Crisp air adventures with kids
I believe that childhood is for exploring the world, enjoying the outside and breathing in fresh air, whenever it’s possible. And in our Canadian climate this means embracing the cooler weather more often and making the most of it! And so crisp air adventures are what we usually do!
This summer, me and my family have decided to finally visit the Gaspe peninsula, with it’s wild and beautiful shores and intact beaches. The weather there is like fall weather in other places: crisp fresh air, cold nights and lots of wind! But we loved the trip, and it has inspired me to share with you my ideas to enjoy the nature even when the warm weather is coming to an end! It was also the great opportunity to teach kids about the beach ecosystem, use their imagination and simply recharge and re-connect with nature and each other.
Because I think that you don’t always need hot weather to enjoy the outdoors, nature and the beach, nor lot’s of plastic toys. ( I grew up in Poland, where the Baltic sea isn’t always the warmest, and yet I have lot’s of beautiful memories of the days spent at the cloudy shore!)
Also, research conducted by Nature Valley shows that playing in the natural environment stimulates children creativity and problem-solving skills and makes people feel more relaxed and less stressed in general, while bringing a break from the pressures in their daily lives! So it’s not surprising to find that fifty-five percent of surveyed Canadians say that nature is “relaxing” and 46 per cent said it clears their mind! Plus, children are never too young to develop an appreciation for nature: research has shown that the children exposed to outdoors early in life will learn to love and respect nature for a lifetime!
So here are some games that I love playing with my kids during the cooler weather beach adventures:
- Ready, set, go: find the sea elements on the beach: tell your kids to find as many items that come from the sea as possible. It can be seashells, ,sea rocks, sea weeds or crab shells. ( If you’re in the national park remember to leave them where they are afterwords and explain to your kids the importance of not disturbing the ecosystem. ) So Rose found crab shelves and Lili was busy looking for seashells and colorful rocks, that the shore was full of!
- Look at the clouds and tell their names. Is it Cirrus, Cumulus or Stratus? Do you know them all? If your for kids are younger tell them to say what animal shape they see. So my girls where looking at the clouds and telling me stories about cloud creatures that they saw, and animal shaped clouds that they spotted.
- Dig in the sand until you reach the humid sand. Build a castle after. This one is definitely a favorite of my daughters, they love digging in the sand and playing with it, even without all the toys!
- Run as fast as you can, and let’s see if I can catch you! Sometimes playing tag on the beach is all we need!
And what I love the most, is listening to the sea and the waves. Unfortunately my kids can’t really stay still for this one!
Really, end of summer doesn’t need to be an end to beach adventures! Next time when you’re on the beach, and the weather seems to be playing games with you, don’t get upset, put on an extra layer of warm clothes, and just go and make the best of it! Who knows maybe your kids will remember this adventure much more than any day spent on splashing in the waves!
Disclosure : this post was brought to you by Nature Valley, all opinions remain my own.
