Tag: nature
Act For The Planet – Making Green Fun With Earth Day Canada
It’s April, which means flowers blooming, rain falling and – of course – time to be a part of learning how to live lighter on the Earth as annual Earth Day celebrations begin. We here at Ourbigearth.com have long been lending a hand in that department and are super excited to Earth Day Canada’s new [...]
Postcards from Nova Scotia – Urban Wilderness
It’s March. For us, that usually means first trips of the season out to the beach to see the herring run or catch a glimpse of the sea lions down at Fanny Bay. This year, the snow on the ground still lingers with more on its way. The -19 windchill burns our faces on the [...]
Celebrate Canada Outdoors | The 2013 Get To Know Contest
Calling all youth 19 and under! Get outdoors and connect with nature! Head to www.gettoknow.ca to submit art, writing, photography, video, or music inspired by your outdoor experiences and you could win some wild prizes! It may only be the beginning of March. But, you can start cracking on your outdoor awesomeness and get it ready to [...]
Earth Day Books – Picture A Tree by Barbara Reid
This time of year is one of our favorites around OBE HQ for so many reasons. The flowers are blooming, buds everywhere and the smells of Spring make us want to run around in shorts and flipflops 24-7. It’s also the time when we get to give it up for Mother Nature as Earth Day [...]
Spring Break Plans – Get Out and Go Geocaching
Editor’s Note: Today, Martin and Lisa Pedersen from familynavigation.com are here to inspire us all to get outside and spend some time on a treasure hunting adventure. Geocaching is one seriously popular pastime and there are tons of geocaches all over Vancouver Island. I’ll let them share their adventures and get you excited about this [...]
Let Them Love Mud – Empowering Our Daughters
In a forest not so far away you’ll find puddles of mud, fallen trees, small Spring sprouts, an owl’s roost, even a few tracks left behind by the creatures that call it home. It’s the domain of the boy, where roughhousing and stomping through the bush, king of the mountain and coming back soaked from [...]
Rediscovering Our Neighbourhoods – Natural Neighbours
Along the pathways through local neighbourhoods you can stand and watch for a moment as young kids wander by. Their eyes are fixed on things adults don’t even realize have joined them on the walk. They spot the tiniest of hops, the most faint of a buzz and a change in the direction of a [...]
Don't Chicken Out On Nature Just Because It's Cold
We’ve all done it a million times, taken a look out the window on a dreary January day and decided that the walk in the woods, trek around the park or hike to the beach we had planned is canceled due to weather. Then, inevitably, the kids spend the day inside screaming and arguing, running [...]
Kids & Tech – The Pack of Wild Dogs Syndrome
There’s a school drop-off conversation that keeps popping up over and over lately with the same results. Our young kids are spending more and more time playing video games and we as parents are starting to notice that these electronic universes are having a serious attitude altering effect on them. When they are stomping through [...]
Creative Kids – Fall Nature Collections
On the eve of Fall, I am feeling the energy inside me turn from summer beach nights to warm and cozy. You can see it in the kids too. They begin the process of preparing for Winter, even foraging and storing things up like the animals in the forest. It’s fun to see the collections [...]
Kids Not Sleeping Well? Get Them Outside
I‘ve been reading a lot lately about how to help kids sleep better as I’ve been trying to figure out if it’s even possible to get mine on a somewhat matching – or at least complimentary – schedule. There’s everything from relaxation techniques (which so aren’t working in this house) to the old read-em-a-story trick [...]
Fall 2011 NeighbourWood Walks Registration Is On
August has just about called it quits. So, that means that our annual month of staycation is nearly over, it’s just about time to get the older kids back to school and – one of my favorite parts – OBE’s Fall 2011 NeighbourWood Walks series is soon to begin. Every year we head out on [...]
Head Out Today for the Strathcona Wilderness Festival
It’s a gorgeous day outside, perfect for heading out for a bit of an adventure to celebrate the gorgeous wilderness and natural parks of Vancouver Island. The Friends of Strathcona Park have the perfect day planned for you as they invite you to come out to the Strathcona Wilderness Festival. This great day filled with [...]
Books That Get Kids Up Close with Animals
I am always on the hunt for great board books that give the kids a chance to see pictures of actual animals doing cool things with a nice, easy story to keep them interested. When my oldest was wee and just starting to get into animals the best options – honestly – were usually discovered [...]
Children's Books About Forest Creatures at Night
There is no denying that we are a bit owl obsessed around our house these days. Our oldest daughter fell in love with them about a year ago and there was no turning back. We were hooked. Along the way, we discovered some really fun awesome tales of these creatures of night. But, it had [...]
Kids Crafts – Summer Creativity
I am waiving the red flag in the creativity department. Our house has always been one that’s all about art and making things and finding new ways to make art and new things. But, the craft room has seen busier days. Thankfully, I took a peek back through some of the fun projects we’ve done [...]
Out and About – It's Time for the Eagles
As the snow drops and crocus start popping up at the Filberg and we start getting out of the house more again, one creature that we notice seems to always be out with us are the gorgeous Bald Eagles that make their home by the hundreds in the Comox Valley. Throughout the rest of the [...]
10 Ways to Enjoy a Rainy Day Outside
Lately my commitment to getting the tiny persons outside for at least an hour a day has gone the way of the dodo. I’d blame it on the holidays or the mad rush of company that invaded our house the last few weeks. But, since the holidays were actually pretty chill, and we had no [...]
Sunday Morning Walks – Fungus Amongus
Moving into these last couple months of the year can be kind of a drag as the weather turns cold, gray and blustery and we start thinking more about hibernating rather than spending lots of quality time outside. But, it turns out that late Fall and Winter on Vancouver Island are actually the most fantastic [...]
Nature Crafts – Salmon Migration Mobiles
One of the things that our daughter and I spend every Fall looking forward to are the easygoing days of watching the salmon run in our local streams, heading out to the hatcheries to learn a bit more and – now that we are full-on into science and nature learning with homeschooling – having a [...]
Sunday Morning Walks – Fall Seed and Leaf Walks
With misty October mornings, a bit of a chill and gorgeous sun breaks settling us all into the Fall season, nothing seems more lovely and even a bit cozy than taking a walk through the forest or along a local creek with the family. The colors of the season, which are just now starting to [...]
Learning Crafts – The Nature Alphabet
When it comes to making learning more accessible around the home, there’s nothing that we’ve found more effective than making projects that take basic skills like alphabet and numbers and turning them into creative adventures. We’re homeschooling for kindergarten this year and one of the big things that needed to be in place is an [...]
Register for the Fall 2010 NeighbourWood Walks
Good Morning. As you start planning your Fall schedules, it’s time again to think about heading out into the forest, giving your kids some time to explore outside and log some quality adult contact too. It’s time to get your family registered for the Our Big Earth NeighbourWood Walks as we are getting things kicked [...]
Road Trip & Beach Days Travel Packs for Kids
For our family, August is all about cramming in all of the camping, beach and road trip moments that got missed the rest of the summer into the 30 or so days before school starts (eeep!) What it also means is that I need to plan ahead for all of the down time attached to [...]
Discovering Nature as a Young Naturalist
Editor’s Note: Good morning! Naturalist Jocie Ingram is here with a look at membership with the Young Naturalists’ Club… “A growing body of evidence confirms that when children spend time in nature they are healthier, happier and smarter.” – YNC web site My little ones are growing and changing so fast, and they are already [...]
Travel With Kids Offers So Much Time To Learn
Editor’s Note: Good morning. Heather Beckett is back with more of her family’s year-long experience of living in Australia. Today she focuses on how her family extended their learning beyond the classroom. Makes me want to pack my bags and head out into the world immediately. Here she is: Often when we think of learning we may [...]
Easy Readers for the Scientist in Every Kid
We seem to have crossed a threshold of independence in our house lately that makes me mildly weepy for myself and very excited for the tiny person. She has always loved stories and the time we spend reading them together. The favorite comfort tales such as Grandfather Twilight, The Rain Babies, Miss Rumphius and Bunny [...]
Canadian Nature Books for Kids – Vanishing Habitats
I think we all remember those places that we used to escape to as kids – whether it be a field behind the school, a stand of trees we climbed at the local park or a long stretch of beach that marked summer fun every year. It’s hard to deny that – for most of [...]
Nature Journal – Finding Art In Nature With A Camera
Editor’s Note: Good morning. Jocie Ingram is on site today with a look at getting creative with a camera outdoors and tuning into your artistic side. She has some great tips for us. Enjoy. Here she is: I’ve always been drawn to the arts, be it visual art, music or literature. My other passion (which [...]
Kids Crafts – Flower Stamped Mother's Day Cards
Good Morning. Ever have those days (or weeks) when life just kicks you in the rear end as hard as humanly possible? I seem to be in the midst of one currently, having been incredibly sick for nearly four days now. There are times when you have to concede that life has bitten you hard [...]
Sunday Morning Walks – The Art of Collecting
Good Morning. It’s not quite summertime weather yet. But, not often a day goes by lately where we aren’t out on the beach or in the forest when we don’t run into lots of other families feeling that serious need to get back outside and log some major time in nature. This is such a [...]
Connect with Nature – The Robert Bateman Get To Know Contest
Editor’s Note: Happy Earth Day. This morning we are excited to help launch the 10th annual Robert Bateman Get To Know Contest – helping kids across the country get to know more about the wildlife and biodiversity of this great country as well as understand the impact that we have on that space. Olga Efimova [...]
Nature Craft – Sticky, Easy, Framed Nature Collages
We are spring wildflower crazy around here these days. With the weather warming up and blossoms starting to bloom, afternoons are spent in the garden, wandering through our neighborhood park and returning home with pockets full of cool things we collected along the way. The problem with pockets full of anything is that, really, once [...]
Nature Journal – Taking A Walk With Wild Flowers
Editor’s Note: Happy first day of April! Naturalist Jocie Ingram is on site with info on some of the lovely wild flowers that you can find out and about the Comox Valley this month. Here she is: As I let the little one run ahead of me down the path and take in the fresh [...]
Adventure Learning – Kids Need to Discover the Outdoors
Editor’s Note: If you missed out on Michelle Hughes’ post discussing the benefits of acupuncture during pregnancy, you can read it HERE. Now, here’s Jamie Black with her new column on the incredible learning that comes – at any age – from getting outside and getting into old skool adventures that change us, for the [...]
The Comox Valley's Zone of Abundance
Editor’s Note: Good morning. Pieter Vorster from Project Watershed and Keeping It Living is on site discussing one of our gorgeous attractions – The Courtenay River Estuary. Here he is: One of, if not the most significant, attractions, and natural features in the Comox Valley is the Courtenay River Estuary. An estuary is a semi-enclosed [...]
Sunday Morning Walks – Marvelous Mushrooms
Editor’s Note: Don’t forget to drop back in here this afternoon when we get the discussion going about Kindergarten options in the Comox Valley. Now, it’s time for a fun Sunday Morning Walk: One of the biggest challenges of making it through the permagray this time of year, is figuring out what can distract you [...]
Nature Journal – It's The Peak Season for Swans
Editor’s Note: Good morning. Naturalist Jocie Ingram is here with some great information on swans. Until now, I had just admired them for their beauty and grace! Here she is: I’ve recently introduced my toddler to the story of the “Ugly Duckling” by Danish poet Hans Christian Anderson. He loves the way the ugly duckling [...]
