"No bad weather, only bad clothing"

I grew up in the woods. My brother and I played outside any chance we could get, all year long. One of the things that I miss the most about Michigan is the beautiful outdoors. Now, I live in prime farm land, which means flat and corn. I miss the trees, hills, and lakes. I hope so much that our next house has some outdoor space to raise our family.

Michael and I talk often about how we want to raise our kids. Something that is really important to us is an educationally rich environment. When I was in the classroom, especially preschool, I was able to see first hand the importance of playing outside. The more research I did, the more important I realized this was. Playing outdoors teaches a child the importance of staying active, exploring nature, embracing curiosity, developing their gross motor skills, spacial awareness, hand-eye coordination, and taking risks, (of course, the vitamin D doesn't hurt either!).

I've been reading about some of the best educational systems in the world and what they do differently. Norway is high on the list and something they stress is the importance of outdoor time. Norway's weather is often very cold, but they still get outside often. In fact, the depression rates in Norway are extremely low, even though their winters are brutal! They have a saying that "there is no bad weather, only bad clothing!". I recently read that and decided we are going to adopt that saying in our house. Sure, it's a lot of work to bundle up and more than likely, Isla will get super dirty outside. However, I think playing outside is extremely important! So this winter, we are going to do our best to get outside OFTEN!

I should also add, now that we are going outside more, Isla BEGS to go out. She gets her boots or coat and stands by the backdoor crying until we go. So, I guess we will be playing outside, whether I feel like it or not.

Here are some recent pictures of us playing outside: