Summer Fun!

We are so excited that it is finally summertime! This summer is special because it is the 1st summer that Lyla has a chance to explore, learn, and enjoy it! 

The past few summers have been busy and my husband and I didn't have much of a chance to enjoy them. This year we are trying to make up for it and it's great because we get to enjoy it with Lyla and teach her about all the fun summer has to offer!

Since we moved at the end of Spring, this is our first summer in our new house. We are spending time outside enjoying the beautiful but extremely hot weather. We have been using the baby swing on our play structure, playing on the grass, teaching Lyla about plants and gardening, and working on setting up our new pool for an escape from the heat. Lyla although hesitant about some outdoor exploring in the beginning (grass was particularly scary for her), she has warmed up to the idea and now loves playing outside!

Lyla enjoying a walk in the stroller.

Luckily, my husband has some time off this summer, which has been a great opportunity to spend more time as a family, away from all the busy pressures of regular life (work, etc.). We have been taking day trips to explore our new rural municipality and local provincial parks, as well as a few longer trips. We have also made a couple of trips to various beaches, and done a bit of geocaching and camping! We had the chance to camp with our daughter for the first time in an Otentik (located in Manitoba's National Park, Riding Mountain), which was a great way to ease into camping with a baby.  Since my husband and I met, we loved camping each and every year and we were excited to finally share this with Lyla. It was a lot of fun and a great learning experience for all of us!

Lyla's first time at the beach.

I am enjoying each and every day spending time as a family and enjoying the great outdoors; I will definitely be sad when summer is over. 

How are you spending time with your family this summer?

Disclosure:  I am part of the Fisher-Price Play Panel and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Learning Through Play!

It seems to be a reality in most families that children are busier than ever!  My husband and I were recently visiting with some family members who have two children who are very active in all their activities, for example summer camps, swimming lessons, soccer, baseball, and more.  With two children and a boat load of activities, and each activity taking more and more time at a younger and younger age (e.g. 3 nights each week for baseball), it is evident that parents are busy trying to maintain a schedule while children are getting less time to just be kids!  While organized activities are important for children for a variety of reasons such as social interaction, team work, and more, it is important that children have free time to explore their interests and engage in child play.

When I was a child, things were very different.  My parents enrolled me in activities like summer camp, gymnastics, skating, piano lessons, etc., but none of these activities took nearly as much time as they do today; I always had time to run around outside, explore, and discover myself through play.  Through all these unstructured play activities, I learned so many skills and life lessons.  These times that I was allowed to just be a kid, I truly treasured and I'm looking forward to letting our children do the same.

This summer, life may seem busier than ever or it might be a bit quieter depending on what type of structured activities your children are enrolled in.  When your children do have free time, give them options that will allow them to just be a kid (and take joy in remembering how much you enjoyed doing the same when you were a child)!  If it feels like there is no free time, schedule free time!  Make a point of setting aside a day, an afternoon, or an evening each week that is free from structured activities.  This is a great opportunity to spend time as a family, allow your children to interact with other children on a one-on-one basis (play date), or allow them some time to play on their own or with their siblings.

Some examples of opportunities you can provide your children with during this 'free time' can include activities such as:
- Playing outside with toys of their choice.  This will allow them to explore the environment and themselves, plus, they'll probably manage to squeeze in a bit of physical activity time!  They'll learn new skills, improve on established skills (e.g. hand-eye coordination), and learn more about who they are and what they like.
- A play date with one of your children's friends.  This will give your child a chance to play as a team, learn necessary life skills (e.g. sharing), and engage in free play (e.g. make-belief). Did you know that when children play amongst themselves, with a friend or an adult, they gain and improve on the skills needed for more complex learning in later stages of their lives?

So, as life gets busier and busier, it is important to remember as parents that as much as structured activities are important and beneficial for children, free play is just as important!  Try to set aside some free time each week that allows your children to just be kids! 

Disclosure: I’m part of the Fisher-Price Play Panel and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Enjoy some Outdoor Play this Spring + a GIVEAWAY!

