Wild April notes

Last time I told you I’d be doing another Rewild Your Life in 30 days challenge with my daughter. It’s an online challenge that encourages one to spend a minimum of 30 minutes per day outside, whether it’s just under the open sky or actually in the wild nature.

This was my third time participating, and I was determined to do it this time focusing on my 2,5 year old daughter’s rewilding. Well, things happened, and we ended up spending 18 days out of 30 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. (We travelled first in the very beginning of the month, and once more around mid-April.)

Ljubljana is one of the greenest capital towns I know, but being there meant work this time around. So though Iita, our daughter, did spend a lot of time outside, we weren’t doing the challenge as much together and in the true wild as I’d planned to.

Our daughter is just over 30 months old. She doesn’t speak a lot yet, she is just getting used to the three languages of our family (Finnish, Bosnian, and English). But in her vocabulary there are words for the moon, beetle, bird, dog, cat, horse, cow, goat, flower – nature words are perhaps 1/3 or even a half of all the words she masters.

Her interest in nature – or the world as I like to call it – grows daily. She doesn’t mind the weather, she’s simply happy to be outside getting wet, muddy, dirty, and being part of it all.

Though I didn’t achieve all I’d wanted, I know every little moment counts. It’s an adventure for both of us to go exploring the beautiful castle hill in Ljubljana. It’s a welcomed break from the hectic working day to walk through a park, even if we’re just on our way from one meeting to another.

Together we saw the nature come to life after winter, we witnessed spring flowers blossoming, and trees turning green. We enjoyed each others company in the wild as often as we could, and we spent hours outside in town in Ljubljana – not super wild, but super fun nonetheless.

I also came across some interesting online reading, here’s one of them. It’s an article about different variations of nature or outdoor kindergartens – childrens’ gardens – how they function and what seem to be the benefits of kids playing, learning, being outside for the best part of their days. Here’s a quote:
“Teachers and parents of children in nature preschools and forest kindergartens are finding that mastering puddles is just as important as learning letters in preparing children to find their way through the smartboard jungle.”

As our mountain life continues after the brief period in Ljubljana, and our girl is not attending to kindergarten, we’re out in the wild more. Her days are spent without much planning and (because of my comfort seeking nature) often with a notice of ‘weather permitting’. But though the challenge is over, we get to rewild ourselves for hours each day.

The other day we had breakfast outside on the porch, since it was one of the first sunny mornings in a long time, yesterday we watched the sun set on a nearby mountain, and the weekend looks beautiful, so once again we’ll be spending most of it outside.

And here’s a heads up for all of you interested in the challenge: It’s on again from 1st of June! We’ll be there, hope you’ll join us.

— Iita in Ljubljana early April —

— Back on the home mountain shortly. We even got a little snow in mid-April —