Greening Sam and Avery

horse birthday party

My niece loves horses. Stuffed horses, horse figurines, horses her dolls can ride and of course real horses. We recently got to be at her 5th birthday party and Jodie, my sister, pulled out all the stops at making this a great horse party and a super fun outdoor play birthday party!

The kids had several different swings to play on.

And Jodie handmade these adorable sock riding horses for each kid to play with and take home. I loved that instead of filling a little goodie bag with candy, trinkets or other things that would most likely get lost or end up in the trash Jodie made something super unique and fun that each kid can play with for a long time. And she didn't spend much more than what she would have on the bag of junk!

But the best part of the party was the LIVE horses! They were these two adorable little miniature horses.

The kids got to take the ropes and lead the horses around the yard. This was a HUGE hit.

Even Avery got a turn to try!

And the kids got to brush the horses, learn how to pet them and where to stand around a horse.

Parker was one happy little birthday girl!

The trampoline was a big hit too. I even got in on the action with some "Ring-Around-the-Rosie".

The whole two hour party was outside! They played outside the whole time. Ate lunch as a picnic on blankets in the backyard and even did cake and presents outside. It was great to see so many kids totally happy and content to be outside on a cooler day.

This is how to do a birthday party! 

guest post - Malama Aina

Real life friend turned blogging friend! I actually have quite a few of these and it has been really fun to get to know them even better through their blogs. My guest blogger today was a friend of mine in college. But several years after college I found she had a blog and started following her parenting journey. I envy her ability to make almost anything for her son and of course the fact that she lives in HAWAII!   She is an amazing green mama!! You can check her out at Malama Aina.

Green Birthday Party

• With my son's 1 year lu'au (party) rapidly approaching, I've been concerned with preventing this celebration from becoming an eco-disaster.  Even though tradition somehow mandates that we give out loads of sugar and plastic, I think a party should reflect the host's values.  If your values are green like mine, then here are a few simple tricks to incorporate at your next lu'au!  Party on!
• 
  Instead of hooking every kid up with a plastic bag full of plastic toys and candy, set up bulk-style tubs of healthy treats (yogurt covered raisins, fig cookies, pretzels, etc) and/or eco-friendlier playthings (sidewalk chalk, pads of paper with crayons, etc).  Give each child a brown paper bag and let them choose the things they truly want.
  Encourage guests to bring sippy cups and serve beverages from pitchers.  Not only will this prevent disposable cup waste, it will help the kids to remember which drink is theirs and avoid spills.  You can even go a step further and encourage adults to BYOC (bring your own cup).
  Finger foods as appetizers are an easy way to cut down on plates in the trash.  A bagel chip spread with hummus and topped with a cucumber is simple to make and always a hit!
  Make cupcakes instead of cake (no plate required) and bake them without the paper - just spray non-stick cooking spray into your muffin tins.
• Consider having a "NO GIFTS" party.  Personally, the reason I'm choosing no gifts is because I want my kids to see their birthday as a time to celebrate with their friends and family.  I want them to feel special, I want them to eat an amazing meal, and I want them to have fun.  What I don't want is for them to grow up with the expectation that just because they are a year older they deserve a pile of presents.  Also, IMO, gifts generate too much trash and potential for tantrums.
• If you must do gifts (my family likes to send gifts in the mail, which is understandable) then request second-hand or package-free toys.  Another great alternative is gifts of experience like a movie ticket or beach day (even better if friends go together).
  Focus on the food.  Baby parties are usually more for the adults (my son's lu'au should really be called Mom Survived the First Year)  This might be a cultural thing (in Hawaii, we love the grindz), but I would skip the matching plates and napkins, and focus my budget on serving the most amazing food possible.
  Focus on the fun.  For older kid's parties, which are more about the kids than the parents, focus on planning games and activities that they will enjoy.  Kids won't remember decorative details, they want to play!
• Consider a watermelon bowl for serving fruit.  There are countless tutorials online

 

Day 325: outdoor playtime

Day 325. I cannot believe we have been at this greening journey now for 325 days. No, there isn't anything special about that number, it just struck me while I was typing it that 325 is A LOT of days. In the life of a 16 month old and a three year old that is A LOT of days. We have gotten outside I would say probably 320 of those 325 days. There were a few bitterly cold days and a few very stormy days that we didn't get outside. Which now looking back is a big bummer, it would have been awesome at the end of the year to say that we went out EVERYDAY. Oh well, maybe that will be the goal for the NEXT 365 days.

