Gone Fishing

Gone Fishing

Belinda @ Kids Matter

Just because summer is winding down, doesn’t mean that the beautiful, enchanting Kentucky state parks are closing! What if you didn’t have the opportunity to get away for a summer vacation? How about a nice relaxing weekend in one of the parks’ cabins or lodges? To find a state park near you just click on this link: Find a KY State Park. Even if you can only spare a few hours, there is plenty to explore in the parks. Maybe you just want to take a couple of hours; listen to some great music or go for a hike through the woods. There is something for everyone! Relax, kick back, and enjoy a bonfire at one of the park campgrounds. Savor those last few minutes of some smoky barbecue on the grill. Get acquainted with the creepy crawlies on the hiking trails. Are you into scrapbooking? Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park even has a scrapbooking weekend planned. Make a pledge to yourself, and your family, to go “unplugged” for a weekend! No phones or computers… hang a shingle on your life that simply reads, “Gone fishing”.

For a complete listing of all events please visit the Kentucky State Parks website. Here are some of the highlights:

·       Labor Day Celebration: Aug 29 - Sep 1, 2014 Levi Jackson Wilderness Road State Park 

·       Fraley Festival of Traditional Music: Sep 3 - Sep 6, 2014 8:00 P.M. - 11:00 P.M. Carter Caves State Resort Park

·       Summer 2014 Concert in the Park Series: Sep 05, 2014 6:00 P.M. - 9:00 P.M. Rough River Dam State Resort Park

·       2nd Friday Bluegrass Jam: Sep 12, 2014 6:00 P.M. - 11:00 P.M. Rough River Dam State Resort Park 

·       Fall Camper's Yard Sale: Sep 12 - Sep 13, 2014 8:00 A.M. - 8:00 P.M. Fort Boonesborough State Park

·       Scrapbooking Weekend: Sep 12 - Sep 14, 2014 Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park

·       Monarch Butterfly Migration Mysteries: Sep 13, 2014 8:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M. John James Audubon State Park

·       Jam Session: Sep 16, 2014 6:30 P.M. - 8:00 P.M. Blue Licks Battlefield State Resort Park

·       Autumn Weekend: Sep 19 - Sep 21, 2014 8:00 A.M. - 8:00 P.M. Fort Boonesborough State Park 

·       Trashmaster's Classic: Sep 20, 2014 8:00 A.M. - 3:00 P.M. Barren River Lake State Resort Park

·       Backyard Concert Series: Sep 20, 2014 7:00 P.M. - 9:00 P.M. General Butler State Resort Park

·       Monarch Butterfly Migration Mysteries: Sep 20, 2014 8:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M. John James Audubon State Park

·       Western Kentucky State Parks Race Series- Run through the Forest 5K Run/Fun Walk: Sep 20, 2014 8:00 A.M. Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park

·       Elk Viewing Tour: Sep 21, 2014 5:30 A.M. - Noon Jenny Wiley State Resort Park

·       Why I Love the Old Mulkey Meetinghouse State Historic Site: Sep 24 - Sep 28, 2014 10:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. Old Mulkey State Historic Site

·       Halloween Lights Drive Thru: Sep 26 - Oct 25, 2014 8:00 A.M. - 8:00 P.M. Fort Boonesborough State Park 

·       Great Outdoors Weekend: Sep 27, 2014 Noon - 4:00 P.M. Big Bone Lick State Historic Site

·       Tygart Gorge and Arches Hike: Sep 27, 2014 9:30 A.M. - 3:30 P.M. Carter Caves State Resort Park 

·       Trails and Trenches Preservation Day: Sep 27, 2014 9:00 A.M. - Noon Columbus-Belmont State Park

·       Natural Bridge Trail Trek Series: Sep 27, 2014 9:00 A.M. - 2:00 P.M. Natural Bridge State Resort Park 

·       The 1778 Siege of Boonesborough: Sep 27 - Sep 28, 2014 9:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. Fort Boonesborough State Park

·       Great Outdoors Weekend: Sep 28, 2014 Noon - 4:00 P.M. Big Bone Lick State Historic Site 

Happy September to you and your wonderful families from Kids Matter!!

