So whether the kids are driving you crazy with excessive screen time on boo boo song and you’ve gotta get ’em out, you want to (and absolutely should) step out as you start to smell the warm summer air seeping in or there’s someone in your life who needs a smell of the season’s refreshing air, you’ve likely found yourself saying ”Go outside!”; “Get outta here!”; or “Go for it!”
Sometimes it’s easier said than done, though, so make it simple to indulge in! From planning a playful activity for everyone to do outdoors to finding gifts for plant lovers that will get them excited for the season and springing into action, we find ourselves saying “Go for it!”
Experience and Enjoy a Farmers Market
Local farmers markets are extra special in the summer, so make sure to indulge in the energy! Depending on where you are in the world and what your local farmers market is like, along with summertime crafts and artisan creations, you may find exciting items like flower bouquets, single stems to make your own bouquets, baked goods, strawberries, dandelion greens, fiddlehead ferns, lemons, artichokes, garlic, mushrooms and peas.
So whether you take your kids and let them ask questions to the vendors about how the food was grown, you take a day by yourself to taste free samples, you and your spouse pick some special foods for dinner or you find some unique gifts for foodies in your life that they’ll love forever, this is an easy and exciting way to experience the simpler side of life!
Remember How Refreshing the Rain Can Be
Especially in the summer, it doesn’t matter if you’re getting a light sprinkle or a rare heavy shower — the rain is a reason to get outside, offering up so much to do! So put on your rain boots and play outside in the puddles or start a competition and see who can make the biggest splash.
Scrounge for recyclables and forage for buoyant outside items to create boats and float (or race) them in puddles, ponds, rivers and running ditches (just be sure to have a net handy to catch them before they get away down the road). You can also listen to the sounds of raindrops on different materials or collect the few summer rains in small glass bottles that you can cork and create special and symbolic necklaces out of!
Wonder at the Wind
When was the last time you flew a kite and felt the force of the wind? Especially if you have kids around — but even if you don’t — it’s an inspired and intriguing idea to create a kite, a pinwheel, a wind sock, a weather vane or otherwise and relearn about the wind as you rejoice in just how refreshing that summer breeze can be!
Start a Garden
From concept to creation, starting a garden can be an inspiring and exciting activity! Along with this, gardening can be an amazing activity to do as a group — whether that be with your family, your roommates, your spouse, your siblings or your kids — thanks to the good intentions and good effects of getting everyone outside and active together, the symbolism involved of growing yourselves, lives and relationships and the never-ending benefits that include beauty, continuous opportunities for bonding and maybe even a bounty of some sort depending on what you decide to grow! So start controlled germination, sow your seeds, search for the perfect seed bombs or select your plants and get to transplanting them!
Chalk It Up to the Nice Weather
Whether it’s a crushed pack of kids’ sidewalk chalk that was just found in the junk drawer or an incredibly cool pack of quality artist chalks that were received with other arts and crafts gifts — for children and creative adults alike — the excitement will be real and they will want to indulge in such a simple, fun and aesthetically pleasing activity! Even for those who don’t enjoy the artsy side of things so much, chalks will be an exciting opportunity to create and get everyone involved in colorful games of hopscotch, or even games of their own creation! From circling and making silly spaces for bugs to sectioning off a piece of pavement and making a masterpiece, nobody can resist the charm of colorful chalks!
Take the Season in, in Every Sense
Take the season in fully by going for a walk, a hike or an entirely outdoor adventure — but make sure that you’re taking it in with every one of your senses. Sometimes this can even be easier and even more enchanting if you feel safe enough to indulge in nature at night, but either way:
- Enjoy the smell of the day’s or night’s blooms, the sweet smell of the grass, the rich smell of the soil and the subtle smells of all the trees.
- Enjoy the sounds of the birds chirping if you’re out in the day or the sounds of bats, owls and other nocturnal creatures stirring if you’re out at night. Also enjoy the sound of the tops of trees swaying in the wind, the sounds of small animals breaking small twigs in the bushes by accident or the sounds of the raindrops on different surfaces.
- Enjoy the specific feeling of things — how soft the sand is between your toes, how smooth the rock is when you run your hand over it, how rough the bark of the tree is when you touch it and how tickly the caterpillar is when you allow it to make contact with you.
- Enjoy the sweet tastes of summer, from wild roadside strawberries warm from the sun to juicy and refreshing tomatos.
- Enjoy the sight of animals big and small when you see them, the sight of every color you spot, the sight of every “different” looking rock, branch or flower and the sight of every rock, branch or flower that you ever thought looked the same.
When it comes to taking the season in, you could also consider doing this in a literal sense by collecting items on your walk to use when creating art or doing activities — from mixing flower potions and having fun to making pressed flowers and framing them for the perfect summer decor. So go ahead and really take hold of the season!
