1000 Hours Outside Challenge

There’s a challenge I heard about on, ironically, social media. Can you spend 1000 hours outside this year? Every year, really. It is a challenge to spend less time in front of screens and more time in front of trees.

The idea that we all should be more connected with nature really resonates with me. Time outside was a huge part of my childhood. And since becoming a parent, in a city, it’s an issue that’s at the forefront of my mind.

I’ve recently read a few parenting books about the benefits of unstructured time outdoors, and I’m totally convinced. I’m always trying to find more ways to get my kids (and myself!) outside, so the challenge immediately appealed to me. I printed the tracker sheets, and we are seeing how many hours we can clock this year.

Research in child development recommends that children spend 4-6 hours outside each and every day. I know that might sounds a bit crazy to some, but I’m keeping it in mind as an average. We won’t do that every day. We won’t achieve that most days. But there are weekends and summer camping trips and maybe, just maybe, we can get close to 1000 hours this year. My son goes to outdoor preschool twice a week, so that give him a leg up!

Since I started keeping track earlier this month, I’m average about 3 hours outside per day. Much of that is walking or biking my kids to or from school, with a little playground or backyard time sprinkled in. I’m grateful for the time we’re outside getting from point A to B, but I also want to work on finding more unstructured time to just explore in nature. I will be consulting the list I made last summer about places to get outside in the Denver area. The 1000 Hours Outside website has lots more ideas too. Check it out!

How many hours do you and your kids spend outside each day?