For 2019-2020 school year I decided to enroll my girls in American Heritage Girl (AHG). It has been an amazing experience for all of us. They’ve made new friends (and so have I), and we’ve all gained a wealth on knowledge about serving their community. Where this experience has pushed me out of my comfort zone, in addition to meeting new people, is requiring us to be outdoors more and explore.
https://americanheritagegirls.org/
Getting Back to Nature
I hadn’t realized it, but somehow over the years I haven’t ventured out into nature as i once did. I grew up going camping with my family and fishing on the lake, yet I somehow haven’t continued that tradition with my own girls. But being apart of the organization was defintely going to change that.
Of course, quarantine threw an unexpected wrench into our troops plans. Yet, over this past few months we have continued to meet via Zoom meeting. Currently, the girls are working on earning their Nature Badge. This may seemed poorly timed, but our leaders have been awesome. They’ve found new and creative ways for us all to participate separately while completing requirements collectively.
And our most recent project has been to build/decorate a bird feeder. Ironically, I had already purchased similar bird feeders for my girls, so I was thrilled that we’d finally get to build it. Projects like this are some of my favorites for a few reasons. First of all, it would allow them to work creatively. Secondly, they would learn to work both independently as well as in a team. Because assembling a bird feeder can be a little more complicated for some more than others. And the best part about these types of project is that it leads us to the outdoors.
Enjoy Nature in Your Own Backyard
Yes, it may only be our backyard that we’re exploring for now, but the door to curiosity has been opened. As we shop for bird food investigative questions start emerging. Like, what do birds eat? And what types of birds are native to our area? Followed by everyone, myself included, excitedly waiting for our feathery visitors to come and enjoy a meal.
Yes, exploring nature may still be limited at this time but I know one of the first questions I’ll be asked once it’s lifted is…”When can we go exploring?”
https://www.ladydspeaks.com/family-spring-break/
