Welcome back to Term 4! I hope you all had a restful school holidays. My family and I spent a lot of time outside in the beautiful weather exploring parks, surfing at the beach and spending time just hanging out in the back yard. This made me think about how important it is to be in nature, not just for myself, but for my kids too. We all noticed how calm we were, how much the kids got along with each other and how restful we all slept after spending time in nature.

Sometimes we get resistance from the kids about wanting to go and explore, there is some pretty exciting technology that keeps the kids away from it, so I found a blog that I really love and it has inspired me to get out there and explore. Here is one of my favourite articles from Nurture and Thrive - “5 Tips to get Your Child to Love Nature Activities”

“Spending time in nature boosts self-esteem, mood, and relaxes your cognitive intensity. Perhaps all of this de-stressing leads one to be kind and generous. When exposed to more beautiful pictures of landscapes or beautiful indoor plants, participants were more trusting, generous and helpful.  One study showed that spending even 5-minutes outside will improve mood. That’s why when cabin fever sets in, fighting siblings, or even a fussy baby, my instant fix is to go outside.”

Quote take from Ashely from Nurture and Thrive

 https://nurtureandthriveblog.com/nature-walks-with-kids/

So have a think about the area you live in. Is there somewhere you could explore? Take a walk on the beach? Go for a hike?

Miss Amanda

Chaplain