The Active Family

My family has a large range of ages and interests. Sometimes it’s hard to involve everyone in one activity.

One thing that we all enjoy to varying degrees is nature walks. In a neighboring town, there is the most amazing park. It is Francis William Bird Park, in Walpole, Massachusetts. http://www.thetrustees.org/pages/329_bird_park.cfm

This HUGE Park includes a fenced in playground for young ones, a pond with fish, birds, and other wildlife, tennis courts, basketball courts, and a nature trail that weaves in and out of small wooded areas.

I have many wonderful memories of our different excursions. I tend to take the two little ones at least once a week, and the whole family tends to go at least once a month. Normally we play in the playground while my husband and son toss a football or baseball on the well kept huge grassy area. After a bit, we all start our nature walk. There is a small stream that flows through the property, and this past fall it was really low. Low enough for the kids (well, okay I joined them) to lose the socks and shoes and wade around. Our favorite pastime is searching for frogs, but my daughter ad I also enjoy finding pretty stones to add to our collection.

The kids have learned quite a few things during our little walks. They have learned what chestnuts look like, as well as the pods they come in. They love watching the squirrels forage around for nuts and berries, and try to figure out where their hidey-holes are. We came across an old tree stump that had been cleanly cut, enabling us to count the rings left behind. My kids figured out that the tree had 69 rings, and told everyone they came across. We were able to talk about why some rings were wider than others and try to think about why it was cut down.  So far we have seen a fare bit of wildlife. We have spotted some truly gorgeous birds, including a Great Heron that was chilling in the pond, feisty blue jays, and a small hawk. The kids thrill over every squirrel and rabbit, and man, when they find a frog, it makes their day!

I could go on forever about this park, but my main point was that it is easy to get the family outside and involved together. Visit some National or State parks in your area and find one that fits your family’s needs. Be sure to include activities that everyone enjoys, and wrap it up when anyone starts to get tired or bored. Don’t push it! It would be easy to destroy a child’s natural affinity for nature by pushing them past their limits.

Here are a few activities you may find help keep your family engaged:

·         Scavenger Hunt –The first few times you go to a park, jot down some items that are around. You can tailor your list to the ages of your kids. Don’t forget Mom and Dad! The next time you go, have a list prepared for each member (doesn’t have to be fancy!) Have each person find the items, check them off and see who can fill their list!

·         Letterboxing- I’ll be posting more on this later, but if you are intrigued visit www.letterboxing.org for more information

·         National Parks Passport- these nifty little booklets are available for purchase at most National Parks sites. You can visit www.nps.gov/ for information about nearby parks. The passports are great for kids and grownups! You bring the passport to every park you visit and have it stamped at the visitor’s station. You can then record information about your visit! My children love this and it includes more than 400 parks across the U.S. Think of the travel possibilities!

National and State Parks are easy, inexpensive ways to get your family out and moving!

Have Fun!

*Kristen