“Let’s PLAY!”

“Let’s PLAY!”

By: BA @ Kids Matter

I lived in a small town when I was growing up; in a quiet neighborhood where everyone knew each other. We moved to that neighborhood when I was about four years old, and lived there until the summer of my senior year in high school. It was a nice, new, white house with a big yard, driveway to ride my bike, and roller skate. There were kids to play with… and summertime was just the best.

In those days,  school got out at the beginning of June and did not go back into session until the day after Labor Day. Ah, those were the days, my friend. If you have never had the opportunity to have a summer break for that long you have really missed out on something great. Summers would stretch out in front of us like a long and winding road. It was the days of sleeping in, eating breakfast late, watching “Howdy Doody” and “Uncle Al” then hitting the great outdoors for endless hours of pure enjoyment, fantasy, and magic. I had to be  practically dragged in for lunch and supper. Often, my mother would let me eat lunch on the front porch. I couldn’t stand to miss a moment of what was happening outside!

Play was the name of the game!  My best friend lived down the street and we literally spent every waking minute together. I walked to her house or she walked to mine.. And, we were followed everywhere by our pets.  I had a beagle named Missy and she had a little bulldog named Skipper.

 At my house, we played dolls and each of us had a “house” on either side of the front porch.  We had tea parties and dressed up in our mother’s (donated) high heels, jewelry, and dresses.  If we played bride then sheer curtains were our dress and veil. We also played with our doll houses under the big tree in the front yard. Sometimes we were allowed to play in the sprinkler and would laugh and squeal as the cold water sprayed us.

 She lived on a farm (yes, there was one in town) and at her house we spent hours riding our bicycles up and down the long driveway, making a playhouse out of the chicken coop, looking for little fish in the stream that ran through the property, climbing trees, and putting on  talent shows on the loading chute.  We also mastered walking along the top rail of the horse fence surrounding the property.

At night, we played hide and seek and hunted lightening bugs. We walked the railroad tracks that ran through our neighborhood. Our mother’s didn’t worry about us because if we did anything wrong, a neighbor would be there to reprimand and then tell our parents! Neighbors were also there to lend a hand if we got hurt or when we needed someone to talk to. I was an only child and my friend had two sisters and a brother.  It seemed like one huge family. It was a great time to be a kid! 

We each had to be home by 10:00 p.m. to wash up and go to bed. There was no such thing as air conditioning so it was shorty pajamas and a black metal fan to cool me on those long hot nights. I would drift off listening to the sound of that fan. I never remember being uncomfortable (probably because I was so tired from playing all day). 

As we grew older our playtime changed; boys became part of our growing circle of friends. We played wiffle ball and had endless tournaments. We challenged kids from other neighborhoods to play against us.  At night we would play badminton, or my all-time favorite, croquette. We were allowed to walk to the library and stop for ice cream at the “ten cent store”. If it was a rainy day, we would meet on my friend’s covered front porch and play board games.  Anyone who came by would stop and play. 

Soon we became interested in those boys that we had been playing with for years.  They magically started to look different in our eyes and we developed secret crushes on a new boy every week. We walked to the local movie theater. The boys sat behind us and would later follow us to the drug store for a coke. We spent Saturday mornings at the local bowling alley.  The boys were there, too.  We went to the local pool and sure enough, those boys would show up and show off. If there was a slumber party, you could bet that boys would be hiding outside and tapping on the window until someone’s mother caught them and sent them running home.  Being a “tween” in the summer was so much fun. It was all so sweet and innocent. It was all so easy and peaceful.   

My friend and I shared many, many, many summers together… many good times that we will never forget. When we entered high school we each had different activities. She was a cheerleader and I was a color guard in the band.  Our friends grew to include lots and lots of other people and we slowly began to drift apart. Her life went one way and mine went another. The funny thing about it is that we are still friends, even though we rarely see each other. The impact we had on each other as we were growing up is still with us. We shared so much together back then… and now we have those fond memories to share. We could probably pick up right where we left off. I know we could.

