1000 hours outside – Paige is Parenting

1,000 hour outside: progress update

Since January 1st, we have been on a mission to get to at least 500 hours of outside time by the end of this year. Sitting here at the tail-end of July, I am happy that 500 hours was our goal rather than the full 1,000.

Walking to the farmers market and getting some fresh blueberries to snack on. 30 minutes earned!

We finally cracked 100 hours at the beginning of this month. My husband laughed when I told him that and he said, that’s it? But I was and am very proud of the 109 hours Jameson has gotten so far this year.

I know it might not seem like a lot compared to the grand 1,000 hours goal, but I know we aren’t nearly done yet. This goal has really changed the way I plan our days now and I truly feel like Jameson has been benefitting from the time spent outdoors.

Having our meals outside. Another way we’ve been getting some more fresh air in.

We had a rough start to the challenge with pretty brutal winter temps and a fairly rainy spring. I know that doesn’t deter some families from heading into the great outdoors, but I’m just not there yet. Especially because Jameson’s speech is still developing and he isn’t able to tell me when he’s too cold or uncomfortable yet.

I’m pretty confident we will meet our mini goal of 500 hours outside this year, and I’ll be happy for that. And I think next year could be the year we tackle getting 1,000 hours outside, as we are working on building a house in upstate New York on 3.5 acres. What better motivation to step outside than having the space to run around and play in the grass?

Also, this mama can’t wait to have a nice cup of coffee on our own front porch.

Playing our way to 1,000 hours outside

The weather is finally warming up here in Southern Connecticut and we are loving it!

To be honest, the beginning of 2022 hasn’t held a lot of outdoors time for us, with the temperatures falling so low. I know that some people don’t mind freezing temps, but I get too nervous to risk it, since my son can’t really speak yet.

One of our favorite places to go has been our local botanical garden. It’s been a great way to immerse ourselves in nature and gives Jameson plenty of opportunity to explore and climb.

Why use the steps when you can scale the rocks?

We’ve also had fun visiting our local nature center, which has an awesome outdoor playground.

The playground is built into the side of a tall hill, which makes it seem like a part of the landscape. It’s beautiful to look at and lots of fun for kids!

I’m going back and forth about actually committing to a membership to the nature center though. It’s fun, but we already have so many memberships to other places in the area. But maybe a few more trips will convince me!

We’ve also spent a lot of time at our local playground. Simple, fun and always a good time!

Is it warming up where you are, or are you lucky enough to live in a place with year-round warm weather?

A very busy weekend- Jan 28

A very busy weekend means that this post is coming to you on a Wednesday instead of a Monday!

Consider it your pass to daydream about all of the fun things you’d like to do this weekend as you’re sitting at your desk 🙂

Saturday:

The big snow storm visited us here in Fairfield County!

Unfortunately, Jameson was still feeling a little under the weather, so there was no playing in the snow for us.

BUT he did have fun playing with some dried oats while I made oatmeal that morning.

I gave him some kitchen tools to scoop and sift with, but he had the most fun just using his hands to scoop and feel the oats.

This was another weekend where we did not add any hours to our 1000 hours outside goal, mostly because of the cold and Jameson being under the weather.

Warmer days, where are you?

Sunday:

I spent the entire day at a blood drive my Junior League chapter was co-hosting for the Res Cross.

Our goal was 28 donors and we managed to get 40 donors! I was so worried that the storm from the night before would deter people from coming in, but it was a huge success.

D and Jameson had some fun, dad and son bonding time while I was at the blood drive. I made it home in time for dinner and bath time.

Monday

Jameson and I met up with some friends at one of our favorite coffee places, Honey Joe’s.

While I chatted and had some mom time, Jameson got to play with his buddy on the indoor play sets.

It’s crazy how much his climbing and maneuvering skills have improved since the first time we came to this play area. He really is becoming a big kid right before my eyes!

After our fun morning, I dropped Jameson off at daycare for a half day so I could drive to my sister-in-laws studio salon.

And she blessed me with these beautiful brows!

This is my first time getting my eyebrows micro bladed, but I love it.

So that was our weekend! I have another long weekend coming up again, so we’ll see what we get into then.

Have a good week, everyone!

Weekend roundup: Jan. 16th

We had some seriously freezing temps here in the Northeast this weekend, so there was lots of time spent indoors and zero spent towards our 1,000 hours outside goal.

I know that there is a saying about there being no such thing as bad weather (only poor clothing choice), but I’m just not at the point where I can (or want to) take my 1.5 year-old outside when it’s two degrees out.

But there is always next weekend and hopefully warmer winter days ahead of us! What’s that you say? February will only get colder? Well, f***.

Anyway, we still had a lot of fun indoors. There was lots of play-doh time.

We’ve learned not to eat play-doh, but still do a sampling here and there

Time spent cuddling and playing cars, of course.

Jameson turns anything into a car ramp nowadays.

And we even had our old neighbors over to go swimming at our apartment’s indoor pool! They have a son that’s Jameson’s age, so it’s always a fun time.

My favorite part of this weekend? Date night with the hubby at one of our favorite restaurants. My mother-in-law watched the baby while we went out for some much needed couples time.

Side note: How nice is it when you get to have an amazing dinner and not do the dishes afterwards?

The 1,000 Hours Outside Challenge

Have you heard about The 1,000 Hours Outside Challenge yet?

Created by mom of five, Ginny Yurich, the challenge is for families to spend 1,000 hours playing outdoors.

Our “Day 1” of the challenge was January 2nd, at a beachside trail

In Yurich’s podcast by the same name, she explains that the premise for 1,000 hours of outdoor play came from the statistic that, on average, children in the United States spend 1,200 hours a year in front of screens.

Yes, you read that right. 1,2oo hours of screen time!

For me, hearing that statistic was shocking. But it also made me feel like if we can manage that many hours with a tablet or tv, maybe 1,000 hours of outdoor play isn’t so impossible after all.

To make it even easier for families to keep track and stay motivated throughout the year, Yurich has an instagram account that she updates frequently, as well as tracking sheets on her website.

She even has an app by the same name! I’ve downloaded it and it’s pretty good for keeping me motivated so far. Although I will say that it does glitch out fairly often and kick me out of the app (but I’m sure it’s relatively new and so, I don’t mind it so much).

You can track time, photos taken, and little notes from your outside time in the 1,000 Hours Outside app.

To be honest, as a working mother of a toddler with a pretty strict weekday schedule, I’m not sure if my family will meet the 1,000 hours of outdoor play goal.

But I plan on trying to anyway. If we manage to reach even 500 hours of outdoor time this year, I’ll be overjoyed.

I think the best thing to do when it comes to goals like this is make a really good effort every week. Then give yourself some grace when life or the weather gets in the way.

What do you think about The 1,000 Hours Outside Challenge? And are you up for giving it a try with your family this year?

Until next time! -Paige