Cragmama "Not all who wander are lost…" JRR Tolkien

Tag Archives: around the backyard

Opening a Can of Worm (Farm)

Opening a Can of Worm (Farm)

Hands-on nature activities are a big thing at our house – the messier, the better.  It’s my opinion that allowing a child to explore the world around them with all 5 of his/her God-given senses will create a lifelong curiosity and appetite for learning.  One such activity that we tried recently was making a worm farm.  It’s easy to do, and is fun for all ages! How to: All you need is a container of some sort, preferably clear.  (We re-used an old soda bottle.)  Toss in some dirt along with a few compost items (rotting leaves, banana peel, coffee grounds, etc),…Read the rest of this entry →

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5 Ways to Have Fun With a Cheap Plastic Pool

5 Ways to Have Fun With a Cheap Plastic Pool

You know the ones I mean – they sell them at Wal-mart for 10 bucks or so.  At first glance they appear to be far too small for anything bigger than a small one year old child to enjoy.  But before you toss it after just one summer, think outside the box a little bit – you might be surprised at what you can do with it!  We used ours for Big C the summer we moved to Charlotte – he had just turned 1, and we hadn’t explored the local pool options yet.  We used it for a couple of…Read the rest of this entry →

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Nursery Rhymes for Outdoor Play

Nursery Rhymes for Outdoor Play

Not sure about your kiddo, but my 4 year old absolutely loves to sing.  He sings in his room in the morning, sings at the dinner table, and sings in the car.  In fact, he sings his loudest when he thinks no one can hear him…Many of the songs are learned from us, from Sunday School, from preschool and from the occasional TV show (the theme song from “Thomas the Train” is an annoyingly catchy favorite).   Anyway, one recent school song was the nursery rhyme about the speckled frogs.  Big C has been singing it constantly for several days…Read the rest of this entry →

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A Stick is an Excellent Thing…

A Stick is an Excellent Thing…

Recently while at the library, we checked out a book of poems geared towards encouraging outdoor play, entitled “A Stick is an Excellent Thing.”  It’s by Marilyn Singer, with charming illustrations by LeUyen Pham.  One of my favorite poems is the one that the book is named by.  I love it because it creates a beautiful imagery of what happens when children are allowed to let their imaginations run free during unstructured outdoor play times (what we refer to as “green hours” around here.)   Specifically, it reminds me of this special stick that C found out at the crag…Read the rest of this entry →

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How to Cultivate Independent Play in Your Child

How to Cultivate Independent Play in Your Child

It’s probably safe to assume that most parents would agree that allowing your child to park him/herself in front of the TV all day is a bad idea.  So why is it that in 2009, the average 2-5 year old watched a screen (TV, DVD, iPad, computer) for an astounding 32 hours per week?!?  (And 6-11 year olds weren’t that much better, at 28 hours per week.)  That’s more than an entire day out of every week!  As shocking as those statistics are, I think the reason behind them is simple.  Parents are tired, and stretched too thin – an educational DVD…Read the rest of this entry →

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“Not all who wander are lost.” —JRR TOLKIEN