Spring is finally here! This year, mother nature seemed to trick us into thinking it was Spring early, then flipped right back into Winter mode (at least where I live in Central Canada).  And although we've been dealing with colder than normal weather and lots of Spring showers, it's clear that Spring is here to stay and Summer is on it's way! 

At the first sign of Spring, both my husband and I couldn't wait to get outside and enjoy some of our favourite outdoor activities.  We've finally been able to enjoy geocaching (our absolute favorite warm weather activity) and evening walks.  Both of these activities allow us to stay active and are activities that we'll be able to continue enjoying and share with our little one when he or she arrives.  These are activities that we can enjoy as a family and that allow both my husband and I to role model healthy living and the importance of physical activity.

I recently read an article titled the Benefits of Outdoor Play, written by Dr. Kathleen Alfano, Director of Child Research at Fisher-Price®.  Dr. Alfano says that children are naturally inclined to enjoy outdoor play.  And, thinking back to my childhood, I agree 100%!  Although my parents weren't very active, I spent most of my free time playing outside with friends or by myself in our backyard.  As a child, I didn't think of outdoor play as work or physical activity, I just knew I loved it and it was fun!

As fun as outdoor play is, there are many benefits such as:
*allows for environmental exploration
*helps with fine and gross motor skill development
*increases strength and endurance
*and more!

So, try to follow your child's lead and get outside and play!  It creates great memories that will last a lifetime, it helps your child meet developmental milestones, and it provides your children with an attitude that physical activity can be fun - an attitude that they'll hopefully carry into their adult years and pass on to their future children!

 *GIVEAWAY*

How many winners are there? One.

What can you win? One winner will receive a Barbie Tough Trike, great for children ages 2-5.

To enter, Tell me what outdoor activity your family enjoys most in the Spring. This question must be answered to gain an entry in the giveaway.

Each of the following will give you one extra entry in the giveaway (unless stated otherwise). If an entry option is worth more than one entry, please leave the according number of comments.  Please make sure to leave a separate comment for each thing you do to gain the proper number of entries:

- Read the article titled 'The Benefits of Outdoor Play' and tell me one thing you learned or an idea you took away from the article.
- Tell me if your parents were 'active' when you were a child and whether you are now 'active' as an adult.- Subscribing to my blog via email or RSS feed. 

- Adding my main button to your blog sidebar.

- Following me on Twitter (@ihchicky) and tweeting about the giveaway with a link to this page. Please leave a link to your tweet or your twitter name. You must follow AND tweet to gain 1 entry.  You can tweet up to 2x a day (at least 6 hours apart).

Learn the importance of outdoor play + #Win a Barbie Tough Trike from @ihchicky ! Ends June 17. #Canada #playpanel http://bit.ly/WinBarbie

- Following me on Blogger / Google Friends Connect (publicly).
- Entering one of my other giveaways (one bonus entry per giveaway entered).
- 'Liking' Everything Up Close on Facebook.  Please leave your name (First name and last initial) that is shown on Facebook for verification. 

- Blogging about this giveaway on your blog. Please leave a link to your blog post in your comment. 2 ENTRIES!

- Talking about and linking to this giveaway in any public forum or on Facebook. If you do this, please leave your user-name and a link to the post. 3 ENTRIES!

Important Entry Details: The above entries (main and bonus) can only be submitted once per person (except for the tweet entry, which can be done daily). Please do not use more than one blogger account or add additional anonymous comments to gain extra entries. This is not fair to everyone else and this practice is strictly prohibited. If a person is found to be using more than one account to enter the same giveaway, they will be disqualified from that particular giveaway, as well as all future giveaways.

This giveaway will end on Friday, June 17th at 11:59pm (Central Standard Time). After the giveaway has ended, the winner will be picked randomly using random.org. EMAIL RULES: In order to win, you must provide a valid email. I will be notifying the winner by email only. Please make sure your blogger profile includes your email address and make sure that it is visible. If you do not have a blogger account, please make sure you have included your email address in your post. If there is no email address provided, to contact the winner, another person will be chosen. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the winning email notification with their complete mailing address (I will be forwarding all this information to the sponsor), If this information is not received within 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen.  

This giveaway is open to residents of Canada!

Disclosure: I’m part of the Fisher-Price Play Panel and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.