It’s April 7, 2011 and the sandbox is officially open for the season according to all my outdoorsy fit kids. Yesterday we were stuck in snow with the tricycles and ride-em toys and today the sun shone and we shed layers and all the vehicles ran smoothly.
While my one-year-olds were busy playing basketball in an empty garbage can this morning the oldest child here today, who is 5, took it upon herself to officially open the sandbox for the season.
For the one-year-olds it was the first time they had been exposed to a sandbox. Although it is not necessarily considered a fitness activity, just getting to it for my little ones is a balancing act. They have to walk on uneven ground past the boat and my travelling son’s car, both of which have been covered for the winter, on a narrow path and up a hill and then into the sandbox. All of this was a great challenge and adventure for my youngest, who has only been walking for a month or so.
For the 16-month-old the hills are becoming easier…in fact he is looking for hills and slopes to tackle. He quite enjoys the momentum he gets going downhill. But for his pal, a 13- month- old girl, the challenges of slopes and uneven ground are a little greater. Given the nature of this property and the places I take them, their physical fitness and stability will be above average for their age in no time. And they are doing all this in boots, so when we switch to shoes when everything dries up they will be off and running.
When people arrive here with children that I refer to as “mall or sidewalk children” it is so obvious. They can’t handle uneven ground, or slopes and hills, or bridges over little creeks, or climbing up on big rocks, all of which is normal here. The kids who are here are physically active wherever we are on the property during all four seasons.
Fit Kids and Food 