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Wild Rose Camping Trip

A few weeks ago, we went on a family camping trip. Yep, 10-month-old baby and all. Admittedly, I was pretty worried about how Rayna would sleep, but we had taken a short test camping trip earlier in the summer. I was thinking that that trip would be a good primer for a longer trip. And it sorta was. Rayna slept awful the first night but did pretty well the next few nights. We scrapped the travel bassinet though and put a bunch of padding on the floor between the two back beds and put up a baby gate as a makeshift crib for her. It worked perfectly, even for naps!
Anyhow, on to the trip. We stayed at a campground in Wild Rose, WI called Camp Luwisomo. It’s a Lutheran campground where one side has huge buildings and halls for retreats and the other side has a public campground. I wish more people knew about this place because it’s absolutely beautiful and absolutely affordable! But there was no one there.

We ended up with the entire campground to ourselves except one other family behind us that we befriended. We’re thinking they were Mennonites and we loved getting to know them. We shared S’mores around a campfire and lots of chats. And the kids played with each other every day.
Each day we did a small little something with lots of rest and taking casual drives in between. One day we went into town and visited the fish hatchery. Sadly, it has diminished since we were last there several years ago, but it was still fun to buy feed for a quarter and watch them feed.
This is the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen!
Funny enough, I have an image of him exactly like this from the same place, 5 years ago:
And one more for good effect

Anyhow…
Another day we went into town and played miniature golf and had ice cream:
Hubster and I tied for first place!
Our campground also offered a cute little miniature golf course that we tried too.
Another day we went into town to dinner and found a cute hiking path. They even had fresh spring water that we filled our water bottles with.
While on the trail, I made one fabulous #pinchbouquet
This was another diner nearby…so which is it?
And finally, on the last day, before we packed up to go, Kayne got to go on his very first horse ride. The campground offers guided rides for kids his age and he was so enthralled!
We brought some carrots for the horses

They also had free-range goats that were pretty friendly.

First signs of fall in August?

And just for fun, here’s a picture of an electric chair, I kid you not, they had on display in a thrift store in Wild Rose. Even though I knew it wasn’t even remotely in operation, I still sat at the very edge of the chair, not touching any part of it. It gave me the creeps.

Once we got home, we found this little hitchhiker on my Tone It Up Fit, Fierce Fab book.
This simple little trip was exactly what we needed as a family. Every night of the trip, we curled up and watched movies together. We took the days as casually as anyone ever could. We didn’t spend very much money either, so that didn’t weigh on anyone’s mind. It was just another perfect trip!

Wisconsin Dells Vacation (Part Two)

Read about the first half of our Wisconsin Dells family trip in Part One.

We saved Tuesday of our family trip for Noah’s Ark. It was pretty quiet when we got there, which was perfect. Peanut started out with being reluctant to ride any of the big rides, but after being coerced a little, tackled them like a boss. Of course, like every other child in history, he said, “let’s do it again!” He even did this Stingray ride that would’ve even freaked me out:

I couldn’t do many of the rides due to the current state of sharing my body with another human, but I just loved finding a shady spot to read while Peanut and his Da spent some quality fun time together. I plowed my way through #Girlboss, btw. Anyone else read it? It’s such an easy, amazing read.

On Wednesday, we decided to hit up Timbavati Wildlife Park. This brought back some interesting memories. As a child, my family and I made a yearly trek to a waterpark called Waterworld. As we were entering Timbavati, I saw the old, eerie overgrown Waterworld sign and the mystery of where that waterpark disappeared to was revealed. It is now Timbavati.

There were a lot of baby animals to feed, pet and coo at.

And a few big cats to watch. I felt a little bad though, cuz these pretty beasts only had a small sandy cage to spend their time in. (I always have these ethical conundrums at zoos).
We watched some comical pig races. 

In the baby nursery, they allowed us to bottle-feed the baby goats and sheep. This is the kind of thing Peanut lives for. He’s got a huge heart for animals.
We even got to hand-feed giraffes and camels.

After the wildlife park, we found another miniature golf place that was mostly in the shade (thank God!) and had some more competitive fun. Hubster and I both like to gloat a bit when we’re in the lead.

On Thursday we indulged in a little bit more mini golf at our campground before packing everything up and heading home, wondering, of course, where the time went.

Peanut’s picture of our camper

My favorite part of the whole trip was when the three of us snuggled into our bed after dark and put a movie in the portable DVD player. Our nights got later and later as we all hunkered down and read and watched movies. Pretty sure we traumatized Peanut with All Dogs Go to Heaven (huge heart for animals, remember? He once cried inconsolably when he saw a squashed seagull in a parking lot and just about died when he witnessed a neighborhood crow pick up a baby bunny for lunch). But it was so much fun to relive Ferngully and a few other Oldie Goodies with him.

Next time we head back to Wisconsin Dells, we will be a family of 4. I wonder where we’ll go/stay next.

State of the Baby Address

I haven’t been saying much about my pregnancy other than making the announcement, but it’s so true what they say about each pregnancy being entirely different. This one has left me with a lot more worry and has felt like an entirely different experience than the first uneventful one. From morning sickness to anxiety flare-ups to weird heart behaviors to health scares, I’ve been trying to navigate waters that feel completely foreign to me.

First, we had a false positive reading for Down’s Syndrome which sent our world into a bit of a spin of waiting, testing, waiting some more. Everything came out “normal,” but the experience was kind of excruciating and full of questions. We just wanted to know what we had to prepare for and wrap our minds around it, but admittedly there were lots of tears and doubt.

In the last month, I’ve developed some pretty frequent heart palpitations. I had them during my last pregnancy, but they were very different. With Peanut, they only showed up around month 8 during exercise and exertion. They were pretty infrequent. This time, they happen all day, every day, whether I’m sitting in my chair or out hiking. I, of course, reported them to my baby doctor right away.

My OB was not too worried about them. She said they were pretty common in pregnancy considering the extra blood volume a pregnant woman has in her body. She said I could either monitor it for any changes, see my general practitioner about it, or she could refer me to a cardiologist. I chose the cardiologist because I just don’t want to mess around with my heart. And with my anxiety, I have a hard time with worst-case scenario thinking. I just want to be extra cautious and know for sure that everything is fine.

This past Friday, I saw the cardiologist. He told me not to worry about it, but that we were going to be extra cautious and a little more aggressive with testing since I’m pregnant. I appreciate the gesture! My blood pressure was reading pretty high that day, so I was suffering from nervous energy wondering if it was a sign of pre-eclampsia. However, my BP was back in the normal range at Monday’s appointment, so I’m hoping it was just a fluke because I was nervous.

So Monday, I got fitted for my electrodes. Cool, huh? How bionic-womanlike of me. I’m wearing a Holter monitor for 48 hours to detect any abnormalities. Then on Thursday I’m scheduled for an echo-cardiogram, an ultrasound of the heart. As frightening as heart conditions sound and these tests seem (I’ve never had to see so many doctors in my life!), I’m trying to stay positive and take everything in stride. After all, both my OB and cardiologist said everything is likely to be benign.

Despite these “setbacks,” everything is going relatively fine. I feel much better, but I still have no interest in cooking or any type of food prep and my energy wanes big time during the day. Peanut wants me to play the instant I get home from work, and it’s hard to deny him that. My pleading eyes just can’t convey to him the complete exhaustion I feel at the end of the day. I try to give him what I can, but many days are “lets watch a movie together” days. When I’m feeling truly energetic, I can muster a 6 mile bike ride with the family, but that’s only happened once, so…

Well, there are only about 3 months left until we meet our baby girl and I’m hoping things become a whole lot more uneventful really soon. Keep me in your thoughts and prayers, would ya? I appreciate every one I can get.

Lately I’ve Been…

…Around, just not as much in this space as I’d like to be. For that matter, even my home could use quite a bit of TLC right about now.
…Surviving some terrible nausea and attempting to make peace with the fact that the only thing you can do is just wait it out.
…Waiting out the cold here in Wisconsin. A day in the 30s would be bikini weather at this point. Poor kiddos have been so cooped up in school without recess, they’re really getting restless.
…Looking forward to our upcoming trip to Florida in March. This will be the first time in my life I get to go to Disney. Can’t wait to watch Peanut soak it all in. Hopefully Florida welcomes us with the warm air we so desire.
…Getting very inspired by the Olympics and all the chatter about it. What, me? Into sports?
…Reading Amanda Knox’s story, Waiting to be Heard. I mean, wow! She pretty much lived nightmares that I’ve had before. Like any good mystery, the book has me unable to put it down. It’s thick, but I got through most of it in a weekend.
…Looking at houses and dreaming about living in the country. However, the thought of actually listing our first home (and making is show-ready!) and the prospect of moving have me completely paralyzed.
…Staring at my Peanut and all his expressions and movements and just reveling in them. Kids are special, no? He reminds me of everything that matters most.
…Cooking up a special project that I can’t quite announce yet, but you’ll see…

What have you been up to?

