Nature hike

Tomorrow morning when it will be -8 degrees out, my kids and I will hop on a bus in full winter gear to go to a homeschooling nature hike. I am slightly dreading it since it will be cold and I don't like the cold. I know we will all be tired and so it will be hard to leave our nice wamr house. But the program is offered by a small private school that has a focus on teaching kids nature awareness nd it is fantastic. The homschooler's hike is lead by former homeschooling mamas and they do a great job. My kids always love the program once we actually get there. Waking up early and taking the bus is no fun but running around with other kids through the forest is tons of fun!

We are all a little worried about doing the hike in the winter, though. Afterall, we have to walk to the bus stop and the then from the bus stop to the hiking site and then repeat it all over again when the program is over. We will be outside for hours! But we will dress as warm as possible - many layers, snowpants, mitts, scarves, everything! - and hopefully we'll be pretty toasty. I did tell my kids that if it turns out they don't like it in the winter, we won't go again until the spring.

I hope it works out - I think there is so much value in kids experiencing nature in all seasons - and experiencing nature in intimate ways. Being able to explore what the earth is like - the trees, the animals, the ground, the sky, the wind, the sun - in the winter is pretty amazing. Of course, I am being a bit bad because while my children will be experiencing the natural beauty of the season I will be sitting in a coffee shop sipping a nice hot cup of coffee :p