In the time it took for me to say hi to my friend at the playground, my 2.5 year old scaled a steep hill and was halfway up a ladder to a climbing structure intended for kids three times his age. (The ladder was a bit like this one, but much taller.) By the time…
Fried chicken and hiking Trail Two at Shades State Park. When my mom asked me and my siblings what we wanted to do for Memorial Day, the decision was quick and unanimous. We’ve been going to Shades as long as I can remember, and it is always a feature of any visit we make to…
I’ve mentioned before that I’m not always the best person at getting outside, despite the many reasons to do so. Part of this is because it is simply inconvenient. Our backyard is the size of a postage stamp. We have a patch of grass that is maybe six by six feet, and that’s being generous. We have…
[sc name=”Disclosure”] Before my oldest son was born, I took to the internet to figure out what age I might need to start formally home educating. I assumed it would be around the age of three, for preschool. There were, and still are, lots of home educating bloggers sharing their home preschool curricula and schedules…
[sc name=”Disclosure”] Outdoor Learning in the Early Years by Helen Bilton takes a broad look at outdoor play in early years settings (affiliate link). Bilton’s book starts from the increasingly familiar premise that outdoor play is quite often neglected: Outdoor play spaces are often either small or non-existent, exclusively tarmacked hard surfaces with few natural elements….
The question is not how we can “teach” an infant to move well and correctly, using cleverly thought up, artificially constructed, complicated measures, using exercises and gymnastics. It is simply a matter of offering an infant the opportunity – or, more precisely, not to deprive him of this opportunity – to move according to his inherent ability. Dr Emmi Pikler, The Development…
[sc name=”Disclosure”] Being a mom to two little boys has definitely brought out the worst in me. One moment everything is fine, and the next I am harried, overwhelmed, covered in food and taking my frustration out on my kids. I’m just not being the parent that I want to be: calm, in control of the…
Toddler N. will be two years and six months old in less than two weeks. Two year olds, in my opinion, get a pretty bad rap. The age is associated with temper tantrums, willful disobedience and getting into all sorts of mischief. As I’ve been thinking about the last six months, though, the more I realize…
Life with young kids gets intense. Some mornings pass in a blur of crumbs and diaper changes. Last Thursday I was apparently so busy that I walked right out the door carrying a sippy cup, which I didn’t notice until ten minutes later when I got to my Pilates class. I’m sure that parents who…
[sc name=”Disclosure”] Taking risks is a key part of growing up, one that many kids these days are missing out on. They are never out of sight from an adult, they are plucked from the top of playground equipment before they have a chance to think about how to get down, they certainly don’t climb…