Growth of Gratitude: 3 Tips for all Parents

How do you encourage a grateful heart in your children?

I believe our children are naturally born not understanding how to show gratitude to others...we are selfish beings, we humans, and especially when we are little, we are only worried about our own needs.  We are prone to feeling entitled to have what we want without thinking about others.

There are easy opportunities to build in gratitude with our littles however...here are 3 ideas:

1. Model it ~ I know, nothing news-breaking here, but it is simply this: if your children never see you showing gratitude to others, if all they hear you do is complain and whine about how others have it better (more money, bigger home, more obedient kids, etc) how will they ever have any idea what it means to be grateful?  So, make a point to show gratitude, especially in front of your kiddos...a simple "thank you" to the checkout clerk...a mention of how lucky or blessed you are to have a roof over your head...start with small stuff and work up to the things you have a harder time being grateful for in your own life.
2. Broaden your child's worldview ~ volunteer in a food shelf, meet up with someone that grew up in another culture, sponsor a child through World Vision or Compassion International.  Basically, expand your child's world, so they realize that others live a very different experience, not necessarily better or worse, but different.
3. Involve them ~ When we give our children everything they want, when they have no "stake" in the things they own, activities they are involved in, or gifts they give to others, and it is hard for them to feel anything but entitlement for those things.  However, when we do the extra work (and YES, it does take extra work) of involving them in the process of these things, they will naturally learn to care more and be more grateful for the things they have...they want a new toy/clothes/activity?  Have them earn money for it, do chores to earn it, or otherwise have some work/effort connected to it.

Building a grateful heart is no easy process, but you can do it!  If this is something you struggle with as a parent, start small...pick one thing:

• write down one thing everyday you are grateful for
• send one text a day to someone, letting them know you are thankful for them
• figure what you complain about most and create a "trigger" for yourself (eg. when you feel like complaining because your home is too small, remind yourself that not all are so lucky to have a roof over their heads)
• do "without" something for awhile...fancy coffee, eating out, sugar.  This reminds us how lucky we are to normally be able to have these things.
• at supper/breakfast/in the car have family members share something they are thankful for

What do you think is missing from this list?  

What is time you saw your kiddos show a glimmer of hope with learning what gratitude is?

10 Snow Day Activities For When You are Stuck Inside (Again!)

Play "Hide the SnowBalls"

Grab those cotton balls from your nail polish stash and hide them all around a room (or the whole house!).  then send your kids on a "snowball hunt."

Print Off Color Sheets

Our favorite site is coloring-book.info  - tons of awesome coloring sheets with all their favorite characters!

Build With Marshmallows

Get out the marshmallows, big & little, and some toothpicks and let the kids build...challenge them to build the tallest, biggest, structure they can.

Take a Colorful Bath

My kids love this simple idea.  Add a few drops of food coloring to a bath.  Let them play.  It is that easy and will help burn some time off the clock.  Supervise as is appropriate for their age.

Break Out the Bubbles

Use bubbles in your kitchen and then clean up the floor together when you are done!

A great, homemade bubble recipe is: 3 c water  1 c dishwashing liquid (Joy works best!) and 1/2 c corn syrup

Challenge...Accepted!

How many times can you run up and down the hallway in a minute?  Go jump in the living room 20 times, then run back in give me a high five.  Can you do a wall-sit longer than mom?  You get the idea...help them burn off some energy and BOTH of your days will be happier!

Raid the Recycling Bin

See what you can make out of cardboard, clean containers (you know, the ones without the sharp edges), and other "found" objects.

Make Your Own "Parachute"

Drag out a tablecloth or sheet and make your own parachute.  Give your stuffed animals a ride, toss cotton balls on it, or be really brave and use marshmallows!

Make Playdough

Bay far my favorite playdough recipe is this one...

2 c. water – heated to boiling in microwave

4 t. cream of tartar*    1 c. salt

4 T. oil (baby, vegetable, or canola)

2-3 c. flour

Mix together in metal dish with metal spoon until well blended.  Turn onto floured surface to finish mixing.  Store in an airtight container.  Will last for months.

Optional add ins:

Swap out ½ flour, swap in cocoa powder – will smell and look like chocolate.  Add in spices like cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice.  Add food coloring.  Mix will a packet of Kool Aid, grape works especially well.  Add in extract like vanilla, peppermint, orange, etc.