Now that’s an idea… “Hey Carolyn, grab your dollhouse and come on over. I have a big tree in my backyard. Let’s PLAY!!”

May to August Educational Bridge

“Woo-hoo, schools out!” A time for cheer and adventure, but also a time for “what they don’t know won’t hurt them”. Sneaking in a little learning won’t hurt them. Learning should not stop just because the school doors close for a few months. A child’s mind needs constant “food” to grow. As parents, we need to figure out ways to keep the child learning without making it seem as if they were swooped from one school into another. Sometimes, when faced with a task such as this, parents become unnerved and don’t know where to start. The task becomes work when it should not. The main thing we need to remember is keep it simple and fun.

·         Read a favorite childhood book – My son had a “very favorite book in the whole wide world.” It was Fox and the Hound. I have discovered while reading this book to his son that I can interject stories of my reading it to his Dad. He loves knowing he is doing something that his Daddy loves and it brings excitement to an already fun-filled book.

·         Have a book themed event – Let’s say you want to pull out the old classic, Cinderella. Oh, what a wonderful theme for a day that could be and how exciting for the child. Have the child pick a character from the book that they would like to be. Don’t automatically assume the child will pick Cinderella. The mice in the story add a lot of enthusiasm and adventure. Now the fun begins: you can play dress-up, create masks, eat cheese, grow a pumpkin, or even do chores like Cinderella. Your book themed day is only limited by your imagination, so think fun and exciting.

·         On the road word search – Learning is not only limited to a brick and mortar foundation, but also can be a traveling school on wheels. Take your education to the road on that trip to the grocery store. Choose a word to search for on the way. How about the word “sale” for starters. This activity inspires the child to read every day words they see in the community. The child will be reading signs all over town in order to find the word “sale”. You make the rules of the game. One possibility would be to see how many times the word could be found and the winner gets a small prize. Another possibility could be to choose another word after “sale” has been found. The trick is to keep them reading.

What tricks do you have for keeping your child learning and bridging the gap from May to August?

Belinda @ Kids Matter

Water Safety

Since we are in the heat of summer and pools are open for business, I thought this would be a good time to go over some basic water safety rules.

1) The most important rule for a child to know around water is that they cannot get in the water without permission from an adult. When my son started swimming lessons, the beginning of every lesson started with him looking me in the eye and saying, “May I get in the water?” He had to look me in the eye for my answer of yes or no.

2) All toys are to be removed from the pool and pool area when the child is not in the pool. If toys are near a pool, they can be very tempting for a child.

3) Be sure that all pools have barriers around them that are gated with a self-latching lock and at least 4 feet tall.

4) Set ground rules for pool limits based on each person’s ability. Enforce those rules without fail.

5) It is never okay to leave a child unattended around water. It may seem overly strict, but it only takes a very small amount of water for a child to drown. Better to play it safe!

6) Put away the cell phone or any other distractions around water. Your child deserves 100% of your attention.

7) Buddy up! Be sure that your child always has a buddy when she is in the water.

8) Never dive into shallow or unknown depths of water. If you are unsure, always go in feet first for safety.

9) Be sure there is always someone nearby who is certified in CPR.

Be safe around the water and enjoy the summer.

Angie @ Kids Matter

Monday Meanderings - Road Trip

Summer brings out the scariest of words for parents: Road Trip! Before we were parents, road trips were lots of fun. Now that we are parents, road trips can be torture! Have you ever been in a car on a 2 hour trip with a 5 year old that asks you every 5 minutes, "Are we there yet?" Or even worse, one that says "I need to potty" every 10 miles. It is stressful!

Here are some great ideas to keep the kids attention on your next family drive.

Prepared Not Scared has an amazing assortment of printables for road trips, from I spy to Slug Bug.

Next we have Finley and Oliver with a very cool LEGO travel box. I love this and think there are many different sized boxes you could use to change up the size.

