Today is a picture perfect day – weather wise that is. The sky is blue with a few white cloud scattered about. There is a gentle breeze. It’s in the high 70’s with no humidity (or at least none that I can feel), which is a far cry from the dark, rainy and miserable weather we’ve been having here in New York. If it could be just like it is today all summer long that would be a dream come true (I am not a fan of heat and humidity).
I just came in from spending about a half hour outside on my balcony. I’ve been trying to make an effort to take a break from the computer around lunch time and just sit outside on my balcony. Either I’ll read, rest my eyes (and doze off!) or find something else to do. I find that I am less frazzled when I take a break and get some fresh air. I also saw on TV that you should get at least 10 minutes of sunlight on your arms and/or legs every day to help your body create Vitamin D. I get sunburned just thinking about the sun, however I have been making an effort to stick my legs in the sun for at least 10 minutes a day.
A few weeks ago I participated in a focus group with The Motherhood and the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). Myself and other mom bloggers have been discussing ways to encourage families to get outside more often. Not only for health reasons but also to re-connect and stay connected with your family (this means ditch the electronics!), develop awareness of our environment, have fun and to create memories that will last a lifetime. After all, your kids are going to remember the time you flew kites down by the river more so then they would what show was popular that year or what their favorite Nintendo game was at that time.
Some of my most precious memories growing up mostly involved outdoor activities, from camping and fishing to riding bikes and catching Fireflies/Lightening bugs.
During the first focus group I came with the idea of creating a weekly feature on my site called Fresh Air Friday. Every Friday I would post something to do with getting outdoors with your family. It might be a craft, a scientific experiment, game, tips or a variety of other ideas. I might write about a local park, or maybe interview someone who is involved with the outdoors. It would be something different each week. The whole idea is to encourage my readers to turn off the TV, power off the cell phones and enjoy the outdoors with your family, whether its at a national park or you own backyard.
I even came up with the hashtag #FreshAirFriday. 🙂
Some additional ideas I have include;
– Weekly reader question/questions and answers. I’m not an expert but I can answer them as well as maybe research the question a bit further and if possible find an expert to give an expert’s answer too.
– Weekly reader tip, craft, recipe or ???. Readers can submit their best tips, games, craft or anything else that would help get families outside or other kinds of tips/suggestions. I can pull one (or more) and post them on Friday. I would give full credit to the person who submits the tip, including a link to your website if you have one.
– Contests. I would love to hold contests that help promote families to get outside. I would have to find some sponsors but I would love to do it.
– Reader submitted photos. I would LOVE to share photos of real families (and not stock photography families) enjoying the outdoors.
This is where I need your help. I would like to hear from my readers about the idea of a weekly Fresh Air Friday feature. Is this something that you would enjoy? Or dislike? Would you be anxious to see what I would come up with week after week? Or would you dread Friday posts because of it? I would love to know your honest opinions. You can either leave me a comment in this post or e-mail me directly at SheScribes “at” Optonline “dot” net. Please put Fresh Air Friday in the subject line just in case your e-mail ends up in my SPAM folder. That way it would be easier for me to see it.
If you are all for this idea I would also love to hear from my readers about the types of things you would be interested in me posting about. Is there something about being outdoors that you would be interested in learning more about? Do you have questions or concerns about getting your family outside and enjoying nature? Do you have children? Do you feel like your children get enough “outdoor” time or are you concerned that they are not getting nearly enough?
All of your feedback is very important to me. If this is something that readers would really be interested in then I want to really do this right. In addition, if you have something you think might make for a great Fresh Air Friday feature, please reach out to me too. If you have a fun idea, great tips or even expert advice feel free to reach out to me. Of course I will give you full credit (and link back to your site if you have one). I’m also open to the idea of reviewing products and/or services that would encourage families to get outdoors and/or hosting giveaways (just in case any PR or companies read this).
Thank you for your time. I’m looking forward to your feedback. ♥
Kimberly
