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I have been reading some of Charlotte Mason's writing, I have to say I am just barely in to a Kindle compilation I got called "Charlotte Mason's Homeschooling series" or something like that. She feels that children need to spend a lot of time outdoors. She describes taking day trips out into the countryside and exploring and learning with the whole family. Then, I am trying to tweak our schedule (or really rework it) so I am browsing the "share our schedules" thread on here and seeing that most of the people sharing on there have a full day's schedule with maybe 1/2 hour for P.E. or a couple of hours of free play (which may or may not be outside). I know weather doesn't always allow you to go outside either, but I think just living in a "suburban" type of place, with only a small yard to explore or a small driveway to ride bikes on, is what makes time outside less common and less attractive. Please tell me your thoughts on this. For those who also live in a suburban type home with a small yard, or even an apartment or more urban area, how do you ensure that your children get good exercise, fresh air, and a chance to just explore the world around them?

I have wished that we lived more in the country than what we do, but my husband is not one who wishes to tend a large piece of land or to move, he is quite content where we are. We go to parks, but this isn't quite the same as getting out into nature. I would also love my children to have the experience of caring for animals, or growing a garden, neither of which is really possible where we live (don't ask about pets, we are not an indoor dog/cat family). Anyway I appreciate anyone's thoughts on this.

I try to have my kids be outside for at least an hour each day weather permitting. Some days don't work out so much, but I try. My allergies prevent me from joining them sometimes, but I do it as much as possible. I also let them go out to read history or literature sometimes. We live in the suburbs too so a lot of times we try to get to the park or go to our local kids museum. I would tend to just stay inside all day, so I've made this part of our day!

We're a suburban family too. We have just a backyard and a driveway too, but these are some of the things that we do to ensure lots of outside time for our boys:

Dad does a walk/bike ride with them as soon as he gets home from work. This helps him relieve stress and spend some quality time with them while I get a few minutes to myself and can start dinner uninterrupted.

In our backyard we have put a sand/water table, swing set, logs, big rocks, wagons, buckets/shovels, and magnifying glasses. The kids go out several times a day. Some days its only for 10 mins., but other days they'll be out there for hours.

We started a small container garden. This can be done anywhere. My five year old has pretty much taken it over. He chose what to plant and enjoys watering it daily and noticing the small changes in the plants.

Each day after lunch we spend 20-30 mins. in our small front yard and driveway. I encourage the kids to notice bugs or birds or we talk about the weather, wind, clouds, etc. while they play. In the winter we play in the snow. We make igloos and snow angels. We discover how ice forms. We notice the bird and squirrel tracks in the snow. My boys also enjoy helping Dad shovel the driveway and making snow hills for their sleds.

About once a week, I take them on a hike or to a park or on a picnic. I really take our time and we notice flowers, trees, lizards, etc. If the kids get interested in something, I give them the time to explore it. My five year old has become really interested in plants and now wants to know the name of all of the plants that he sees while we're out.

Dad takes them fishing about once a month. They usually don't catch many fish, but they have a great time in the mud and water, playing with worms, finding crawfish and looking under rocks.

This is just the everyday stuff. We also take them camping and to visit family on a ranch several times a year.

This is how our family has made it work. Hopefully there is an idea or two that would work for your family too

Amanda

WOW, Amanda! Your post is full of some pretty amazing ideas! I'm impressed and wish I would have read your post when we lived in town. We now live in the country, which does make going outdoors easier, but we used some of Amanda's ideas when we lived in town (I sure could have used more of her ideas back when though ).

One thing we have decided to do, in general, is each year do one thing that makes our home a great place to live and explore. Many of these things are outdoors or nature loving type things. Here are a few outdoor type things we have gotten or done through the years that range from free, to super cheap, to more of an investment...
- magnifying glass and mason jars with holes in the lid (studied various bugs and saw the life cycle from caterpillar to butterfly)
- swim noodles (boys play 'sword-fight' with them - very good at getting the heart rate up without them getting injured )
- planter box (planted flowers and left on front porch, boys picked seeds and watered each day in the summer)
- small planters with herb seeds on indoor windowsill (basil, cilantro, green onions, sage, and parsley work well - cooked with them too)
- baseball and gloves, bases (makeshift small size baseball game in backyard or at park - we've made our own rules and played with the 4 of us )
- swingset equipment in yard (started with plastic, eventually invested in the big stuff from Rainbow)
- pool in yard (started with small plastic, eventually invested in Intex pool above ground on clearance from Walmart)
- shovels and dump trucks in the dirt
- sandbox and sand toys
- backyard bird feeder, got bird book to identify, birds will come if they keep them filled with seed
- leaf, tree, plant brochures to identify these
- walks around neighborhood collecting leaves, etc. to identify at home
- park play day every other Friday with cousins
- flashlights for at night backyard exploring
- tent put up in yard during day for fun camping experience
- walk neighbor's dog
- calisthenics outdoors together (during day when no neighbors are home )
- follow the leader outdoors, one child leads, other(s) must follow and twirl, hop, crawl, etc. through and around things in yard
- plant some fruit trees, in several years, use them to make pies, jelly, etc.
- hang tomato plant topsy turvy on porch and have kiddos water and watch grow, make salsa or spaghetti sauce
- picnics in backyard - great fun!
- bean bag toss and board
- hopscotch with sidewalk chalk
- sidewalk chalk on cement driveway path for scooters
- foam swords and scooters for 'scooter battles'
- bike rides
- blow bubbles
- s'mores and fire pit
- good quality winter boots, gloves, coats, and overalls so boys can stay outdoors longer and build snowmen and snow forts
- sleds, go to sledding hill down the road, have hot cocoa after sledding
- basketball hoop
- cones to set up for scooter and biking around in driveway or on cement pad

These are just a few ideas! Hope something here helps!
In Christ,
Julie

You have gotten some great ideas already!

I'll still share a little of what we do. What helps us is that we live on a corner and the side street is a cul-de-sac.
It also helps that a neighbor homeschools her children- even though they are all older than mine, they get along well.

We require a certain amount of outdoor time for all. Although our younger two would practically live outdoors if allowed.

Each year we go to a dollar store and buy at least a new toy for each - bubbles, water guns, and sidewalk chalk are big winners.

This year we got a water slide, and they LOVE this time!

If needed, with our eldest, we give incentives of time with the Wii or extra book time for spending more time outdoors. He is more analytical In his thinking, and a electronic savvy person, therefore preferring to work on things indoors. The one thing that will draw him outside is squirt guns. He also doesn't mind an occasional bike ride.

This year I have also gotten them more involved in my gardening. This was hard for me, because it's my time, with my love! I have my two very small plots, and the baskets on the porch and they have strawberry & herb pots. They love to water, and my oldest is good with the rest of the care, as he has helped me before.

Altogether on good days they will be outside more than in. With our eldest a couple hours less.

With our school that we do each day, my kids can't even really go out until after lunch. Maybe I need to add in a morning recess? Or maybe once the heat starts to hit, mid June, I will have them go out first. I am the type to take off school at the drop of a hat if the weather is nice, and go somewhere instead. Which is still learning, y'know, but it's not progressing in our guides so then I think I have to "make up" for it.

Karen Andreola wrote a wonderful book that I re-read at least once a year called, "A Charlotte Mason Companion." She really makes the CM way very easy and doable. She does address this area in her book, and I have found it to be very helpful. On an aside, it's also a great validation to me that HOD makes educating my dc the CM way so very possible!