Visit to the Oshkosh EAA Museum

Our town has absolutely nothing for a small child to do in the winter, indoors, unless you are a YMCA member. Even our McDonald’s Playland went away during the last round of renovations and a close-by kid-friendly cafe disappeared. We run out of ideas for keeping Peanut entertained in the cooler months sometimes. That is, until we stumbled upon the children’s museum inside the EAA museum in Oshkosh.

You see, Oshkosh hosts the biggest aircraft convention in the world every year and so the aircraft museum is a signature part of our city. Since we live here though, we are all too used to that one week in July where our city is completely descended upon and consumed for the love of airplanes. Many of us try to get out of the city and rent our homes out to avoid the hubub of tourism.

Sure, we’d been to the museum before, but not in a long time. One day Hubster decided to take Peanut there for a visit just for something to do. Then, we happened upon the kid’s section of the airport. And we discovered that the interactive play area beats out the Mickey D’s Playland any day of the week! We immediately purchased a family membership and now enjoy the place as often as we’d like.

Since I’ve been off of work for about a week and a half with Peanut this Christmas vacation, mostly cooped up in the house with all our new Christmas paraphernalia, we decided to take a day out to the museum to burn off some accumulating steam.

Check this place out.

Test how many pounds of thrust you can generate on this mother of all exercise bikes.

Use this robotic arm to build and move around blocks.

Watch flight simulators

Sit inside a real cockpit with tons of controls and buttons and pretend you’re a pilot.

Tilt and lean to maneuver a hang glider, and just across the way, a hot air balloon.

Sit in one of the rows of flight simulators and actually give your flying skills a try.

Then, sit in the viewing tower and see if you can see any action with the provided binoculars.

This place is awesome. It’s like science and physical education and math all got together and made this awesome place. An interactive learning experience and boredom buster all in one.

All you adults out there, the regular museum is definitely worth the admission. There are several hangars’ worth of aircraft to see and learn about, even for the person who isn’t entranced by planes. Hubster and I like to peruse the exhibits once in awhile too and always learn something. If you’re ever in Oshkosh, WI, you need to check this place out. And if you live here, especially if you have children, you’ll be doing everyone a favor by purchasing a membership and enjoying the exhibits.

Fall Family Traditions

It’s important to me that our little family establishes memorable traditions that extend our love for one another and our desire to make meaningful connections throughout our sometimes harried days. I like to pull out small little things that we can together enjoy either once a year, once in awhile or once per season. One day, I hope my son will remember some of these with fondness when he’s all big and grown and perhaps even carry some of them on.

Whenever someone completes an accomplishment in our house, we make it a point to celebrate that person. It’s not enough to just “high five” and “atta boy” each other. This past week, by some foreign-to-us luck, Hubster landed the position at work that he’s been hoping for for over a year and a half. It was quite by miracle that he got it, but I can just see on his face how happy it makes him. So, we had a lunch date at one of his favorite Chinese restaurants. I think he liked it:)

Aside from that lunch, Hubster and I have made a concerted effort lately to have more date nights. We’ve had a few celebratory gift cards come our way that make it possible without the guilt. It’s imperative to keep connecting on just a you/him level because it’s way too easy to become two separate people with two separate lives. We want a partnership, so we choose actions that hold us true to that partnership.

Halloween harbors some other fun traditions for our family. On this holiday, I always bust out an Edgar Allan Poe tale or poem. Sure, the stories may be a little sinister at times, but I think it’s a fun, intelligent way to end the night. Plus, I was an English major, so I thinks it’s neat that we can slip some classic literature into our family traditions.