Anyway, I have been thinking a lot about outdoor play lately. I really think that getting kids outside, no matter what the setting, HAS to be the first step to connecting kids with nature. Get them away from the computer, the TV, the video games and Ipods. Get them outside in the fresh air, running and playing. Then, once they are more comfortable with just being outside they might be more willing to try bigger adventures or be more curious about some of the natural things that they are seeing outside.

So, today instead of trying to guide Sam and Avery's outdoor play time I just went along with them. We played on the swings, drew with sidewalk chalk, picked dandelions, dug in the mud, watered the garden (and a lot of other areas too!), watched Chris cut the grass, and watched the clouds. We had a great time and burned lots of energy. The learning comes, the connecting to nature happens naturally and the teachable moments pop up when I least expect it; but none of that would have happened if we first weren't playing outside!

It is not always easy to think of what to do outside, especially if you don't have a lot of outdoor space. Wanted to help out with that this week and maybe inspire you to spend MORE of your week with your little ones outside.

Blogs are a great place to start. Here is a list of 10 AWESOME bloggers that have lots of outdoor play ideas.

Just remembering the great oldies-but-goodies can be a great place to start. This is a great list of lots of those old favorites and maybe a few you haven't tried before.

And if you need ideas for ways to spruce up your outdoor play areas check out this great inspiration page at Child Central Station.

If you do get out this week and try out some fun outdoor play ideas with your little ones be sure to stop back by and let me know. You can join the Outdoor Play Link up on Friday or check out the first couple of weeks for more ideas! Check here and here for lots of great ideas.

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The Nitty Gritty!

Two more great resources that I just HAD to share.

If you have a birthday party for your little one coming up it would be great to consider doing some outdoor games or activities. Check out this list of 10 ideas from Disney.

Interested in the philosophy behind outdoor play, research being done about the benefits or studies about things like obesity, risk in play, playground design, nature preschools and more? Check out the resources page at ActiveKidsClub.com. I could spend DAYS going through and reading all of this stuff.

Day 259: the big birthday

Sam's first big girl birthday party will be in just a few short days. Three little friends from her class, one friend from...well life, and two of her cousins will be with us to celebrate. Along with Pawpaw, Grandma and a few other adults and siblings.

I am super excited that the party is going to be held at my work, Aldo Leopold Nature Center. Could not be a more perfect setting in my eyes. Because I have posted about other birthday parties that I have worked I thought I would share all the plans for the two hour event with you all.

I showed you all the goodie bags that I put together for all the kids the other day. You can check them out here.

While the kids are all arriving I am going to have a craft set up that they can be working on.

Sam picked out the seeds that she wanted today at the hardware store and we picked up the potting soil and pots. I found those cute stickers at a crafting store and then made the little flags out of scrapbook paper and lollipop sticks.Each kid will get to decorate their pot, plant a seed and then label their pot with the type of plant using the flag.

Once all the kids have made their plant to take home then we will take a look at some of the mounts that the nature center has. I want to talk with them a little bit about where certain animals live; pond vs. forest.

Then we will head out to explore. I plan on taking them all on a pretty good hike around the property so that they can explore the woods, the wetlands and the pond. We will play on the docks, maybe add some sticks to the shelter in the woods (or at least play in it for a little bit) and see what kind of wildlife we can spot.

Cake, ice cream, fruit kabobs and juice will be had back inside after all the outdoor fun!

Super simple party but I think it will be a lot of fun for everyone.

Ever hosted a nature themed birthday party before? What did you do?

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The Nitty Gritty!