Winter 2010 NeighbourWood Walks Registration
Editor’s note: This morning’s post on making felt fortune cookies to celebrate the combo of Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day (both Feb. 14 this year) was so much fun. You can check it out HERE. Now, it’s time to finally get back outside as we get down to the business of registering for our [...]
Nature Journal – Animal Tracking Basics for Family Nature Fun
Editor’s Note: Good morning! Jocie Ingram is here with some great information on animal tracking. Now you can hit the trails like a pro! Here she is: Tracking wild animals is a skill that takes years of experience, but anyone can follow a set of footprints and learn to become a keen observer of nature. [...]
Year In Review – Favorite Family Nature Locales for 2009
Oh my goodness 2009 has been a fantastic year for weather, exploring and general outdoor adventures. The Comox Valley and Vancouver Island are absolute perfection when it comes to hanging in the outdoors and making family time nature time. We’ve explored a lot of cool places, taken more than 150 kids and their parents on [...]
The Best Children's Books of 2009
One thing that never seems to give in our house is the love of a great story. We pound through tons of books and if anyone knows what she likes best, it’s the 4-year-old. We’ve had such a great time discovering some seriously great new reads this year to spend afternoons curled up on the [...]
Year in Review – Best Crafts of 2009
Good Morning. As I looked back through some of the creative projects we took on this year, it was great to check out how much fun we had learning about and discovering nature through creativity. There was lots of painting and gluing for sure. But, I’m wondering which project you all liked the best this [...]
Sunday Morning Walks – Finding Swans
The truest sign of Winter’s onset for our family is the return of the Trumpeter Swans. Right after Halloween we move from salmon and skeletons to full-on ornithologists looking for our friends headed South from Alaska for their balmy vacation from the Northern cold. They’ve become like the neighbors who only live in town half [...]
Nature Journal – History of Holiday Greenery
Editor’s Note: Good Afternoon. If you missed out on Esther Kane’s morning post about how to beat Seasonal Affective Disorder, you can read it HERE. Now, naturalist Jocie Ingram is here giving us the scoop on some lovely holiday greenery that you’ll be able to find in the woods, around your neighborhood or even in the [...]
How to Create Emergency Kits & Plan for Natural Disasters
So, yeah, Mother Nature has been having some very serious personal issues with us folks on Vancouver Island for the last week or so. It’s nerve wracking at these sort of times when you look around your house and realize that you’ve got one match, a tiny tea light, no stored water and the pantry [...]
Nature Journal – Sensational Slug Sightings
Editor’s Note: Good morning. Today we have nature lover Jocie Ingram giving us the scoop on slugs. It’s interesting and educational, and may have you looking at those slimy creatures differently! Here she is: I went to the forest for a specific purpose this week – to find some slugs. It had just rained, and a yellowish, dark [...]
The Magic of Seasonal Festivals for Children
Editor’s Note: It’s an education imagination Saturday. If you missed it this morning, we reviewed two fantastically fun Halloween books with the Rainy Day Book Club. Check them out HERE. This afternoon we have Rebecca Watkin discussing the Waldorf tradition of seasonal festivals – their significance, beauty and ability to make the imagination of childhood [...]
NeighbourWood Walking at the Courtenay Air Park
Happy Friday afternoon. Hopefully you all are just about done with your weeks and ready to enjoy a fun Fall weekend. We’ve got lots going on including the Cumberland Harvest Fair where we’ll be making binoculars and other coolness from 10 a.m. to Noon tomorrow. If you missed our morning post today, Deepa took a [...]
Nature Journal – Leaf Watching 101
Editor’s Note: This morning we have naturalist Jocie Ingram on site, giving us the low-down on identifying leaves. Jocie is new to the OBE team and will be sharing her knowledge with us monthly. Here she is: My toddler son is keen to collect fallen leaves, clutching fistfuls in each hand and sorting them by [...]
