I’ll be honest, since having our fourth child, my older kiddos have gotten a lot more screen time than I’d like. Sleepless nights and doing my best to keep things quiet for him during nap time led to just one more show or a few extra minutes on their tablets.
Now that my baby is older, though, we are getting back into a more manageable routine and I’m ready to focus more on getting outside (and of course, off the screens)! Wanlow has provided the perfect focus for getting outside and they continue to inspire us to spend more time outdoors with each new box we receive. Why we’re loving Wanlow:
Wanlow helps us take learning outdoors
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Since we homeschool, we’ve been writing in the My 1000 Hours Outside Journey workbook that we received in our Wanlow Welcome Box during school. We keep track of the time we spend outdoors, and whenever the weather allows, we take our schoolwork outside with us. The book makes it easy to track what we did, remark on any special experiences, and most importantly, it allows us the opportunity to communicate and talk face-to-face–something that doesn’t happen so much when their faces are stuck to a device!
Wanlow brings out the adventurers in my kids
While the Wanlow Welcome Box provided a great starting point and gave us an obtainable goal of spending more time outdoors, the monthly boxes challenge us in new ways and keep things interesting. The activities Wanlow provides make my kids actually WANT to go outside and go on adventures!
Not only do the Wanlow boxes provide opportunities to spend time outdoors, but they are learning about nature in an engaging way, too. This month we learned about stargazing, navigation, and geocaching. These are all things that my kids are naturally interested in, so this box was perfect for taking those interests a step further and actually putting them to use!
Wanlow teaches my kids real-life skills
Our latest box included some information on geocaching. Geocaching is something that my husband and I used to spend weekends doing, and I think my kids will really enjoy it, too! I am excited to introduce them to the concept and I love that Wanlow sent us materials to use for it and some information to help guide us along. This will be a great way to spend time together outdoors as a family, and while we already enjoy hiking, adding in the idea of finding some “treasure” by using real-life skills will be so much more meaningful.
Another item in our Wanlow box that really sparked their curiosity though was this solar light kit! It was such a unique item and it allowed us to work together to build it. Then there were five different activities for us to work on together, making it something we could do together on multiple days. With exciting items like this, it makes it easy to get the kids outside and ready to learn with us!
We’re all getting outside more
My kids usually enjoy being outside, but lately, they have needed more of a push since we have been in a bit of a screen-obsessed funk. I definitely notice a difference between the days when we have been stuck inside versus those days when we take in the sunshine and fresh air. They sleep better, we communicate better, and I never hear those complaints of boredom so getting them unplugged has become more important to me than ever. I am so happy that these Wanlow boxes have brought back their desire to be outside and explore nature in new ways, and I love that my husband and I can be included, too!
