……..and GIVEAWAY

January 1st, 2022 arrived and we were ready to start the 1000 hours outside challenge. We had discussed it with the girls and they understood and were willing. 

When you break down 1000 hours, that is approximately 2.75 hours a day. It felt doable for us, but maybe that is also because we homeschool. We weren’t constrained by school hours.

We did manage to complete the challenge and did so mid December. This was honestly a relief to me. I don’t like to “fail” and even though not hitting 1000 hours was not failing, I couldn’t let it go. We had originally set a goal for the girls’ birthday, which is early December. We didn’t make that. But hey, we gave it our best shot. 

WHAT DID WE GET OUT OF THIS CHALLENGE?

• It made us be more intentional about being outside. Even if it was just to do lessons. We only missed 12 days in the entire year of not being outside, even for half an hour. I honestly thought we would complete a lot more hours in the summer but it was really too hot some days. 
• We got dirty and made a lot of fun memories – like our Autumn Leaves Olympics and time at the beach. We also made a mud kitchen for the girls (even though they still like to play with mud on the driveway or back patio). There were countless roller skating and scooter shows. 
• Our health was good. For me, I certainly feel like getting the extra vitamin D and fresh air was helpful for my health. My girls continued their streak of rarely getting anything – just a runny nose here and there, but that could have been allergies. 
• Less screen time. Now, we are not subscribers to no screen time (in fact, there are some days it helps me keep my sanity) but it helped us to reduce it. And if an infatuation or obsessive need was showing we simply said that there could be no screen time if there was no outside time. 

DOES IT MATTER IF YOU DON’T HIT THE 1000 HOURS?

Not at all. Did you try? Great! Did you get outside more? Wonderful! If 1000 hours seems too lofty a goal, why not set your own. Try for 200, 300 or whatever you feel is good for your family and situation.

ARE WE GOING TO DO IT AGAIN?

Oh yes! We are definitely going to aim for 1000 hours outside again. Maybe this year we can make it by the girls’ birthday. 

If you want to be part of it, you can get downloadable trackers from the 1000 Hours Outside website.

GIVEAWAY!!!!!!

Each month this year I want to give away something. My heart is to share what I also enjoy.

For January, I want to give away the Activity Book from Ginny Yurich of 1000 Hours Outside. 

How can you get into the giveaway? Go over to the video and watch it for the instructions. We will close the giveaway at noon EST on Jan 7 and announce the winner in the Jan 12 video.

Here are some other “Outside” videos:
Outside Math Activities
Time Outdoors: Outside Learning