If you are in the Madison area you should definitely check out the Nature Center as a spot to have a birthday party. They are super flexible with themes and will pretty much let you plan whatever you would like and then you get the expert knowledge of one of their naturalists (maybe me!).

Stuff that is coming up....

ME guest posting over at Campfire TOMORROW! Show me some comment love over there people, please!

Guest post by My Zero Waste on Saturday!

Zero Waste Day on Tuesday!

Guest Post from PlayOutdoors on Wednesday! With an AWESOME giveaway too.

Review of cloth diaper from Willow Store coming soon. With a CLOTH DIAPER GIVEAWAY!

Review of Let's Go Chipper coming soon. Possible giveaway with this one too!

Whew, that's a lot. Make my head spin just listing it all out. Busy weeks ahead. Hope you will all join in on all the fun!

 

Day 256: the gift bag

Need some inspiration to participate in Zero Waste Day? Check out a great giveaway over at Butterfly Wishes and Wonderland Dreams. You get extra entries for participating!

 

Sam is at school so I spent some time and got the gift "bags" put together for Sam's friends at her birthday party. Sam helped pick everything out but I thought I would put them together and then she could be surprised too by how they looked at the party.

We started with aquarium nets, bug boxes and marigold growing kits.

 
Then I put the growing kit and the bug box inside the net, tied it with some ribbon and that's it!

 
Instant fun gift bag! A net and big box for outdoor exploring fun and a little flower for each of them to grow and take care of.

 
I don't think it can get anymore simple than that!

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The Nitty Gritty!
The nets came from the pet store that we visited a while back. The bug boxes are an amazing value from acorn naturalist. And the growing kits Sam and I found in the dollar section at Target! Love that dollar section!

I wanted to stear clear of the candy, stickers, silly stuff that most kids get at birthday parties and do something that wouldn't cost much more but could inspire some great outdoor play. Hoping the parents don't think I am too crazy!

 

Day 206: tracking mysteries

What to do with a birthday party full of little six year olds when it is going to be in single digits and staying outside for over an hour is probably not a realistic option?

You make track mysteries for them to solve indoors!

Mystery #1 -

 

Mystery #2 -

 

Mystery #3 -

 

Mystery #4 -

 
So, do you know the tracks? Can you figure out what the animals were doing in the picture or where they went? 

Sam and I made these together and she had a blast helping me. She got to practice her cutting, doing some glueing and we talked a lot about the "stories" that we were creating on the posters.

The kids at the party were also SUPER into these mysteries. They knew the tracks better than I thought they would but they loved talking about what the animals might have been doing or what might have happened. They got very creative, which was awesome.

We also made track ID books for each kid using large rubber track stamps and some blank paper. They picked which stamps they wanted to put in their book (although I encouraged them to pick ones that we might see out on our short hike) and then we labeled them with the names of the animal. Each kid got to take home their track book.

After we had the inside portion of the party I did get the kids out for a little while to look for some tracks. They did great and we found rabbit, squirrel, deer, mouse and fox!

So, I greened Sam and a birthday party full of little six year olds! It was a good day.

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The Nitty Gritty!

I just used online track pictures to make the track mysteries and then drew or cut out of construction paper the rest of the details. Super simple.

These would be good for bigger kids to make on their own, for schools to use as indoor activities or as track teaching tools for younger kids. Plus who doesn't love a good mystery!

Some of the questions that I asked the kids about the track mysteries -

• Is this happening in winter or summer? (one of mine was a summer mystery because it was depicting the birthday boy's favorite animal!)
• Does this animal look like it would be big or little?
• What animal do these tracks belong to?
• Where was this animal going?
• (If the tracks stopped or disappeared)Where did this animal go?
• What was the animal doing?
• Why are there tracks going in different directions?
• And much more!

Day 191: birthday success

Our Christmas tree finally left the house today. In a furry of falling needles we got the tree out of the house and into the back area of our backyard to add to our rodent and bird sanctuary (as I am calling the untamed part of our yard where we put some of our yard waste). Sam was very amused by all the needles all over the floor.  And she got to practice her sweeping and vaccumming skills to help us clean it all up.

What did you do with your Christmas tree?

