1,000 Hours Outside - End Of Year Recap

Here we are at the end of our 1,000 Hours Outside challenge.  We lost our way a bit during the last couple months, but I know the kids still spent a lot more time outside this year than they have in the past.

We spent the end of October away from home on vacation.  I guessed the amount of time the kids probably spent outside with my parents while Noah and I were in Arizona.  The weather here in Michigan turned cold while we were away and I had to start bundling up the kids to send them outside.  Between the cold weather, the kids being sick, and just life in general, we somehow lost momentum with spending time outside.  The kids got sick again for a week and a half over Christmas which put another hold on spending time outside.

Despite the vacation and sickness, I think we still managed to spend a good amount of time outside this year.  Here are the monthly totals.

January: 9.15 hours

February: 6.85 hours

March: 33 hours

April: 30 hours

May: 58 hours

June: 52 hours

July: 64 hours

August: 56 hours 15 minutes

September: 74.5 hours

October: 42 hours

November: 25 hours

December: 11 hours

Total time spent outside in 2021: 461 hours and 45 minutes.

I didn't really expect we would reach 1,000 hours by the end of the year, but I am really impressed with what we achieved!  Especially with how many hours we accumulated in September, a month that usually brings on the beginning of cold weather turned into an extra month of summer for us!  This post from the 1,000 Hours Outside Facebook page was especially encouraging for those who didn't reach 1,000 Hours.

I don't think I'll be tracking our time outside again this year.  I have other things I want to focus on (such as a bigger garden this summer and crocheting a temperature blanket for the year) but I am going to make sure to shoo the kids outside when the weather is acceptable for spending time outdoors.

1,000 Hours Outside - August and September Recap

August feels like the last "official" month of summer.  Most kids have gone back to school by the end of the month, the vegetable garden gives a final push before slowing down in September, and you rush to do all of the summery activities you haven't done yet.  

September didn't bring in the rush of cool weather that I was expecting, so it felt like we actually got an extra month of summer.  The evenings were cooler and we didn't have the blazing midday heat we contended with during the previous months.  Overall the weather was really pleasant for most of the month.

We spent about 56 hours and 15 minutes outside during August.  A little more than June, but less than July.  In September we spent 74.5 hours outside, our longest time spent outside so far this year!

The cousins having a fun time together at the zoo.

During the past couple months we harvested the last of the tomatoes from the garden, took a trip to the beach, went to the zoo with our family, and I started some simple preschool with Adeline.  The kids love to go off on adventures around the property and Noah is working on fixing up an old play structure so they have another place to play outside.

I know it's likely our time spent outside will decrease as the colder weather arrives, but I'm still going to try my best to bundle up the kids and send them outside every day.  Often when they start becoming too loud and rambunctious indoors I send them outside to play and burn off their energy.

I think keeping track of how long we have been outside had helped us spend more time outdoors overall, and I know it helped improve my mood at the beginning of the year during the last couple of dreary winter months.  It just feels good to get some fresh air!

1,000 Hours Outside - June and July Recap

Summer is entirely too short.  I can't believe it's already the beginning of August as I'm writing this post.

We spent about 52 hours outside in June and 64 hours in July, for a grand total of 116 hours!  That is the most time we have spent outside so far this year!

There were days of high heat, humidity, sick kids, and the beginning of potty training that kept us inside, but we got outside as much as we could.

We spent time tending to the garden and the kids love to play in the water table and our small pool.  We went to the beach one evening and recently picked blueberries.  We also enjoyed a visit from my parents in June and took a trip to the Zoo in July.

Watching our neighbor's field being mowed.

Adeline and Oliver enjoy getting to have snacks and popsicles outside.  

We brought in a Monarch caterpillar so the kids could watch it turn into a butterfly.  It popped out of its chrysalis early in the morning before anyone was up, but the kids still loved checking on it every day.  They also love to watch the bees enjoying my many flowers in the landscaping.