Sunday Morning Walks – Salmon Run
Each Fall we make the same plans. About the time that the wool toques make their way out of storage and plastic pants become a regular feature in our daily wardrobes, we begin our journey down to the river banks of some very special waterways in the Comox Valley to make sure we don’t miss [...]
Fall NeighbourWood Walk Photos
Good afternoon and welcome to our first day in which you get a morning and an afternoon post. Yep, that’s right, OBE has now nearly doubled our content and we will be bringing you some exciting new features as we begin to even more frequently update the website. If you haven’t checked out Kendra’s sweet [...]
Found-Object Food Jar Terrariums
Science in a jar is something that scores me some serious cool points in the scientist in training universe. That’s especially true when it means that we can head out for a walk around our local park – or even the backyard – with express permission to pick up, handle, pack away and take home [...]
SPROUTS – Fall Flowers and Garden Chores
Editor’s Note: Kendra Quince is with us this morning. She’s got some serious fall gardening fever and has been busy harvesting, cleaning up and preparing for next year. Plus she has a fabulous way to make good use of fallen flower petals. Here she is: Ah, September. I get that back-to-school feel even though my children are [...]
Register for the Fall NeighbourWood Walks Today!
Good Morning. I am soooooo excited to finally be getting back to the business of NeighbourWood Walking after our Summer hiatus. The tiny person and I really miss our weekly walks with the Our Big Earth crew and we are totally looking forward to catching up with new and old friends this season. The free [...]
Books for Hands-On Nature Learning
Our month-long adventure in local food may have come to an end. But that doesn’t mean we’ve stopped thinking local. On our adventure out to Miracle Beach Nature House the other day, I made a very lengthy pit stop at the Nature House’s book store and picked up two fantastic nature learning books for kids [...]
Foodie Crafts – Seashell Maracas
Editor’s Note: Good Morning. If you are looking for something fun to do in the local food universe today, be sure to head over to Brambles to meet the folks from Hazelmere Farms. Their unusual and tasty greens are a treat at any dinner table. The demo runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Meanwhile, [...]
Nature Journal – The Edible Forest
Editor’s Note: Today, join us out at Tannadice Farms, 3465 Burns Road (just off of Condensory Road), for a great farm tour as part of the the Know Where Your Food Comes From Tour and the Eat Real. Eat Local 30-Day Challenge. Heather and Allan will be on hand from 1 to 2:30 p.m. taking [...]
Backyard Craft – Butterfly Feeders
Editor’s Note: Good morning. We’ve got a fun craft for you this morning. But, it’s this afternoon that brings big news here at Our Big Earth. It’s a deliciously detailed dish comes with a month’s worth of community goodness, family fun of the foodie kind and the chance to win nearly $3,000 in tasty treats. [...]
Greening the Places that Children Play
Where Do The Children Play? O.K. I’m dating myself but I’m sure you’ve heard of the peace lovin singer/song writer Cat Stevens. And who hasn’t heard of Dr. Seuss? One of my favorites books of his is The Lorax, while published 38 years ago the environmental message still rings true today. What do the two [...]
Eco Crafts – Egg Carton Shadow Boxes & Rock Gardens
So, I have to say that it’s a good thing that the only people who have been subjected to the condition of our house lately are my sweet friend Kathy and her family. While she might think “Oh my God, don’t touch anything!” and her lovely little girl did actually ask if she could help [...]
Sunday Morning Walks – Quinsam River
Good morning. It’s another gorgeous island Sunday, which seems like the perfect time to recommend a walk in the woods. Beachy sunshine is so fantastic. But, when the temps start pushing the high 20s, I start thinking about heading toward the cool shade of the forest. That’s exactly what we did yesterday, checking out the [...]
Nature Craft – Flower Chains
Good morning! It’s that time of year where the big debate in our house over what flowers can and cannot be picked rages wild. Pretty much, our kiddo would prefer to pick every flower in sight. Wild, someone else’s, grandma’s favourite in the garden – it doesn’t matter. Flowers should be for picking, she believes. [...]
