A week ago we went down to Nymans House to be part of a group of bloggers who have a real interest in giving our kids a passion for being outside. Enjoying nature, being kids, being wild. Tapping into that childhood that we had, freely available without the fears and distractions that exist now. The fear of strangers, the traffic, the dangers. The distractions of the screens….the  s-c-r-e-e-ns. It just gets into everything doesn’t it. So early as well, you can check out babies less than a year old doing the Apple swipe on mummy or Daddy’s phone. They just pick it up so quickly and it becomes part of the norm for them. Plugged in before they are 12 months. Is a natural childhood possible anymore? It is scary stuff!

As we were chatting about the boundaries that our kids face now and by contrast how easy it was for us as kids to get out into the wild. Made me think about how easy it was for me as a kid, we lived in front of a large wood and used to disappear all day and our parents would ring a bell to get us all back. That would never happen for my children where we live now. N-E-V-E-R and that is sad and it is a loss to their childhood and to us as well as parents. What parent wouldn’t want their kids to be out of the house, exploring the wild all day and not tearing each other apart inside and arguing over who goes on the wii

hands up?? 😉

The nice folk at National Trust had put on some seriously cool activities for the kids. In the afternoon they got to hang out with gnarly outdoors man and musician Rob Cowen. A guy who has a real passion for re-discovering nature and connecting with the outdoors. He showed the kids how to build a den, which they all got really enthusiastic about and lined up ready for a lie down in once it was put together…along with all of the adults as well!

Ever meet one of those people whose passion for a subject just draws people in? Rob is one of those guys. He cares enough about getting re-connected with simplicity of having an adventure in the outdoors that he has written a book called Skimming Stones – a book inspiring us to have an adventure, get out into the wild…and for the practical ones out there it is a full on ‘how to’ book. Things like how to build a den, make a kite, forage for food, catch a fish..and no its not saying trot down to your local outdoors store and buy a shed load of north face equipment..it is mostly things that you can find and use in the wild. Minimal spend to your pocket, maximum benefit to your soul.

We have been inspired to try and work through the 12 sections in the book, there is even talk of starting up a skimming stones blog! Getting our kids to work through the 12 challenges and coming back to share how it went and what we got from it. Which im thinking is going to be a whole lot more than a fish…!

Go on, google the book and see what comes up, it has been reviewed by some heavyweights in the media with massive positive feedback. I have yet to have a proper read of it as my OH (who is a bit of a mountain guy it has to be said) has had his head in it, even planning some ‘den’ building activities already!

So head on over to project wild thing and take the pledge to get outside as much as you spend on screens! Then jump into the rafflecopter this week for my giveaway which is, I am thrilled to say is a SIGNED copy of the book Skimming Stones. You’ll notice on the rafflecopter that you can get 10 extra entries for liking the Rob’s facebook page and following him on twitter. So please make sure to do those ones!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway