Back inAugust 2022 I started listening to Ginny Yurich’s podcast, 1000 Hours Outside. I’d been following her on Instagram for a while, and coincidentally this is the same time period that we started to dive into our search for supports for Gus. It’s also when I made my first new years resolution.

Here it is from my Notes app, dated8/13: “Aim for 1000 hours outside in 2023.”

Within the first week of January I logged 11 hours for the kids (for myself it may have been a bit higher given our parents vaycay at the Calistoga Hot Springs!)

And now I’ve tallied two full months: January was 58 hours and February 52. 110 hours is 11% of the way to our goal.

The more we do it the more it becomes just a part of our daily habits. We walk every evening when Gary gets home from work, and yesterday we even walked the kids to school on a 40 degree morning!

The more I listen to the 1000 Hours podcast, the more I am inspired, and the more I am convinced that being outside may be a panacea to the current state of mental and physical health in our society.

On that same August day, I took a host of other notes from those very first podcast episodes. Some are less comprehensible than others, and I’ll have to go back and listen for context for a few. But these are some game-changing notes: Some book reccs, some future goals, and some really practical everyday advice:

Read Charlotte’s Web aloud to the kids 

Record some encouragement for Gus on the Tonie box

Buy Mothering By The Book; Write my version??

On being there – Motherhood in first 3 years: Mothers can have it all, just not all at once 

Pam Lobely book – Why Can’t We Just Play?

Route 66 – do in sections = Best road trip recommendation 

Safety check: Circle your car to check it all out before you get in 

Start small and build up to big adventures

Kids with stamina; We can do hard things

Fine motor work – too many pouches is bad for that!

 

I cannot recommend 1000 Hours Outside enough! Just read the description alone and try not to be motivated to get outside – for yourself and especially, for the kids:

“Childhood is finite at just shy of 9.5 million minutes. We only get one shot at it. One of the biggest decisions we make is how we will use that time. Research has confirmed time and time again that what children are naturally and unabashedly drawn to, unrestricted outside play, contributes extensively to every area of childhood development. The importance here cannot be understated.

Every year we aim to match nature time with the average amount of American kid screen time (which is currently 1200 hours per year). Have a goal. Track your time outside. Take back childhood. Inspire others.”