Today was the fairy house birthday party and it was a HUGE success. The Aldo Leopold Nature Center has many families that come there every year for their children's parties and this family was one of those regulars. I had ten little girls (and the birthday girl's older brother!) that I had going for a hike to look for tracks and possible fairy homes and then back at the nature center to build their own houses.

I was nervous about the glue gun action but it went amazingly well. The parents jumped right in to help out and a few of the girls took over the glueing themselves and did great. These kids were SO creative! They used milkweed pods as beds and couches, tree cookies as tables and chairs, they made chandeliers out of maple seeds and berries and much more! It was amazing. Unlike my house   they all made theirs fairly open so that they could move their fairies around inside the house and actually play with the little houses. Genius.

The mom put together the cutest little goodie bags for the kids with instructions and all the pieces that they needed to make their own garden fairy to go with the house. She had an extra one so Sam and I got to make two for us today when I got home.

 
 
I would love to do this party again! The mom and I both did a ton of collecting in order to have a lot of cool things for the kids to use for their houses but we both had such great stories about going for hikes and exploring with our kids while we were doing the collecting. Absolutely a great way to be forced to spend more time on the trails with my girls. Maybe my niece will want a fairy party for her sixth birthday this summer?!

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The Nitty Gritty!

SPOILER ALERT (to all the young girls that might be reading this stop reading now!)

I was a bit conflicted about "teaching" about fairies. Since they aren't real and I am a naturalist and educator by profession it was difficult for me to teach these young girls about something that wasn't real. While we were out on the trail I was pointing out possible fairy houses, possible fairy tracks and things that fairies might use to build their houses with. But everytime I would suggest something related to the fairies I would also ask questions about and allude to the truth of who the home or tracks really belonged to. This made me feel a bit better about the whole mis-information thing. But if we had more time today I think I would have gone even further into what the tracks and homes were and looked for even more signs that we could have talked about.

If you are interested in making fairy houses or fairies out of natural materials Nature's Art Box is a great reference to check out. There are lots of woodland creatures to make and many different types of houses to make as well. Best part if they use pretty generic materials that can be found in a lot of places or can be substituted for other things that you might be able to find instead.

Live in the Madison, WI area? I would encourage you to look into the Aldo Leopold Nature Center for your next birthday party (do I sound like a commercial? HA!). They really are a lot of fun and today proves to me that we can pull off just about any theme that you might be interested in!  I mean do you remember the dinosaur party? That one was awesome too! Okay, I am all done tooting my own horn. Thanks for listening.

Day 190: preparing for a birthday

I haven't gotten to work that much lately. With the holidays, family visits and us being gone a lot I have not been able to do many programs. But tomorrow I get to lead a birthday party that I am super excited about!

When I lead a birthday party for this family this past summer the mom asked me what I thought of her idea for her daughter's party that would be six months later. I told her it was absolutely doable and I would love to be involved. So we have been communicating on and off ever since planning and organizing so that ten little girls can build their very fairy houses.

Today Sam and I built an example house today. Just to test it out.

 
 
 
Sam helped me pick out the pieces we would use and helped me hold things in place while we glued. She wanted so bad to play with it today and did not like that it was for work but she will get it after tomorrow so I think it will be okay.

The party should be pretty fun. We are going to go for a walk through the nature center's grounds exploring where fairies might live (and other small creatures in the woods) and allowing the girls to each find a few things to use for their house. Most of the materials have been collected and dried ahead of time. The girls will each go home with a kit and instructions for how to make their own fairy (provided by the family) and (hopefully!) a completed fairy house. I am only worried about all the gluing! Making this house took a lot of hot glue and the party is for a five year old little girl. I know that there will be some of the parents there to help out but it could be hard to get all those houses put together. We will see! Wish me luck.

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The Nitty Gritty!

Planning this party has gotten me thinking a lot about Sam's third birthday party. Since she is in preschool now and has some friends her own age (did I tell you all that one of the boys in her class gave her a hug and a kiss on the head at the Christmas party?!! It was so cute and me and the other mom almost died laughing!) I think this might be the perfect year for her to have her first big kid party! The pressure is on. My immediate thought was to check out this indoor gym type place where you can have those big blow up things and a pizza party. Sam loves jumping in those things and it would all be so easy.

