Search results for: advent

It’s summertime, which for many families also means some travel fun too!  We are a big traveling family — for as long as I can remember, we’ve taken a summer vacation.  When I was younger, my parents would toss all three kids (along with a heaping pile of pillows and blankets) into the back of the station wagon.  Yep, no seat belt laws back then.  Sometimes we’d visit family and other times we would head to someplace new. 

Now we do the same thing with our kids (still a heaping pile of pillows and blankets but now seat belted in the back).  And one other thing hasn’t changed — gathering souvenirs from our travels.

We’ve all heard about the research on kids and tv – too much is bad, SpongeBob is worse.  But let’s face it, kids are going to watch tv.  So, what should you choose?  Remember, as parents we have the opportunity to help form some of the habits our kids develop.  Here are a few suggestions for great kids television that they’ll enjoy and you’ll feel good about letting them watch.  And in addition to watching a show, we also include some ideas on fun follow-up activities to do with the kids.

We are a big hiking family – love to explore the forest on foot. 

And we’ve been treated to some great encounters during out hikes — moose in Colorado, wildlife in South Dakota and even some out-of-the-ordinary highlights close to home (such as the wild turkey that crossed our path a few weeks ago!).

So we’re excited that our weekly linky will Discover & Explore Forest Fun today!

Do you read books from your childhood to your kids?

I think sharing vintage books with kids is an important way to build their love of reading and also share fond memories of how parents and grandparents grew up. 

I’ve curated a number of book lists sharing classic books for kids over the past year and wanted to bring them all together in one post for easy reference.

We’re gearing up for our annual family vacation and this year we are heading for the ocean! 

Woohoo! 

Being from the dead middle of the U.S. means that we’re all pretty excited about spending some time near the big blue sea.

As we’re prepping for our trip, I’m keeping an eye out for some great ocean activities to do while we’re there.  And we had some really cute ones that were shared during last week’s Discover & Explore Animals linky.

May 12th – 18th is Children’s Book Week so of course I thought we should celebrate with a new booklist! 

And this one is just perfect as we head into summer.  Once the kids finish school, put their backpack to good use by turning it into an adventure sack! 

Grab a set of binoculars, a nature journal and a few of these great field guides.  You’ll find some great reads for kids who enjoy bird-watching, scouting out wildlife, hunting for gems and exploring the forest.  I’ve included affiliate links for each of our recommended reads so you can learn more about our favorites too.

It’s so important for kids to understand (and appreciate!) geography these days!  The world has become a much smaller place now that social media has taken a front seat in our lives.  It seems to be a daily discussion at our house — a current event, the coming of the Olympics, a great photo in …

Getting the kids more time outside is always a goal these days. Especially on school days when they’re stuck in a building for 8 hours 🙁 with the exception of a 25 minute recess (if you’re in elementary school) which I think is waaayyy too short. But I’ll complain about that on another day 😉 …

I’m a huge fan of the National Parks!  They are one of our country’s most beautiful assets and I really feel that every family should take the opportunity to visit at least one of the parks with the kids. 

There are more than 400 national parks and sites located across the country so I’m sure there’s one close to you.  And April 20^th – 28^th, 2013 is National Parks Week which is a wonderful time to schedule a visit!

My kids love to learn how things work! You will frequently find them taking things apart or weilding a screwdriver to help Dad with projects around the house. And yes, we have had our own share of mishaps as a result of their explorations — but we’ve learned that those broken items are just a …