Have you ever heard of geocaching? Most people have heard of it but haven’t tried it. My first exposure to geocaching was reading a course description on my city’s parks board months ago. From that moment I was hooked.  If you are looking for ways to keep children entertained wouldn’t the following description be enticing? “A worldwide game of hiding and seeking treasure using technology.” Treasure hunting at any age ~ what’s not to like?

Unable to register my boys for the course – the wonderful geocaching duo behind Geocaching101 were introduced to me and spoiled myself and my boys to a personal introduction to Geocaching this afternoon. I wanted to share the experience immediately because it was so beneficial and rewarding. Literally, I’ve done nothing else but look up caches in my area since coming home from the outing. I can understand why there’s a warning on most geocaching sites about possible addictions. =)  I think I’ve caught the bug and it’s great this new activity will be relatively inexpensive and so healthy for my children and family. For anyone struggling with keeping older kids entertained and away from TV, computers, and video games this summer – learning how to geocache may just be your ticket to enjoying the next few months outdoors.

Before I start on my rant about boys and electronics I’ll remember I’ve already written about this. It’s a daily battle with all my kids to keep them focused on nature and activities rather than jumping onto the computer or firing up the Wii. With geocaching it’s two wonderful worlds colliding for children – electronic GPS system (or iphone app) and treasure hunting in nature. Really, what isn’t to like?  Only…in a child’s mind it gets better….they are hunting treasures. And this isn’t the point of geocaching and shouldn’t be an important part of your geocaching experience, but let’s just think like children for a moment ~ and once they are told they’ll be discovering treasure – they are very exited! Once you have loaded the coordinates into your GPS or iphone and located the cache – usually there is a log book so they can sign their name and swap trinkets. Yes, the trinkets are normally plastic because they need to be permeable to wet weather, but the children are simply thrilled by this aspect of geocaching. The thrill for many children and adults is the adrenaline rush of the ‘find’.  Getting close to the cache, resisting the need to check the clue, then searching around for that perfectly hidden cache is the true thrill of geocaching. And it’s so exciting to find the cache…but knowing there are treasures inside was exciting for my boys today and we even found a cache located at a park 2 blocks from our house after we got home…without the asssitance of a GPS. Just putting our postal code into the ‘hide and seek’ section of the www.geocaching.com site we found a cache very easily and will try this route because we don’t have a GPS system or iphone. My boys left hockey cards and even my girls were excited by the treasures.

If this information feels overwhelming, just post a comment to this article and we’ll help you out. I slightly begged Anthony and Gwen to further develop private geocaching tours because I’d love to take my boys and their buddies (and parents) on a geocaching expedition. If you ask around your friend base, hopefully you’ll be lucky enough to find someone that can show you the geocaching ropes. Once you discover the magic – it’s hard to go back to being a Muggle. Umm yes, the activity of geocaching even has reference to ‘Muggles’ which as we know from Harry Potter refers to people that are non-wizards or in this case, non-geocachers. In the log notes that are left after discovering a cache, nearby people that aren’t aware of geocaching, are referred to as Muggles and in our house right now, there isn’t a more cool topic that anything referencing Harry Potter and wizards.

I will be writing more over the next few months on geocaching. I strongly urge any mom looking for an activity for children to register for free at the geocaching site: www.geocaching.com. First you create a free account, then you click on the ‘hide & seek a cache’ tab and submit your postal code.  You’ll be surprised how close a cache may be to your home. Check it out by downloading to a GPS or using the iphone application or just try finding it on your own using Google Maps or the directions located within the cache. Here are some pictures and highlights of the fun we experienced this afternoon!

Locating our first cache. We were so lucky it was an official, large cache box – it had awesome clues and coordinates and funny enough – it was hidden near a spot my boys have played next to for years!

Another cache we found was hidden in the bottom of a 10 foot high tree stump and covered with a piece of bark. This type of coverage is referred to as geocaching bark – I’ll never look at carefully placed bark again without assuming there are treasures beneath it.

