If you are like most parents in 2020, you can agree that managing work-from-home responsibilities and virtual learning activities has been quite the balancing act. This year has been a little stressful to say the least. That’s why getting outside and using our outdoor spaces to the fullest potential is so important right now. Time spent outside has been shown to improve mood and decrease stress levels in children and adults alike. So if you are working and learning from home this fall, here are some tips for creating an inviting and functional outdoor learning space, and encouraging your family to get out there and enjoy it.
Set Up An Outdoor Learning Workspace
Our kids have been home for six months and they would love nothing more than to go back to school and see their friends and teachers. Sitting at the same desk in the same room all day is getting pretty boring. Shake things up a bit by setting up an outdoor workspace. Find a quiet corner of your patio to place a table and chair. If your wifi signal is accessible, this is a great place for an outdoor zoom meeting. If there is no internet outside, a comfortable chaise lounge or hammock is the perfect spot for reading or doing homework offline.
Keep Your Lawn Healthy
If you want your family to get outside, you need to create an inviting place for them to go. No one will want to spend time on a weedy, patchy, pest-ridden lawn. Get your grass into great shape with a good lawn care program.
Fall is a critical time for cool season grasses such as fescue. Each fall, properly timed aeration and overseeding will help develop a strong root system, and keep grass thick and healthy. For warm season grasses such as Bermuda, aeration is done in the spring, and overseeding is not required. In addition, good mowing practices such as not cutting grass too short, maintaining your lawn mower and avoiding cutting the grass when it is wet will help your lawn to grow healthy and lush. With a beautiful, green lawn, your family will want to spend as much time outside as possible.
Plant a Fruit and Vegetable Garden
Now is a great time to start a family garden where you can grow your own healthy fruits and vegetables. Tending to the garden and harvesting the crops are the perfect reasons to get outside and get some fresh air and exercise. Backyard gardens are not only good for your health, they can save you money and they are good for the planet. Gardening isn’t just for the spring either. Many vegetables such as leafy greens, carrots and beets can be planted in the early fall, as they thrive in the cooler weather.
Schedule Outdoor Recreation Time
Most of us have figured out that keeping a schedule, however flexible it may be, has been a lifesaver over the last six months. So be sure to add outdoor rec time into your family’s daily timeline. Kids need to move their bodies to stay healthy and focused. So whether it’s a game of tag, a heated badminton match, or just a walk around the neighborhood, pencil in some time every day to spend outdoors. In fact, make it a requirement, just like finishing reading or math homework.
Outdoor spaces can be a wonderful retreat from the monotony of work- and learn-from-home life these days. With a lush, green lawn, a comfortable patio, and maybe even a garden, your family will be excited to spend time outdoors to work, relax and play.