Field Guides for Tiny Explorers
Good Morning. With the sun making a regular appearance these days and our NeighbourWood Walks finally started back up, we are spending a whole lot more time outside right now. My scientist kid told me the other day that she wants to be a paleontologist (actual use of the word, which makes my jaw drop) [...]
Reclaiming Our Childhood Connection to Nature
Editor’s Note: Good morning. Today, local mom and outdoor education advocate Barb Haffner is her to kick off her regular Nature Journals column on OBE. In my own experience, getting kids outside and letting them discover the natural world for themselves is a remarkably eye-opening experience. From the relationships that they develop with other children [...]
Mom-Rated Family Learning Websites
The kiddo totally decides what is cool in our house. Yeah, I lead her in directions I would like to see her pursue. But, cripes if she thinks my coffee filter butterflies are lame and I am a dork for any number of not-so-veiled attempts and exercising my parental will in the educational universe lately. [...]
Great Canadian Kids Nature Books
Spring brings out the scientist in me (ha, you all laugh. When am I not in science girl mode?) I am a botanist/ecologist/microbiologist/nature loving curious type from the word go. But, this time of year I get serious about our nature learning and head out into the deep forest of the local bookstore for some [...]
SPROUTS – Creating a Kids Garden
Another sunny day. Everyone loves it when warm days blow in. With all this good weather I can finally tackle the weeds that have been meandering in my garden beds and deadhead a few of the plants that escaped me in the Fall. It is so refreshing to be outside for hours these days – [...]
Earth Day Crafts – Binoculars & Mini Journals
Editor’s Note: This week we are plugging in to all things Earth Day and thinking green as we work our way toward Saturday when we celebrate island-style with the Earth Day Family Festival. Our Big Earth is running the Kids and Family Zone and, whoa, there is some seriously fun, green-ness on the schedule. Check [...]
BUMPS – It's Spring, Time to Nest
The space I have carved out for myself in this house is the spare room. This is where I write. Since my daughters share a room, this one is mine…well kind of. I guess I share the space with the ironing board, the pack-n-play (for our baby guests to snooze), broken and obsolete electronic equipment, [...]
Spring NeighbourWood Walks Registration…x2
I am so excited to say that the Our Big Earth NeighbourWood Walks program is officially one year old. We’ve completed four seasons of walking in the woods, on the trails and at the shoreline, exploring nature kid-style. (By the way, this is double-post Tuesday. I’ll have some crafts for you this afternoon) And, with [...]
Family Fitness – Safety Keeps You Fit on the Trails
Editor’s Note: Good Morning. Today we’re hanging out with Equilibrium Lifestyle Management owner Sarah Seads as she gets us geared up for long Spring days out on the trails or at the beach. After this crazy Winter, I know I’m totally excited to get back out there and spend some quality time working out and [...]
Sunday Morning Walks – Time to Tide Pool
The starfish are calling. I’m totally serious, they’re wondering where all of the humans are. They’ve finally come up for some air after a long, chilly Winter under water. So, it must be time for us to dig out the wellies and head for the waves… or at least the low tide line. This is [...]
Life Cycles for Preschoolers
OK, so there are a couple realities to working on “learning” projects with a preschooler: 1. Attention span that generally amounts to nanoseconds 2. The constant reminder that 37-year-old mom obviously knows far less than 3.5-year-old child 3. Permanent mess syndrome 4. Sitting at the dining room table is the LAST thing on anyone’s mind [...]
Win Kids Gear with the Click of the Camera
M and I just spent an hour or so watching the gorgeous sunrise this morning and, while we were busy telling stories about unicorns in the clouds and watching them change lovely, mid-Winter shades of pink and orange, she belted out “This needs a picture mommy. Go get the camera.” While I passed, wanting more [...]
