5 Things I Learned Through the 1000 Hours Outside Challenge

Going into 2020, I had two main goals for our family: to simplify and to spend more time outside. While I had no idea in January what 2020 would bring (the pandemic, the shutdown and countless hours at home in our backyard + neighborhood), it was never a better year to have a goal to spend more time outside!

I chose to use the 1000 hours outside challenge to encourage outdoor time for our family and have a clear goal in mind. I set a family goal early on to aim for 3 hours outside a day, spending less time outside on colder days and more time on warmer days. 

Today I want to share 5 things we learned from spending more time outside this year:

1. It takes time to develop a habit of being outside for a lengthy time. 

While we are genuinely nature lovers, it still took some time for us to develop a habit of being outside so many hours of the day. At the beginning of the year, Lindie and Jude couldn't walk outside on their own, so it truly required discipline on my part to get everyone dressed + wrangled outside. Once we were outside, I found Eliza and myself easily bored. It took time, patience, setting timers, and allowing boredom to inspire imagination to get into a pattern of spending lengthy time outdoors. 

I clearly remember at the beginning of the year Eliza yelling from the back porch "I hate being outside!" and yet, by the end of the year, I also remember hearing her beam from her swing "I it love outside!" 

All this to say, it takes time. If it's not a night and day switch for you and your kids that's okay. Even more reason to have a daily goal.

2. Your kids will enjoy time outside more if you are enjoying time outside with them.

Maybe because 2/3 of my kids can't be trusted in the yard by themselves quite yet, but the vast majority of the time we spent outside this year included me spending time with them. Not only that, but they seemed to enjoy it more if I was interacting and playing with them. Just like we have to teach our kids how to play with new toys, we also have to teach them how to play outside. 

So what does this look like? This looks like me standing below the tree swinging the kids and singing songs to them. It looks like me helping Jude and Lindie go up and down the slide and shoot hoops in the baby basketball net. It looks like me foraging with Eliza for pretend "food" among the flowers and acorns in our yard. It looks like me creating a neighborhood scavenger hunt for our walks and dedicating a special reading tree at the park in the shade. It looks a lot like mom (and sometimes dad) sitting alongside the kids, playing with them while outside.

My hope is that over time this intentionality will develop a natural desire to play outside individually and together without always having to have a parent nearby. I have dreams of making dinner in the kitchen while all three of my kids play together in the backyard without adult supervision but we're not quite there yet. In the meantime, I can see them enjoying the outdoors more with me enjoying it with them.

3. More time outside = A cleaner home

Maybe this is a no-brainer but truly the more time we spent outside in a day, the cleaner my home at the end of the day. (This became a huge incentive for me because who wants to clean up the extra mess)?!

And if you're wondering about outdoor mess, I've found that playing outside requires way less toys than when they play inside. There is so much to explore naturally when outside, so outdoor cleanup seems to be much easier.

4. My kids attitudes and sleep patterns are better when we spend time outside.

Again probably a no-brainer but the more time we spend outside, the better their behavior and the better they sleep. There were some months in the summertime where my kids would go straight from playing in the backyard to their bedtime routines and those months were the best sleeping months. There were also days when it felt like everyone was losing their minds in the house and it was a cue that we needed to head outside. It makes all the difference.

5. Being outside is helpful for my mental health. (So important)!

I totally knew this statement going into 2020 (which is one of the reasons why I set an outdoor goal for our family) but I saw it play out so clearly. 2020 was one of the most difficult years for so many people and yet my anxiety was the lowest its been for a long time. I attribute this to a few things, one of them being time spent outside. While I know that the outdoors may not be everyone's thing, I dare you to test my theory.

This year we hit close to 800 hours outside! While we didn't hit 1000 hours, I honestly wasn't expecting to with two toddlers in tow, but I am hopeful that we'll hit more than 800 next year and keep increasing our hours outside as the kids get older.

I'd love to hear from you & how you enjoyed your time outside this year!