August IS Summer #SaveAugust - An Open RANT to Anyone Who Will Read! (If you know a political power who could help us #SaveAugust, pass this on to them!)

All these words you are about to read and images you are about to see are all me. If you agree, thank you! If you do not, I am curious about your thoughts on the matter. I really am!

Here we go…

I am a firm believer that SUMMER is made up of three months: June, July, and August. Yet, in my lifetime I have seen summer here in Missouri get hit hard by this thing called SCHOOL. I think it's time to #SaveAugust 

Do not get me wrong, I am all for education (if you know me, you understand that). Yet, I am also very pro-SUMMER.

I have watched too many school districts, as well as private schools, speed up their “First Day of School” across our state for years now. Quite frankly, I don’t understand why.

I just read another article this morning about how increased homework and increased days on the school calendar are NOT helping our students succeed. If anything there’s a backlash and statistically more kids are disliking school than ever it would seem (along with their parents).

Call me crazy, but some of my most amazing (and tragic) summer memories come from mid to late August. Maybe it was the heat that branded them into my memory banks? I can still feel that itchy hat my mom had me wear at the State Fair one year; sweaty band and all!

I firmly believe in these statements; DECLARATIONS if you will:

School shouldn’t be going on during the Missouri State Fair.

We shouldn’t have to close local swimming pools in mid-August, and theme parks like Six Flags should have peak attendance right about NOW. Tourist traps all over the country should be BUSY!

Yes, kids should be eating cotton candy and riding rides until they nearly pass out instead of scouring the “Back to School” sales aisles looking for whatever obscure item is on that mammoth class supply list.

I doubt there’s any study to back me up, but hear me out: 

Kids need time to go smell the smells and see the sights of the Missouri State Fair. 

They need time to wade in spring-fed creeks, or splash in the town pool. 

They need time to bond with family and explore on their own. 

They need to explore our tourist traps, National Parks, State Parks, creeks, lakes, waterfalls... 

...Oh, and they also need time to be so BORED of summer that they are just itching to get back into the books. When I had LONG summers, I actually used to get BORED and want school to start. What a concept! 

I want my childhood to not be nostalgia, but one that still exists in my home state for future generations.

Think about it.

#SaveAugust can become a movement. It sure can! 

Until next time,

M of MK Designs Photography

The Last Child in the Woods? I hope not.

My childhood was filled with hours (especially during the summer months) of time outdoors. "Unstructured play" is what it is called now. 

After we moved to South Central Missouri, I'd explore the abandoned railroad tracks (and RR tunnel) in Eugene, venture through the small creeks, and sometimes dare to leave "town" to walk up a gravel hill to see what was on the other side. 

I am fully aware that the "world" we live in has changed. Yet, I don't want my daughter to have a childhood that is only indoors and only on a schedule. 

Summer is our chance to get out and explore together. In June we hit the Shawnee National Forest and Giant City State Park, as well as other cool places in Southern Illinois. 

It was fitting that our devotional reading during the time of our 3 day/2 night camping and exploring adventure encouraged us to get outside. 

I firmly believe in what is stated here: “Time in nature is not leisure time; it's an essential investment in our children's health (and also, by the way, in our own).”  ― Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder

If you haven't read "Last Child in the Woods" - do so. It totally helps us "rethink" the current state of society and how we are raising children. I have noticed that just a few hours out in nature often calms me (as well as my kiddo) from the "stresses" of the hustle and bustle of "life" in 2015. 

Where else can you let hours float by as you seek the perfect four leaf clover? I am hopeful there is NOT an app for that, yet. 

Even though we are not a totally "electronic-free" family, when I see other families, I feel like we are well BELOW average when it come to screen time... which is sad because I fear we spend way too much time looking at glowing devices instead of the glowing moon. 

Which, by the way, sleeping under a glowing moon while in a tent, is pretty sweet. I hightly recommend it! That's what we got to do for 2 nights at Little Grassy Lake. http://www.littlegrassylakecampground.com

Get yourself and your child(ren) out in the woods, be it state parks or national lands. If you're close enough to Southern Illinois, try out various places in the Shawnee National Forest. It' a gem! 

The views in the Shawnee, as well as the tricky ways to get around at times, are inspiring. Be open to unplugging to enjoy it, too! Sure, click a few pics, but don't be like some of the kids I saw at the top of Garden of the Gods staring at their phones. (Not to take photos of the land before them, I'd like to add!)

