Those of you who know us well, know we love the microadventure movement, it's easy, free and the best fun. It definitely jazzes up every month for me, especially if we have got too involved in work, domestic stuff or too much school fluff, it cleans all of that out and helps to press the reset button. We find we feel as if we have been on holiday. It's surprising how much you gain from such a tiny amount of time. It radiates good stuff through out the rest of the week. We love it because no matter what happens, however unprepared you are, whatever the weather does, whoever you go with, the variables are endless and we always have a great time.
I live and work the idea that adventure is for everyone. I make a living from finding creative ways for people to be able to access even small adventures. It's crucial I think, for adults but especially for children, for a whole host of educational and developmental reasons. I wrote a blog just about that a few weeks ago, check out this link straight to it.
Our very first microadventure in January should have put us off forever as it was biblical rain and we went anyway. It was the best fun and we, in fact, felt better than ever as we still went out and didn't give up. Once you have stepped out of your front door, the hardest bit is done. You don't care what happens then, it's all part of the adventure, actually taking the first step is the most challenging part.
If you are new to microadventuring there is a tonne of info and advice in the giant link at the end of this blog post. You WILL find the right advice for you and your situation, whether you have babies or teenagers, lots of money or skint, school night or weekend, town mouse or country mouse.
So this is a post that mainly has a link in it to a massive article that lots of people including myself contributed to, all on the subject of microadventuring with children. Al Humphreys, who started the microadventure movement was trying to work out ways to help families enjoy microadventures. There are all kinds of concerns that seemingly prevent families with children getting on with their microadventures. Issues are different for families, obviously, without the luxury and freedom of being an adult with no offspring responsibilities! Instead of writing it up himself he just asked the family microadventure community. [Below is a link to buy his microadventure book]
What follows in this link are lots and lots of different experiences from different kinds of families with different kinds of children. If you were ever thinking about it but just hadn't quite gone out of your front door yet then this will help. Al asked us to answer a series of questions that he thought would help others find ways of making it work for them. The questions were:
Who are you?
What are the obstacles in your life that make having microadventures difficult?
Tell us about your microadventure with kids.
What was good about your microadventure?
What went wrong? What would you do differently next time?
What kit should all parents put on their Christmas list this year?
Many people worry about wild camping with kids. Do you have any specific advice on that?
What packing advice would you give beyond my usual microadventure kit list information?
What advice would you give to the parents of children who like the theory of family microadventures but are daunted by the reality?
Any books or online resources that you like?
How can people who are interested in what you do find out more?
I answered these questions and he also included a link to the blog that Sunny wrote that we all got very excited about!
If you read this and then go and have your first microadventure I'd be so excited to hear about it. And as if you needed more encouragement, here's a picture of us after our last microadventure in May. We spent the night on a tiny river island and look how happy and perky we all are. Below is the link in really big font to microadventure treasure! There is also a huge online community, check out facebook and instagram. Good luck!
