playing outdoors with my family.

Have you noticed the cooler days?  The shorter daylight hours?  Maybe you have to close up the windows at night or you had to add an extra blanket to your bed to keep the chill out.  Yes, summer has ended and autumn is setting in now.  Some people welcome the cooler, less humid weather.  For me its sad.  It means winter will soon be here.  One thing my family and I miss when the cold sets in is the time we spend outdoors.

Have you noticed that as you drive through a town that there aren't very many children out playing?  I have.  I can say that is not the case in our household, however.  We are outside from morning till night when the weather is right! 

What do we find to do outside?  There is so much.

First of all, during the summer we swim. 

We regard the swimming pool we put in as one of the best purchases we ever made.  If something were to happen to the pool we have now we would install another without delay.  The new model would be even bigger and better,  too!  There are a lot of fun games you can play in your pool.  What about a game of pool basketball?  Use an inner tube as a hoop and any sort of ball...big or small and start shooting hoops.  You can take turns tossing the ball in an orderly way or just let mayhem reign and have it a dive and grab for the ball and shoot game.  Do a jumping contest.   See who can make the grandest entrance into the pool.  Who has the most unique jump?  The silliest?  The most graceful?  Or call out a name of a jump and see how each person interprets it into a jump.  Some famous ones in our family have been things like the "L" jump, the pencil and the walrus.  Its guaranteed you will share some laughter with this game.  Of course there are relay races (try to silly it up by using funny made up swimming strokes or techniques) to do.  How about tossing coins or other small objects into the pool and racing to see who can retrieve the most?

Oh there is so much to do in the pool!

When we feel like taking the adventure outside our own property, we often head out for a hike.  We are fortunate to live out in the country in an area where there are some exciting trails through the woods.  We often pretend we are hunting for Big Foot (which some members of the family are quite sure actually lives around here) and look for clues that he may have been near.  Since marching through the woods with 6 children is seldom quiet enough to actually catch a glimpse of wildlife (they hear us long in advance and run the opposite direction for sure!) we look for footprints or other tracks left behind.  We also keep our eyes open for interesting rocks or stones and things like that.  Since a small  river runs through here, we often stop to skip stones or look for shells.  There are Indian burial grounds right here, too.  Its a good area to hunt for arrowheads.  While my family has never found any, many people have right in our very backyard area!  I think you need a more trained eye to spot them than what we have.

Our family enjoys bike riding as well.

The area we live in is not real good for riding.  First, we live in a big gully of sorts and any direction you go you have a monster hill to climb up.  Once you conquer that hill, there are many more ups and downs to come.  Definitely not amateur riding terrain.  Plus there are no sidewalks in the country and with miles between houses of open road , cars tend to drive way too fast.  TO keep everyone safer we like to drive our bikes to a nearby town and ride.  Sometimes we will bake cookies earlier in the day and then drive around on our bikes and make cookie deliveries to people we know at their houses.  The children love to do this. We usually include a stop at the park to play on the playground too.  When we are feeling like a longer ride we sometimes take our bikes to the bike trail to ride.  There is an area where they converted old, no longer used railroad tracks into a paved bike trail.  Its fun to ride on .  We sometimes pack up a lunch and take the trail, stopping to eat along the way at one of the park stops.

There are so many more things we like to do outside.  Little games of baseball.  A game of PIG or HORSE with the basketball.  Running races.  A game of catch.  A round of keep away.  We have even tested out roller blading together.

We have a sand box and have had "cake" baking contests or build cities in the sand.

If your family is not inclined to get out and play together, I encourage you to make it a goal to do so soon.  Now is a great time, too, because on September 24, 2011, kids and families are encouraged to participate in the Worldwide Day of Play to turn off the TV and play outside.

Physical activity can improve health, self-esteem and the well being of children. Teach kids a healthier lifestyle of limited TV time and a more physical activities.  Clorox 2® is a proud sponsor of Nickelodeon's 8th Annual Worldwide Day of Play. So take the Clorox2® Play 2Day pledge to play outside!  Don't worry about a little dirt, either.  Throw the kids in the tub.  The clothes?  Well give Clorox 2 a try!  The dirt will disappear.


About Clorox2® Stain Fighter & Color Booster:
Getting dirty is much more fun when it's easy to get clean. When the outdoor fun is finished, Clorox2® Stain Fighter & Color Booster gets out the tough stains, so your kids can take part in healthy fun and get dirty over and over again.

Please consider taking 
 the  Clorox2® Play 2Day pledge to play outside!
“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Clorox2® blogging program, for a gift card worth $40. For more information on how you can participate, click here.