Aside from that, we also do the whole trick-or-treating thang too. Even in the rain, as we did this year. We grabbed a giant umbrella and hit the streets shortly after sundown. My feet were utterly soaked by the time we made it home, but you absolutely can’t steal this tradition from a kid. Even one who’s scared of trick or treating;)
Costume #1: pirate for Boo Fest
Costume #2: Batman for school
What are your favorite family fall traditions? 

Our Pumpkin Patch Weekend in Pictures

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This past weekend, my amazing workplace sponsored a day at a local farm,  so we took them up on the offer. We hijacked a couple of our nephews and took our family on a short trip. It was a sunny afternoon, but a bit windy and crisp, so we didn’t linger quite as long on the activities as we usually do, but we sure made some memories:

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There were hay rides and pony rides

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Chicken and turkey catching

Boys Chicken catch photo PA262108_zps50d9860e.jpg

Amadeus Chicken Catch photo PA262106_zps63e4fbbd.jpg
Our star chicken catcher

John caught a turkey photo PA262112_zps5573bf84.jpg
And the star turkey wrestler

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Cluck Cluck

Cow Milkin’

Kayne milking cow photo PA262156_zps15ad0255.jpg

My baby cow photo PA262148_zpsab6f0a02.jpg

Tractor Ridin’

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Tiny lovin’

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Baby bunny

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Where we spend the most time: with the kittens!

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He grabbed one and two more jumped up

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Cheer up, kid!

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The inside of the jacket is the best spot in the house

Pumpkin pickin’

Choosing just the right one photo PA262167_zpsf9c6329c.jpg
Trying to find just the right one

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I found mine!

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Tom-foolery

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Wheelbarrow ride to the pumpkin field

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The goat climbing stump

And a general concensus that we had fun

My guys hauling pumpkins photo PA272173_zpsba4538a6.jpg

How to Turn Travel Into a Learning Opportunity

No kid wants to go on a trip thinking they’re going to be schooled, right? I mean, c’mon, vacation means vacation from school right? Sure, but that doesn’t mean you can’t sneak a little bit of education in here and there. It’s so beneficial for those emerging brains to have such special opportunities to expand and develop. Our family went on several trips this year that were barely out of state, but our son’s teacher told us how lucky that makes our son. Trips expand their vocabularies, senses of geography, world experiences, and so much more than I’m even aware of. Hey, and we weren’t even trying!

I do, however, make a concerted effort to explain things to Peanut whenever he shows interest. When I started thinking about how our trips were great learning opportunities, I saw the lessons everywhere. I hope you too can use some of these tips for turning your next family trip into a learning experience extraordinaire!

1. Gym/Health Class

We did so much walking on our Mackinac Island trip, it’s incredible. The terrain was pretty varied too, so we had to huff and puff up and run down some steep hills. Peanut even went on a “run” with me one morning down a paved trail in Mackinaw City. Without even trying to, we are giving Peanut some Health education that is going to last his whole life. I’ve said it before on here, but Peanut will never have to seek out fitness later in life because we’ve always made it a natural part of life from the get-go. I think taking walking tours of the cities you visit is one of the best ways to turn a trip into health education. Or go swimming in your hotel’s pool, scout out local trails, rent kayaks, or participate in other active things. And if you like to pack your own food like we do, get your kids used to healthy foods.

Me and Peanut’s running route
Pretty Rainbow of Rental kayaks

2. Geography

Every trip ever is a great Geography lesson. Get out those maps and plot those points. By talking about the Great Lakes in Mackinaw City and looking at maps for The Museum of Science and Industry, we were helping our Peanut get a gauge for his world. Peanut already is showing some strong spatial intelligence–when he was two, he would point out places in different cities that we had only been to once! Since this is an advantage for him, I think the best thing we can do is build upon that skill. Use topography maps when you’re hiking and have your kids try to help you navigate your driving routes. Take a geocaching trip and let your kids help with the coordinates–there are caches everywhere! If you’re flying, get out those atlases and explain the trip to your children. Explain the geological aspects of the location while you’re at it. Limestone bluffs? It’s worth a chat.

3. Nature Studies

On our field trip last year, we had quite the tour guide for nature studies. We found owl pellets and bones and downed trees and all kinds of fantastic natural occurrences. In Mackinaw City, Peanut and I had a good chat about the structure and function of anthills. We are an outdoorsy kind of family anyhow (if you couldn’t tell), so we get excited to teach about birds, leaves, weather, food chains and on and on.