I told Noah it seems like I see more bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds around our house every year as the amount of flowers in my landscaping slowly increases.

There were some really cool LEGO sculptures at the zoo!

One great advantage of the warm summer weather is that when the kids enter their "before bedtime crazy energy zone" we can all go outside and let them burn off steam before they go to bed.

I'll say it again, summer is entirely too short.  It is true that cooler weather won't fully blow in until towards the end of September, but the beginning of August makes me sad, because it is truly the last month of summer and guaranteed warm weather.

1,000 Hours Outside - April and May Recap

I don't know how two whole months went by before I could find time to write another 1,000 Hours blog post, but here we are!

Just as a reminder, here is a link to what 1,000 Hours Outside is all about.

1,000 Hours Outside

Even though we dealt with some late-season frosts over the past couple months, the weather still continued to warm up as we crept closer to Summer.

In April we ended up spending about 30 hours outside, just a couple hours shy of our total for March.  

In May we spent 58 hours outside.  What??  Can you believe it?!  I was shocked to end up with such a high number as I was adding up the daily totals written on our calendar.

What did we do with all of our time outside?

A lot of gardening and landscaping.  Our entire vegetable garden is planted.  The radishes have already completed their time in the garden while the squash are just now sprouting.  We lost a few tomato plants to some recent frost so we picked up replacements at My Potted Treasures nearby.  For only a dollar per plant we bought three different varieties of small tomatoes and I'm looking forward to trying them!

I'm trying out a few different annuals this year in the landscaping that I have planted from seed along with some small perennial plants that I am hoping will become more established as time goes on.

Oliver sniffing our new flowering almond bush.

The kids have been loving playing with their water table and little pool.  Adeline likes to fill up the watering can and water my plants outside.  Oliver loves bugs.  He'll carefully pick them up, place them on his hand, and then study them for the longest time.  Adeline also likes to push her tricycle up our driveway and then coast on it back down the hill while squealing with delight.  The two kids will often go off on adventures together behind the barn, traipsing around the field, and getting into trouble.

Noah and I have been working on dismantling an old pig pen behind the barn.  There were cattle panels buried partway in the ground with large rocks or cinder blocks buried along the inside to keep the pigs from digging under the fence, some fence posts along the outside edge to hold up the cattle panels, and then various roots and box elder trees growing through the spaces in the panels that we had to dig out and cut through to free up the fence.  There is a bit of fence still in place against the back of the barn, but it has two different hefty root systems growing through it and it's a lot harder to dig out with it being right up against the wall of the barn, so we might just leave it there.  The goal was to clean up the area enough so Noah can easily mow through it with his Kubota, and we have pretty much already achieved that, so we're probably done with that area for now.

I'm sure the rest of the warmer months will be full of playing in the water, weeding the garden, and harvesting vegetables.  As Noah and I were relaxing outside one evening while the kids were running around before bedtime, I remarked to Noah for probably the hundredth time that I'm so glad we have so much space for the kids to explore outside.  While I do enjoy taking them to the park, it's also nice to not really have to go anywhere for them to be able to let loose and burn off their pent up little kid energy.

1,000 Hours Outside - March Recap

We quickly surpassed our pitiful February hours spent outside within the first few days of March.  The weather was so lovely and warm for a good part of the month.

We ended up spending 1,975 minutes, or nearly 33 hours, outdoors during the month of March.  This is the most time we have spent outside so far this year and I know our time will increase at the weather continues to warm up.

The almost summer-like weather was amazing and a bit cruel.  Summer won't full arrive until June so we still have some rainy and chilly Spring weather to contend with, but it was so wonderful to be outside without having to be bundled up like a human marshmallow.

It makes me so happy to see my Spring flowers reappear after the long winters here in Michigan.

