Climbing Mt. Monadnock, NH

Yesterday my family and I climbed to the summit of Mt. Monadnock located in NH. It was an experience that my children will remember for the rest of their lives and so will I. That was our first climb up the mountain and we met some wonderful people. At the summit we met another family who also had their 8 year old boy the was making his first summit climb. When he found out it was also my son's first trip to the summit of a mountain he put his hand out they congratulated each other. It was great to see other families getting outside together. My children came down with such a sense of accomplishment. My son kept saying he couldn't believe he did it. We talked about now that they have climbed a mountain, if they get overwhelmed at school by a test or schoolwork all they have to do is take a breath and say "I can do this, I climbed a mountain." I think this especially hit home for my son because he is very intelligent but struggles with severe dyslexia and gets overwhelmed quickly. This was just the kind of confidence booster he needed even though that wasn't part of the original plan. Doing something together that is a first for the whole family (it was my first time up Mt. Monadock too) really bonded us together. And I had a blast adding to some beautiful landscape pictures to my photography portfolio!

Some hiking side notes:

Please be prepared! My son is a cub scout so we used planning this as a way for him to earn a belt loop, but plan and pack appropriately. There were a lot of people going up without the proper gear if they were to get in trouble.

We researched the trails ahead of time, packed a lot of water in each of our backpacks, I had rope, compass, whistle, extra food, blanket, first aid kit, ace bandages, and bug spray in mine to name a few things. We also talked about hiker safety and ethic. We stayed on the trails, payed attention to what trail we were following (encouraging our children to find the next trail marker), we stayed together, and followed "Leave No Trace" by cub scouts.

Mt. Monadnock- is aprox 3200 in elevation. We followed the white dot trail up (little over 2 miles to summit) and the white cross trail down. Both trails have some pretty tough terrain where we had to use 3 points of contact to maneuver. It took us about 2 hours up and 1.5 coming down.

Backyard Paradise

I am always encouraging my children stop and take notice of what is around them. I hope that I will be able to inspire others to do the same. Here are some pictures I took from my own back yard in Southern New Hampshire. As busy as we all are (believe me I have two children in 2 sports and each in other extra curricula activities all going on at the same time, plus working full time- I know what busy is) take some time this weekend to grab a cup of coffee and sit outside on your porch, steps, deck, etc and just observe your surroundings. You will be amazed at what you see that you had no idea was around you.

Have a great weekend and get outside!!!

Have an hour? Take a Hike!

This past weekend my children clearly needed something to do because they were making each other crazy. Who would think brothers and sisters do that? Anyways I told them we were going for a hike. With a little resistance they came, but as soon as we got to the park in town and took a few steps thier attitudes changed instantly. We didn't have a lot of time because we had plans later in the day, but you don't need a huge block of time to hike in your neighborhood. Our entire hike plus quick drive was about an hour long, but was so much more valuable in the interest it sparked in my children.

We quickly found a rock pile that my children enjoyed exploring and telling me about all the interesting facts they had been learning at school about the different types of rocks and minerals. Their rock and mineral itnersted continued through the entire hike and is something they are still talking about. We are planning on purchasing a field guide this weekend to take with us on our future hikes. My children went from not wanting to go to not being able to wait until our next one. Sometimes it getting children outside and away from the technology takes a little push, but they are usually very happy when the do!

Here are some pictures from our hike.

Don't forget Earth Day April 22nd! The Children and Nature Network has a link to search for acitivities that are happening in your area to get children outside. Check it out.

Click on one of the "Let's Go" Badges to the right to bring you there.

(Sorry for the delay in posts! Compurter problems)

It's Been a While but I am Back to Blogging

Wow, I can't believe I haven't made any posts since October! Life has been busy to say the least. Both my children have been involved in school sports, scouts, and my son has been diagnosed with a learning disability, most likely moderate dyslexia. So most of my time has been spent on the Basketball court side lines, being assistant leader to my son's cub scout den, and researching special education laws and learning strategies for dyslexia. ( I am considering starting another blog about what I have learned, and techniques I am trying with my son for other families that may be going through a similar experience.)

We had some wildlife visitors in our backyard visible through our kitchen window. We think they are after our chickens that we got last spring. Seeing these guys outside my kitchen window reminded me of the title of my blog "Outside Your Window" and made me realize I have been so busy taking care of everyone else I haven't been taking care of myself and the things I enjoy.

So I have made a point to get back outside with my camera (even though winter is in full force here in New England). I have been doing some hiking in the woods behind my house, and my children have joined me for some. They haven't gotten the whole quite in the woods to see the wildlife thing, but we have been able to see lots of tracks that we have identified and it has released some of their built up energy!

So here I am back to photography and blogging!

My son starting out on our hike and tracks we found in the snow.