Giant hollow tree

Fungus
Wild turkey vulture
Amazing display of the life cycle of a butterfly at the Butterfly Museum

Just take a walk through a local nature preserve–or even a park! Go without any sort of agenda and you’re guaranteed to find teaching opportunities out there if you’re looking. Explain how turtles live, look at animal prints in the dirt, point out animal trails in the brush, and try to identify butterflies. Almost anything you can think of is a prime opportunity for teaching. If you don’t know much about those types of things, look them up! I had to do a little research on anthills before I could effectively explain them too.

duck eggs
A perfect nest found at a park near our house

Deer tracks near Crivitz

4. History

Almost everywhere you travel, you’ll find historical sites or markers that present great learning opportunities. We visited Heritage Village and several lighthouses near Mackinaw City. Just explaining the history of the lighthouses and one-room schoolhouses to Peanut was so thrilling. I vividly remember visiting my first one-room schoolhouse as a child, so I know that these types of experiences can have a lasting effect.

Morse Code Chart

Mackinac Island Memorial
Lighthouse Museum
Wigwam

5. Math

A kindergarten’s sense of math is much different than an 8th graders, however I think there are opportunities everywhere to teach them both. Peanut’s math involves shapes and counting. We play counting games when we’re in the car for long rides. We try to find every number from 1 to 9 on all the different signs we pass. We count deer we see in pastures, we try to find A/B patterns in artwork, we try to discuss time and things like that. An older child would learn well from trying to help the family organize a trip budget, estimate restaurant bills to the closest dollar, determine expected trip miles, or keep tabs on their own spending money.


Look at all those shapes to identify and things to count!

6. Cultural Studies

We had a really good time reading through the book about how people live on Mackinac Island year-round and how they get materials to build anything on the island. No vehicles are allowed on the island, so we learned that their garbage collection and delivery services are even done via horse and carriage. Many places you travel have opportunities to study different cultures, past or present, if you just pay attention. Sometimes the food offered where you are is an opportunity for cultural expansion. I mean, we learned all about mining culture when we were introduced to pasties.

7. Science

Some science is incorporated into the other subjects listed above. We had a few experiences this summer that were specifically science-related, such as at the Museum of Science and Industry. Their interactive family center is beyond adequate for a science lesson or 600! We explored weather, fires, gravity, light reflection, the color spectrum and human biology (dissecting eyeballs!!!) among so many other things. We also have EAA museum passes where we can explore easy physics principles and airplane dynamics. Just exploring the weather, water tides, moon phases, and animal habitats can expand your kids’ universes by the second. I fully intend for our annual Perseid picnic to get more and more in depth with astronomy as is appropriate for Peanut’s age.

Static Electricity
Full moon over a low tide
Insect museum
Sea Otter Habitat
8. Music
I just couldn’t resist this mini $20 guitar on our trip to Door County this spring. The kid gave me the most heart wrenching little doe eyes. Well, I put down a $20 and called it a great learning experience. He played us his own made-up songs around the campfire, which was perfect. Although he’s a little young to get the hang of playing the six-string yet (I tried!), we still bang out tunes, memorize verses and tap out rhythms with the best of them. In Kindergarten, the kids are learning the whole ta-ta-tee-tee-ta rhythm in music class. We can easily supplement his education at home or on the road by tapping out rhythms on our laps, learning a new Elvis song, or playing his Vacation Bible School CD over and over again, complete with all the hand gestures.
Wow, even just writing this post has gotten me excited! I hadn’t even thought of all these potential learning experiences until I started writing about them. I can’t wait to see what our next trip holds. We’re planning a short weekend getaway for Hubster’s birthday in November and I’m dreaming up a Wisconsin bird scavenger hunt in my head. I think Peanut will be thrilled to learn the names of some of his favorite birdies (and so will his mom:). 
I really love how all of these “lessons” are unlike those units in school that you just knew you would never use again in real life. These are real-life lessons that will carry on long throughout your children’s lives. Whether you’re hanging out in your own backyard or hightailing it across the country, think about ways you can turn your trips into learning experiences for your children. You might just learn a thing or two too yourself! And the lasting memories are beyond value!
What are some of the ways that you sneak a little teaching into your travels?