Giant City State Park is amazing, too. The geologic formations are pretty stellar. It's just south of Carbondale, IL and very easy to get to. 

While you're at it, don't be afraid to take back roads. You may find some amazing fruit stand with ice cream that you had no idea existed! 

All in all, I think the biggest thing I want to stress (beyond loving our parks and lands, and beyond photography) is a BIG question: Why are we raising our children in such a radically different manner than we were raised? 

Also...

Since when did any outdoor time require a schedule or structure? 

Since when do parents say, "Stay inside and stare at this glowing screen until your neck hurts" --- Ok, maybe we don't say that with our words, but we do by our actions. 

When I read statistics that show that our nation's children are depressed, anxious, and totally out of tune with the world they are in...and much of that is due to a lack of unstructured time to explore the outdoors...it's heartbreaking to me. 

Unplug yourself and the kids. Kick them off the couch straight into the natural world. Make some great memories. Go with them and take time to smell the flowers, too. It's a win-win for all parties involved. 

For more information:

Health Benefits of Children in Nature - National Wildlife Federation: http://www.nwf.org/What-We-Do/Kids-and-Nature/Why-Get-Kids-Outside/Health-Benefits.aspx

Shawnee National Forest: http://www.fs.usda.gov/shawnee

Giant City State Park: http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/Parks/Pages/GiantCity.aspx

Flamm Orchards: http://flammorchards.com

For information on how to contact MK Designs to order any prints and/or book a photo session: http://mkdesignsphoto.weebly.com

Summer 2015 

Tents, Teaching, Learning, and Failing... :-)

#truth 

I have failed so many times in my life. It has only led me to eventually get sorta good at things.

Take for instance, the tent. 

Lord knows that setting up and taking down a tent is a lot like trying to fold back a road map after use! Not easy, but I have gotten pretty good at it. 

Even when I don't camp nearly enough like I should, it comes back to me... not from all the times it went up with ease, but from all the times I struggled to figure it out. 

My old car... and campfire to light my way as I set up a tent in Shawnee National Forest two summers ago!

Failure, even in proper tent set up and take down, taught me what NOT to do. 

Knowing what NOT to do is often the key to any sort of success, be it in camping or in life. 

Rental Car, my own tent I checked in my luggage, etc. at Yosemite two years ago... and the whole time a mom/daughter from another country was watching me. The daughter came to tell me her mother thought I was a very "strong woman" for putting up a campsite by myself so well and so quick... She was standing by her daughter the whole time nodding her head and smiling. That made me glow! Selfie after the nice talk with them!

I think one of the worst teachers I have ever known is an earlier version of me.  

I know one of the worst navigators in the world would be that gal I see in the mirror every day, but a much younger and hotter version. ;)

Truth is, we have to fail. It's ok.

Do you know how many horrible photos I have taken!? Way more than my "keepers" -- and that is perfectly acceptable. 

Do you have ANY idea how many photos I took to get this "right" with the sparkle in the water, the wind blowing her hair, etc? I think at least 30. Sometimes I feel like if I get one or two shots I kinda like out of every 1,500 photos I take... that's a good week. Not kidding. I fail at photography... A LOT. 

So, this is where my little thought process will go another direction here... why are parents so afraid of letting their kids fail? Why are teachers and other adults trying to make it an "everyone wins" society? 

I always think of the baby chick. If it doesn't struggle to get out of the egg, it doesn't get strong enough to survive.

It is so easy for us to want kids to not struggle with that tent, with each step on a challenging hike, or...with reading, writing, math, art, relationships, (insert anything here). 

However, we have to remember that's how we learn. 

Sometimes we have to fall flat on our face or even our ass and pick ourselves back up, dust off, and calmly follow the directions (even if we only have the version in a language we can't read). 

Bloody toes, out of shape, cramping legs... but... I picked myself up and kept going each step of the over 5 miles I did going DOWN a very steep route of switch backs in Yosemite two years ago. (Down isn't as easy as you think, wowsers!) 

And, THAT is something we should all embrace more of... failure. 

Learn from it. 

Grow strong in it. 

Help it guide you to success in ANYthing you pursue! 

Much love & appreciation for you taking the time to read this. Hope it was a blessing to you! :-)

~ Michelle of MK Designs, Nov 2014