One of my best Christmas presents was a request from my husband that we buy ourselves some new hiking boots and begin to make hiking a priority and a ritual in this family. Yahoo! A mutual love of hiking was part of why I fell for my fella, and we used to go on day hikes in the mountains often before we had children. Though I know people who are serious hikers and strap their babies to their backs and hit the trails, that’s not us. I had a hard enough time managing breast feeding, diaper changing and all the other demands of babies and toddlers here in a comfortable house let alone out in the wild. But I’m thrilled my boys are getting older, and we can be more intentional about getting out into nature.
So we got our boots earlier this month, and we took advantage of the warm weather December decided to bring this year in Georgia. We wanted to break in our boots and start off easy by visiting some local parks and gardens. It’s a good thing we did that too because we learned that with a five and two-year-old, our “hikes” are going to be more like strolls punctuated with a lot of stops, snacking and complaining. But that’s okay. We’ll make hikers out of these boys yet.
And hiking with my boys gives the photographer in me great pleasure. They gave me plenty of time to find the light while they played by the water. You can see those photos by clicking here.
The photos here are from Ft. Yargo State Park and The State Botanical Garden of Georgia.
Getting children into nature is very important, and I consider it a goal in our homeschooling lifestyle too. For more information about getting kids and your family into nature, you might like to look at these links (which I posted in my Worthy Reads a while back):
- Together in Nature: Pathways to a Stronger, Closer Family offers a free PDF download by Children & Nature Network Connect
- Recommended Reading by the Children and Nature Network
What’s your preferred way of getting out into nature?
