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Napping and learning outside/ open windows
- This topic has 3 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 10 years, 6 months ago by
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I come across CM opinien on having your baby sleeping outside and spending there many hours more and more. The problem to me is that in these books like ´the early years´ and ´outside life´ I don´t understand Charlotte Mason’s old English very well (being Dutch…), so I mostly only get the´titles´ and that isnt that much. Also I wonder about opinions of those who have had a lot of thoughts about these topics already. I am googling about letting babies sleep outside all year through. It sounds good and I think I want to try to find a way to do this myself. I started to leave the windows open. Did you do such a thing when your children were younger? Any tips?
The other thing: spending hours outside WITH your children… I already struggle to find time to homeschool next to my daily tasks of keeping the home and taking care of food and 5 little children… how could I ever spend hours outside WITH them? Is this meant to be possible from the time women had house maids, nannies and or cooks? How did you find your way in it? I was thinking about using the nicer summer days to spend afternoons outside and homeschool the bigger children less and then make up the homeschooling in winter – and so not to spend much time outside then… I was thinking about having farm animals – like chicken, so we are at least forced outside to take care of them during winter, but not spend much more time outside beside that. What are your ideas on this topic? What did you do yourself?
Actually I am a little bit disappointed about the books ‘the early years’ and ‘outside hours’, because they are hard for me to understand and I would love to read some more of someones opinion based on the modern world and possibilities. I love books since they bundle a lot of information for me and I don´t need to do as much research on the Internet (not much time…), but these books let me go on the Internet to research even more. And they keep me occupied so much in my head: how could I ever do such a thing in a possible way for now and here? I would love to hear how you do some things yourself. So anyone who has ideas of how to copy things from then and CM to now – to realize sth and or make it doable, please tell me about it! (About any topic. I’m not speaking about things where you just need to find your way, I’m speaking about cultural and or climate things and such).
Thank you very much,
Yvette BergI have to say, I am not very good about spending time outside with my children! I would love to spend more time outside, but I am constantly feeling like my inside responsibilities won’t let me out.
I think this issue, along with many other CM suggestions and recommendations have to be done AS YOU CAN. If I tried to implement everything CM suggested or did in her schools, I would drive myself and my family crazy and burn out. Yes, I think that most mothers of that time period had help to run their homes; cooks, housekeepers, governesses, gardeners, etc. So I don’t worry too much about it. I just try to do what I can. I really enjoyed the book “For the Children’s Sake” by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay. It might be a bit challenging to read, but she has lots of practical ideas on implementing CM’s philosophies. Also, the website Charlotte Mason Help has been a godsend in this way, too. They have LOTS of very practical and helpful ideas.
As far as babies sleeping outside, I am not familiar with this. I can see letting a baby nap outside on a blanket or something on a warm, sunny day, but I don’t know about year round. It sounds like it could be a health issue, but you never know.
I hope this helps to answer some of your questions!
–Leah
Hours outside: do what you can and don’t worry about it. My children can play for several hours outside without me, and I let them! Today, they made a ladybug house in a jar and collected acorns to use with their slingshots. I didn’t go out once because I was very busy in the kitchen then entire time. They got something out of it; I was very productive. Win/win! I go out when I can and don’t worry about the rest of the time. I’m not an outdoorsy person anyway, so I really would rather do other things anyway.
Babies sleeping outside: this is the norm in Denmark, and probably other Scandinavian countries as well. I have a dear friend who lives in Denmark, and her boys both slept in their stroller right outside the front door for at least the first year of their lives. She claimed that the outdoor air was healthier than the air indoors and that her boys slept better. They never tried climbing out of the stroller when they were old enough to do so either. In the wintertime, she bundled the boys up, and in the summer they wore normal clothing and had a light blanket. Both boys have always been very healthy, so I guess there’s something to it.
We live in an older home, and our windows don’t open unfortunately. Otherwise, I’d have them open all the time. Hope this helps!
I try to spend an hour after lunch outside with the kids. Often, I’ll use it as an opportunity to catch up on yardwork, school read-alouds, or personal reading time. Just me being out there invites the kids to involve me more in their play, I think.
For me, what keeps me to this schedule is my own health! I struggle with hormonal imbalances, seasonal affective disorder, fatigue, and severe headaches if I don’t take care of myself, and daily sunshine is a big part of that! 🙂
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