Into the Woods ... with Kids: Our Michigan Trip

A couple of years ago I read the book, Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv, about modern children completely disconnected from nature, what Louv called "nature-deficit disorder." Jonathan and I have made an effort to help our boys fall in love with nature, and appreciate little things like watching fish, or hunting for frogs or berry picking.

This was one of the reasons that, when we realized we wouldn't be able to swing an international trip this year, we decided to take the boys back to Michigan and visit my Aunt and Uncle. The added bonus was that my nephew Finn was visiting, and the boys got the opportunity to get to know their 10-year old cousin.

This trip was wonderful. It was also a strange dichotomy between computers, iPads and iPods and quiet moments bent over a dock watching frogs watch us. In our suburban lifestyle the way we parents get our children off the couch is through sports. In fact soccer practice kicks off this week as well as the new school year.

But my oldest Xander does not like sports. His favorite six-year old joke is "My favorite sport is ... Moo" -- very surrealist of him. So he tends toward sedentary  activities like playing computer games or watching television. But with a lake in the backyard, wild blackberries down the dirt road on a hiking trail and surrounded by woods -- there was plenty of wonderful distractions to get him off the couch and out in the world. Our favorite activities were blackberry picking, swimming in the lake, looking for wildlife (mostly fish, frogs and loons)

It was also fantastic to see him play with his cousin Finn who is also not that interested in sports. It reminded me that there is a whole wide world of kids and activities that don't involve a ball or a stick. Now that we are back to the grind, I'll have to make sure that we take the time to get the boys out and into the woods.