My Kind of Makeover shows you how to make a cheap cookie tray into a travel magnetic board. The best part of this (other than being cheap)? She also has lots of magnetic activities.
Such as: magnetic crayons; magnetic stickers; and magnetic puzzles.

These should be a good start. Have a safe trip!

Monday Meanderings - Frugal Summer Fun

Well, it is early May and the kids are already excited about Summer Vacations! I thought this would be a great time to start scouring the Internet to find some frugal family fun for Summer.

If you have not see this yet, you should get started now! Have you seen the Summer Bucket Lists? I love them! The entire family sits down together and thinks of things they want to do over the Summer. The list can be a wide list of items like: Find a new park; Sleep in a tent in the backyard; Summer reading; a Camp of your choice; Swimming; Wiener Roasts; Water balloons and on and on. Here is a link to Little Wonders' Days. She is having a linky party for Summer Bucket Lists and there are tons of ideas for activities to do, how to decorate your lists and your buckets. Check it out!

Parents Magazine has a fun summer games that only requires kids, pool noodles, balloons and laundry baskets. It looks like fun and I am pretty sure we will give it a whirl this Summer.

Next we have Filth Wizardry with a Tin Foil River. I love this idea and can not wait to do this. I need to start looking for some cool boats and fish to use in this.

While your are home and the kids are complaining that they are bored, why not challenge them to a bubble contest? Who can make the biggest bubble? Check out Design Dazzle for the top secret tips on making your bubble solution and your bubble wands.

We will be back soon with more great links! Get out there and enjoy the weather with your kids!

Summer Safety - Water

Let's Talk Swimming By: Amanda Miller

With Summer comes hot weather. With hot weather comes swimming pools, lakes and other bodies of water. Have your kids had swim lessons yet? These days you can start with infants, getting them used to water. I went to the CDC's website and found these startling statistics:

In 2007, there were 3443 fatal unintentional (non-boating) drownings in the United States. This averages 10 deaths per day!

More than 1 in 5 of these fatal drownings were of children 14 years of age and younger. For every child who died from drowning, another 4 children received emergency room care for non fatal submersion injuries.

 Children ages 1 to 4 have the highest drowning rates. In 2007, among children 1 to 4 years old who died from an unintentional injury, almost 30% died from drowning. Fatal drowning remains the second-leading cause of unintentional injury-related death for children ages 1 to 14 years.

Nearly 80% of people who die from drowning are male.

Participation in formal swimming lessons can reduce the risk of drowning by 88% among children aged 1 to 4 years.

Seconds count. CPR performed by bystanders has been shown to improve outcomes in drowning victims. The more quickly intervention occurs, the better change of improved outcomes.

I know that these statistics are frightening and it is not my intention to scare you into keeping your children away from water. Be sure your kids can swim. Sign them up for a quality swim class; if the skills are not mastered yet, be sure they wear a life jacket in and around water; be sure there is always a responsible adult watching kids around water and be sure the adult knows CPR.

Enjoy your summer this year and every year to come!

Monday Meanderings - Nature

Last week we started touching on getting kids out in nature. This week I am including links to gardening with kids. We grow a variety of plants and my son loves it! I can also get him to try more vegetables, if he has a hand in growing them and picking them.

The Micro Gardener has a great story about a "Jack and the Beanstalk" themed garden. My son loved green beans, then he hated green beans and after eating some raw, straight from the garden, he is back to loving green beans. Give this a try!

What is that? You say that you have no space for a garden? Nonsense! Here is a great garden that Life on the Balcony made from a pallet! I love this, it takes up almost no space and is sitting on an apartment balcony.

Planet Pals has a great list of recyclable seedling containers. I love the eggshells! You could then plant the eggshells directly into the ground when the seedlings are ready to be transplanted. As I am putting the eggshells in the ground, I would probably crack the bottoms a little to give the roots a start on working their way out. While you are on their website, be sure to check out all the great recycling ideas.

I was on HGTV's website recently and saw this great pizza garden. This is a pretty large garden, but you could also do this in a big round oak barrel. It is rare for a child to not like pizza, so this is almost always a home run!

