Why Hiking and Being Out in Nature are Integral Parts of Our Homeschooling Program

We started homeschooling our son who is on the autistic spectrum since he was 5 years old. At that time he was suffering from pretty severe muscle weakness and coordination issues among other things. I do get a lot of questions as to why we started homeschooling, and will dedicate an entire blog post to share our homeschooling journey in the future.

Initially it was difficult to navigate homeschooling, and especially trying to prioritize as to what to focus on.

Luckily, we received guidance from The National Association for Child Development (NACD). They evaluated our child and provided and educated us on a list of activities that we could do at home. That program made a big difference in our son’s progress and also gave us confidence as parents.

It was a very comprehensive program, but it included many simple yet quite profound interventions. One of those interventions was walking uphill. Our son used to walk either with his arms hanging at his sides or by holding his hands by his face making self-stimulatory movements.

Uphill walking makes walking without using your arms very difficult. Therefore, by simply placing our son in a situation where he had to walk uphill, he had to start using his arms and moving them in a cross pattern motion, as opposed to having them hanging by his sides.

Cross pattern walking is when you step forward with your right leg, your left arm will swing forward and vice versa. This movement is essential in helping the right and left hemispheres of the brain to communicate more effectively resulting in many benefits such as improvements in coordination, learning abilities and language development.

Consequently, we started spending a lot of time outdoors, looking for parks and hiking trails that go uphill. Soon we noticed a tremendous improvement in our son’s coordination, depth perception and muscle strength.

However, the benefits from being outdoors didn’t stop there. Our son became more grounded, less compulsive, and his sensory needs were met as well. He climbed, ran, jumped in puddles, walked in mud, played with mud, sand, water, and moss exploring all these different and natural textures.

We were also fortunate to find The Outdoor Play Connection https://www.outdoorplayconnection.com where Claudine Mossberg skillfully leads children in the woods. The children learn to navigate the trails, learn about the plants, get to make nature inspired artworks while having a lot of fun. Consider joining Claudine and other families if hiking by yourself is not an option.

Currently, my son and I hike almost every morning for two hours. That gives our day an incredible start fueled by fresh air, sunlight, maybe even rain and snow, and much needed exercise.

How do you start your day and do you and your family spend time outdoors in nature?