grew up on a farm 5 miles outside a town of 251 people. He loves to hunt, fish, hike, garden, etc. I like to sit inside in air conditioned comfort and read a book. I think being an outdoorsy person is probably more a matter of personality than upbringing.

[stripe]

And there are many cultures nowadays where it is common to go off to nature once a year, for example, but live the urban life the rest of the time.