Teach your kids how to garden!

Monday Meanderings - April Showers

Well, April has finally arrived and with the coming of April, we welcome in flowers and sunshine. Do you garden at your home? I have found numerous projects that you can do with your kids to get them out in nature. In order to appreciate nature, a child has to be involved in nature. Here are some projects to get you started.

First up is Burgh Baby with an absolutely adorable Fairy Garden. I spent a summer working in a garden center and the owner made lots of fairy gardens and even offered classes for kids. It is pretty easy. You can find a container, or just a section of your yard. Then you can build your houses, or buy small birdhouses. I have even made fairy houses out of the small single serving milk containers. Decorate any way you want, and then go to the garden center and buy small plants. I love the way Burgh Baby glued pennies on the roof of her fairy home, for good luck. I also love her fairy swing in the tree! This is a great activity for kids to scour your yard for fairy goodies like pieces of bark, twigs, twine, seashells and so much more.

Do your kids love to water the plants? My son does, but sometimes he drowns delicate plants with the force of the water hose. Need a solution? Try out the Thumb Waterer from Fun in the Making. This can be made from recycled containers (be sure to clean them well first). You can even offer up a history lesson!

Seasonal Gnome made a beautiful garden loom. This is not only great for getting outside with nature but can really encourage fine motor skill with the weaving of items into the loom. It is also inexpensive since you scavenge the wood and then you just need twine.

My favorite is this post from Artful Adventures. Have you heard of Land Art? It is amazing. You go outside, round up some of your favorite items like leaves, blossoms, stems, rocks, etc. and then you arrange them into art. I love this fish scene. I have been on hikes before and you suddenly stumble upon a Land Art project that someone created and left. It is shocking and beautiful. Get outside and create some Land Art with your kids!

Get outside and enjoy the weather with your family! Our next Monday Meanderings will again involve getting outside with your kids.

Smelly Flowers

I have seen examples all over blogland where people have used the bottom of a water bottle as a stamp for painting. We decided to do this but we took it a little further.

This week when we went to visit some family there was a neighbor that had planted some sunflowers that are now over 10 feet tall! Needless to say, my son was quite impressed with these giant plants.

So we decided to create some smelly sunflower paintings.

Supplies:
Empty water bottle
paint
paper
glue
coffee grounds

We stamped several sunflowers with the bottle and yellow paint. Next we went back and used our finger dipped in green paint to make the flower stems and leaves.

Lastly, we put a bit of glue in the middle of the sunflower and sprinkled coffee grounds on the glue.

Solar S'mores

Since it has been so hot here we decided to get some use from all that sunshine. We made Solar S'mores!

Supplies:
Box
Aluminum Foil
Plastic Wrap
Graham Crackers
Chocolate Bar
Marshmallows

Line the interior of your box with foil. Lay the graham crackers on the foil and layer the chocolate and marshmallows on top. Cover the box with a piece of plastic wrap to keep bugs and dirt off of your snack. Set the box in a sunny area until your S'mores are ready.

Yummy! Sunshine makes delicious treats.

Monday Meanderings - Keeping Cool

I am not sure where you are, but here in KY the weather has been hot and humid! That means we need to find ways to keep cool so I thought I would go on a search to see how others are keeping cool this summer.

First we need a yummy dessert that does not require turning on the oven. Teaching with TLC really delivers with her amazing Ice Cream Cake. Doesn't it look delicious?

As much as would love to just eat dessert, I need some other nutrition too. Here is the  Katie Brown Blog with some great no cook recipes. I want to try the Gazpacho with Goat Cheese recipe that she links to from Real Simple Magazine. It looks delicious and the Farmer's Markets are bursting with fresh tomatoes!

If it is too hot to go outside where you are maybe you could do some of these activities.

The Line Game - Each person gets a piece of paper and they each draw a line on a piece of paper. It can be any kind of line: straight, angled, curvy or any other shape. Once the line is drawn, everyone switches paper. You now have to make a drawing from each other's line drawing. It is always fun to see what one person can make from another person's beginning.

