Natural Mom Reviews

Not Back To School, a list of things to stop asking school aged children.

It's that time again- back to school time. As a mom of a just barely 5yo who will homeschool (for now at least), we've never been "off to school" so we can't exactly go "back to school" either. But for the most part, Teylor's friends are all starting back to school this week or next, and her papa works at a Charter School here, which brings us to that one question all adults seem inclined to ask any child that appears school-age: "have you started school yet?" 

Sometimes it's phrased as "where do you go to school?" or "is she in school?" but for the most part, it seems aimed at discerning if I as a parent am doing my part to ensure my child's success is as bright as it can be (because obviously we parents have to keep eachother in check on this matter), that I'm doing my apparent civic duty, and that my quiet child gets socialized properly because otherwise she will never be forced to act normally. Sometimes this question is aimed as a mere conversation starter with my daughter but for the life of me I don't know why- many, many children don't ENJOY school- it's seen as a responsibility, sure, or a requirement, (there are always exceptions), and it's not something most children choose for themselves, it's not even an institution most adults reflect fondly upon as their own experiences perhaps were difficult or scary or they were bullied. I can relate.

I just don't get it. Do adults have such difficulty interracting with younger children that the only thing they can think to ask them these days is about school? Is it all we remember of our own childhoods? For the most part, I would say yes, it defined many of us and shaped us dramatically. And yet it's not even like all schools are equally good or bad. And the only *wrong* answer I have ever heard to the back-to-school questions is ours: "we're homeschooling." 

Reply with an explanation of your homeschooling philosophies or just the simple statement above, and you're sure to be judged or receive blank stares. A neighbor mom even said to me yesterday when she asked if Teylor was starting school and I explained, happily, that we are homeschooling, "but why? is she not very bright?" At first I thought I had misunderstood her and then I was just too stunned to say anything else. And yet my own child is bright, and colorful, and happy- just quiet. She doesn't need to be sent to school so she can be broken of her bad habit of quietness, certainly, and she doesn't need to go to school to learn to read or write because she's taught herself those skills already. If and when we send her to school it will be because it's the right thing for us, and it will be a mutual decision. 

I'd like to make a list of the top things you should never ask school aged children. Will you help me? Leave your suggestions in the comments.

I will start with Number one: "are you in school?" because really, that just shows you're not even trying, and implies that you don't think kids do anything except school, which is just depressing. If they say "no," (which is what I've told Teylor she should start replying with) what are you going to do then? Hah! 

Number two for me is "can you read?" or "what's 2+2?" - why are you going around testing random children? If you want to be a teacher, go join Teach For America. 

Leave yours in the comments, and I will make a list in a few days with all your suggestions! 

Wordless Wednesday: Geocaching!

Thanks to the encouragement of a friend, we finally tried out Geocaching. We mostly just do kid-friendly caches (and we use our iphones!) so it is really a great (and free!) blast. It turns out they are everywhere here and we've even placed our own which was found within just a few hours! Have you tried Geocaching with your family? What was your experience if so, and what holds you back from trying if not? 

Kid Friendly Colorado Hikes: St.Mary's Glacier

 We love getting out together as a family and hiking. It's not something we ever really did much of before moving to Colorado, but we do plenty of it now.

One of our biggest challenges has been fiding hikes that are suitable for a 4yo and us as well. On that note, one of our absolute favorite hikes here is the hike up to St.Mary's Glacier, which is about an hour outside of Denver unless you run into significant traffic. It's considered an 'easy' hike, but it definitely winds us all every time we do it. The very first time we hiked here was about two weeks after we moved to the Denver area, and I have noticed that it does feel easier every time we go. 

This hike is realy only about a mile each way, but it is up the side of a very rocky mountain slope, so wear good hiking shoes and take a jacket because it's chilly at the top!

                                                                          (can you spot the 4yo?)

Kids will love scrambling over rocks and fallen trees on their way up, we like to let Teylor lead the way and explore as much as possible. I feel like it fosters independence and plus she always sees things I would miss! She cannot walk past a pretty flower without stopping to smell it, hear a rustling in the woods off the trail without stopping to investigate, and asks us to name every birdcall we hear. At the top of the hike is the glacier, which usually has skiiers and snowboarders playing around on it, and there will often be people jumping into the icy lake, which is too cold for my liking!

Do you have a favorite family friendly hike? Tell me about it in the comments below! If it's near us we will definitely check it out this summer. 

We Drew A Zoo!

We recently had a playdate with our sweet neighbor friend and the girls both wanted to do something a little different. Both of them are the same age and interested in colorful fun activities so I suggested we take out tub of toy animals and make a zoo.

We went to the zoo over the weekend, and our neighbors had been just about a week before (The Denver Zoo is huge and has an enormous selection of animals) so both girls were excited about the animals they'd met and viewed at their visit) which made this the perfect activity for them age wise and interest-wise.

This was also a wonderful opportunity for them to practice handwriting on their own terms, with a fun medium (hello sidewalk chalk!) and see what animals they knew (some of them were rather

difficult! 'Gazelle' tricked them up for sure). I also

let them sound out the names but they were free

to ask me if they were stumped.

The easiest was "ZOO" which they did with no help from me. There was also the tricky Leopard (I helped with spelling on that one!) as well as  'Penguin.' They had a lot of fun drawing in habitats for them, food, water, etc- and I even saw some geometry happening as they talked about making circle cages vs. squares and rectangles. I think this is a wonderful hands-on unschooling activity for any age.

My favorite 'habitat' that they came up with for Mr. Hippo: he simply got a 'puddle' of water in an otherwise dry desert. 

You could do this activity with aquariums, park trips, playground visits, and lots more. I think watching children make visual maps of things from their perspective is extremely fun and rewarding. What would your child like to map out?