When I first read about geocaching I really assumed it was for older children. But after spending the day with Anthony & Gwen Floyd and @seanfunk’s family – I know that like anything…really fun activies that are discovered with an entire family are the best. We had toddlers on our geocaching tour today and they were incredibly well-behaved and excited by this activity. Read more about geocaching with toddlers here. The below picture is of Anthony with his little guy in the backpack  - both were happy as could be!

Our 2nd to last cache found was a magnet stuck under a park bench. The two muggles that were sitting on the bench as over 10 people excitedly approached was pretty funny. They had no idea what we were doing – but Angelo was super excited to find a very small cache stuck underneath the bench.

I feel so lucky to be introduced to so many fun activities in a quest to keep my kids engaged in nature. Thank you to Gwen, Anthony, and @seanfunk - it was a great day and launching pad for discovering caches with my kids.

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Sometimes we all need a little ‘earthy inspiration’ surrounding holidays that are surrounded in plastic packaging, plastic gifts, commercialism, and loads of artificially coloured & sweetened goodies. When researching this article, it was amazing the physical effect these pictures and products had on my body – I felt my stress just melt away so I wanted to share. There are some seriously talented people that contribute earthy magic to Easter this year.  Enjoy!

Wonderful article from Green Baby Guide on naturally dying Easter eggs with using beautiful silhouettes of nature. My clan will be working on some fern prints tomorrow – we just mastered the white crayon and dye technique today.

My favourite writer and artist this Easter has been the Linda behind the blog Natural Suburbia where she shares her patterns and thoughts on homeschooling with a waldorf based curriculum.  Her adorable creations are so special because they embrace the classic waldolf styles, but also have ‘kid appeal’ that children would love and want to play with. Get ready to be relaxed and inspired.

Hand Knit Easter egg tutorial and Egg tree instructions:

Felted bird nest tutorial:

Angora knit bunny from her shop for purchase:

I recently had a wonderful phone call with ‘Mama Maven‘, otherwise known as Tanis Frame and like most green minded mamas – an instant connection formed. Tanis’ passion is to empower parents with knowledge and is hired to speak to schools or parent groups and share her quality knowledge with topics like healthy home, baby carrier info and diapering alternatives. She can also be contacted to speak in a smaller, more intimate setting with groups of friends – very cool for a group of ladies joining the new world of parenting.

During our phone call, she suggested additional tips for naturally removing contaminants and improving bedroom air quality and I’m happy I can share. My thanks to Tanis, who with a background in toxicology and children’s environmental health is an amazing resource for information and it’s always fun to learn tips that are inexpensive and easy to source.

Tips to Instantly Improve Household Air Quality

Fresh Air!   Could it be that simple? Inside our home is where many chemicals off-gassing resides, particularly formaldehyde and benzene. Released from furniture, carpets, cleaning products, along with phthalates and flame retardants in bedding and dust, these toxins tend to collect in our homes and the air we breathe.  So get outside and spend time outdoors and bring the fresh air in and open your windows and flush through fresh air. Enjoy the benefits of quick recirculation and refreshing of the air you’re breathing. An instant process to remove odours and think of it as nature’s air freshener. One of the quickest ways to create a toxic environment for children is to spray air fresheners and febreeze in the air. Read more on masking odours with chemicals here.

Bring in Plants! Not only do plants freshen the air we breathe, but also the planet and our indoor spaces. Tanis mentioned a study by Nasa about how plants remove assorted chemicals in different amounts. It is SO interesting!  The common philodendron, spider plant, devil’s ivy, and Boston fern naturally remove formaldehyde from the air.  Peace lilies, chrysanthemums, and gerbera daisies are said to filter out benzene and trichloroethylene.  Mama Maven’s personal favourite is the Snake Plant because it’s not only a top air purifier, it grow quickly, is inexpensive, and it’s very difficult to kill. (Big bonus for parents that don’t have time to manage finicky plants.) Another great plant is the Spider Plant because it hangs out of reach and the “babies” can be rooted in water and planted over the course of the year.

