Our family has a special connection with the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and we try to visit at least once a year. On one of our most recent trips we were finally able to make it into Moosewood Nature Center on Presque Isle in Marquette, Michigan. We were so impressed with all their fun activities they have packed into their small space. The nature center has live animals, including a Snapping Turtle named Shelldon. There is also a cozy reading…
This month our theme for homeschooling is “Kindness”. While we patiently wait for our Kindness elves to appear we are doing what we can around our neighborhood. We have been talking a lot about animals and how they are adjusting to the shorter, colder days. After some brainstorming and window watching we decided we would like to do something kind for the birds and animals in our neighborhood. We are lucky to live in a neighborhood with lots of trees,…
As the season shifts from summer to fall here in Minnesota the air gets cooler and the trees begin to change. With so many vibrant colors starting to appear it provides the perfect time to introduce the relationship between nature and art. We recently took a trip to Lowry Nature Center within the Carver Park Reserve to join their Lowry Little Ones session on Nature Art. We love Lowry, it is one of our most regularly visited parks for hiking, home…
On a recent trip to Colorado we were invited to join Worldmind Nature Immersion School for a session of their Child-Caregiver Forest School at Chatfield Botanical Gardens in Denver. They hold child-caregiver groups for children 0-8, ecological awareness drop off classes for children 4-10, as well as family camping trips seasonally. Aside from this location they also have locations in the Denver Metro, Sand Creek, Morrison, and Boulder. All of the sessions take place in public parks, green ways, and…
A couple of years ago, I was fortunate enough to stumble upon a garage sale filled with wonderful wooden toys, fairy wands, and silk capes. As I was shopping I looked across the lush garden and saw a small cubby. As I looked closer I could also see a small sand play area and a tree draped in ropes.I had a feeling I has just stumbled upon something magical. That something magical was Sweet Waters Childcare in the heart of…
My love for fly fishing began, as a young girl, at my father’s old antique desk, picking through drawers of feathers and fur and shiny “mermaid hair”. After making my selections, my dad would show me how to use them to tie flies. Although my flies were purely artistic expression, I remember looking at the flies my dad would tie; intricate, beautiful recreations of mayflies, salmon flies, even grasshoppers. Although it may have taken me another 20 years to learn…
For our first full day in Montana we decided a dip in a nice cool lake would be the perfect cure for the road-lag of driving 1,000 miles in 24 hours. Luckily we knew the secret of Cliff and Wade Lake! After turning off the main highway and crossing Three Dollar Bridge, a popular fishing spot on the Madison River, you follow a winding dirt road through cattle land for 7 miles. The cattle fields quickly turn into tree covered peaks and as…
We recently adventured out to Westwood Hills Nature Center in St. Louis Park, MN. This was actually only a 15 minute drive from our neighborhood but had never known of it until recently. Westwood is a 160-acres natural area featuring marsh, woods and restored prairie. We packed a picnic lunch and decided to give one of their “Nature for the Very Young” programs a try, the theme being “May Flowers”. After parking and walking up a trail through the trees and…