Winter NeighbourWood Walks Registration
Good Morning. If you all are anything like us, this crazy Winter of snow, snow and more snow followed up by freezing, fog and more fog has left us a bit less active outside than usual. I always need a bit of group motivation to get me outside when the weather looks much more suited [...]
Family Craft – Glitter Mushrooms
We are having more than a wee bit of trouble getting our rears out of bed the last few days, and this morning was no exception as all of us rolled over at about 8 a.m. But, the one thing that seems to get us over the perpetual mist and gray is our “Family Tree” [...]
Family Craft – Waldorf-inspired Winter Birds
I am a bit of a Christmas scrooge when it comes to taking down the decorations. The pile of pine needles on the floor and the clutter from the holidays send my brain into crazy mode and generally everything comes down within 24 hours of the big day. This year was just the same, and [...]
Children's Stories of Winter That Make Your Heart Fill With Love
Ken was horrified that I’d brought a book like this home from the library. While I went for what was shaping up to be a long visit to the midwife on Tuesday, he and the tiny person broke into the latest stack of books and CDs that had come home with us from the library [...]
Nature Journal – Winter Tracks
Up earlier than anyone in the house this morning, the tiny person sprinted to the window, wrenched on the blinds and gasped that stunning “Oh my goodness” moment when she realized that yesterday’s snow hadn’t washed away. Nearly impossible since we got nearly a foot – with a bit more on the way I’m told [...]
Nature Journal – Winter Bird Feeding Walks
I saw the light in her face the first time our daughter and a chickadee made eye contact – and it was pure magic. We’d walked the Lazo Marsh loop what seemed like a thousand times before then – through a Summer of sunshine and a mild Fall. But, the birds hadn’t made their debut [...]
Nature Journals – Great Blue Heron
Editor’s Note: We had a fantastic launch to our Fall NeighbourWood walks yesterday, with an incredible crew of families out watching the salmon run at Morrison Creek. Check out some of the photos from the day on our NeighbourWood Walks page One of the great rainy season survival tools that I dug into while slugging [...]
Announcing The Fall NeighbourWood Walks
Good morning. I am happy to say that after a couple months of NeighbourWood Walk withdrawl since our fantastic Summer series that saw 60 kiddos and their families out for walks all over the region, the Fall walk series is nearly here. September is always a nutso month for families, and October has been a [...]
Salmon Journals
Editor’s note: Most of my memories from childhood – at least the ones that truly stick – live outside. The explorations, the learning, the absolutely amazing discoveries made in the woods or even just the park down the street shaped me, made me want to do one thing – get back outside for more. Giving [...]
Whooooo's There – Paper Owl Door Decor
When I woke up this morning and realized this was the last time I’d ever post on Comox Valley Kids, I had one seriously weepy moment. Tomorrow morning, most if not all of you will be redirected over to Ourbigearth.com and we will launch our new phase as Our Big Earth-Comox Valley. I feel like [...]
Fall Nature Crafts – Wax Paper Pressed Leaves
The other day, I was clicking through blogs, pawing through craft books and staring blankly at a bowl full of Fall leaves we’d collected on a recent Filberg adventure when I thought (uhoh) – wax paper. Who knows what triggered this childhood memory. But, I was trying to figure out a way to press leaves [...]
Beakers KidScience – Alternative Energy
I’m a science geek…and I’m good with that. So, as we wrap up with Jeanne DuPrau’s blog book tour for the fourth Books of Ember Diamond of Darkhold it was pretty much required that I geek out in the kid learning department. I don’t suspect that our 3-year-old is going to be picking up DuPrau’s [...]
Learning Trees With Leaf Hangings
There is a bit of a chill in the air and early last week, as I was packing us into the truck, I spotted red leaves. Then yellow, even a couple of orange beauties stood out against the bluer than blue sky. We’d been talking, the last couple of times out in the woods, about [...]
