Living Outdoors

One of my favorite things to do with my children is to take ordinary activities outdoors. There is something about the change of venue that elevates these simple pastimes to a new level of fun. So lately, this is what our days have been full of:

I spread a quilt in the shade next to our garden and gave Beatrix a basket of blocks, which she ignored in favor of an empty tobacco can of unknown origin.

For my older children, I started reading The Secret Garden (HarperClassics). I have been waiting for some time to read this to my boys; I wanted Larkspur to be old enough to enjoy it too. I love reading to my kids outdoors while they either lie next to me, or climb in nearby trees to listen.

Trudy is invited sometimes.

It sort of depends on her behavior.

I love that with the advent of warm weather, all painting gets moved outdoors, which is really great for clean up. Essentially, we don’t clean up! I keep a table outside all summer and into the fall for watercolor painting and any other messy artsy activities. The table is next to our shady reading spot.

Beatrix has her own little table, because she is not good at rinsing her brush between colors, and this brings great distress to her brothers and sister.

We are always joined by at least one of our cats, usually Intruder, also know as “Trudu” not to be confused with “Trudy.”

Ariella posted beautiful photos a few weeks ago of her children making these wonderful gigantic bubbles, and I knew immediately that we would be doing the same very soon. (you can find instructions in her post.)