I love seeing things through the eyes of children. They have such a different view on the world than most adults do. I went on a field trip with my son today to a nature preserve. I love that my schedule lets me do things like that.
It’s fun to be able to join my son with his classmates, and to see the world through their eyes. They find beauty in the simplest things. One of the little girls in our group had some rocks in her hand and she asked me if I’d like to take a look at them.

When …read more

We decided to take an end of summer trip to the lake last week. It was the last week before my son returns to school, so we decided we needed to have a little end of summer family fun. The weather didn’t always cooperate, but we still had a good time.
My husband and my son did a little fishing between the rain showers.

We also got to have a couple campfires, by storing some wood inside so it stayed dry. We had a blast making s’mores, and pizza pies over the open fire.

On the last day the sun decided to peek …read more

Amusement parks can be great family fun, especially during the summer. With the tighter economy an amusement park visit can be part of a shorter vacation, or a family staycation. You usually don’t have to go far to find family fun at an amusement park.
We have several parks here in Ohio, including a couple giants, King’s Island, and Cedar Point. Most amusement parks offer discounted tickets if you look around. You can find even better deals toward the end of the summer.
Here are a few more tips for saving money at an amusement park:

You can pack your lunch or …read more

My son went to his last summer nature camp this week, it was on lizards and amphibians. Today was parents day so I got to go with him to see what he learned about. This camp was in a new nature preserve that he hasn’t been to before, so it was fun to explore and check out all the cool things Mother Nature had to offer.
We had to find lizards and amphibians, both real ones, and some characters dressed up to be amphibians and lizards. We had a good time asking questions and learning more about these fascinating creatures.
Here’s a …read more

My son went to a kids survival camp this week, it ended today with a parents day, where the parents were able to come see what the kids accomplished this week. It was a rainy week, and one day was a complete rain out. Many of the groups still managed to build a impressive shelters.
This was the most impressive shelter.
My son and his friend had to rebuild theirs a couple times when the rain washed it away.
After the parents checked out the shelters the kids had a blast destroying them, and scattering the twigs and brush around the woods where …read more

I knew Cornhole was a popular game for adults, but I didn’t know the kids would like it until we went to a party recently, and watched the kids play. Most of the kids were even better at it than the adults! They knew the rules, and knew just how to throw the corn bags to make them land on top of the boxes.
If you’re not familiar with Cornhole, it’s a homemade game with a box with a hole in it, and bean bags (actually corn bags) that you toss and try to get into the hole, or get them …read more

We just got back from a week at the beach on Topsail Island in North Carolina. The house we rented for the week was right on the ocean, so we spent most of our days on the beach. We had plenty of the typical sand toys, and built our share of sand castles.

Some great toys and games to take to the beach include:

Baseballs and gloves to play catch.
A football or Frisbee to toss.
There’s a great breeze coming off the ocean for kites.
Horseshoes
A volleyball net and ball will entertain the grown ups and the kids.
The boys also had a blast with …read more

I’ve been writing about bugs lately, because summer, kids, and bugs go together. Getting out in the back yard, or going to the park to catch bugs can be a great learning experience for kids, and a ton of fun. So today I have the Bug Bottle.
The Bug Bottle is like a miniature bug observatory for kids. They can catch a bug, and watch it in the Bug Bottle then release it back to it’s natural habitat. While they have the bug they can look it up in a bug guide or the Bug Book included with the Bug Bottle …read more

If you’re looking for something fun and educational to do with your children this summer, why not head for your local park, or out to the back yard for a bug scavenger hunt.
Most kids love creepy crawlies, take along a bug guide to help you identify the bugs you find.
My son and I went on a bug hunt earlier today. It was the end of a week long “bug camp” for my son. We had a great time finding all the bugs on the list, so I thought I’d share so you can plan your own bug hunt.
Here’s the bug …read more

Did you know you can play laser tag in your own back yard? My nephews got a set of laser tag guns for Christmas and the kids (both big and small) have a blast with them. In fact my nephews had a birthday this weekend and they had a laser tag party.
They have a couple friends with laser tag guns and invited them over to play on teams of three or four. The kids had a great time hiding behind trees, the house, and the barns to sneak up on each other.
The laser tag guns they used are made by …read more