Picking Out Picnic Sounds

Lunch is fun, but lunch outdoors is memorable. We decided to put our leftover pizza and tangerines in a little bag and take a walk along the trail by our house to eat our boring lunch in a more interesting place. All of a sudden lunch became pretty exciting when our empty patch of grass lit up with brilliant sounds. The funny thing about eating, is that it is typically a quiet activity. And when you are picnicking by yourself there is plenty of time to listen to what is going on around you, while you chew.

Our little grass lunch was nothing special and in a pretty common place, you could even just set up a picnic in your own backyard. As Audette sat or walked around the picnic blanket we listened to birds, picked out airplanes traveling overhead, heard cars whizzing by on the road beyond the trees, listened to dogs off in the distance before they crossed our path, and the list goes on. It was such a nice, quiet time to hear the sounds of the world around us, that we don't get to experience in our own kitchen. Depending on how old your child is, you may just be telling them about the sounds you hear, or they may be able to point in the direction the sounds come from, or I bet some can even tell you what the sound is. (The only sound Audette has down is "dog", so we are definitely still working on that advanced skill.)

Our little picnic destination only provided so many sounds, but I can only imagine the fun your kids would have in some of my friend's neighborhoods. Tractors, sprinklers, busses, squirrels, even cows! If anyone lives by a farm, we probably need to come visit to check out the farm sounds. Audette just learned how to "moooo" and it is pretty hilarious to see her try.

After our picnic, it was the perfect moment to transition to exploring time. We picked flowers and visited the playground. Audette is slowly losing interest in the slide and more excited about walking up and down steps these days. She is pretty proud of herself for mastering the little ones.

Oh and the new obsession: we've added sticks to our rock collecting hobby.