Fun and Educational Outdoor Activities with Kids
Assalamualaikum and Olla everyone!
As parents, my husband and I have always been trying to find ways to have fun yet educational activities with our kids. Time is very precious, we do understand that this early stages of childhood is very important in shaping their character and how they see the world also developing interest. This is why we tried to give them as much variety of experience. Like many other working parents, we only have around 8 days a month (2 days every weekend) to spend time with them. In total it is only 96 days in a year. I really wish we could spend more time than that with them.
Well, instead of complaining it is best to be grateful. 96 days a year is luxuries compared to those only have to work abroad and get way lesser time than that with their kids. Putting that aside, I just like to share with you some ideas on how we make a full use of the precious time we had.
1) Jogging and Exploring Parks.
We like to bring them to many parks. It is fun because they can to explore. Learn about types of trees and flower. Also, we figured out about nature healing. Living in the cities does make it challenging. However, there are still very nice parks all around KL and Selangor that you can check out. One of our top pick would be Taman Lembah Kiara at TTDI, because it is very near to our home and they have nice 2km jungle walk with well-maintained terrain. Other than that, you can opt for Taman Wetland Putrajaya (read about it here) and also rent a bike. If riding a bike is interesting for you then do not forget to check out FRIM. We have lots of fun in FRIM. The route is bigger and there is also a waterfall if you want to cool down after the ride (check out our FRIM video here). Other than that, you can also go to Taman Botani Shah Alam also known as Bukit Cerakah. The park is very big. There is a small petting zoo where your kids get to feed rabbit and have close encounter with many animals at such an affordable rate (read about it here).
Exposing with nature and its surrounding can benefit your child in many ways. They will learn to take risk, not afraid of falling down also discover new things. There are studies that show kids tend to handle stress better when they spend more time with nature. Numerous studies have showed that being around nature give positive impact to brain development.
My personal tips, just chill. It is okay if they get themselves dirty sitting on a grass. You can just bath them later. A good sport shoes is a good investment as it will make them feel comfortable walking and running. Plus, it will give you the motivation to spend more time at the park to break even the amount you spent on the shoes hahaha.. You don’t have to carry a baby bag, just put it in the car. The lesser item you carry means the less hassle and the more attention you can give to your kids. Bring extra water bottle and put it in the car. Make it as a reward after a good walk. You can also put in green tea bag (no sugar) in the water bottle. They could absorb the goodness of green tea and hydrate at the same time. They can’t really tell the taste, because it is mild. They have no choice as that is the only water you bring. LOL
2) Playing and Picking up Trash at the Beach
We tried to slot in couple of beach visit in a year. It does not have to be lavish or a popular spot. It can be any beach. My in laws hometown is in Melaka. They have couple of nice beaches which not very touristy. Since the beach is clean, we bring our kids to swim and also brought family members to enjoy breakfast by the beach. Do you know that just by hanging out at the beach it calms the body, lowering blood pressure and stress hormone levels and even cholesterol ? Also, ocean water has antibacterial and antifungal not to mention the amount of iodine in salt water. All these are amazing immune system booster. The iodine will increase the efficiency of thyroid gland and resulting to a strong immune system.
If you are open to suggestion, you can check out Pantai Pengkalan Balak in Melaka, Cherating in Pahang or Batu Feringghi in Penang. Those are the ones we found less touristy and great to chill out with kids.
One of those rare occasion that my kids get to enjoy ice cream. Husband is quite strict with their consumptions. Zandria is lucky enough to be able to eat ice cream after she reach 1 year old. Still remember Sofea had to wait 2 years before we let her consume processed sugar or salt. Talk about it on another post.
If you see the blue plastic bag on my side. That is a trash bag. This is one of the activities that is pretty much enjoyed by the kids. Can be done at the park, in the jungle and even more perfect at the beach.
As much as we like to praise nature, some beaches and parks in Malaysia is not as clean as it appears. The best thing we can do is to teach our kids that instead of complaining, let’s be a part of the solution. We have trash bag in our car all the time. Just take one and slot in your pockets. It does not take much space and not very heavy.
Walk around and start collecting any trash, plastic and stuff that should not be there naturally. My kids love this activity. Hopefully this will encourage good behaviour and sense of responsibility towards the ecosystem as they grow up.
Yummy ice cream!! Johan is posing with Sofea’s handbag because she is busy picking up trash haha.. The best part of all, both of them tend to have better sleep after a trip to the beach. Most likely because the sun lowers down the stress lever and this helps to regulate their hormone. Also because they have used up most of their energy at the beach, it makes them go into deep sleep faster and easier.
3) Picnic at the Park
If you are looking for other ideas to spend time with your kids other than going to the mall, then why not consider a picnic. I like to cook simple yet nutritious meal like fried rice with lots of veggies. You can chop the veggies into small pieces so they have not much options but to consume it hahaha.. Fruits are a good alternative for desserts. Fruits like orange is so easy to prepare and can be enjoyed before or after a meal.
It does not have to be all fancy. We brought mineral water, fried rice and some pre-cut oranges. You can also make sandwich or fried mee hoon if you like. The idea is something that is not soup base, so you don’t have to deal with a soaking wet toddler after a meal. It is totally up to you. If your kids love soup and who cares, just go for it.
You can opt of park that have kids playground. This will encourage the development of social skills especially dealing with only child. By playing with other kids they will lean to get along together. Share equipment like see-saw and taking turn while on a slide.
Park is one of the places that is full of sensory experiences. They get to see nature, flower and grass, they get to touch and feel different texture like grass and pebbles. It also teaches them to make decision during free unstructured play and how to solve problems. Like I want to eat all oranges but my mum said I have to share it LOL
Above all, everyone get to enjoy a clean fresh air at the park. Trees have wonderful abilities as natural air purifier. It increases the air quality around it. By spending time at the park you will get to enjoy this benefit.
Our recommendation for park would be Taman Putra Perdana in Putrajaya or Perdana Lake Garden or Taman Layang Layang in Kepong. There are many more parks maybe I will do a post just for parks in the future. Would you be interested in that?
Well, we are at the end of this post. I hope you found it informative. If I am lucky, maybe I get to inspire you and your family to spend more time outdoor. That’s it for today. Thank you so much for reading this. Till next blogpost. Don’t forget to take it easy and smile!
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I love reading it <3 Big hug!!