![\"kids](\"https:\/\/patiopads.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/kidsoutside.jpg\")
I\u2019m proud to say that my children and grandchildren all have a healthy appreciation of nature. Spring, Summer and Fall are full of family hikes, outdoor celebrations, and camping trips. We all have both vegetable and flower gardens filling the space in our yards. Once the temperature outside is regularly above fifty, most of our family time is outside.<\/p>\n
Even though the kids love the outdoors though, it\u2019s still easy for them to get caught up in their computers, tablets, phones, TV, and whatever other technology was invented last week that I don\u2019t know about. So when they come to visit me, I like to put them to work (and play) outside, so they get all that vitamin d and the other health benefits of being outside.<\/p>\n
As they run and play around I like to sit around on my patio furniture and enjoy the show.<\/p>\n
This year I\u2019ve decided to redesign my back yard, and I decided to completely involve the grandkids in the process. Here\u2019s what I did:<\/p>\n
1: I had them make a list of things they wanted to do outside this summer. This basically included a lot of running around games, climbing trees, and having picnics. The youngest said she wanted to roast marshmallows.<\/p>\n
2: Then I had them list different foods they wanted to grow and what we\u2019d use them for. Top items on the list were zucchini (for frying) and all the ingredients for salsa.<\/p>\n
3: We voted on a theme for d\u00e9cor. It came down to lawn gnomes and frogs, and the frogs won out in the end. Each child gets to choose out a couple frog\/toad related items to sit in the garden and throughout the lawn.<\/p>\n
4: Based on the activities desired, we put more seating and tables on the deck so that we can eat outside more. I thought of buying a fire pit, but I\u2019ve seen so many diy ones, that I\u2019ve decided we\u2019re going to make our own. The kids say they\u2019ll help with the digging, and I\u2019ll be in charge of the laying of the bricks. I think it\u2019d be cool to get bricks with frogs imprinted on the top, but that might be a bit excessive.<\/p>\n
5: I made a list of everything we\u2019d need to make our plan happen, from tomato planters, to seeds, to fertilizer, as well as a few other outdoor items.<\/p>\n
Since my family is so outdoor focused, it wasn\u2019t hard to get them excited about this project, and I\u2019m going to end up with a nice yard! But if your kids are less prone to step away from their video games, there are a lot of tips online about getting kids gardening and helping with other outdoor projects. Spending time outside is not only great for individuals, but it takes away some of the distractions that keep families from focusing on interacting with each other. It\u2019s a great bonding experience! So while others may be enjoying Coachella, my family and I are having our own little festival.<\/p>\n
Nanci Wilson \u2013 Guest author I\u2019m proud to say that my children and grandchildren all have a healthy appreciation of nature. Spring, Summer and Fall are full of family hikes, outdoor celebrations, and camping trips. We all have both vegetable and flower gardens filling the space in our yards. Once the temperature outside is regularly above fifty, most of our […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-80","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nNanci Wilson\u2019s passions are her garden and her grandkids. She writes to tell the world about the great accomplishments of both.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"