National Take A Walk In The Park Day 2014




ART Smart Parenting show

Summary: Happy spring art smart parents!  I hope you're having beautiful spring weather where you are.  We've had snow, rain, ice, and sun this first week of spring.   How did you do with last week's challenge of using your knowledge of MI and the arts and plan travel or actually travel?  In the next few weeks, I'll be bringing on a guest speaker that will give us some insights on how we can make family travel more cost effective with travel hacks.   I'm super excited out our very first guest speaker and have planned many more in the coming months.  If there's a topic you'd like to know more about, please post in the comments below this blog.  I'm learning more each day that the people we meet, sometimes randomly, can positively impact our lives and take our message to new heights.    This Sunday, March 30 is National Take a Walk in the Park Day.  The origin of the day is unknown, however, the day reminds us to get outside and celebrate our parks.   It's a vastly different experience to walk through a park than somewhere more familiar like our neighborhoods.   Sometimes this simple change in scenery can clear the head and allow us to breakthrough plateaus we may be experiencing.   Kinesthetic Intelligence: Walking is Kinesthetic Intelligence at its most basic.   Why walk when you can hop, skip, jump, or dance through park?   Kids interact with the world around them differently than most adults and we should take their lead.  In the wise words of Dr. Seuss,   Logical/Mathematical Intelligence: Walking can be a numbers game.  Use your child's current math concepts to observe the park environment.  From geometry to basic math skills, using nature to explore math concepts can be a fun endeavor.  Just don't let the idea overwhelm.  You are, after all, at the park to enjoy nature and your child's company.   Interpersonal intelligence:  Use this intelligence to inform your walk.  Talk to your kids or bring along some friends and be privy to their conversations - you never know what you might learn! Verbal/Linguistic Intelligence: Talks can turn into stories in the moment to be captures with a recording device or after some time to contemplate the plot.   Musical Intelligence: Let the sounds of nature inspire a new musical score or poem.  Add in your own sounds and rhythms to the mix.   Naturalistic Intelligence:  A walk in the park could lead to identifying species of flowers, trees, birds, or insects.  Bring along a notebook and camera to record all the details for later categorization.   Visual/spatial Intelligence: Don't just stop with the walk.  Let it inspire beautiful creations like paintings, drawings, or photographs.   Letting your child witness you engaging in these activities will demonstrate that these activities have a place and important. Interpersonal Intelligence: Spend time with you.  Find some friends and head to the part together.  Allow each adult to wander off and enjoy some much needed alone time.  Or let your child walk ahead of you and allow interpersonal intelligence for each of you.   I know I'm looking forward to a walk in the park Sunday and hope you are to.  Don't forget to share your thoughts about National Take A Walk In the Park Day and share your pictures.   Cheers my friends.  I wish you happy trails!