Damien and I have been talking lately about tying my writing here on this blog to certain themes. Not to restrict me in any way but to 1) capitalize on the unique perspective I have in our family as mother, homeschooler and (once reluctant) spouse and 2) provide information and encouragement specific to a certain group of our readers and hopefully future readers. I'm not interested in writing about gear for a family and minimalist footwear, two areas my husband is becoming a trusted source in. I like to write about my everyday - kids, homemaking, creativity, homeschooling and other stuff that can be found at my personal blog, FIMBY. I'm thinking of ways I can take those angles and apply them here. To help round out the techie information and make this a better resource for families.

One of the things I am passionate about is my kid's education. So I'm going to start there.

First a little background. This past weekend we experienced our first hard core winter hike. It was a colder day than any we've ever hiked, the temperature hovered around 16F (about -10C) and was colder in the wind. We choose to drive to the mountains anyway and cut our winter hiking teeth (told you I wrote from a mother's perspective) on a short 2.4 mile loop on a relatively easy (in summer time) trail.

The trail was steep at points. We were climbing on hands and knees and without our crampons we would of been sliding down the mountain. The children were challenged. We knew they were perfectly safe in our care but they hadn't ever pushed themselves like this before. Our son was exhilarated (I think stoked is the word we used in the 90's). Our 10 year old daughter sure and steady. Our 7 year daughter was freaked out and crying, trusting heavily in Daddy's sure grip right behind her.

We summitted with much triumph and "we did it" exclamations. We encouraged Brienne that she was probably the only 7 year in the whole state of Maine hiking on that frigid January day. I've certainly never met or read of young Mainers hiking on days so cold. She rocks! Someday Damien can share with you our strategies for staying warm and we're still learning. We were pretty cold by the time we finished our lunch and started back down. But we succeeded that day in accomplishing what we wanted to do; go for a hike on cold winter's day and have fun doing it.

Sharing these type of successes with our kids is part of what we call adventure education, and we're all learning together.

Adventure education is not nature study or outdoors study. It's about learning something about yourself, pushing your limits, going to the edge and coming back a stronger person.Being the only 7 year out for a serious hike in the Maine mountains on a given day (not scientifically verifiable but I'm fairly certain true) is an achievement. And I'm proud of my daughter for her perseverance in the face of fear.

I want my children to be able to identify flora and fauna, I want them equipped with survival knowledge and I want them to learn the history and geography of a local area through their interactions with the natural world. But just as importantly I want them to learn about themselves, I want them to face doubt and insecurity and then to overcome difficulty and rise above discomfort. Knowing of course that we are there to provide for their needs and help them along the way. And that is what we consider an adventure education.

In the future I hope to share more about our growth in this area. I, myself, am learning right along with my children how to enjoy the outdoors in all its seasons and with all the lessons it teaches us.