Camping; October 2013 {photographs and traveling with toddlers & infants}

This past weekend we finally went camping! I've been wanting to go for a few months now, the weather is cooler and Vera is 7 months so I feel very comfortable traveling with her now.  With the government shutdown we knew we wouldn't be able to go to a national forest camp ground, but after doing some research husband found "disbursed camping" in national parks was an alternative. Basically, it's first come first serve and mostly just pull offs of the the side of the road within the forest.  Not sure if it's "legal" but from what we found online, the worst they could do is tell you to leave, but there aren't any park rangers so we thought it would be worth the risk.  And we weren't the only ones, we pasted at least 7 other groups of campers before finding a vacant spot.

We headed up to Prescott area Friday after Husband got home from work, we ended up getting to our site and starting to set up around 8pm.  Husband built the fire {with the help of a store bought burning log} and set up our new tent while I entertained the girls.  I was very impressed with how easy the tent set up, especially for it being the first time and in the dark!  Which is good because for the cost of this tent we could have booked a hotel, but since it was such a good investment, we shouldn't ever have to.

For dinner I brought egg and bean burritos I made earlier in the morning, wrapped in tin foil and let warm up while the tent was being set up.

Went to sleep to camp fire {we put it out} and stars, & woke up to this. 

It was really cold all night and the only way I was able to fall asleep was with these little heat packs you put in your shoes {we put them in between socks}, and that was with lots of layers of merino wool. We think it dropped to 36* f and somehow the girls seemed fine.  Vera slept in this, and Sonja had these and the matching top.

The view from inside the tent was wonderful, once the sun came up it was actually warm out!

Handsome Husband and a warm fire, what else could a girl ask for?

Heating up the pre-brewed coffee!

I made a variation of these granola bars for breakfast.

We enjoyed the views while we ate and got ready for the day.

The girls had a great time! {and thanks Shell for my breastfeeding beanie, get it? It looks like a boob!}

Once we were packed up we drove down to a nearby trail head and went for a hike, but not before documenting the amazing view! 

Minor obstacles didn't stop us from exploring.

Father Daughter moments melt my heart!

Does anyone know what kind of plant this is? The leaves are like velvet. 

Lesson from the hike; Can you eat acorns?

Fall leaves.

Also, what is this plant with the plastic looking fiber {above}?

Here a flower from that velvet lettuce looking plant, still don't know what it is?! 

I wanted to climb this tree but since I had a baby on my back Husband had the honors. 

I get going out to hunt or shoot, but please pick up your brass!

More Acorns, Sonja wanted to take but I made her leave them for the squirrels.

Anyone know what this adorable MINI pepper looking plant/weed is? edible? 

On our way out this little guy decided to say, "hi!"

And just in case you didn't believe all of this was in Arizona, here's a cactus to prove it {Prescott is high desert}

AND that was our camping trip.  Thanks for reading along, if you know the names of any of the plants please let me know in the comments! I'm ashamed I don't know more native plants for the surrounding areas.

xoxo
-Jenn

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Sometimes Non-Schooling looks like Playing

Recently, while Vera was napping Sonja and I built some words.  She picked the word then we sounded out the letters and spelled the words.  She would then identify the letter from the pile of blocks and put the letter in the correct place.  My three year old is starting to spell! How cool is that?!

How do you integrate education through play? I'd love to do this more! Share your suggestions in the comments!

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Recent Toddler Projects {and a few resources for more ideas}

As Sonja is getting older and Vera is getting more alert, I've noticed I've gotten lazy.  And not really lazy but like, I don't want to get up while holding Vera lazy.  So, I headed to my Early Childhood Pin Board to search for some creativity.  Here are a few projects I choose to do with my kids and how it went...

1. I had lots of boxes left over from my classroom supplies so, I'm going to make these: Life Size Numbers Inspired from Here

2.Sonja won't stop talking about bowling and while we've only gone a handful of times, I know she LOVES it, so I'm collecting water bottles to make this bowling set.  {had to request the used water bottles from family and friends since we NEVER hardly ever use them}
Bowling Inspired from Here

3.

Husband is a spice and herb advocate, he uses a TON in each meal.  Most spices have medical benefits so I'm not complaining.  I thought this would be a good activity to help Sonja learn her spices and get her interested in being in the kitchen with Daddy {or at least get her out from under his feet while he's cooking}
Scent Cards Inspired from Here but modified and used to help with simple tasks such as cooking.

I used a clear, mostly unscented glue to create these sensory cards.

Sonja helped to pour the spices.

and these are the completed cards!