Added note from Suzanne… Certain plants recommended are considered poisonous houseplants so you need to keep up, away from pets and children (e.g. Snake Plant). Here is a list of Poisonous Houseplants from the Blog Houseplant Care Tips **

Added note from Suzanne… I read the Houseplant chapter of Adria Vasil’s latest Ecoholic book, called Ecoholic Home and she agrees with plants improving air purification and recommends “15 leafy creatures in a 2,000 square foot home should do the trick” for encouraging absorption of certain VOCs like formaldehyde and benzene. A great read if you are looking for extensive and quality research on greening and creating a healthier home.

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I have to start this article on a personal note and I don’t very often so please indulge me.  I have two sons and my feelings for them are unique to anything in my life. I honestly believe I could stare at their faces all day.  I could sit in a chair and watch them play for hours and they bring me more joy in life then I ever thought imaginable. I’m sure this is true for most mother/son relationships because as moms we try so hard to understand these little wild things from the moment they enter our life and it’s not always easy and doesn’t come naturally like it does for dads.  We know they are different from us and it’s a beautiful feeling to just accept and embrace those differences.

From the time my boys were young, being active outside, running off massive amounts of energy was my connection and way to engage my guys.  Now, more and more I find them craving anything electronic.  They could bounce from the TV, to computer, to handheld devices all day and go to bed happy. Why the pull to electronics for boys?  Starting at the age of 5 and 6 I’ve really noticed this behaviour and it worries me. I find as a parent I need to stand on my head to entertain them enough to leave these games.  Part of me knows that boys need to be stimulated constantly to stay engaged with activities. What activities are effective with keeping them entertained and away from the screen? Here are a few ideas I can share that effectively keep their brains and hands busy:

Wood-nails-hammer.  It’s really that simple. Put a pile of wood outside, different size nails and a kid friendly hammer and trust them to not break a finger. My 7 year old even made a Halloween decoration out back this year with wood and was so proud of himself. To encourage this healthy activity, Santa will be bringing my boys their very own toolboxes. This gift idea is a great price point and something practical that will get used. A hammer, variety of nails, tape measure, screws, and scrap wood can all go inside.

If your child is pre-school age and too young to handle real nails, my sons’ preschool had an incredible idea that introduced 3 year olds to the idea of hammering.  They collected the packing foam that comes with a new appliance and put out golf tees and little hammers for the kids. The golf tees slide into the packing material like butter and they can’t hurt themselves.  Pretty smart and the kids love it!

Drawing and crafting. Nothing keeps hands busy like paint, glue, and markers. My boys love to draw and craft.  It can sometimes be daunting to come up with great ideas on the spot, so here it’s always nice to receive a great craft kit to bring out when boredom strikes. My little guinea pigs loved building the wooden rocket Green Planet Parties just got in. It includes paint, stickers, glue, 15 wooden parts, and boys had a blast putting it all together!

Playdough – so easy to make at home!  Best ever play dough recipe found here and read the comments at the bottom of the article – there are some great ideas.

Ink pads and stamping. Great for boys that get easily frustrated drawing. I picked up a fantastic knights stencil and stamp set from Dandelion Kids and the brand is called Dejeco. It’s amazing and I can’t wait to try the stamp kit that consists of all robot parts. So you stamp robot parts together to make full robots which all boys love. Aliens, robots, wild animals are great bets that boys will want to draw and a stencil set can really benefit a child just learning how to draw.

Writing and story and illustrating. A great way to help with writing and drawing, my boys love to sit and create little books. When they are young, we write the story for them and they draw pictures. Now that they are older, they get to write and illustrate.  These little books also make a great keepsake!

Dress up. Yes, boys love to dress up and a good cape is a magical gift for any young boy. Pirate gear or masking a caped crusader is wonderful to watch a boy transform. Try to purchase the cape without any shiny decals because it screams PVC.  And if a treasure gold hunt accompanies these costumes, why that’s even better!

