The way my daughter’s school day is set up, she has an hour and a half break in the middle of the day. Since I’m able to set my own work schedule (for the most part), that break is when I try to get my kids some fresh air and let them run off some energy.
Our latest outing took us to the Cook County Forest Preserve. We packed a low waste picnic lunch, grabbed a therapy swing, and headed out.
We had lunch first, then took to exploring, all while I worked remotely and sat on conference calls.
Low waste hipster lunch
After lunch, we went exploring, collected big sticks, and collected golf balls we found from old dudes who use the forest preserve as an illegal driving range.
The best part about these large clearings is it gives the kids a sense of adventure and freedom to explore without my losing sight of them.
After a little while, we packed up our picnic and hung our swing so the kids could calm down and get ready to return to remote learning.
Afterwards, we left and went to my daughter’s virtual music class, where she was able to focus.
So if you find yourself pulling your hair out with your kids because they are bouncing off the walls, I highly recommend a picnic and some fresh air forest exploring.