I never know what kids will discover while outside. On a recent trip to Parfrey’s Glen State Natural Area, the kids were fascinated by a hand water pump. The kids liked pumping the handle and then seeing the water come out. They were mystified by how the water could keep coming out even after they […]
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We’ve had a cold October in Wisconsin. Last weekend it was about 40 degrees at the start of our hike to Parfrey’s Glen Natural Area. I was dressed in a wind breaker, a neck warmer, hat, gloves and hiking boots. So, when the first kids showed up without none of the above I had to
Where is Your Coat? Read More »
It’s fall and no matter how many times I’ve done this, it’s still exciting to take kids on a leaf safari. On a glorious October day, me and my co-teacher Zach took about 11 Kindergarten and first-graders on a leaf safari. They were REALLY excited about this, especially when they saw that they got to
What do you get when you cross 11 school age boys with insect exploration? Lots of high energy insect fun. Bugs and Slugs marked my second of two week-long adventure camps run from the Goodman Community Center this summer. Bike camp was in June and Bugs & Slugs was in August. As this was my
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Kids love bubbles. They love making them, popping them and watching them. That’s why for the past three months, I have tried just about every homemade and store bought bubble recipe to find one that works and is inexpensive. It’s no fun to run out of bubble juice when kids are having fun (See Bubble
Here’s the bubble recipe that I recommend for use with my wands:
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How do you instill lifelong habits in kids? I believe this happens when they have a great time doing an activity and they gain confidence with the task. That was my goal with my first adventure camp: Spokes and Jokes. I wanted kids to experience what I felt as a kid about biking and what
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I just finished a week of bike camp. There were 9 kids who participated in a week long camp designed to introduce and excite kids about the wonderful world of biking. We had a great time. I learned a lot about planning trips for kids. First, it’s a lot of work and a lot of
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How do you spell joy? Let 50 kids run out of the tunnel on to the field at Camp Randall Stadium on a beautiful April 70 degree day. Watching this was like watching an explosion of energy and joy. There’s something magical about letting kids loose on a football field. They burst into full tilt
Wonderful things can happen in short amounts of time. On Tuesday, I had about 20 minutes to explore the rain garden next to our community center with three second grade boys. We started at the pond to look for frogs. We didn’t find any, but the boys quickly spotted some water striders moving across the water.
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