How to love winter

And a few ideas for keeping everyone happily occupied during school break

One of the best tools in the tool kit of a low-screen family is the great outdoors. The loose parts! The freedom to get dirty! The permission to yell and scream and run! The infinite wonder and possibilities of sticks and leaves and mud! Water!!!

Winter, then, with its early sunsets and cold temperatures, can feel like a stumbling block, even more so if you’ve accrued a negative mindset around the season. It can feel hard to shake off the gloom.

I’m married to someone with self-diagnosed SAD, so I get it. I, however, quite like the season. I’d still rank it four out of four in a seasonal match-up, but I truly do enjoy this darkest, quietest, and coldest quarter of the year.

With school break AND the winter solstice approaching, I thought I’d share a bit about how I’ve come to embrace winter, and a few ways we avoid going stir crazy as a family. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts and ideas in the comments, too!