Welcome to WonderWednesdays!

I am so excited to get outside and enjoy the great outdoors with you! It is so important for children to be outside to play, explore, and get dirty! As parents, we want to create opportunities for our children to learn and grow. We want our children to look back on their childhood and have fond memories. We want their summers to be full of adventure! But the reality is that life is busy and it can be really hard to make the time to create these special moments we feel our children deserve. I'll be the first one to admit that my kids get way more screen time than they should and I am often too preoccupied with everything on my to-do list to sit down and create special moments of explorative and purposeful play with my kids. If you are anything like me, I often NEED something scheduled in that forces me to stop and do something extra special with my children. I'm being really real here! I cannot be the only one who struggles with this, right??

The good news is, you don't have to do it all alone. I created WonderWednesdays with the hope that it would give children and families the chance to see how much fun it is to play outside; that it really is easy and well-worth the time and energy to create these special moments as a family. The best part is, the work is pretty much done FOR you! Through explorative activities and whimsical stories, children will discover the wonder of the great outdoors by making art with nature, getting lost in their imagination, and creating cherished memories with you! Here's what you can expect with these Outdoor Learning blog posts:

WonderDay

Every-so-often, I will host a FREE event called WonderDay, where we will meet at a local park and do a nature-inspired activity together. You can find these events on my "Register for Events" page on my website or under the "Events" tab on my Facebook page, called Hope Academy. Spots will be limited, so be sure to "like" and follow Hope Academy on Facebook to be notified for WonderDay events and to sign up to be on my email list to be the first one to register.

WonderWednesdays Activity Blog

On Wednesdays, I'll release a blog about activities you can do throughout the week. These will give you the chance to create some wonder in your own backyard, no matter the season! Here is what will be in the blog:

• Suggested Book List:This will have a couple of books that tie in with the weekly theme. One of my most cherished memories as a child was visiting the library with my mom and siblings on a hot summer day. I encourage you to see if you can find any of the books listed at your local library and check them out! If you can't find the ones I have listed, show your child how to search for books using the resources that your Library has to offer! You will see some affiliate links that you can use to purchase the books, but I mainly linked them so you can see what the book looks like when you're searching for it at the library, and so you can read what it's about first.

• Activities: I'll have one bigger activity that requires some prep and possibly some assistance (typically using household objects). There is one for each age group, Sprouts (ages 2-5) and Blossoms (age 5-9).

• Adventure Bucket List: This is a list of activities that are super simple, but fun!! These are easy enough to do that you can sneak them into your busy week but also make you feel like you accomplished creating a meaningful opportunity with your children!

I want the blog to be quick to read and easy-to-do. You won't see a lot of frill to it because no one likes pages upon pages to sift through just to get to the meat of it (recipes these days, amIright?).

Thank you SO much for joining me on this adventure! I am excited to facilitate this opportunity for you! My hope is that you and your children will look fondly back on this time in your lives and cherish these moments forever.

Feel free to share these posts with family and friends!