Another great activity is Mad Libs. No need to always have the Mad Lib books, you can also make up your own stories. For Example:
Storyteller: There once was an animal. What kind of animal?
1st child: A Kangaroo!
Storyteller: There once was a kangaroo named_________.
2nd child: Star!
Storyteller: There once was a kangaroo named Star. Star liked to __________.
1st child: Wear socks!
Storyteller: There once was a kangaroo named Star. Star liked to wear socks.

The story can go on and on. You can also ask the kids to tell you the story. Once it gets some length to it (4-5 lines) ask them to repeat it to you. This will be fun and it will work on their attention and recall skills.

If you can go outside, try some of these ideas.

Come Together Kids Blog has a great Bubble Refill Station. The kids just go over and put more bubble solution in their containers. No worries! They also include a bubble mix to make at home.

Build a Kidwash! The kids can go through on foot or on bike. Keep cool is the name of the game. This post came from Discontinuity on Indestrucables.

Keep cool in this hot and humid weather!

Water Bombs

With Summer officially here, things are really starting to heat up. I love the pool but after a long day at work I do not always feel like driving to the pool and we don't have a pool in the back yard so what is a Mom to do? Get creative!

I made water bombs for us to play with and we have used them almost daily since.

Supplies:
Scissors
Sponges (2 or 3 per bomb)
Cable ties

If you are using a large sponge (5 inch or so) you will only need 2 sponges per bomb. If you are using smaller sponges, you may want three sponges. Cut each sponge into thirds (larger sizes) or fourths (smaller sizes) and then stack them in layers. See picture for explanation.

Put a cable tie under the sponges and pull tight. Once you have it pulled all the way, trim off the excess.

Now squeeze, squish and soak your water bombs. Do not aim for the face and be sure to play nice!

Tuesday Teachings - Sensory Bins

If you have spent any time looking online at parent or teacher blogs then you know that themed sensory bins are a huge phenomenon! I love them and would love to personally play in several of them. There are some amazing and creative people out there that are designing these sensory bins.

Sensory bins are great for extending a theme in your classroom or home. There are three types of learners:
Auditory - meaning that you learn through listening. Verbal lectures, discussions and listening to what others have to say are the most beneficial for this type of learner. Auditory listeners are great at picking up the meaning of the speaker through listening to the tone and pitch of the lecture.
Visual - meaning that they need to see something to learn it. Visual learners not only need videos, flip charts, illustrations and diagrams but they also learn through the body and facial expressions of the speaker.
Kinesthetic - meaning they need a more hands on approach for learning. These learners typically have a hard time sitting still for long periods listening to lectures. They need to see, feel, and touch items to process. They need to move around to learn.

All learning styles can benefit from sensory bins but a Kinesthetic learner will really prosper with a sensory bin.

I have scoured the web looking for some of my favorite summer themed sensory bins and have included links below.

First, I have to include Counting Coconuts Blog. She has some amazing bins and does one each month for her son.

Weather Bin

Ice Cream Bin

Beach Sensory Bin

Garden Sensory Bin

Some other sources for Sensory Bins:



Ocean Sensory Bin from The Picky Apple

Camping Sensory Bin from Jada Roo Can Do

Pond Sensory Bin from Jada Roo Can Do

Lagoon Sensory Bin from Lightning Bug Lit

As you can see, there are some very creative bins out there. I will give you a few pointers though:

1) Make sure everything is age appropriate. If your child stills put everything in her mouth, be vigilant about the items you put in the bin.

2) Put cups, spoons, scoops or other items in the bins to let your child practice those skills.

3) Be prepared. Yes, it can get messy but we put down a cheap vinyl tablecloth and put the bin on top of that.

4) If you are afraid of huge messes, use some of the bins strictly outdoors.

5) It does not have to be expensive. Buy bins at the dollar store and supplies at the dollar store, goodwill, thrift stores or dollar spot at Target.

Read this article from Counting Coconuts about her FAQ on sensory bins. Have more questions? Post them below and we will answer them as soon as possible.