Spending Time with Kids

Have you ever thought about visiting a national park? 

We’ve visited quite a few local and state parks – all beautiful — but nothing compares to our visit at Rocky Mountain National Park this summer!

I was so enthralled with the beauty of the park, the abundance of wildlife and the amazing back-to-nature connection that our family experienced, I feel compelled to share our visit in the hopes that you too will consider a trip to one of our national parks!

Try one of these ideas for sparking a conversation and connecting with your kids!

I know what you’re thinking — reading is a stationary activity.  Fortunately, that’s not always the case. 

There are a number of terrific kids books that encourage the reader to get up and move with the story!  These 10 reads are a great way to get the kids moving and introduce them to ways they can strengthen their muscles, balance and large motor skills. 

And once their done ‘reading’, they will surely settle in for some much needed rest 😉

There will be a lot of reading going on over the next week –

World Book Day is March 1^st

Read Across America (Dr. Suess’s birthday) is March 2^nd

World Read-aloud Day is March 7^th

 

Does your family enjoy going to the movies? We are big fans especially of family movies that we can all see together. 

So we always like to look ahead and see what new movies are coming soon – you know, check out the trailers, see what’s worth seeing and read the book (if it’s based on one).

 

I learned a long time ago that the memories our kids have of the holidays are not those picture perfect ideals that you see in magazines and movies. 

In fact, some of their fondest memories of Christmases past are ones that I may not want them to remember – but for them, it’s what made the holiday special or different or just plain enjoyable. 

There are so many benefits to getting kids more involved in the kitchen — kids are more likely to try new foods, more likely to eat a wider variety of foods and less likely to complain about what’s being made for dinner 🙂

But what to cook?

During November, we will be sharing a number of ways that kids can learn about gratitude and share ideas for giving to others.  I’m thrilled to be part of the #SimpleGiving Champions for Kids campaign sponsored through Collective Bias^® and to share my ideas about how families can support local schools and children this month.

Giving to others is such an important life lesson.  And as parents, it’s up to us to model and teach this skill to our kids. 

No pressure really, kids have this amazing gift of knowing when to reach out to others.  I see it all the time when a young child gives someone a hug or kiss, when friends at school help others to carry their heavy backpacks or in the excitement you see on a child’s face when they’ve made a special picture or gift and just can’t wait to bless the recipient with their wonderful work.

    We are HUGE fans of American Pickers — I mean big!  In our house, it’s a family show and we all watch to see what cool things can be found when you head out on a pick.  Needless to say I was thrilled when I was chosen to tell you about the Capri …

 

Disclaimer: I am being compensated by Girl Scouts for sharing my thoughts on the #ICantWaitTo campaign as part of the Mom It Forward Blogger Network.  As always, all opinions are my own — I only share programs that we really love and can highly recommend!

I still have all my Girl Scout badges from when I was younger — which was more years ago that I care to share with you lovely readers 😉

I earned badges for sewing, art, housekeeping and music — but more importantly, I also earned them for community health, sports, science and outdoor skills.

Why am I telling you this?