Screen Free first year

 Red is (unbelievably!) almost a year old. 

Recently one weekend morning, I was doing some grading at the dining room table on my laptop and Red was playing nearby on the floor near the sliding glass windows. It was a cold morning and there was a considerable amount of snow outside. I paused and watched Red for a few minutes without him knowing and I watched in fascination to see how much he was learning just by playing on his own. 

He put his hands on the cold glass and looked outside. He caught notice of the sunlight on the aloe vera plant and crawled over the various shoes and boots to reach the plant to reach out and touch its spiky leaves. As he was touching the plant, the mini fridge next to the flower pot kicked on and made a buzzing sound. Red stopped and tilted his head as he recognized a sound had started but didn't quite know where it was coming from. He looked in the direction of the plant/fridge and said "Ba!?" and after no response he looked towards me to see if everything was okay. I smiled at him and he turned back to the plant for a moment. Then he crawled near the table toward a bouncy ball and pushed it away from him and then crawl/chased it through the dining room. 

In those brief moments, it was clear how much learning he is doing just by plying on his own.  Babies  don't need entertained - every single thing is new to them. The sunlight coming through the window at  different time of day then normal is new.   Hearing a familiar sound from a different part of the room is new to them. 

Two weeks later, I started reading Balanced & Barefoot by Angel J. Hanscom and I cannot stop thinking about how important it is to give all kids, including babies, opportunities for free active play - especially outside to help grow their bodies, muscles, minds, and imaginations. Because we are already  pretty outdoor conscious family (thanks in huge part to 1000 Outdoors Outside and Screen Free week for the past 6 years) Red has sort of accidently ended up having a Screen Free first year of life. 

At no point did we ever offer Red a screen because there was so much more to do and learn for his little mind and body. He has had a lot of opportunity for adult face-to-face interaction, child/sibling directed play, and free time where he has been allowed to just explore and play on his own.  

He went on his first outdoor walk at 3 days old (it was just down the driveway in his momma's arms) but has spent numerous hours on various trails and in the woods. He's been camping, swimming, and sled-riding (he hated it, hah!)  He's visited a local waterfall (twice!), napped outside while the bird sang him lullabies from the trees, and he's handfed lots of animals (dogs, goats, chickens, and guinea pigs). 

He's learned to caterpillar scooch, then crawl, then stand, climb stairs, and now walk. He's felt the sunshine and wind on his face, grass under his toes, and squished mud in his hands. He's eaten snow, some bark mulch, and licked a pine cone. He's crawled and wobbled over uneven terrain, fallen, ducked under low hanging obstacles, and learned to recognize ledges. He has grown and learned in a natural way in a natural environment where he was able to explore and play freely, even at under a year old. 

    

Red has experienced a full sensory first year. Literally, everything that has been introduced to him this year has been the first time he has ever experienced it. He was taking sensory input through all his five senses and is using that input to make sense of the world. 

He has no favorite "characters" - he wouldn't recognize a Paw Patrol dog or know the opening song, but he knows the difference between our two very similar looking dogs. He knows basketballs go in hoops, books have turning pages, and the most fun place to play in the house is in the dogs water and food dishes (ugh).  

Our other kids have had a similar first year, but it feels the most screen-free it's ever felt with Red.

Maybe because we have been focused on increasing our overall family outdoor time so much, 

maybe it's because there's so many of them now that it's a natural progression to have plenty else to do than watch screens anyway, 

maybe it's the Studerbabies farm that encourages so much outdoor time - 

but I think it's just our realization over the past six years of observing how meaningful and impactful being outside and having time for active free play has been for all of our kids. 

Reddy-pop, 

You are joy personified. 

You have brought newness to everything for all of us this year. 

I can't wait to see how you continue to grow and shine. 

You are so deeply loved; most kissed and snuggled baby in the history of the world!

I hope you & your dreams grow as tall as the trees. 

love forever and ever

even when you do get as tall as the trees

momma.