CHILDREN & NATURE CHALLENGE

Children and Nature Network has designated April "Children & Nature Awareness Month".
April 2010 is the third annual Children & Nature Awareness Month.

This year, C&NN has two goals:
*First, to encourage parents to form their own Nature Clubs for Families.
*And, second, to invite grandparents and older outdoor enthusiasts to do their part to reconnect children and nature.

We're In, or should I say Out? ;)

FREE BOWLING ALL SUMMER!!!

Our family participated in this program last summer, and the email just came in again today, so I signed us up again, because even though we didn't use it as often as we would've liked to, it was still nice knowing we had it.

Bowling would be a great rainy summer day activity, or it's over 110 degrees outside kind of activity also!

I just realized this would probably be a pretty good thing to share with other unschoolers/homeschoolers out there, so feel free to pass along the link to your friends and groups that might enjoy it!

http://www.kidsbowlfree.com/

This link will take you to the US Map page where you can just click on your state, then select a city near you, and it will take you to the registration form. Just that simple, and the coupons come to your email weekly where you can print them out or just ignore them if you're not up for bowling that week. Very simple, and FREE stuff is good!

You also have the option to sign up for a family membership for the summer for about 25 bucks, and then you can play with the kids too, 2 free games per day all summer. Nobody bowls that much!

HOW DO YOU CELEBRATE?

We are always looking for new IDEAS on how to CELEBRATE the HOLIDAYS and SEASONS. After all, celebrating LIFE is the best way to LIVE, right?

We are specifically trying to focus our holiday TRADITIONS towards a more NATURE-based approach, and away from a mass consumerism mentality.

Of course, because I LOVE doing kid focused CRAFTS, that's usually what's going on around here; so I'll SHARE a fun how-to that we did yesterday!

First draw a sketch (or have your daughter draw one ;) on a piece of paper to make a pattern:


Cut out:


Pin in place to two pieces of craft felt, wrong sides facing:


Or, if you forget to do a double thickness, like I did, just cut out the first one, flip the pattern over, and pin to the other piece:


After both pieces are cut, sew them together using a blanket stitch:


Add details, and attach to a hair clippie, and voila:



I'd LOVE to hear how you and your FAMILY mark the blossoming of SPRINGTIME.

IN THE SPIRIT OF SPRINGTIME!

We just discovered these videos last week and fell in love with them.

Lisa at 5 Orange Potatoes said it best, "They are so cute, witty, and the perfect blend of nature and animation, we can’t get enough of them!"

Word of warning: there are more than 50 of these on youtube, so you could get sucked in for hours! (i happen to know this)

But... if you have no plans for the day, or happen to be rained in, have a sit with the kiddos and enjoy!

Catapult Grasshopper


The Big Race