(*Note: If you do not have cream of tartar, you can try lemon juice, use 8t. of this)

Get out golf tees, birthday candles, kitchen gadgets, small cars, muffin pans, and play with the play dough!

Baking Soda & Vinegar

Check out my previous post with the fun we had with this...It just never gets old!!!

http://parentinginlittlefalls.blogspot.com/2013/04/baking-soda-vinegar-fun.html

Mix these activities in with a little cleaning and a little Netflix and your day will be a great one!

Here are a few other links with some more great ideas!

http://herviewfromhome.com/36-snow-day-activities-and-ideas-for-your-kids/

http://www.frugalupstate.com/general-frugality/40-things-to-do-on-a-school-snow-day/

What is your favorite sanity saver on a day when you are stuck indoors?

That Twinkle

Incredible shot of my child's personality by Nadine ~ Lifeprints by Nadine

Do you have a child who has "that twinkle?"

You know if you do.

They feel things so strongly, they approach life differently, they are a challenge & a blessing to raise (aka. you both want to tear out your hair and then the next moment they might do or say something that melts your heart).

So, how do you handle a child with a twinkle - here are three things that have helped us...

 #1 ~ Make sure your child has LOTS of opportunity for physical activity.  Invest time & money (as you are able) in making sure they have an outlet for that twinkle.

#2 ~ Share control when you can with your child.  When you are dealing with a child who is always thinking of new ways to do things, or new ways to climb things, or new ways to just approach life in general - figure out how to make of choice of things when you can.  "Would you like to wear your jeans or your tan pants to church?" (the windpants aren't an option)  "Would you like to climb up to the third branch or the fourth branch on that tree?" (the top isn't an option)

#3 ~ Acknowledge your child's feelings - kids with a twinkle tend to feel things strongly.  Don't let them push your buttons when possible (yes, I know this is totally easier said then done...)  It helps me to think of my twinkle child and I like an old fashioned balance - when he is freaking, then I need to suck it up and hold it together to be able to help him calm back down.  Let's face it, it just doesn't end well when we both freak out...

Twinkle kids, when given good direction early on, are kiddos who change the world...they aren't afraid to try new things (maybe a cure for cancer?), they don't care as much what other kids think (pure pressure affects them differently), and they tend to see good & bad as fairly black & white, so they are bothered by things that aren't fair (working to help the homeless or food shelf?) and are capable of being kids and adults with high level of integrity.  They can come up with million ways to challenge our parenting, but also make us smile...

I love most of this post by Dr. Laura Markham for more info too ~
http://www.ahaparenting.com/parenting-tools/positive-discipline/Parenting-Strong-Willed-Child

Do you have a "Twinkle" kid?  What tips / advice do you have for others who are raising one?

What amazing things has your "Twinkle" kid done or said?

Baking Soda & Vinegar Fun!

Quick, fun, and cheap activity for your kiddos!  Probably best for ages 2 1/2 and up, but nothing involved that can't be ingested ;)

First we got the baking soda patted down onto trays, both kids tried licking their hands after this and decided they agreed with mom that it didn't taste like sugar.

I prepped 3 cups of vinegar & liquid watercolor (but of course you can use good ol' food coloring too!) and droppers.  Then they took the droppers we talked about how you fill them up and then release them onto the baking soda - fun!

Both kids (ages 3 & 5) stuck with this until all of their baking soda was "painted" with the vinegar (about 20 minutes) - if you have never tried this combination, it bubbles and fizzes - so fun!  If the mess worries you, try this out on the deck or in the yard - good cheap fun!

Enjoy!

Do you have any cheap, easy "science" idea for kids?

Do you tolerate a mess well as a parent or do you like to save things like this for summer and outside?

6 Ways to Be a Better Parent

Children are like plants - they need water, fresh air, gentle pruning, and room to grow.

Parenting a child is such an amazing gift.  To be able to raise and mold a little being.  To guide and shape a small person.

What an amazing, incredible, EXHAUSTING opportunity.

So how do you keep it up?  How do you mold and shape and love this small person or small people without your own well running dry?  Well, here is the real deal people.  Your well WILL run dry from time to time, because the world isn't perfect.  However, I believe you can cut down on those empty moments by following a few guidelines for yourself.