If you're looking for inspiration for homeschooling or #nonschooling ideas check out My Early Childhood Pinboard on Pinterest.

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Honest to Blog!

So, I've seen this Honest Company on pinterest a few times and I finally clicked on the link to check it out.  The company was founded by Jessica Alba, not only an actress, but also a mom.  I loved that when I looked at the ingredients, they were actually good ingredients....

I tried the free sample with "the essentials" and the diapers.  We love cloth diapers but I thought I'd try these adorable disposables, since we're going to do a combo. of cloth and disposable while in Europe.  The trial was free plus shipping ($5.95). If you're a consistent disposable user they have monthly plans which ship the diapers straight to your door.  Pretty great, because no one likes running out of something and rushing to the store.  

Anyway, here's what I got...

How adorable are these diaper patterns?!

Also, I was stoked to get this practically overnight, so I'd have it in time for a quick trip to New York City with the girls,  I didn't have to go out and buy mini travel shampoos or laundry detergent I got them in this pack!  Also, I'm thrilled I now have a mini stash of wipes for the plane ride.  Holla!

If you're planning on traveling anytime soon, I highly suggest Honest Company's Trial for the travel sized "essentials," alone!

I just thought I'd share here for anyone who is interested and if you sign up under my referral code I get credit towards more diapers.  So check it out, if you love it sign up, if not just enjoy the freebies.

Click here to get your free trial.

xo

-Jenn

*This is not a sponsored post, however, I will be rewarded, with credit, if you continue your membership*

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Non-schooling Update June 2013

I've blogged a few times about our method for NONschooling our children, and thought I should share a little of what that looks like now that we're starting to become more educationally oriented like, math, writing, reading and such.  Non-schooling doesn't mean not educating our kids, it means not schooling them in a traditional sense, with clocks and schedules and windowless rooms.  I believe students learn best when individually interested in a specific subject at a non-specific time.  Meaning, clocks don't help with the education process.  As a teacher I struggle with the rigidity of a schedule because I know my students are disinterested or would rather be somewhere else, at least some of the time.  I LOVE schedules, I plan everything MONTHS IN ADVANCE, so non-schooling is challenging to me, but what I believe will benefit my kids the most. 

Now for some examples and ideas...

My Father-in-law {FIL} gifted Sonja a year subscription to green kid crafts and she was so excited each time a new package arrived on our door step! Above is a sun sensitive paper project, allowing for photographic development activity with natural objects.

This is another green kid crafts {GKC} project. In the kit was a balloon, glue and tissue paper, with directions we were able to create globes.  we made two; one for Sonja and one for Vera.  Since it was more of a fun activity we didn't place the green exactly where it should be but discussed more of the concept of land and water.  We have a BEAUTIFUL globe with proper borders and we'll eventually get to geography, but for now we made these... 

 I LOVE this little cloud namer we also received from GKC whenever Sonja sees clouds in the sky {which is sadly RARE here in the desert} she gets excited and grabs her cloud finder.  We look out our front window and compare which clouds she sees to the clouds on her frame.  It's cool because I'm not super into science or history but these activities also educate me.  Can you name all the types of clouds?!

 After we look at the cloud finder we agree on the type of cloud we see...

A more crafty project from GKC is this necklace activity with air drying clay.  We smashed it {fun sensory activity} and then pressed a dried leaf onto it, Sonja painted it with the environmentally friendly non toxic pigment. 

Then, we punched a hole in it and let it dry, it's one of her favorite pieces of jewelry. 

While not all of the GKC projects are all that "Green" Sonja loved all of them.  I thought their use of plastic was excessive for an environmentally minded company but then again I've yet to find anyone else who uses less.  

My sister-in-law {SIL} picked up some of these activity books from the dollar section of Target.  Sonja Loves them because they're simple and with all the housemates she's always got someone interested in helping her.  I can even do them with her while sitting on the floor with Vera in my lap.

Above is a peek at the number workbook.  She's doing Great with her counting and finally practicing writing the number that match the concept.

Of course, no child of an Art Teacher would be deprived of painting.  Although, I don't splurge on watercolor paper just yet.  Instead, I just let her paint in her coloring books; offering guidance and practice for staying in the lines {while artistically I don't think lines are necessary, they do help develop fine motor skills}.

And that's what non-schooling looks like to us {with an almost 3 year old} In case I missed anything, you can also follow along on my tumblr with the hashtag #nonschooling and add your own #nonschooling images to the mix!

-Jenn

**This post was NOT sponsored.

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