How to Turn Travel Into a Learning Opportunity

No kid wants to go on a trip thinking they’re going to be schooled, right? I mean, c’mon, vacation means vacation from school right? Sure, but that doesn’t mean you can’t sneak a little bit of education in here and there. It’s so beneficial for those emerging brains to have such special opportunities to expand and develop. Our family went on several trips this year that were barely out of state, but our son’s teacher told us how lucky that makes our son. Trips expand their vocabularies, senses of geography, world experiences, and so much more than I’m even aware of. Hey, and we weren’t even trying!

I do, however, make a concerted effort to explain things to Peanut whenever he shows interest. When I started thinking about how our trips were great learning opportunities, I saw the lessons everywhere. I hope you too can use some of these tips for turning your next family trip into a learning experience extraordinaire!

1. Gym/Health Class

We did so much walking on our Mackinac Island trip, it’s incredible. The terrain was pretty varied too, so we had to huff and puff up and run down some steep hills. Peanut even went on a “run” with me one morning down a paved trail in Mackinaw City. Without even trying to, we are giving Peanut some Health education that is going to last his whole life. I’ve said it before on here, but Peanut will never have to seek out fitness later in life because we’ve always made it a natural part of life from the get-go. I think taking walking tours of the cities you visit is one of the best ways to turn a trip into health education. Or go swimming in your hotel’s pool, scout out local trails, rent kayaks, or participate in other active things. And if you like to pack your own food like we do, get your kids used to healthy foods.

Me and Peanut’s running route
Pretty Rainbow of Rental kayaks

2. Geography

Every trip ever is a great Geography lesson. Get out those maps and plot those points. By talking about the Great Lakes in Mackinaw City and looking at maps for The Museum of Science and Industry, we were helping our Peanut get a gauge for his world. Peanut already is showing some strong spatial intelligence–when he was two, he would point out places in different cities that we had only been to once! Since this is an advantage for him, I think the best thing we can do is build upon that skill. Use topography maps when you’re hiking and have your kids try to help you navigate your driving routes. Take a geocaching trip and let your kids help with the coordinates–there are caches everywhere! If you’re flying, get out those atlases and explain the trip to your children. Explain the geological aspects of the location while you’re at it. Limestone bluffs? It’s worth a chat.

3. Nature Studies

On our field trip last year, we had quite the tour guide for nature studies. We found owl pellets and bones and downed trees and all kinds of fantastic natural occurrences. In Mackinaw City, Peanut and I had a good chat about the structure and function of anthills. We are an outdoorsy kind of family anyhow (if you couldn’t tell), so we get excited to teach about birds, leaves, weather, food chains and on and on.

Giant hollow tree

Fungus
Wild turkey vulture
Amazing display of the life cycle of a butterfly at the Butterfly Museum

Just take a walk through a local nature preserve–or even a park! Go without any sort of agenda and you’re guaranteed to find teaching opportunities out there if you’re looking. Explain how turtles live, look at animal prints in the dirt, point out animal trails in the brush, and try to identify butterflies. Almost anything you can think of is a prime opportunity for teaching. If you don’t know much about those types of things, look them up! I had to do a little research on anthills before I could effectively explain them too.

duck eggs
A perfect nest found at a park near our house

Deer tracks near Crivitz

4. History

Almost everywhere you travel, you’ll find historical sites or markers that present great learning opportunities. We visited Heritage Village and several lighthouses near Mackinaw City. Just explaining the history of the lighthouses and one-room schoolhouses to Peanut was so thrilling. I vividly remember visiting my first one-room schoolhouse as a child, so I know that these types of experiences can have a lasting effect.

Morse Code Chart

Mackinac Island Memorial
Lighthouse Museum
Wigwam

5. Math

A kindergarten’s sense of math is much different than an 8th graders, however I think there are opportunities everywhere to teach them both. Peanut’s math involves shapes and counting. We play counting games when we’re in the car for long rides. We try to find every number from 1 to 9 on all the different signs we pass. We count deer we see in pastures, we try to find A/B patterns in artwork, we try to discuss time and things like that. An older child would learn well from trying to help the family organize a trip budget, estimate restaurant bills to the closest dollar, determine expected trip miles, or keep tabs on their own spending money.


