Playground!

What a beautiful day. It is warm. It is sunny. Emma, Ben and I went to enjoy ourselves at the nearby playground. It's quite a wonderful playground, since it has many trees to clamber upon and around, rocks to climb, sand to dig in. There is a public field and sledding slopes (also good for rolling down). There is even a community garden.

Ben fell asleep on the way over, so I read a few chapters of Momo by Michael Ende while Emma found and played with a new friend. Ben eventually woke up and got to play, too. Here are a few photos documenting the day's fun!

 

Rolling down hills

The community garden hasn't woken up yet.

Ben's getting too almost too big to carry!

It's too bad that Rowan still had a bad cough and couldn't join us. It was warm enough to remove hats and mitts for a short while (such promise of spring!), but he's only just recovering. The final chill of winter will be gone before too long, and then we'll forget what cold is for a time. I should read The Tomten one last time before retiring it until Winter '11. 

"Winters come and winters go,

Summers come and summers go,

Soon the swallows will be here" 

--from The Tomten by Astrid Lindgren

Playing Outside...

...is important. Yes, even when it's cold. It can be really hard to get the kids outside in the winter, but I find that if my kids don't get outside for free play, we all suffer for it. My daughter, Emma, wanted to stay inside today, to rest, read, and stay warm. I understand, since that's what I want to do as well. But I eventually coaxed both Emma and Rowan outside, where they immediately began playing and enjoying themselves. I know that they both will come in cold but happy, refreshed from their time outside in the fresh air. Then there will be hot chocolate and fresh muffins waiting for them. That's the time to settle down with a good book!

There are plenty of books brimming with ideas for outside play. I prefer, though, the play that develops naturally when children are engaged with nature. Cynthia Aldinger (from LifeWays North America) has written a wonderful article, "Children and Nature."