getting out on grey days

Sunshine inside

Sitting under a grey sky meant a very wet walk this morning and enjoying the sunshine inside. My first bundle of daffodils of the year is making my desk sunny and bright.

Nature notes

I came across an old page of "nature notes" while I was sorting out ugly, gigantic piles of paperwork. Living in a country that often sees days on end of grey skies in the winter, I used to make up little nature scavenger hunts to help get the kids more interested in getting outside when it was cold or wet.

These little nature notes only took a couple of minutes to write up and worked well to get the children to look more closely at the world around them. Sometimes they would fill in answers when they got home and more often than not only one kid participated, but I know the other one was still taking it all in.

It's easy to make them up to match the environment where you live. If it's damp out, rub a candle over the page to keep it dry, if it's rainy then pop it in a plastic bag. 

On this particular sheet these are the questions I asked: 

• Can you find any animal homes?
• Can you still see any fallen leaves?
• Look out for birds with bright colours. Can you see any?
• Are there any fungi still around?
• What kind of trees do you see that still have leaves?
• Are there any bright colours in the hedgerows? What do you see that is brightly coloured?
• Have you seen any animals that live under ground? How about mini beasts?
• Did you find any puddles to jump in?

Very simple and achievable, that was key. I wish these sheets still worked for T & G. Nowadays I resort to bribery more often than not and we stop for a special treat half-way through our walk. 

Hope you have sunshine where you are today. 

Jx

Comments

[tara]

I love this idea, Joanie, and I think my guys are still young enough to fall for it.

[kaylovesvintage]

love the lamp.
enjoy your weekend( love to talk soon)

[Nanou]

Brilliant idea, Nini !!!
Have a nice Sunday, sending sunny morning hugs to you !

[Karen]

This is a lovely project and the children will enjoy seeing this when they are older. I am convinced at that point they will love walking through nature with no bribery involved! I love your yellow flowers too :) happy Sunday! ...xo Karen

[Patricia]

What a sweet idea. I think we could all use a field notes list (written or in our heads) like that as we traipse around our lives. Looking through the camera lens does that for me; it helps me pay attention more. Yesterday as I cleaned out my office and did paperwork it was a rare sunny day in the high 50s F! I got a lot done, but I regret staying in when I could have been making some Vitamin D!