There will be three interviews this week all short ones because we’re all so busy.
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We are coming up to the end of the year. So do you think we managed more outdoor play?
I have mentioned here before during this year about my struggle with getting enough outdoor play in with all the children. It was on our must improve list this year. Anyone I saw who was doing this I was always asking, ‘How do you get them ( the kids) outside and staying outside?”.
I looked for blogs to follow and connected with a lot of people via #playoutdoors on Twitter. They inspire me and never once judged me for my failings as a mum. Maybe they are commonsense notions for many but previously it just didn’t happen on anything like a regular basis.
Over the year slowly we have been going out more and if you compare my posts this year to last year you’ll have seen a big increase in the outdoor activities we have tried.I have enjoyed the focus on this area. It has been hard for me too to get the right frame of mind to be outside. We have a small garden that slopes, a dog and no space to do much. I have had to adjust my thinking and use what we have more effectively. It’s not been easy but the children really love it.
Connecting with all those talented people and surrounding myself with their ideas rubs off.
When you write about play activities you can give the impression that you know everything but I don’t. I’m a mum who likes to try a variety of play activities with her children that are fun, engaging and have many outcomes. I make mistakes, pick myself up and try again in a different way.
As we close out this year, I know that 2010 will bring some unique challenges with three children and being a married military spouse. I don’t claim to know or do it all. But what I do do I share freely with you all, warts and all.
I know we all have our hang ups about play somewhere, something we don’t do or find hard to do with or for our kids.
How do you overcome? Where did/do you go for support?
Melitsa Avila is a former teacher, mother of three boys and military wife who talks about living an intentional play lifestyle using practical and everyday play activities to do with the under 5s. She publishes related ebooks & newsletters.
Melitsa is the host and producer of a weekly Early Childhood radio show: Raising Playful Tots bringing parents and carers together with Early childhood practitioners.
Thanks for reading!
This entry was posted on Friday, December 18th, 2009 at 12:24 am and is filed under Outdoor play, play activities, Seasonal play, Thought of the week. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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http://www.teachpreschoolonline.com Deborah Stewart
I love that you added more outdoor playtime to your list of to dos! I bet your children do too! I also follow other bloggers and love their ideas. Just this week, my nieces and I tried making snowmen out of marshmallows that we saw on a blog. I overheard one of my neices telling her mom on the phone – we had the best day at Aunt Debbie’s house! How cool is that?
http://www.play-activities.com Melitsa
Thanks for the support. Being boys it has really helped with their concentration having more time outside. Yeah for you. It is easy to admire some of these wonderful crafts and creations but not get them done ourselves. The kids love them……….any time spend one on one with them!
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