10 Fun Sensory Mediums For Kids!

Teylor is a very sensory-based learner. She explores her environment hands-on in almost every way. This is a post to highlight ten fun sensory-oriented activities we do together for many reasons- to calm down, to learn, or just because it's fun!

Water Play! Yes it can be messy if you do it inside, but there's truly nothing that captures Teylor's attention quite like water. Swimming, splashing, playing with a spray bottle full of water, magical fizzing fairy puddle play, stomping in puddles in the rain, playing in a bucket of water. You can even freeze toys in a container with water and let them play with it until it melts, or give them a hammer and let them excavate. I could go on all day about the fun of water walls and water tables, but I won't :)

Dirt! It's no secret that most kids love the dirt, and unless you live on an iceberg, chances are it's free too. Teylor loves digging in the dirt with a shovel, growing her own small garden on our patio similar to this, if you have more room you could even make a mud kitchen. Dirt is also fun for making mud dribble houses, stomping in, and painting with!

Soap! Soap is fun for lots of things- bubbles being our favorite. Teylor loves wetting a surface outside and blowing bubbles right onto it. This allows kids to make extra large bubbles that won't float
away. You can also do this while playing in puddles which is super fun. Teylor likes me to blow bubbles on the wet driveway, and then she runs around stomping them like a giant sheet of bubble wrap. Soap is also great for wet felting, bubble baths, or letting kids scrub the sink! We like California Baby bubbles  which smell AMAZING -and make sure your little one doesn't get it in their eyes! Here's a great recipe we've used for bubbles when making them at home. 

Rocks! Rocks are another inexpensive or free sensory medium for kids that seem to truly enchant little ones. Clearly this activity is not safe for little ones who may put things in their mouths, but a bin full of pebbles like this will keep Teylor happy for hours. 

Wax! Wax play is a fun sensory activity because it takes a lot of patience and is wonderful for strengthenining hand muscles for writing and it's usually already something you have around the house. Furthermore, there are a lot of different things you can do with it! You can build wax sculptures, do wax resist painting, paint with crayons on warm river rocks, remelt old crayons into new ones, make your own candles together, dribble melted wax into pictures together, or use crayons and a candle warmer for some truly creative art.

Play Dough! Every child I know has a blast with play dough. Much of the fun can be in making it yourself. At Home With Ali has a ton of fun activities for kids to do with playdough including a fairy birthday party, or even a dog-park-world! We love Cloud Dough- which is simply oil+ flour mixed together like this from Dirt& Boogers. The nice thing about play dough is you can follow your child's interests and help them explore things they love (Teylor is very into foxes right now- she has been enjoying making play-dough burrows and putting her toy foxes into them). If scented play dough is your thing, Frogs, Snails& Puppy Dog Tails has a post on making apple-cinnamon play dough here. And what sensory post would be complete without slime? I'm not sure I'm brave enough to make this slime basket shown over at Growing a Jewled Rose, but some kids would love this!

Shaving Cream! Shaving cream is fun because if feels nice. For more sensitive children I think Shaving Cream play is a fabulous, enthralling activity. Teylor loves playing with it in the tub or on the counter with her mini animals as snow, and I like helping her practice letters in it. You can use it to make marbled paper and it's a fun activity to move outside if you have the space, or to make 'fluffy stuff' and it's super lovely when you add colors/ paint, as this Magical Childhood post shows! 

Paper- Where to start? You can of course make your own paper (very fun, kids love squishing the 'pulp'), tear it, shred it by tearing, hole punch it into confetti, mod podge with it, do paper mache, make seed bombs (bonus points if you use the birdseed from above :)!

Birdseed! I prefer the use of birdseed for sensory play over the use of rice and beans, because when
your child is done playing with it it doesn't have to be wasted. Most families don't want to eat rice or beans after their child has scooped, poured, dug, smashed, and gunked it up, but birdseed can still be fed to birds. Plus it feels nice running through your hands, is fun for crafts,  sorting, and any that falls on the ground will be happily cleaned up by your resident birds& squirrels or it may even sprout!

 

What are your favorite sensory mediums for kids? Add them in the comments or link to your favorite posts too!

Our New Neighbors

We live in a fun neighborhood right outside of Denver and we have some new neighbors! A family of foxes has a burrow right across the street from our apartment. We like to sit on our patio and watch them frolic. There are two (fairly large) kits and two adults. Typically from what I've read, the male fox leaves the female fox once the kits are able to start hunting on their own, but this family seems to be pretty content.

Wordless Wednesday May1st: More Snow

That'll do, Denver, that'll do.  Ps: Thank goodness for these cozy Obermeyer Snow Pants I swore Teylor wouldn't need (before we moved to the arctic circle Denver) that will last at least another season since they're extendable. *Shakes head at naivete of former self.*

Nature Table

Around the time of the winter solstice this year, I began a small nature space inside for Rocky to enjoy. It was very small at first, a few pebbles, a leaf. Now that spring has slipped around to our part of the world, we are outside more and therefore when we are inside, we tend to bring the outdoors with us.

Besides the nearly constant open doors that allow the outside and inside to merge, we have a beautiful little collection of touch-and-feel nature items where little berry can stop&touch, pat, smell, admire, be creative and even sometimes, sing.

I will admit I was hesitant at first because I assumed it would be pretty messy, but I've enjoyed it. It tends to calm her down when she's acting wired or anxious and has her looking at her world closet when we're out and about, thinking about things that she can bring to the little space.

I also love that it tends to present an opportunity to learn about seasons, animals, plants, insects and weather all at once. We're also not a religious family so our table conversation is always science-based, but nature is a very important part of our life and lifestyle. 

Does your family do a nature table? What items generally find their way inside in your little one's scrunched up fist or pockets?