However, with the passion that I have, Sam's love for being outside, and my experience does it seem wrong to anyone else that I would not be doing some kind of outdoor, nature related party?  Why wouldn't I take the group of kids on a hike or to catch critters in a pond?  I think the thought of my having to "teach" at the party as well as be the mom just stresses me out.  And what if all the other parents think I am crazy and that the kids are too young?

The nature center does great birthday parties so should I just put my trust in another naturalist and go about this like any other parent? AHH! The pressure. Her birthday is not until March so if you know me you know that until I figure this out I will have many sleepless nights thinking about this and stressing out. So for the love of my sleep and sanity PLEASE leave me a comment and give me some advice on what to do about my daughter's third birthday!

 

Day 147: meet a tree

Mama May I giveaway still going on!  Check out Day 144 for the review and to enter the giveaway!!

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Too stuffed full of turkey to move? Hopefully not yet!! 

The Holidays can be so much fun but exhausting and crazy at the same time.  For us it means FIVE grandchildren all five years old and under gathered in one house.  So how do you keep little ones busy, out of trouble and able to releash some energy on this great Fall Holiday?  Take them outside! Without some outside time we would go stir crazy.  And adding the two nieces and nephew to the mix only makes out outdoor time that much more fun.

Today our little ones will be meeting trees. Here is what I have lined up for them (the photographer will be in tow so be prepared for pictures soon!).

What you need - a yard, park or forest full of trees. Other materials are not necessary but could add to the fun and will be mentioned later!

1. Grab your little ones and head outside.  Tell each kid to find their favorite tree.

2. Have them lay down on the ground and look up through the branches.  What do they see?  What does it look like?  Who might see a tree this way (bug, squirrel, bird, rabbit, etc.)? Do they see any holes in the tree where an animal might live?

3. Have them explore the base of tree. Look for any roots that might be sticking out of the ground, holes where animals might be living or bugs that are walking on the tree. If you have a magnifying glass that would be a fun tool to introduce.

4. Bark rubbings. If you have paper and crayons you could do bark rubbings on the tree. Simple put the paper up against the tree and rub the crayon (laying flat against the paper with the crayon wrapper peeled off) against the paper. Talk about how different trees have different kinds of bark and have the kids compare their rubbings.

5. If there are still leaves present you could do leaf rubbings.  Pieces of cardboard work well out in the field as a hard surface to do the rubbings on.

6. Using the carboard, paper and crayons have them sit down a little ways away from thier tree and draw it.  Are there leaves still on it? What shape, size, color are the branches? Is the tree really tall and skinny or short and wide? 

7. See how big the trees are.  How many people, holding hands, does it take to be able to make a circle around the tree?  See if the kids can find a tree small enough that they can wrap their arms all the way around it.  See if they can can find one big enough that even with everyone in the group you still can't get all the way around it.

8. Climb the tree! Adult supervision very much needed!!  Even if a toddler can only stand on the lowest branch, with adult hands helping to support, the sensation will be something new and exciting and the perspective on the tree and ground below will be something new.  Encourage them to pretend to be a squirrel, which branches would they like the best? Where would they want to climb? Where would they sit and eat their lunch? Or if they were a bird where would they want to build their nest?

These are all great activities that can keep a wide range of kids entertained and enjoying the outdoors. 

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The Nitty Gritty!

Got one more for you.  If you have older kids bring a long a blindfold of some kind (stocking hat that can be pulled down, bandana, etc.).  Once they have found a tree that they like and have done some of the above activities for their specific tree bring them back a little ways away from their tree.  Put the blindfold on them to a tree.  Have them feel the tree, walk around the tree and make as many observation about what they hear and feel as they can.  Is this the tree they were working with earlier? Do several trees and see if they can find their tree. This activity does require a yard or park that has more than just a couple of trees. 