Kids and bird watching.  Borrow a pair of grown-up binoculars, purchase a bird book of bird species local to your area, grab a pencil and notepad and you’re ready to bird watch. The small winter birds are out and hungry so it’s easy to put out a bird feeder and watch and record their activity for hours. A fun craft that we did today is making bird feeders out of pinecones, peanut butter, rolled in seeds. For full instructions click here.

Empty box. I hate to say it because you hear it so often, but my boys have the best time with oversize appliance type empty boxes.  Cutting out their own windows, decorating with stickers or words is just the best feeling in the world. My 5 year old made his own Christmas house out of a box last year and I still have it in my garage. He worked so hard on it and it sat in my living room for months before we finally put it away. The best thing is these boxes are free and can be recycled at your curb when the boys are done decorating and playing in it.  Here was the result with led lights and a christmas welcome sign attached by a craft tube that he thought of himself.

Do you have more ideas for keeping boys (and girls) entertained and unplugged?  Please post a comment and share your ideas.

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A few months ago I received Clementine Art soy crayons to review which is great because I’ve always wondered how a soy crayon stands up against Crayola and no-name brand crayons.  Not to be a crayon snob…but there is such a big difference in quality with the amount you pay for art supplies and crayons are no different!  When I opened the box of these soy crayons, I sensed immediately I was going to be a fan.  The shape of them are just perfect for kid’s hands as you will see from the image below.  The quality of the crayon is also amazing and it’s tough to use regular old crayons after using the Clementine Art crayons. Interesting when you read the desciption on the Clementine site, you see the word ‘creamy’.  I thought it was such a funny word to describe a crayon, but it’s actually a perfect description because the crayons simply glide over the paper. With my 4 kids that craft, color, or draw every day, even I’m searching for one of these unique soy crayons to color with because they are so easy to use. I remember when my twins were at the age where the fun world of coloring and drawing started I purchased the plastic round ink ’dabbers’ that were marketed for a very young child.  I thought “great idea” thinking the round shape of them would work well and be easy for them to navigate. This was simply not true and they turned out to be a waste of money. The shape of the Clementine Art crayons are perfect for all hand sizes and would be my pick for children of any age to begin exploring or that love art. Check out the below picture to view the unique crayon shape:

So why all-natural art supplies?  These 6 products under the Clementine Art umbrella are not only a step-up in quality (you get what you pay for), but a better choice for our children and the planet. Traditional crayons are produced with petroleum and synthetic additives (yuk!) and the packaging is not always eco-friendly.  Clementine Art is one of the very few companies to list their ingredients and you will enjoy reading this list including; kosher soy wax, mineral pigments, beeswax, carnauba wax, vegetable stearic acid, calcium carbonate (chalk), natural brazilian rosin, and titanium dioxide. No chemical dye or additives.  Whew!  - our parents never would have believed the crayon world could be so complicated.

The story of how Diane, the founder of Clementine Studio and her wonderful art products is lovely because she is actually a dedicated art teacher from Boulder Colorado.  Her studio was a place where children were encouraged to get messy and creative with glue, glitter, paint, and more! Wondering what actually was included in the description of ‘non-toxic’ with all of these products, Diane started making her own play dough and paint and Clementine Art was born.

I would recommend any of the Clementine Art products as wonderful stocking stuffers this Christmas. The soy crayons and natural paint are way high up on my list with Santa this year. I’ll need to request another pack of the crayons into my own stocking because my kids keep calling dibs on the soy crayons so I’m stuck with the cheap, broken crayons at the art table. And when your kids notice a difference in art supplies…you take notice.  I can’t wait to try the paint and will be on the look-out at my local Whole Foods until the Clementine Art site lists more online retailers.  The other 5 products Clementine Art offers via Whole Foods (and smaller stores over the next few months) are: soy crayon rocks, natural glue, modeling dough, natural paint, and natural markers.