By finding your times, maximizing those times when you can fill up your own tank.  And cultivating a thankful heart.  And building a support team.  And....well read on.

It is so easy to get caught up in this culture's way of letting us know we are not good enough, smart enough, thin enough.  But to that special little person you ARE enough.  You are the best parent for the little one(s) entrusted to you.  And now comes the big work for you - keeping yourself, your mind, your body, your "tank" healthy for them.

How can you do this?  There are lots of ways, but here are 6 I have settled upon for myself at the stage of life I am in:

1. Get as much sleep as you can.  This means different things in different stages of parenting, but to me this is huge.  I do everything better when I have more rest.  Get off facebook, put down the pinterest and let your mind & body rest.
2. Fuel your body and mind well.  Try to limit to junk that weighs down your mind and body.
3. Find time for refreshment.  I have long struggled with the guilt of sitting down for a quiet moment and have determined that to wake up early and get in both exercise and quiet time is the way to go for me.  I also value highly our bedtime routine and the chance to have a few quiet moments at the end of the day.  Create, write, photograph, pray, find something that fills your insides and make the time to do it.
4. Move your body.  Good things happen when you move your body - get a dvd from the library, challenge your child to run up and down the hallway with you, enter a race to get motivated.
5. Build your support team.  Different people from different walks of life will make up your support team.  You need someone who can listen when you have a bad day, someone who can physically help you with your child raising, someone you can share your wisdom with, someone you can let loose with.  Maybe you need someone to clean your house, walk your dog, mow your lawn.  Remember you need to be a friend to make a friend, but no friendship should be all one sided.
6. Finally, you need to figure out how to be thankful & grateful.  Our world begs us to be unhappy with what we have, what we do, and who we are.  Buck the system, find ways to be content with your world.  Find ways to show others you are thankful for their help.  Look at the intentions behind the actions of those around you, especially your children.

These are six things that make a difference in my day to day parenting.  Your list of six might be different.  The important thing is to realize that this time, these little ones, are a gift for this season.  A wonderful, sticky, loud gift.  Enjoy the journey.

What choices do you make to be a better parent?  What are your thankful for in your parenting journey?

Operation Christmas Child - Family Project

As a family we have been trying to focus on giving to others lately (and trying to avoid "consuming" so much ourselves!)  One way we decided to do this pre-Christmas time was to make some Operation Christmas Child boxes with our MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group.

During allowance time the kids got to choose how much they wanted to donate towards making an Operation Christmas Child box and then we (mom & dad) matched their funds - a lesson in doubling your money.

6 year old donating $6

My almost 3 year old "counting" out her $, she ended up donating $3

My compassionate 8 year old donating $10 (I had told them this was the highest amount I would match!)

At the Dollar Tree

Once we had our money set - their funds plus the doubling left us with $40, we set out to the Dollar Tree to buy goods for two boxes, we decided to let the boys shop for a boy box (for a boy ages 5-9) and the girls shop for a girl box (for a girl age 5-9).  Each "team" of kiddos got to choose 18 items for their box - they choose to work together on some items too - for example one team purchased a pack of toothbrushes and the other team purchased a pack of soap.

The boy box pile

Once we were home we separated out all of the goodies to pack in the boxes.  We decided to remove all the packaging that we could so that our boxes would fit more items into them.

Packed up boy box

Girl box goodies, getting ready to pack it up!

Packed up girl box

Filling out our "paperwork"

On Operation Christmas Child's webpage you can print out an "All About Me" form designed to be filled out by your child and sent with your box - you can choose to share as much or as little info as you'd like, including an address - we might even get a letter back!

Here is the link for the All About Me form - you can download it as a PDF:
http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/Graphic_Resources/

More paperwork

Complete Girl Box

 We decided to also put a family picture in our boxes - so glad I printed out plenty last time I ordered :)

Complete Boy Box

Final touches on the envelope that the "All About Me" papers went into - unsealed!

                                     

Something new to me this year was the "track your box" option on the OCC website.  We were able to make our shipping donation for each box (they recommend $7 per box) and then printed off a label to put on each box, these labels also include the boy / girl option and ages to check off (so that they know who your box is designed for!), and now we will be able to find out where our boxes end up!