Look at all those shapes to identify and things to count!

6. Cultural Studies

We had a really good time reading through the book about how people live on Mackinac Island year-round and how they get materials to build anything on the island. No vehicles are allowed on the island, so we learned that their garbage collection and delivery services are even done via horse and carriage. Many places you travel have opportunities to study different cultures, past or present, if you just pay attention. Sometimes the food offered where you are is an opportunity for cultural expansion. I mean, we learned all about mining culture when we were introduced to pasties.

7. Science

Some science is incorporated into the other subjects listed above. We had a few experiences this summer that were specifically science-related, such as at the Museum of Science and Industry. Their interactive family center is beyond adequate for a science lesson or 600! We explored weather, fires, gravity, light reflection, the color spectrum and human biology (dissecting eyeballs!!!) among so many other things. We also have EAA museum passes where we can explore easy physics principles and airplane dynamics. Just exploring the weather, water tides, moon phases, and animal habitats can expand your kids’ universes by the second. I fully intend for our annual Perseid picnic to get more and more in depth with astronomy as is appropriate for Peanut’s age.

Static Electricity
Full moon over a low tide
Insect museum
Sea Otter Habitat
8. Music
I just couldn’t resist this mini $20 guitar on our trip to Door County this spring. The kid gave me the most heart wrenching little doe eyes. Well, I put down a $20 and called it a great learning experience. He played us his own made-up songs around the campfire, which was perfect. Although he’s a little young to get the hang of playing the six-string yet (I tried!), we still bang out tunes, memorize verses and tap out rhythms with the best of them. In Kindergarten, the kids are learning the whole ta-ta-tee-tee-ta rhythm in music class. We can easily supplement his education at home or on the road by tapping out rhythms on our laps, learning a new Elvis song, or playing his Vacation Bible School CD over and over again, complete with all the hand gestures.
Wow, even just writing this post has gotten me excited! I hadn’t even thought of all these potential learning experiences until I started writing about them. I can’t wait to see what our next trip holds. We’re planning a short weekend getaway for Hubster’s birthday in November and I’m dreaming up a Wisconsin bird scavenger hunt in my head. I think Peanut will be thrilled to learn the names of some of his favorite birdies (and so will his mom:). 
I really love how all of these “lessons” are unlike those units in school that you just knew you would never use again in real life. These are real-life lessons that will carry on long throughout your children’s lives. Whether you’re hanging out in your own backyard or hightailing it across the country, think about ways you can turn your trips into learning experiences for your children. You might just learn a thing or two too yourself! And the lasting memories are beyond value!
What are some of the ways that you sneak a little teaching into your travels?

Annual Perseid Picnic

I like to be completely intentional about family traditions as much as possible. Some traditions happen by happy accident, but many of them take some thought and preparation. Before Peanut was even born, I thought about special, unconventional things that we could do together every year to form some deep-rooted traditions that will maybe even be passed off into the next generation.

Out of those personal brainstorms, the Perseid Picnic was born. How cool would it be to take my Peanut out well past his bedtime to watch a meteor shower every year? How cool would it be to have a midnight picnic at the same time? After that, I could think of nothing else. This was an amazing idea that I just couldn’t pass up. In fact, we tried it out officially during last year’s Perseid meteor shower and I could already tell then this was a winner.

So, Peanut, his cousin and I geared up for another year of star-gazing. We grabbed snacks, binoculars, and a picnic blanket and headed to as dark-yet-safe a spot as we could find. We propped our heads on a park bench and waited. Thing is, 5 and 6 year olds do not have a whole lot of patience for these types of things. We only last about 1/2-hour, but that’s ok. My nephew got to see a shooting star last year and Peanut got to see one this year, so I’m just happy that they’ve gotten to experience that thrill in a small way. I didn’t see my first shooting star until college! As they grow older, I’m sure we’ll explore this astral phenomenon in a bit more depth and be able to stay up a little later, make more of an event of this 🙂

Afterward, we went home and camped out in our little backyard tent. It rained, but we were protected by our big beautiful maple tree and the sloping hill we were perched on. We had such a fun time soaking in these final summer experiences before school starts. I truly hope that these special moments together create meaningful memories for my Peanut and his cousin and that one day they know just how much these little traditions mean.

What are your favorite family traditions?