nature kid

The Good, Bad and Ridiculous of Camping with Little Kids

/ Shannon Brescher Shea / Leave a comment

Want to go camping with little kids but not sure how it will go? Learn from our experiences of camping with a one and four-year-old!

The Good, Bad and Ridiculous of Camping with Two Little Kids (Photo: Camping tent with toy recycling truck next to it)

Feeling the thump thump thump of a four-year-old’s kicking feet against my back and the cries of the one-year-old who did not want to be in the car any longer, I thought, “What the hell was I thinking trying to go camping with two kids?” We were still 45 minutes from our site and things were going very badly.

It had been almost two years since we had gone camping with our older son (nicknamed Sprout). It was the first time we went camping both him and his younger brother together. Even though the times with Sprout were chaotic, I felt like there was a genuine magic that makes all of the other nonsense worthwhile.

That magic eventually turned up on this trip as well. Fortunately, a couple of potty breaks and some whining later, I realized our camping trip turned out a hell of a lot better than I expected it would. Looking back reminds me of some of the questions we discuss with Sprout at bedtime: “What were your favorite things?” “What were you proud of?” and “What did you learn?” Here’s what the good, bad, and definite lessons learned were of camping with little kids.

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The Truth about Gardening with Kids and Children

/ Shannon Brescher Shea / 5 Comments
The Truth about Gardening with Kids and Children - yes, all of these things will happen! (Photo: Pepper plant in garden surrounded by straw)

“Nononono,” I cry, sprinting over to Little Bird. He looks up, one dirty, guilty hand still at his mouth. His lips are lined with bits of dark brown. I looked down for just a moment to plant a pepper seedling. In that short period, he crawled over to the garden fence, stuck his hand in, and shoved a chunk of dirt right in his face. I sigh, wipe him off with the back of my hand, and rest him on my hip. Gardening with kids isn’t for the faint of heart. If you garden with young kids, all of these things will happen at some point:

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Guest Post: 7 Ways to Engage Young Children in Gardening

/ Shannon Brescher Shea / 3 Comments

Lasagna gardening in process

It’s spring! Along with a lot of rain and a lot of tourists here in D.C., it’s also gardening season. We’ve sowed seeds, sprouted plants, and had a baby eating mulch. While not exactly always on task, my kids do love the idea of gardening. How do I get them excited about it?

I recently wrote how I’ve involved them over at Happy Science Mom in the post 7 Clever Ways to Get Kids Excited about Gardening.

Here’s the first paragraph of the article:

“Messing around in the dirt is a classic childhood activity. Gardening is just messing around in the dirt with a purpose. Growing fruits and vegetables together can actually be one of the most fun and engaging activities that you do with your kids. In addition to the general benefits of being outside, gardening connects kids with their food, provides them with a sense of accomplishment, and is a great way to teach a variety of important skills. In my own life, I have seen my son get so excited about the cherry tomatoes in our garden that he eats them right off the plants!”

Read the rest over at Happy Science Mom!

Guest Post: Spring into STEM!

/ Shannon Brescher Shea / Leave a comment

Cleaning out the garden with Sprout

Gardening is all about science, from the life cycle of a plant to the nitrogen cycle of the soil. I combined both of those loves in a guest post for Raising Nerd about using gardening to teach your mini-nerds about science, engineering and math. It’s heavy on the ecology, but touches on a bunch of areas.

Here’s a preview:

Dirt covered the table. Dirt covered my son’s hair. Dirt covered everything. While I wanted to be annoyed, I really wasn’t. It was all in the name of learning – and growing food in our new garden.

While trowels and compost may not seem like obvious tools for teaching science, vegetable gardens can be incredible classrooms. That day, my son was learning about the life cycle of plants while we started tomato seeds.

The best part is that gardening provides the potential for kids of all ages to learn. While my three-year-old is just beginning to learn the basics, even I’ve learned quite a bit in my years of gardening. If you don’t garden yet, consider planting a few flowerpots so you can share the benefits with your kids.

Read the rest at Raising Nerd!

How to Create the Best Low-Maintenance Garden with Kids

/ Shannon Brescher Shea / 6 Comments

Want a low-maintenance garden you can grow and tend with kids? Check out lasagna gardening! 

The Best Low-Maintenance Garden with Kids (Photo: Child in a red and black jacket standing at the entrance of a small garden gate with newspapers on the garden.)

When I first started gardening, growing my own vegetables seemed impossible. I participated in a group community garden, but at least the other volunteers knew what they were doing. I knew nothing about planting seeds, keeping them growing, or protecting them from anything.

But one day, a friend, urban farmer, and fellow volunteer introduced me to a concept that she refered to as “lazy gardening.” It was a way to grow a low-maintenance garden that was also totally organic and sustainable. As both an ecologist and even before kids, a pretty busy person, it immediately made sense to me. To this day, I garden this way. Despite having two small children, my garden is relatively productive. The best part? That the short amount of time it does take to maintain it is often things I can do with my kids. No fussy tasks here.

What is this miracle low-maintenance garden approach?

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A Holiday Gift Guide for Outdoor Families

/ Shannon Brescher Shea / 10 Comments

Text: "Holiday Gift Guide for Outdoor Families, We'll Eat You Up, We Love You So" Photos of a plastic watering can for children, a board book called Hello, National Parks, a rain jacket, and a blue headlamp.
Getting kids outside has a whole host of benefits, from stronger immune systems to the sheer joy of play. While sometimes all that’s needed is a stick and a bit of imagination, having certain gear can help bringing kids outside easier, safer and more fun. Whether you’re in the mountains or your own backyard, this gift guide – which is mainly focused on kids in preschool and elementary school – should provide a few helpful suggestions. (Note – none of these are affiliate or sponsored links, just products and/or companies I personally like.)

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Science Adventures: Feathers

/ Shannon Brescher Shea / Leave a comment

Photo: Black feather on multi-colored gravel. Text: "Science Adventures: Feathers; We'll Eat You Up, We Love You So"

This post explores the biology and ecology of feathers. It’s part of a series I’m doing on using everyday situations to help young kids explore science – particularly ecology and biology – more in depth. 

The opportunity:
With birds winging their way south for the winter, it’s the perfect time to investigate their most unique trait: feathers. Find a feather on the ground to examine it!

The scientific context:
While feathers are unique to birds these days, they’ve been around for far longer. Unlike when I was a kid, scientists now think that many dinosaurs had feathers as well. Although they didn’t fly, dinosaurs’ feathers probably served many of the same purposes bird feathers do today.

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Apple Picking, Hay Bales and Llamas at Homestead Farm

/ Shannon Brescher Shea / Leave a comment

Photo: Rows of apple trees at Homestead Farm; text: "Apple Picking, Hay Bales, and Llamas at Homestead Farm; We'll Eat You Up, We Love You So"

As a native upstate New Yorker, apple picking runs in my blood. In my fourth grade class, not just one, but two of my classmates’  families owned apple orchards. While the picking – and especially the cider – isn’t as good in Maryland as New York, it’s still one of my favorite fall traditions. So for the final day of the Outdoors Family Challenge, focusing on “local food,” I wanted to pick apples at Homestead Farm. Even though my anxiety got the best of me on the way there, the crunch of apples, a friendly llama, and Sprout’s enthusiasm lifted my spirits by the time we finished.

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