Track you box link:

https://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/followyourbox/

It was a fun project and interesting to shop with the kids - for our kids it is important to talk about 3 things before we get into a project like this:

1. Why we are doing this (some kids don't get ANY Christmas gifts, while we have PLENTY of everything)
2. When we go shopping we will NOT be spending any money on ourselves (I have found that as long as I remember to talk about this ahead of time it really cuts down on the whining about wanting this toy and that toy - not all the whining, but most of it!)
3. And finally to have fun imagining what you would like to receive if you were a boy or girl living in poverty.  Giving with joy can be tough for kids, but a little perspective setting can go a long way.

What about you - do you have a project you like to do with your family for others during this season?

Have you packed a box for OCC?  What did you include?

Summer Gardening with Kids

I was lucky enough to grow up in a small house that had a nice size fenced in yard.  Within that yard we played, ran, and grew a garden.  I have very pleasant memories of planting, tending, and harvesting our own foods most summers.  Okay, so weeding wasn't my favorite, but overall it is a memory so strong that I knew I wanted to do this someday with my own children.  But how?

As our babies kept coming some years I planted small gardens and usually was too tired to keep them up so that they would produce the best they could.  One year in talking with my friend Mindy, she mentioned that each of her children had their own plot to tend and be responsible for.  I immediately filed this away in my brain for use when the time was right....fast forward to 2012 - this was the year!

We explored all the options for creating the boxes, building, buying, etc.  With a husband who coaches track and field in the spring I knew whatever option we went with I would be the one who implemented it.  So, I choose boxes that Sam's club was offering.


My two oldest weeding their boxes

As a family, we dug up the ground, added in compost, and tilled it all up (in a slight drizzle - wish I had pictures of that!).  Then, put in our boxes.  A trip to Walmart and each child was given the choice of 3 things to plant in their box.  It was so fun to see them process and ponder what they wanted to plant!  Eventually they all made their choices and we went home and planted and waited.

One of my 2 year old's choices - Dragon Tongue Green Beans

Each week they are responsible to weed, help me water, and harvest their garden bounty!


My 2 year old and one of her "ccini's"

The bounty!

What do you think tasks like gardening teach kids?

Is there something like this that you are excited to do with your kids and you are just waiting for the "season" of life to be right to do it?

Childhood Joy

"True joy is that which gives us more energy
and makes us feel more alive."

Robert Puryear

              

What an amazing treasure it is to get to experience things through the eyes of our children.  This photo does not fully capture the joy my 6 year old was experiencing during the rush of waves from Lake Superior, but it brings her giddy giggle to mind for me.

Children are so exhausting in so many ways that I feel it is so important to truly tuck into our minds and hearts these beautiful moments.  They offer a balance to all the "work" of parenting. 

Pure Joy.

When have you really enjoyed watching your child experience something new?

How did it make you feel?

Kids and Money

8 year old money management

There has been a lot of talk in the media about many specific areas of parenting lately.  I think possibly the two most popular areas of talk center around child obesity and raising a financially savvy child.  In our home we have always striven to eat healthy and exercise, but only this year did we implement the next step of raising financially literate kiddos.

Here is how we set it up to work in our home ~

We started with two main thoughts:

• Kids cannot learn to manage money without having some & some guidance about what to do with it.
• Regular chores / jobs will not be paid for (they are part of being a family member), but everyone gets a set amount each week and has the opportunity to earn more if they would like to.  (for more about set jobs see my earlier post - http://parentinginlittlefalls.blogspot.com/2012/04/managing-small-home-and-large-family.html)

After we had our purpose set, we set the wheels in motion - each kid got a "bank" - for our family we chose to do wooden boxes from the craft store and have each kid paint their own (see above photo).  Then each kid received three envelopes - one for money to give, one for money to spend, and one for money to save for bigger items.  There are so many great ideas out there on how to design kid friendly banks - check out Pinterest for more inspiration!

Here is specifically how this worked out this past year for my now 8 year old -

Nintendo 3DS savings envelope

First he created his three envelopes - money to give, money to spend, and he chose to begin saving up for a Nintendo 3DS.  He set his goal and made check boxes to record his progress each week.

Every Friday night (or Saturday depending on the week) (or sometimes it takes an extra week - I just hang on to our sheets for any unpaid weeks and keep them until the next time we do "payouts") is our family night -

Our Weekly To - Do Chart

Each child, including the 8 year old, has opportunity to earn more money by doing more jobs -

Our 8 Year Old, 6 Year Old, 4 Year Old, and 2 Year Old's allowances.
The top part shows how much they get every week and the bottom are the optional jobs & money.

