Hiking on Hump Day: 10 Reasons Why We Love Hiking Together

I really felt the need to get out of the house and do something active together today.  I coerced the boys into going hiking with me.

They don't usually hump at the chance to go hiking but it is one thing that I never tire of cajoling them to do with me.  The few minutes of grumbling and complaining are worth the hours spent in the woods talking, exploring, and exercising.

I just love hiking with my boys because:

1. It gives us a chance to connect with one another when we don't have any screens or toys distracting us.  
2. We get to share so many wonderful discoveries about nature
3.  We get physically fit together. 
4. There is always something new to see, hear, and learn. 
5. There are so many different trails around to choose from
6. Being in nature is calming
7. It's something we can all do together without needing any special skills or equipment.
8. We play fun games together 
9. It doesn't require any planning ahead of time; we can just pick up and go.
10.  Often something we see on a hike jump starts our next science lesson.

 We headed to a local hiking trail and set out.

The boys immediately started our question game;

• What would you do with 2 million dollars?
• What is your favorite type of tree?
• If you could have any animal as a pet what would you chose? (and why)
• Where  would you travel to if you could go anywhere in the world?
• What is your dream house like?

We stopped and helped rescue an injured frog from the road just as a ranger truck was nearing us.  The ranger stopped to talk to us and tried to encourage the boys, who were upset that the frog did not look healthy at all.  He had an injured foot and couldn't hop.  We also noticed some blood on the frog's (for lack of better term) shoulder.  While the ranger did tell the boys it was possible the frog wouldn't make it there's always a chance he could.  He also told them that they had found a perfect spot to put him out of harms way of the road and right near lots of water.  The ranger drove away and we continued on our walk.

We saw many people walking their dogs and the boys stopped to pet them all with the OK from the owners.  We saw bluebirds, red- winged black birds, a white tailed deer and many beautiful plants and flowers.

On our drive home we saw a red fox too.

 It was a great nature filled morning.

That's one of my favorite things about hiking; you never know what you'll see!

Once home our nature learning continued. 

We headed home for some lunch and spent some time visiting with my mom when she stopped by.      After lunch the younger boys pulled out bins/bowls of water and lots of animals for some water play at the table.

The younger boys asked me to read a book called Ants to them while they played. I was about to say no and argue that they couldn't even look at the pictures or really listen while they were playing but I decided it couldn't hurt and I've been thinking I don't read nearly enough anymore so I agreed.

 By the third page they had stopped playing and gathered around me to listen. It was a pretty informative book and even I learned a lot.

We played outside and watched the geese on the lake....

Days like this I am so thankful for homeschooling and all the learning opportunities nature provides us with.