When your child goes to school for the first time, it is an important transition for you both. Your child is about to go through a significant change of identity. It’s normal to be excited to start school, and it’s also normal to be afraid. Familiarity will help tip the balance toward excitement. If you…Read the full article.

Treasure hunting, orienteering, puzzle solving, and building community. That’s questing. What a great way to create engaging & educational summer activities for children. As I’ve been looking for summer activities that can spark a child’s imagination and turn into a child-lead summer project, my model has been the wonderful children’s summer activity book Weslandia. Mapmaking…Read the full article.

Children bouncing around looking for summer activities? Preschoolers are at a stage where they start to process more information about the world around them. Much the same way I add carrots and beets to smoothies, I like to suggest delicious and nutritious activities that might stimulate the mind without my children noticing much. For 3…Read the full article.

Are your children looking for activities. I’m tempted to just say, leave space to find their own adventures. One of my favorite books for children is Weslandia. Wesley, the protagonist, needs a summer activity. What to do? He lets things happen. He lets a weed happen, and he creates a civilization around it. If you…Read the full article.

If you are going camping with your baby, you may be wondering about the logistics of diapering. Yes, you can use cloth diapers while camping! Many parents are willing to share their experience to help you succeed. Steps to your cloth diaper camping success include WHAT to take, HOW to wash, and what to do…Read the full article.

Hiking with baby is one thing but camping with a baby? Sure! You plan, you pack, and you adjust your expectations. Practice Camping. If you aren’t quite sure whether you or your baby are ready, try a backyard camp out with all of your gear to see if you have what you need. This may…Read the full article.

If you want your children to care about what happens with the environment, nurture their connection with nature from the time they are very small. If you are a hiker, you may be ready to get back out there WITH your baby. With a few planning considerations, safety precautions, and the right gear, you and…Read the full article.

Big curious eyes look out from under the longest lashes ever to grace a human being. She looks up and up and up, begging Daddy to notice her. Eyes lock and an instantaneous reflex shoots chubby toddler arms to the sky, while a tiny cherry tomato of a mouth forms the words, “Hold me, Daddy.”…Read the full article.

For 7 years during my young children’s lives, my husband was the at-home, primary parent. He was definitely a father among mothers, going off to homeschool activities, play dates, and coffee afternoons with the girls. He didn’t really seek the company of other at-home dads. I saw the conversation a couple of times. “Oh, you…Read the full article.

Breastfeeding is more than a nutritional transaction. Breastfeeding is a bonding experience for mother and child. Fathers need their bonding time with babies as well. In my family, that time was bath and massage time. After my husband would give our babies an evening bath, I would breastfeed the baby then he would give the…Read the full article.