101 things to do outside with children #7: Listen for nature

Airplanes tearing through the sky overhead. Buses lurching to a stop, then starting again. Cars racing past. People shouting and talking. Dogs barking. Car doors slamming. Garbage trucks roaring down the street. Sirens wailing.

This is what my children and I noticed in just a few short minutes of walking through the neighborhood. last week. Granted, we live in an urban area and these kinds of noises are par for the course on any given day. Early in the morning, as we're walking to school, so much noise feels like an assault on my senses. It gives me an appetite for nature sounds.

Where you live, what kind of noises do you hear on a regular basis? How many of them are nature-based? Here in Minneapolis, it's sometimes hard to "tune out" the city sounds, and tune in the nature sounds.

The other day, when we really tried, we could hear some nature sounds, buried in among the city noises:

an angry squirrel chuck-chucking in a nearby tree,
a goldfinch twittering as it bounced through the sky,
a crow, clearing its throat,
and of course, lots of wind (we're ushering in a cold front, after all!)

Admittedly, this was really difficult! Of course, all things get easier with practice, right? We're practicing finding nature sounds now, in the mornings, when we're all still tired and especially need some gentler noises to help us greet the day.

Where you live, how hard to you have to try to find the nature sounds in the cacophony of everyday life? Can you do it?

101 Things to do outside with children: #4, Make Noise!

"Shh!"

"Inside voices, please!"

"Not so loud!"

Have you considered how often children hear messages like this? There are few places these days where children can really test the limits of their own voices. How often are they given the freedom to yell, scream, sing out loud, roar? Even in outdoor spaces, it seems, there is a limit to how loud children can be. It's sad but true: we have a pretty low threshold for tolerating children's noise.

As the parent of one child who absolutely loves the strength of his own voice and the other loud sounds he can make, I am all too aware of just how often a quiet voice is expected, if not required.

I encourage you to take your favorite herd of children outside and find a nice, wide open space and be loud. You can encourage noise, or just let it happen. Many children, as a result of constantly being told to hush, find it difficult or awkward to be really loud when given the chance. So try singing, or start a game of chase where you're all animals, making crazy animal noises.

Not only is it kind of fun to make a lot of noise, it relieves tension and anxiety too! And once your children realize they are free to make noise, it's a delight to share that with them. Tonight my daughter surprised herself singing a song in a monster's voice. We need to let children experiment with their voices: loud, soft, crazy, monstery, animal-y, whatever. They deserve this freedom!