My crocuses and daffodils started pushing through the mulch and bloomed soon after.  Many other plants in my landscaping started showing signs of life and I began to make plans and buy seeds and plants to continue filling in my landscaping.  Last year the local rabbits ate nearly all of the tiny plants I had started from seed leaving a lot of my landscaping looking quite bare.  I put up my rabbit fence early this year after discovering some of my plants were already nearly obliterated by the pesky bunnies over the winter.  I am especially excited to turn the "dirt patch" by the back door into a shaded woodland rock garden.

The kids have thoroughly enjoyed the warm weather and being able to run around outside without heavy coats.  They have been continually exploring which has also led to laying down some ground rules about where they can and cannot play outside.  With more than three acres of land and no fenced in yard, there are plenty of places where they could get into trouble, especially Oliver who has just turned two years old and is not quite as aware of his surrounding as Adeline who will be four at the end of April.

Enjoying some popsicles!

For a couple years I have been wanting to install some kind of gate at the top of the stairs leading to our deck so that the kids can have a space to play outside when I am not able to be outside with them.  As much as I would love to spend every minute outdoors when the weather is warm, I still need to keep up with housework and cooking meals.  Noah made my deck gate dreams come true and the kids have enjoyed playing with the water table on the deck for a couple of really warm days and I really enjoyed not having them begging for snacks every five minutes while I'm working in the kitchen.

I am looking forward to enjoying even more warm weather in the coming days and getting to work in the garden and landscaping again.  I also love having the kids play outside so much instead of being cooped up like they are over the winter.  Being outside really is more enjoyable when we have warm weather.

1,000 Hours Outside - February Recap

We had quite frigid weather throughout most of February, so our 1,000 hours goal took quite a hit because we weren't able to go outside for more than two weeks.  Winter finally caught up to us here in West Michigan.

We spent 411 minutes outside in February, or about 6.85 hours.  So pitiful.

I did put together a couple of activities for the kids so that they were able to play with the snow indoors during our time of being stuck in the house.  They were a big hit and helped the time go by a little faster.

Painting snow with colored water.

We were finally able to enjoy the outdoors again towards the end of the month.  The kids had been going crazy not being able to run around outside.  The still cold but bearable weather was lovely.

The biggest snowman we made this winter.

Fortunately I was able to find new snow gear much earlier than I anticipated.  I was prepared to wait until summer garage sales to find new snow pants and coats, but I visited a thrift store in town that I hadn't been to before and they happened to have their winter clothes on sale.  I was able to find a new pair of snow pants for each of the kids for about $3 a piece, a pair of snow boots for Oliver for $4, and a coat for Adeline for about $4.  I also bought some long sleeve shirts for Oliver and a shirt for myself.

I am so thankful to have already found new winter gear that we can use until the weather warms up and hopefully use again next winter.  The kids are much cozier now when we go out to play and I think we'll be able to spend even more time outside.

1,000 Hours Outside - January Recap

We began our 1,000 Hours Outside journey on January 5th.  You can read my initial blog post below.

Can We Spend 1,000 Hours Outside?

Between the cold temperatures and lacking a bit in proper snow gear, I knew there would be days when it would be difficult to spend much time outside.  But we doubled up on layers of clothing and ventured out into the snow and slush many times this past month.

We ended up spending 549 minutes outside in January, which comes to about 9.15 hours.

I know that isn't a huge amount of time, but to be quite honest, it is probably the most time I have spent outside in January since moving to Michigan nearly seven years ago.

I don't like being cold and wet.  I would rather curl up inside and look at a book.

Playing in the big piles of snow Noah cleared from the driveway.

But I have noticed that spending time outside has been very good for my mental wellbeing so far this winter.  I have struggled a lot with the dark and gloomy winters since moving to Michigan.  The lack of sunshine really gets to me and it is just so dang cold!  But forcing myself to get outdoors with the kids even when it is cold outside has been really great.

Speaking of the kids, they have really enjoyed being outside too.  We have built multiple snowmen, identified the animal tracks we find in the snow, filled up their little buckets with "treasure", found a good sledding spot on our property, and we made ice decorations that melted too quickly for me to take a picture.

