Esmé’s Mom here…
This week’s Homeschool Village question is “What do you – homeschool mom – do to get refreshed for the next school year?”
School year? I always intended to do year-round schooling. Especially at this age – “school” is more to keep my daughter preoccupied from creating chaos than to educate her… :)
But I’m starting to realize that the dynamics DO need to change. And I AM in need of a break…
So here’s the plan: I’m going to relax on the planning a bit!
We’ll dig out the games and just play, and read. I’m not dropping Itty Bitty Bookworm, but it’ll be more a resource than a guideline of what to do each day.
If summer ever arrives in Oregon (we’re still bundled up in blankets listening to the chilling rain over here), we’ll do more outdoorsy stuff. Outdoor art sounds awesome! Bubbles, bike rides, gardening, picnics, sandbox play, nature scavenger hunts, walks down to the river…
And I want to develop some sort of camping kit so we can pack up and go at a moment’s notice. Nothing discourages me from camping as much as the prep time involved.
Now, we’ve got bins for the obvious gear – sleeping bags, tents, etc. But I’d love some ideas on the other stuff:
- What would you pre-pack for a preschooler camping entertainment kit? Things like a magnifying glass, bug jar, chalk, small flashlight/lantern, bubbles, bucket & shovel, drawing pad and colored pencils, journal, go fish card game?
- What are some of your favorite camp recipes? I want to put together a kitchen kit, but I am honestly short of camp cooking ideas. My idea of camp food is a box of granola bars, trail mix, and water bottles, which is easy, but gets boring… :)
Here’s to a refreshing summer! For other ideas, check out the Homeschool Village…
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14 comments:
thanks for linking up to the Village!!
We school year round - lightly throughout the summer as well.
Stef
preschool camping - what about a water gun or chalk?
Have a great summer,
Amy @ Things & Stuff
The outdoor activities sound like fun! We've been doing a lot of that here too, but it's almost gotten too hot to do that during the biggest part of the day!
I can't help you with camping. I had a traumatic camping experience as a child and don't care for camping. I hope someone else comes along who can offer you lots of help with that!
Have a great day!
~Jennifer
Love your ideas!
I remember my stepmother making some type of meal with potatoes, carrots, and onions wrapped in tin foil and then buried in the ground to cook. I think it's like a boyscout thing, but I'm not sure. I'm sure if you look up camping food suggestions online you'll find tons.
LOVED reading your post! Coming over from the HS Village
Meghan
www.thetuckerstaketennessee.com
www.seedsoffaithwomen.com
S'mores are always a great camping food!
Love the idea of having a camping kit already prepared to enjoy spontaneous summer fun! Thx for visiting us at the Homeschool Village! :)
Having camping stuff ready to go sounds like a GREAT idea! I like the list you have... it sounds like enough for me (oh, don't forget the marshmallows). :)
Btw, If you'd like to do a house swap for a week or two I'm MORE than game! :)
It's nice to meet you through the Homeschool Village! ♥ Michelle
Sounds like you have some great ideas for fun summer memories with your little girl. She's a cutie!
We have these campfire pie irons that we use to make apple pies . It's easy to do and yummy. You just pop in two pieces of loaf bread with apple or cherry pie filling spread between them. Then hold over the fire until done. Our kids love these and smores too!
Have a great summer!
You must have smores! My son just loved melting marshmallows in the fire when we went camping last weekend. Also, glow sticks and little blinkie toys for nighttime are really fun for kids too.
Happily Domestic had some camping recipes that looked interesting:
http://happilydomestic.blogspot.com/2010/06/camping-with-baby-and-few-additional.html
You must make baked potatoes wrapped in foil in a campfire, well maybe sweet potatoes since potatoes are in the dirty dozen.You can cook practically anything over an open fire, if you have the proper equipment...think cast iron esp. dutch oven :)
If you want to stick with the basics: trail mix and granola, you can make your own for variety and fun! Oatmeal cookies are good too...esp for breakfast.
Sounds like you have a good start on your preschooler camp kit. I would recommend adding some picture books, think Audubon Society, of the fauna and flora in your region. They generally can be found at Borders or Barnes and Noble and are excellent resource books. A good constellation book for star gazing would be nice too. Binoculars, maybe a telescope :) , inexpensive or disposable camera for her use, hmmmmm....Oh! Historical books of YOUR immediate area. As youngsters we learned that there had been a Powhatan tribe near us, we spent HOURS looking for arrow heads. And there had been privateers off the coast - whenever we went to the shore we also searched for their lost treasure...
We always take our cast iron skillet and one of our favorite camp meals are burritos, we mix the ground beef and beans together and throw it in a tortilla with cheese.
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