Deere family of Sikeston meets goal of spending 1,000 hours outside

Editor's note: The following story has been updated.

After looking at the constant stream of children's TV shows and online activities affecting her kids, Sikeston, Missouri, mother Taylor Deere wanted to see a change.

Near the end of last year, Deere set out a plan she found on a blog, for her and her three kids to spend 1,000 hours outside during 2021. As of Christmas Day, they met their goal.

Deere said she first noticed a problem when her oldest child finished the first half of kindergarten — he was struggling with adapting to a "new world" and handling "big emotions."

Deere said she found the plan from the site 1000 Hours Outside. The plan was made by Ginny Yurich; her site states it's "a global movement designed for any age, child (or adult) and any environment."

Deere noted one of the major impacts on her children the plan has had is their imagination. She said their first response to going outside was "What do we do now?"

"I have seen them now ask to go outside and ask to stay outside, 'Two more minutes, please,'" Deere said. "[The kids] play anything, look at the clouds, play with a stick. Honestly, it has been amazing how they've started taking initiative. Now, they'll decide what to play."

She said another impact has been on her relationship with her children.

"It was very bonding. We chose to do things and explore state parks that we always knew were right here, but we never went to them," Deere said. "It's fun for them to explore that kind of thing and just the sense of checking another hour off our list."

While it was rewarding, the plan came with challenges, especially in the winter months. Deere said they had to learn to cope with the transition to cold weather.

"The best experience was when we did hot tubs in the snow, which I saw on Instagram," Deere said. "You just fill up a Rubbermaid container insulated all around with snow and fill it up with hot water, and my kids sat outside for hours."

Deere said she didn't think they would make it at first with only having 29 hours at the end of January.

After hitting the 1,000-hour goal, Deere said they plan on doing it again.

"We're getting 1,000 and going outside every day still. It definitely formed a habit. We've got our tracker sheet printed, and we're going to do it [in 2022]," Deere said. "I think this is the new norm for us."

For more information on the plan, visit Yurich's website, www.1000hoursoutside.com.