I have always thought a Meet A Tree birthday party would be really fun for a young group of kids.  Have the party at a nature center or park and after they are all full of cake and ice cream take them outside to play with the trees!

Day 17: farm, updates and dinosaurs

Farm -

 So this morning we loaded the girls up into the bike trailer and road to a nearby stable/barn/farm thing that we have seen before but not stopped at.  We walked right up to the animals (even though we quickly realized it wasn't a place that was open to the public!) and Sam and Avery got to see and PET their first horses.  Sam has seen horses before from a distance but never that close and today she got to pet one.  She also got to see a rooster up close as well.  The owner of the horses came out to talk to us after a few minutes, was polite but obviously didn't really want us on her property.  We chatted for a few minutes and then left. 

This was Avery's first time in the bike trailer and luckily the farm is just a few blocks away because she SCREAMED the whole way home!  Sam loved it and asked to go again.  I think Avery and I will stay home next time!

Updates -

The juice box bird house still has no residents in it but it is holding up quite well.  We have had several big rainstorms and the tape is still holding and so is most of the paint.  The birds did find the pine cone bird feeders, ate most of the seed and peanut butter.  What they didn't eat did survive a rain storm, I have no idea how, so I am hoping they might come back to eat the rest.  The weather calendar/chart is working out great.  We have done it almost (I think I missed one) every day and Sam is really enjoying it.  We count the suns and clouds.  We have even talked about things like what the weather was like two days ago and I will help her figure it out by looking at the boxes.  Mostly she just likes putting the stickers on but that is fine too!

Dinosaurs-

So the big excitement from today did not actually involve Sam or Avery!  I "taught" a dinosaur/fossil birthday party today for a little seven year old boy.  If you have a little boy that is into dinosaurs or fossils this could be a really fun party!  Dinosaurs and fossils are not a topic that I know much about so for weeks I have been doing research, looking for activities and fun stuff to do. 

I think the party turned out pretty fabulous and the kids all had a great time!

We started with making our own fossils.  Super simple using plaster of paris which is available at most hardware stores.  Fossil making instructions: 

You will need the plaster of paris, an empty container of some sort (we used microwave dinner type containers but even a plastic plate shallow bowl would work), butter and then something to make a fossil (stones, pine cones, leaves, seeds, rocks, OR you could do hand/foot).

1. mix plaster of paris and water (instructions are on the package but it is basically just two parts plaster one part water; should look like yogurt). 

2. grease the container, bottom and sides, with the butter

3. pour plaster mixture into the container

4. shake/tap the container to level it out and make sure there are no air bubbles

5. place the item into the plaster just enough to make a good imprint

6. give the item a few minutes to begin to setup, then pull it out

7. let the plaster sit in the container for a few hours and then pop it out!  Instant fossil!

The next thing that we did was a prehistoric egg hunt!  I took four watermelons, painted them with tan paint and then hid them around the property of the nature center (could be done around your house or yard!). I made little clue cards to give the kids with hints about where to find the eggs.  They read them aloud and then ran around the property like crazy people searching for these eggs.  The littler kids (probably 4-6) believed that they were eggs but the older ones knew they weren't.  But even knowing that they weren't eggs they still loved hunting for them.

Lastly we did an archeological dig.  Using a large pile of sand (could be a sand box or baby pool filled with sand) I buried bones, fossils, old metal utensils, broken pottery and antique buttons into the sand. I gave the kids hand shovels, hand rakes and paint brushes to use to find the items that were buried.  This was a huge hit.  Every kid wanted to find something, figure out what it was and then use the little paint brushes to dust them off. 

Mixed in with all the activities I talked to the kids about when dinosaurs lived, how we know anything about them, who lays eggs and who doesn't, who find fossils, where fossils are found and much more.  I just love these birthday parties that I get to teach because I get to do really fun activities and sneak in lots of learning too!

It was a great "GREEN" Saturday for everyone here!  

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The Nitty Gritty!

Not much more to say, I think that was enough! 

But here are a few links that have good fossil making instructions, just in case mine are not clear enough.

eHow

Teachers Domain