At the end of each week we sit down as a family and look at how much each child gets for their bank and help them think through which envelope to put it in.  It was so fascinating to watch my 8 Year Old process whether to "spend" his money right away or keep on saving up for the Nintendo 3DS.

After many months of saving and a big help from birthday money, he had quite a bit saved up.  Now he did his research...he found that he could indeed buy the Nintendo 3DS, but would be unable to afford any games right away.  He thought about that while we looked at the other options and ended up being the happy owner of a Nintendo DSi and two games!

Proud Nintendo DSi owner!

I am very proud of him for sticking with his large goal.  Our 6 year old set a goal of saving up for a puppy from the local toy store and met it, and our 4 year old has been able to buy some smaller things and has had to pay for some things he has destroyed, he is still working towards his larger goal of a Captain America shield.  Overall, we have liked the blend of intentionally giving them money with the express purpose being to learn how to manage money and also giving them the chance to earn more.

There are many different parenting philosophies about money and how to teach kids about it, this is simply ours for now.  Yours may look very different and that is okay too!

Who taught you about Money?  What do you wish you had learned earlier?

How are you teaching your children healthy money habits now?  Why do they matter?

Managing an Inconveniece + What to do When Kids are Bored

Upon finding this quote on pinterest some time back it has weaved it's way into my brain and rattles around from time to time.  There are days when I all feel that I do is "manage" things.  Plan and make meals, get laundry washed and ready for put away, clean toilets and floors.  However, I hope that I take the time to make my children feel like valued little human beings.

I think this is harder than it sounds because it means that I both spend time and effort to train and love them, but that I also don't overdo it.  That I spend time stepping back and letting them discover parts of life on their own.  I want them to feel successful and confident as they grow.

As a society we are horrible at letting our children be "bored."  At my house I have found that typically boredom has a ten minute hump.  One of my children will come up and tell me they are bored.  I will respond with a few ideas (usually some fun and some chores) and let them know I will trust them to find something to do.  They then go on the whine and flop on the floor for 5-10 minutes, then they find something they are interested in.

During these "bored" sessions my children have made some of the things they are most proud of.  Creations of art projects are a popular one.  Reading a new library book, or even organizing a closet have happened too.

There has to be management of a home.  It is more pleasant to live with at least an outline of what needs to happen.  Some of you are great at checklists, some of you just have an overall idea of what needs to get done by tomorrow.  Whatever works for you is great.  As you are managing, think of ways to build your little human beings alongside you. 

Here are a few links to some "I'm bored" jar ideas - a simple craft to make for your family:

http://www.somewhatsimple.com/the-mom-im-bored-jar/

http://imom.com/tools/training-tools/im-bored-jar/

http://www.shabbybeachnest.com/101-idea-im-bored-jar/

http://www.homespun-threads.com/hp_zencart/download/bored.pdf

How do you "snap yourself out of it" when you are feeling like being a manager is your ONLY role?
What do you think are some of the best things you can encourage your kids to do when they are bored?

Making a Memory: Babe the Blue Ox Hunt

Last fall we had an evening with no Daddy home and a Mom (me) who was going to go crazy in the house with four lovely children - we needed something to do...however this something needed to be free or almost free.

We ended up using an idea I remember my friend Wendy Kresha doing with her children one summer - going on a Babe the Blue Ox Hunt.  There are 19 individually decorated Babes in the Brainerd / Baxter/ Nisswa area.  We took one evening and were able to find 10 of them and have a lot of fun doing it!

This activity was great for our family because it appealed to everyone (then ages 1-7).  We didn't unbuckle the youngest for every picture, but for enough of them that she definitely felt included too.

So, for the cost of gas and a little prepping (when you act excited about something like this, it tend to rub off on your kiddos) we had a great night!  My kids talk about this experience often and have some fun shared memories of these few "spur of the moment" hours.

More "Making a Memory" posts to come!

What ways have you made one day or one evening memories with your kids?
Why do you think it is important to have spontaneous fun with your kids?

Themed Summer Activities for Families!

