“Do you have any recommendations on how to make being in nature more sciency?” a friend texted me.
green kids
When Gardens Teach Your Kids About Failure
Parenting Sustainability Strategies
How a Beaver Demonstrated the Value of Slowing Down
“Come over here!” my husband called to me and my younger son as we dawdled down the trail.
“What?” I yelled back, squinting at him and my older son.
“Just come look!” he said.
The Power of a Bike Ride
“You can do it! You’re almost at the top!” I screamed as I huffed and puffed my way up a huge hill, following my five-year-old on his bike. A cookie stand with fresh-baked treats awaited us at the top. But first we had to get there.
A Boy and His Worm
“We have to tell my dad he can’t buy those worms,” I told my husband, panic rising in my voice.
As we were on the way to a fishing trip, this was a major problem. New plan – obtain white bread for our hooks instead of night crawlers. No worms would be harmed in this outdoors experience.
Normally, my kids are fine with the more gruesome parts of the “circle of life.” They know where meat comes from and we’ve seen deer hit by cars and trains. Worms shouldn’t be a problem.
But this was different.
How To Be A One Car Family
“How close is this house to the bus stop?” I asked the realtor as we looked for our house. While that’s not a typical question, it was essential for us. That’s because we only have one car.
People claimed that we’d have to buy a second car once we had kids – especially living in the suburbs. But even after having a second kid, we’ve managed to get by quite happily as a one-car family. It’s even possible to be a zero-car family – one of my friends has four kids and doesn’t own a car! Even if you own a second car now, you may want to consider not buying another one when you retire it. According to AAA, the average family spends $8,500 per car each year on payments, insurance, and gas.
If you’re going to make the leap – or just use the second car less – here’s what to consider:
How to Save and Use Seeds from the Garden With Kids
Two huge sunflowers rose out of my children’s garden, their once yellow faces bending down towards the Earth. Holding a serrated knife, I wondered how on Earth I was going to get their seeds out. But I had promised my kids sunflower seeds and sunflower seeds were what I was going to deliver.
Despite my conundrum, saving and using seeds from your garden (or even farmer’s market purchased produce), isn’t that complicated. It’s a great activity to do with kids that you can use to illustrate the life cycle of plants and teach them how to use as much of the plant as possible. It also minimizes reliance on store bought seeds for your garden. After you’ve harvested the seeds, you can save them for next year’s garden, feed them to wildlife, or even cook them off and eat them yourself.
If you’re interested in saving seeds, here are the main steps:
How to Bring Kids on Public Transportation
Want to reduce your car use or get around a big city with your family? Be sure to learn what you need to know to bring kids on public transportation.
The train doors closed right in my five-year-old son’s face. He was on one side; his grandparents were on the other. They were not reopening.
Thankfully, my husband was next to my son on the other side of the doors. They got on the next train and all was well.
While this incident was frustrating, it’s definitely not stopped us from riding transit. We’re a one-car family and driving in the Washington D.C. area is dreadful. Riding the train and bus are second nature to my kids.
In fact, riding transit can be great for families. It’s a good option if you want to cut back on driving in your own area or just try something different. If you’re traveling, it’s the only good option in many cities with heavy traffic like New York City and D.C. Riding public transit can also be an adventure!
To avoid the problems we faced, it’s keep a few things in mind:
How to Garden Round the Seasons
My beans have wilted, either from the slugs slurping on them or the sun beating down on them. Random holes in my garden are a testament to the birds digging for worms. The squash leaves are full of nibbles. Every year around late spring, I begin to despair about my garden.
Yet every late summer and fall, we have produce fresh from the backyard. (Sometimes bountiful, sometimes less so.) At the end of every year, I find growing my garden worthwhile. It brings our food miles down to zero, ensures my food is totally organic, stores carbon in the soil, creates habitat for animals, and is a wonderful way to bond with my kids.
But how do we go from those spring days to the (semi)-successful harvests? The whole process starts in the winter.