Summer NeighbourWood Walk No. 6 – Lazo Marsh
Good morning! We had nearly a full crew (52 kiddos) for the NeighbourWood Walk out at the Lazo Marsh yesterday and wow was I ever impressed at the ingenuity and sense of teamwork this group of tiny people have developed with each other. But, before I gush, some cool breaking news. Our long-term NeighbourWood Walks [...]
Summer NeighbourWood Walk No. 5 – Seal Bay Beach Trail
Good Morning! Well, the hiking gods conspired against our trip out to Cumberland this week as, while the family and I were out on our test run of the trail out at Cumberland Community Forest last Saturday we ran into a few unfriendly bits of poison foliage and bugs that, while they shouldn’t discourage you [...]
Summer NeighbourWood Walk No. 4 – Fanny Bay
Note to self: wine with the girlfriends after a long day on the trail is excellent fun at 9 p.m., not so excellent fun at 6 a.m.:) A small group of super intrepid walkers made it out to our fourth NeighbourWood Walk yesterday, which took us to the far south end of the Valley and [...]
The Farm – Rocking the Barnyard
When we popped in at the Hands-On Farm over at the Filberg on Sunday, Popsicle was giving us the evil eye. Maybe it was the “Please save me from these crazy pigs” eye. Nonetheless, his new “buddies” Penelope and Veruca are scaring the spots off of him. P & V may only be six weeks [...]
Seashell Maracas
Editor’s Note: In yesterday’s post, I mentioned that the NeighbourWood Walk for next week would be out at Cumberland Community Forest. I blame it on birthday brain. We aren’t in Cumberland next week. We’re out at Ship’s Point in Fanny Bay. Sorry about that. Read on and it may make sense to you why my [...]
Summer NeighbourWood Walk No.3 – Oyster River
I realized yesterday that one of the most fun things to do on a day in the woods is have a picnic. OK, so that’s an easy one to figure out. But, we are always hauling around food, snacking on the go, on the move. Stopping to actually sit down and have a formal, yet [...]
Children's Books That Make You Want To Run Through the Meadow
Since I finished reading Food Not Lawns by H.C. Flores I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the changing face of yards. When I was a kid, a big yard, perfectly mowed and glistening green was the envy of every parent in the neighbourhood. But, it wasn’t the manicured lawn I loved. I spent [...]
Summer NeighbourWood Walk No. 2 – Pt. Holmes Reef
There is a perfection to kids in nature. Those times when they can soak themselves down, run around barefoot and discover unbelievable sorts of wonders – together – force us as adults to slow down a bit, let a few things go, and just let them be for a while. We find ourselves standing back [...]
Summer NeighbourWood Walk No. 1 – MacDonald Wood
It’s about 8:45 a.m. as I sit down to write this post. As a general rule, I write the night before. Mornings are nuts around here and throwing blogging into that mix is generally a stress of the unnecessary kind. But, today, it’s entirely beautiful. That’s totally because I got out of bed about five [...]
Books that Make Home Life Inspirational
I have a crush. Not really on a person, but a lifestyle – a way of being that is both simple and magical. It pulls together all of the homemade goodness of our childhoods with the purposeful parenting partnerships of today’s generation of moms and dads. It’s one of those things that I’ve been in [...]
Final Spring NeighbourWood Walk – The Filberg
I am shocked at how little time six weeks actually is. Blink. From our first meeting out at MacDonald Wood Nature Park to the last moments of exploration and hanging out yesterday at The Filberg, CVK’s Spring NeighbourWood Walk series seemed to just fly by. I suspect that’s because we were so busy having fun, [...]
Nature's Recreation Centre
Comox Rec Program Director Patti Fletcher is in the house today talking about how recreation centres can serve as the portal to having fun exploring the outside. I particularly appreciate Patti’s perspective since I often see local community centres as the alternative to the outside, not really understanding how much they offer beyond their doors. [...]
