25 Books for Your Backpack: Nature & Field Guides for Kids

May 12th - 18th is Children's Book Week so of course I thought we should celebrate with a new booklist -- a slew of great ones that encourage the kids to get outside & explore nature this summer!  Once the kids finish school, put ...

Create Your Own Nature Journal for Kids {with free printable outdoor activities!}

Create a DIY Nature Journal with free printable activities!Lately, I've discovered some really amazing nature printables and worksheets this year for our nature journal activities!  Really super awesome stuff! But you know how it ...

A 'Celebrate Spring' Bucket List

I don't know about your house but in our neck of the woods, Spring can get really busy!  The end of the school year is approaching which means school performances, state assessments and helping the kids to finish all those final proje...

Great Nature Activities for Your Spring Bucket List

After a long winter, kids love to get outside and stretch their legs!  Let them get their hands muddy, get their feet wet and discover what happens to nature in the spring. It's a wonderful time to learn about animal and plant life c...

Explore Nature in Spring- Outdoor Activities for Kids

I know the rest of the world thinks that Spring begins on March 20th with the Spring Equinox but for us, Spring activities begin the day we turn back the clocks and gain that extra hour of daylight. Ahh… dinner during daylight hours Hea...

Olympic Themed Activities that get Kids Moving

 Watching the Olympics can be a great family activity!  Kids will rarely see sports such as ski jumping, luge and biathalon unless it's during the Winter Games. The athletes make it look so easy as they compete -- they've had a l...

10 Umbrella Stories for All Types of Weather

  Today is National Umbrella Day! I know that you might be asking "What is National Umbrella Day?" -- it's one of those little-known holidays that might not make it on your calendar but can be lots of fun to celebrate!...

Exploring Animals Tracks in Winter

  My kids are not big on going for a walk unless there’s a cool reason for being outside.  For example, a walk to the playground is acceptable but a walk around the block is met with some whining at our house. So in an e...

14 Wonderful Winter Activities for Kids

  We've already had our first taste of winter and the temperatures were brutally cold!  So I am ready to find a few new ideas before the next snowy day blows in from the west.  Now, I'll admit that no matter how snowy or co...

Painting Trees through the Seasons

  Today is our Poppins Book Nook club and this month we are celebrating the four seasons.  Each month, a group of creative bloggers shares some excellent kids books based on the monthly theme and matches them with some fun proje...

Outdoor Nature Crafts for Kids

  We really enjoy using natural items to create and craft, especially in the fall.  And of course, if you're using items from nature for a project, you should really hang out outdoors to DO the project! There were some wonderf...

Explore the Forest - Tips for Hiking with Kids

We are a big hiking family - love to explore the forest on foot.  And we've been treated to some great encounters during our family hikes -- moose in Colorado, wildlife in South Dakota and even some out-of-the-ordinary highlights clos...

Rapid City with Kids: Fun Things to Do

  During our vacation to the Black Hills & Badlands of South Dakota, we decided to enjoy some of the sights in Rapid City.  The Black Hills/Badlands area is very expansive and Rapid City is the closest city to Custer State P...

Fun on the Farm: Places to Learn about Farm Animals & Food

Have you ever taken the kids to visit a farm?  We have so many conveniences in our lives that most children don't understand how their food is grown or where it begins. Farm visits can be lots of fun for children -- seeing the animals...

Family Fun in the Black Hills of South Dakota

  Our summer travels took us to a whole new area of the country for our family – the Black Hills of South Dakota! After our wonderful trip to Rocky Mountain Nat’l Park last summer, we decided that we wanted another ‘back to nat...