Find the silver lining. Look for the blessings. These are the things we are told to do in the face of grief or tragedy. It helps to keep the focus on the positive. And while I believe in feeling the feelings we need to, I can say without a doubt the blessing in this pandemic we are currently facing is the time we have together as families. This unexpected time that came out of nowhere. While not much has changed in our home with homeschooling already being part of our lives and Dad’s job classified as essential, my heart beams for so many. The mothers and parents I have connected with who have expressed over the years the feeling of wanting more time. Whether it’s because of the grind of school and sports and keeping up with a rigorous schedule or for the parents who work full time. What a gift we all have right now! And I wanted to put together a little something for you and your family to enjoy. Just something simple and a nature activity for the kids and printable field guide!

Kids Printable Field Guide

Because I know so many of you are trying to find ideas to keep kids entertained (even though I do think doses of boredom are good for the kids), I wanted to put a little something together for all of us. This is an easy activity that can involve the whole family. It’s about being outside, exploring, getting dirty, and enjoying nature. When is the last time we found the opportunity to do that? I don’t know about you, but we are taking full advantage!

We went out this past weekend, field guides in hand, and had such a blast. And what a blessing that all of this is taking place during a time that we can actually enjoy outside. We have been soaking it up over the past month!

The printable field guide is a 7-page activity packet that includes a scavenger hunt, a few different activities as well as challenges for the kids to attempt. From how many rocks can be stacked on top of each other to creating your own nature art or sculpture. I was pleasantly surprised at how much my older kids jumped into these as well. I mean, they made it competitive, but I was not about to complain. 

The reset perhaps we all needed

Over the past month, I have often thought about the history that is happening right now in this strange, sort of slow-motion kind of way. And I have often thought about what my kids will remember from it – at least the older ones. Despite the worry this pandemic has brought, I hope they can look back and remember how it brought our family together. And even more than before (which is hard to do considering we homeschool and work from home).

I hope they remember this time well. The games played, the movie nights enjoyed, the days spent outside, exploring, and having adventures. We don’t have practices or games to rush off to, no appointments to keep or scheduling to be had. It’s literally living life one day at a time. My hope is they look back on this time of their life with fondness. A time that hopefully re-wires our way of thinking – from what we think life needs to be to what life should be. Perhaps, this pandemic was the reset we all needed.

You can download the free printable field guide activity pack here and catch our home movie just below. 

Whether it is in your own backyard or out in the woods, I hope you and your family can enjoy this nature activity for the kids and printable field guide. Go have an adventure! One that you and your little ones will look back fondly on and remember when the world stopped to allow all of us to live more fully. From my home to yours, I hope you are doing well during this time. And may we all continue looking for those silver linings.