What’s up, guys? As I mentioned in my freezer meals post, we’re in the middle of a big move to South Carolina! While we’re transitioning, one of my real-life besties, Tiyaanah, agreed to cover for me with a guest post! We used to teach kindergarten together and then our kids grew to be incredible friends. I could seriously write an entire post about how much I admire this amazing mama, but I’m too excited for you to read her post about how parks are great classrooms!

Take it away, Tiyaanah!

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Hey, everyone. I’m honored to write my first guest post on this wonderful blog. A little bit about myself. I’m a teacher turned SAHM. Two years ago, my husband and I chose to homeschool our two boys. Now, I teach any and everywhere, and my favorite classroom is the park.

Trees, Bruh

I know most parents (myself included) go to parks to encourage our children to release loads of energy so WE can make it to nap time. However, there are many reasons to treat parks like a classroom.

1. Language Development

Parks have different shapes, colors, textures, and visuals to touch and examine. Regardless of age, every child can develop their language skills at the park.

When my little guys were babies, we would touch the grass and talk about its characteristics. Here are simple questions that you can ask to challenge a toddler:

• How does it feel?
• What color is it?
• Is this wet or dry?
• Is it big or small?

I’d ask these questions about flowers, sand, rocks, trees, and anything else. Obviously, I was doing all of the talking but trust me, those little ears were listening.

Now that my munchkins are 2 and 4 years old, we have actual conversations about what we see at the park. We talk about the different trees, the color of the leaves, and its texture. And before they’re distracted by something else, I ask what plants and trees need to grow or how one tree compares to the next.

If your parks have ducks, geese, water, rocks, grass, sand, etc., there’s so much you can talk about to aide in developing their language. It’s two-fold because they’re also learning or reinforcing facts.

2. Physical Development

I know this one is pretty obvious, but the park encourages the development of both gross and fine motor skills.

My children love finding sticks while we walk around the park. Just the simple task of picking the stick up helps them practice their dexterity. Sometimes, we use the sticks to dig up dinosaur bones, search for hidden pirate treasure, or draw letters in the sand/dirt.

Of course, your local park has much more than sticks.

Sometimes I sit back and think about how much they grow when they’re able to climb, run, jump, slide, pull, lift, or swing. The park allows my munchkins to practice all of these skills in a fun, natural environment. It also prevents me from being trapped indoors with their screams.

3. Social-Emotional Skills

As a SAHM, I look for various ways to encourage my children to interact with others so they can learn more about themselves (their likes, dislikes, etc.) and other people. In addition to practicing their social skills at home with each other, the park is a great ‘free’ opportunity to put those skills into action with other children.

The various ways in which they can develop their social-emotional skills include engaging in endless scenarios in pretend play (with their parent or other children), exploring shared objects, and creating games with other children. These activities lead to my munchkins practicing sharing, taking turns, following rules, socializing, self-control, and more.

Recently, we ran into my husband’s seventh-grade students at a local park. My eldest was thrilled to speak with big kids that asked about his favorite color and shows. The park is a great place to practice social-emotional skills.

4. Appreciate Nature

My munchkins love eating our lunch at the park.  We love to “hike” around the park and observe nature. One of our favorite parks has ducks and geese. So, we partake in feeding them.

We smell flowers, touch plants, and acknowledge the uniqueness of the sunset (depending on the time of day). I try to encourage the boys to be nice to plants by not ripping all the leaves or petals off. Being in nature gives us the opportunity to be compassionate towards the animals and plants that inhabit the park.

I love my classroom.

What are some things you and your munchkin(s) like to do at the park? Also, please list some of your favorite parks? We’d love to visit them someday if we visit your state.

Oh! Cinnamon Mom, thanks for this opportunity. You rock!

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Thanks, Tiyaanah!

Be sure to visit Tiyaanah’s blog that she co-writes with her husband, Box Rocket Parents! They share how they’re homeschooling their boys and give tons of fun, creative, and useful ideas to use with your children!

Talk to you soon!