"Let's Go on an Adventure!"

This was the extremely pleading request of my almost-three-year-old today.  "Can we PLEASE go on an adventure??!"  I decided that visiting the DMV, although necessary and ripe with people-watching opportunities, did not qualify as an exciting kids' adventure.

I've had this idea up my sleeve all summer, and today seemed like the perfect day, not to mention one of our last summer days, to have an OUTDOOR SCAVENGER HUNT!  After rather expeditiously renewing our license plate registrations at the secretary of state's office, I took all three girls to a local forest.  I gave them each a list, a pen, and a camera*, and a super-fun afternoon ensued.  (*Lilianna Carson actually left her camera in the car, but that turned out to be all for the best.)

It was a perfect afternoon for old and young alike.

Here is the list I gave to my older girls:

Can you find….

·        Something beautiful

·        Something that makes a noise

·        Something very old

·        An animal track

·        A feather

·        Something you can feel but cannot see

·        Something with  a strong scent

·        A flower

·        Something scary

·        A good hiding place

·        2 different types of grass

·        3 different kinds of leaves

·        Moss

·        3 different colored stones

·        A berry

·        A pine cone

·        A nut or an acorn

·        Something a deer could eat

·        Something a bird could eat

·        Something with thorns or prickles

·        Something slippery

·        Something soft

·        Something put here by people

·        Something wet

·        Something that begins with the first letter of your name

·        Something shiny

·        Something white

I asked the girls not to remove anything from the forest; this is why we brought cameras.  You may not be shocked to know that my eager, eldest daughter checked items off of her list very quickly while my eight year old, Sophia, was much more discriminating.  "Would a bird really like to eat this?"  she wondered aloud, and, "Hmmm... I'm not sure that this is the most beautiful thing I will find in the forest today."

They took the task very seriously.  At one point I reminded them, "This is just for fun, you know.  You will not be getting a grade or anything."

"Yeah, but if we were getting a grade, I'd be getting a nearly perfect one." 

-Emma Carson, age 10

My youngest had a very simple list, but she was happy to join right in with the older explorers.

Of course the camera doesn't lie.  You can clearly see that I love the nature...

My Michigan friends still have one more week of summer left.  So if you find yourself going nuts next week, please feel free to use my list or adapt one of your own, and send your kids out in the back yard or to the local park for an outdoor scavenger hunt.  A little fresh air and the sounds of sticks and leaves under our feet did us all a great deal of good today.

Happy fleeting summer afternoons!

Love,

Meredith

Why Big Sisters Rock...

A great big sister will take you by the hand (or hoist you up onto her hip if the the terrain is too rough for your tender little feet) and lead you into the forest.  There she will show you all sorts of enchanting everyday miracles.  She will point out the hidden spots where fairies dance when no one is looking, and she will show you a humble, unassuming hole at the base of a tree which just might be the entrance to the underground lair of a tiny (and very kind) dragon.  She will encourage you to stomp your feet in the crispy, crinkling leaves.  Then she will help you find a stick that is the perfect size for grasping in your toddler-sized hand and casting magic spells on the fat black squirrels that scurry through the trees overhead.  That big sister will watch as you take each moment in through your wide-open eyes.  She will take pleasure in your glee and astonishment, and she will stay with you and show you "more, more, more" until Mom calls and says it is time to come in...
Because that is simply what a great big sister does.  Lucky little you.