Printable Outdoor Time Log

One of my biggest challenges as a Charlotte Mason home educator is and has always been spending the significant amount of time outdoors that she recommends. I've mentioned before that I'm not a Charlotte Mason "legalist", and we live in different times and places that may affect our ability to spend the four to six hours outdoors daily that she prescribes for young children. I think that we mothers must consider our own lives, and whether we can and should do better than we do in this area. For myself, I am convinced that the more time my children spend outside, the healthier they are. At the same time, the colder it gets here in Eastern Canada, the more I naturally tend to hibernate indoors.

I have decided to set my own goals for this winter. I am not as ambitious (yet!) as the ladies over at 1000 Hours Outside. (Head over there for exciting challenges and contests to get you motivated to get outdoors.) I've tried to set a realistic goal for my family of 10 hours per week, and perhaps once we've done that for a while, we can build on that. I have created an Outdoor Time Log to keep track of our hours outside. Feel free to print and use it if it's helpful to you.

I think setting goals and keeping track are going to be essential to our success in this goal, especially in these winter months!

How about you? How much time do your children spend outdoors weekly? Do you need to set some goals for outdoor time? What are some of your challenges in this area, and how do you overcome them?