family

10 Fun Ways to Spend Time Outside

Published on by Kariane

As summer comes to an end and we move into fall, blistering hot afternoons are being replaced by cooler weather. This makes it the perfect time of year to spend afternoons outdoors (especially if you live in a place that gets really cold during the winter!).

 

Here are some of the things we do to get my boys and I enjoy playing outside:

 

Chalk Mandalas

Drawing Chalk Mandalas (see HERE)

 

Get Moving, Play outside in the Water

Playing Outside with Water (see HERE — We’ve still got a little bit of time before it gets too cold to do this.)… Continue reading

Encouraging Self Sufficiency: Teaching my Son to make his own Trail Mix

Published on by Kariane

My 6-year-old has been eating a lot of trail mix lately. While I used to make it for him (sometimes I’d make it like THIS or with an array of variations), I realized that he is now more than old enough to make it himself.

 

So I had him make a batch with me a couple of times. I showed him the measurement lines on the side of our quart-size mason jar, and explained what they meant.… Continue reading

Quiet Time Fun: Coloring with my Kid

Published on by Kariane

The other day while his little brother was asleep, my 6-year-old asked if instead of the normal reading together we do at this time, I would sit down and color with him. Of course, I said yes. He wanted us to both color in the same design. So he chose an image in one of our coloring books, I copied it onto two sheets of paper, and we both sat down with our colored pencils to begin coloring.… Continue reading

Get Moving: Play with Water Outside

Published on by Kariane

We’ve definitely had hot summertime weather for the last few weeks. We don’t have an air conditioner in our house, so in the afternoons things can get pretty warm. When the temperature creeps up, we frequently head outside for some water play.

 

Sometimes my boys pull out the hose and it hook up to a sprinkler. Often we fill water squirters with water and spray them into the air to make our own rain showers.… Continue reading

Is Your Child Ready for First Grade in 1979?

Published on by Kariane

Is your Child Ready for First Grade in 1979My oldest son is 6-years-old. This week, school starts here in our hometown. We homeschool our boys, so heading back to school doesn’t carry quite the same shift in our lives as it does in the lives of most people with children. That said, my oldest son is now entering First Grade.

 

A friend of mine, who’s son attends a local public school, stumbled upon this list and forwarded it to me asking, “Would our boys be ready for first grade in 1979?… Continue reading

Snuggle Time as Meditation

Published on by Kariane

Snuggle Time as MeditationBefore I had kids, I would begin my day with a few minutes of meditation. It was nothing very formal or prolonged, just a simple greeting the day by looking out the window to the world outside, then sitting down in a quiet place and checking in with myself.

 

I would sit quietly and listen to my body: was there anything it was trying to tell me?… Continue reading

6 Items a Baby Really Doesn’t Need (even though society will tell you he does)

Published on by Kariane

In this article, I continue my discussion of What a Baby Needs that I began a couple of weeks ago (you can see the first two parts HERE and HERE). In this article, I’m taking the contrarian approach of listing a few items that are generally considered necessities for a baby that we decided to do without. Some of these items made their way into our home as gifts, a couple of which we ended up using because they were nearby and convenient, but others of which we didn’t ever use even though they were in the handy.… Continue reading

Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown

Published on by Kariane

Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise BrownLast night as I lay down with my 2-year-old to fall asleep, I whispered to him, as I always do, “Good night. I love you.” Instead of the simple, “G’night” he normally whispers in reply, he launched into a string of good nights, “G’night, Mama. G’night, Daddy. G’night, Brother [he calls his brother “Brother” as he has trouble pronouncing his name].… Continue reading

Citizen Science: Keeping a Bee Box

Published on by Kariane

Citizen Science: Keeping a Bee BoxFor the second year in a row, we’ve decided to participate in a local Citizen Science project. Scientists at our local university are running a project called The Bees Needs. In this study, they’re examining the native bees and wasps in the greater Boulder, Colorado area.

 

Participating has been a fun way for us to learn more our local pollinators, as well as to teach my boys some of the basic principles of conducting a scientific experiment.… Continue reading