Neighborhood Walks~

                                         

By Teri Stevens

I am blessed to be the stay-at-home Mother of three terrific toddlers,all under the age of three. Given their young ages, a son who is thirty-two months and twin girls who just turned two, there aren’t many outdoor activities we can do together when Dad is at work. His remedy was to purchase a fabulous triple stroller that I can easily maneuver by myself, which we acquired when the kids were still under the ages of two and one.
At first our walks were just to get out of the house. The kids enjoyed being outside, but weren’t talking yet, so the walks were pretty uneventful, many ending with an impromptu nap! Over the last several months our almost daily walks have turned into adventures.

Through their curious eyes our neighborhood has become an exciting place to discover.

Our short walk around the neighborhood was especially fun this past fall, as excited cries of, “pumpkin!” could be heard every time they saw one. They now know what spiders and ghosties are, and wonder where the “witch ladies” have gone. With Easter upon us, bunnies and chicks grace the lawn of one decorative neighbor, prompting cries of, “up Mommy up,” meaning go up the driveway so we can see them.

Our long walk takes us past a miniature horse named Cosmos. Shouts of “bye bye baby Cosmos,” ring out as we leave his small red barn. Next we say hello to two horses whose stalls are near an oak tree. Stopping under the tree the kids say, “Acorn, acorn,” as they have come to expect an acorn each to hold during their walk. The first time I handed my daughter a small brown nut, her face lit up with joy like I had just given her a precious gem.

Our next turn takes us past a field of cows, and father down, a bridge over a small creek where they’ve recently started throwing in their acorns. We’ve seen kitty cats, doggies, garbage trucks (a huge hit with my son), and a blue-green Cinderella pumpkin growing on a vine that escaped under a fence, chickens and baby chicks.

Now rather than just getting out of the house, it is a pleasure to go on these simple walks, where through the eyes of my children I have rediscovered that adventure is just outside our front door.


 “Let them once get in touch with nature and a habit is formed which will be a source of delight and habit through life.”

~Charlotte Mason