A Little Summer DQ Treat - 2010

The first summer I had four children I craved a way to instill a little summer "homeschooling" and have a little order to our weeks - This is the brain child of that desire.  I am happy to share these with you - use one idea or the whole bunch - several resources are specific to Central MN, but could easily be adapted to other areas with your resources.  During this summer my kiddos were - 6, 4, 2, and 6 months - so the activities are pretty geared to these ages.  We did not accomplish everything on this list, but had so much fun doing many of these things!  Enjoy ~

SWAT Weeks (Swisher Weeks of Activity Themes)

Every week includes whatever books I order from the library (www.griver.org) , coloring sheets(http://www.coloring-book.info/coloring/; http://www.coloring.ws/coloring.html ),  plus info from the field trip destination’s website.  Of course intermingled with this will be lots of opportunities for letter and word learning, vocab building, coloring and other projects, etc.   We have purchased a family membership at Pine Grove Zoo, MN Historical Society , & State Parks Pass….to accomplish all of this with a reasonable amount of money J   FAD - is my code for Family Adventure Day.

Little Falls Greenhouse

Week one: Plant Week –

·         Visit greenhouse, plant flowers (and veggies?)

·         Field Trip to Munsinger Garden (Friday)

·         Carnation Science project (white carnation in colored water – each kid picks the color)

·         Walk to Lindbergh State park to find as many different plants that we can

Underwater Adventures (Mall of America)

Fish Project - Cut a triangle out of a paper plate and attach to the other side with a staple - decorate!

Fish Cookies!

Week two: Fish Week –

·         Field trip to the MN Fishing Museum (not sure what day yet)

·         FAD to the Underwater Adventures & Children’s Museum

·         Hopefully fishing with dad

·         Look at fish at Walmart

·         Watch Finding Nemo, Shark Tale

·         Eating Nemo fruit snacks, Sweedish fish, and Goldfish

·         Eating Tuna and Salmon

Reading with Dad

Week three: Book / Reading Week –

·         Write a book as a family and publish it

·         Meet an author, have a book signed

·         Read, read, read

·         Do letter learning activities

·         Go on a word scavenger hunt around town

Baking at Home

The BEST Bakery Ever - Pete and Joys!

Week four: Baking / Cooking Week –

·         Field trip to Bakery (Wednesday)

·         Kids choose things to cook and bake

Apollo Space Shuttle - Apollo High School, St. Cloud

Week five:   Solar System Week - 

·         Field trip to SCSU planetarium (?)

·         Track down someone with a telescope

·         Paint glow in the dark stars on kid’s ceilings or attach plastic ones

·         Visit Apollo space shuttle if in St. Cloud at all

·         Visit the Lindbergh House – flight, space, etc….

Creating birdfeeders - pinecones covered in pb, rolled in birdseed, hung with some yarn - fun and messy!

Our bird checklist for bird watching at Crane Meadows near LF

The clipboard is almost as big as the 2 year old -

Week six: Bird Week -

·         Set up birdfeeder

·         Watch birds with Grandma

·         Make pinecone feeders (pb, seeds string)

·         Field Trip to Hemker Zoo?

Releasing our Butterflies

Como Zoo Butterfly Pavilion

Week seven: Butterfly week –

·         Order butterfly garden habitat http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00000ISC5/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

·         FAD to Como Zoo & MN History Museum (?)

·         Butterfly paint projects

Week eight: Bible Discovery Week –

·         VBS

·         Bible Stories for book times

·         Veggietales for all shows

River Bats Game (now St. Cloud Rox)

Week nine: Sports Week –

·         Field trip to River Bats game, Sun night 6:05

·         Play different sports, different places

Week ten: Bee Week –

·         Watch a Bee Movie

·         Contact Elizabeth for any bee ideas (?)

·         Try honey on new things / different kinds of honey

Week eleven: Dinosaur Week –

·         FAD to MN Science Museum / Kelly Farm (?)

·         Dinosaur dig in sandbox

·         Dinosaur egg discovery

·         Watch Dinosaur Train on PBS

·         Watch The Land Before Time

Week twelve: Farm & Vegetable Week –

·         Contest between mom & dad and kids as to how many different kinds of veggies each can eat

·         Visit the Farmer’s Market

·         Field trip to a farm (?)

·         Help Grandma & Grandpa with garden

What fun activities for learning have you done with your kids in summer?
Does your family have favorite places to visit that you feel have educational value?