Get the Kids Active Playing Outdoors #YearRoundPlay

Get the Kids Active Playing Outdoors #YearRoundPlay

The kids are back to school, the leaves have changed colors and the breeze is a bit stronger than the previous weeks.  Autumn is here and the colder days, at least where I live in Indiana.   Staying motivated to get outdoors with the busier schedules can be hectic, but take this as a friendly reminder that the nice days are slipping away, and every child deserves to spend these days outside on the playground or in the yard in general.

I try to get my children outdoors a lot and especially through the summer and fall months.
The Voice of Play is an education and advocacy initiative of the non-profit membership association, IPEMA, formed to educate and promote the benefits of children’s free outdoor play and playgrounds.  Through the Voice of Play website and social media properties, IPEMA highlights the scientifically proven physical, social, emotional and cognitive benefits of play.  You can read more about The Voice of Play HERE.  It is important for children to get out and be active.

How do you prioritize play in the fall and winter?  We as a family make it a point to take the kids out every fall and let them play in the leaves and fill up the pumpkin bags that have been around for years.  Nothing too strenuous but it is still fun and engaging for the children. Year-round play is important for the children.  In the fall I get them out more so around the house.  We also go to pumpkin patches and go on hay rides, as well as visit the apple orchards.

In the winter, we take the kids to the local park, where there is a huge hill for them to sled down.  We even take them to the playground year-round too!  Also, there is this local telethon that goes on each year to help families out each year at Christmas.  It is a yearly televised auction, where donated items are auctioned off the first weekend in December.  Before the telethon, Christmas Trees are decorated and placed in our local mall.  Over 70 trees are auctioned off, and the proceeds go to the We Care Telethon.  We take our children every year as a tradition to see all the trees before they are auctioned off.  Each tree has a bucket beside it to place money in.  The tree that gets the most money wins too!  It is all fun to get the children out and spend time together.  These are all memories that I had as a child and that my children will have throughout their lives as well.  Children love getting out of the house and spending time with their families.  Getting them active while they are young will make them more active later on as teenagers — and even when they have children of their own.

If you get your children out of the house and enjoy outdoor time with them now, they will remember this through their adulthood. These are memories to last a lifetime.  Won’t you get your children out this fall and winter?  Get the kiddos active and have fun with them.  It gets them staying social, physical, and helps in their cognitive areas of play as well. What do you to with your children?  How do you spend playtime with your children year around?  Do you have any memories or stories to share of how you spend your time with your children?

This post is sponsored by the Voice of Play.