(Here's an example from Instagram.)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ginny | 1000 Hours Outside (@1000hoursoutside)

We have usually been going outside after the kids take their naps, around the time of day when I'm started to feel tired and sluggish but I have to push through just a little longer until Noah gets home.  Forcing myself to get out into the fresh air when I would rather curl up and take a nap myself often helps me feel better and gives me the energy for those last couple hours of solo parenting.  It also tends to be warmer later in the day, so that is another reason why we wait to go outside.  I'm sure what time of day we go outside will shift as the seasons change.

Nine hours might not sound like much, but I know it has made a big difference in how we spend our time at home and I hope we are creating memories the kids will cherish in the future.  It's very easy to go outside when the weather is warm and lovely, but going outside during winter can be just as fun.  There are unique experiences available that you just can't replicate during the rest of the year.

I'm sure our time spent outside each month will increase as the weather warms up.  Summer has cemented its position as my favorite season since moving to Michigan.  I crave the warmth and sunshine so much.  Working in the garden, enjoying beautiful flowers, visiting the lake, those are the hours outside I look forward to the most.

Can We Spend One Thousand Hours Outside?

Do you have memories of playing outside as a child?

The last house we lived in when we were living in Texas, where I spent the majority of my childhood, was next to a big empty field with woods and a creek beyond it.  We also had a lot of yard space and a couple of big trees grew on the edge of our property.  While I do remember spending time playing with dolls, reading books, and sewing, we also spent a lot of time outside.  Coloring on the sidewalk with chalk, playing under the big trees, running through the field, and riding bikes around the neighborhood.  I was not the most athletic child, and I seem to remember spending less time outside as I got older, but I do have fond memories of many different outdoor activities.

I first heard about 1,000 Hours Outside through Hannah who I follow on Instagram.  The general point of the initiative is to encourage children to spend at least as much time outside as they do in front of screens, if not more.

Spending 1,000 hours outside in a year sounds very ambitious, especially when you have children young enough that they need to be supervised when they are outside, never mind the cold winters here in Michigan and very rainy springtime.  During the summer Adeline will spend ages running around outside and exploring by herself on our property.  She is quite independent.  Oliver isn't even two years old though and he his much more mischievous than his sister, so I'm not sure when I'll be able to trust him to be outside on his own.

Even with those obstacles, we still managed to spend 195 minutes (more than three hours) playing outside Tuesday-Saturday last week!  We built snowmen, snow bricks, went sledding, and hiked around in the back pasture.

On our way home from church on Sunday we stopped at a store to look for proper winter gloves and possibly snowpants for Oliver.  We couldn't find anything.  I've been dressing him in two pairs of pants and some mittens made out of old socks during our outdoor excursions, but I would love to find some good winter clothing for him so we could stretch our outdoor time even just a few minutes more during the winter.  I think I can beef up his homemade mittens a little more so that they'll be waterproof and stay on a little better.  Does anyone know of good winter gloves and snowpants in 2T-3T size that aren't insanely expensive?

To be quite honest, I do not enjoy cold weather.  I would rather curl up on the couch with a book or crochet project than go outside during winter.  Living in Texas for the first fourteen years of my life probably has something to do with that.  But I really have enjoyed getting outside with the kids this past week.  I told Noah that I am re-living all of the snowmen I didn't get to build as a child who grew up with very little snow.

Will we reach the goal of spending 1,000 hours outside this year?  I doubt it.  It sounds too lofty.  But for now I'm shooting for spending as much time as we can outside based on how cold it is.  It will become easier as the weather warms up and we begin tending to the garden again.  The kids thought it was such a treat to munch on fresh green beans and tomatoes straight from the garden this past summer.  I long for summer so much on the coldest winter days.  It's a good thing I have delicious canned peaches waiting for me in the basement when I need a taste of summer.