A few weeks ago I loaded the kids in the car, filled the trunk with seeds, seed potatoes, and seed starts and my trusty rototiller road “shotgun”.

We headed off to my dear friend Nadine’s house. 

A little side family history: Nadine is married to Jori, one of my brother’s best friends growing up. Our families were very close and we spent tons of time together. (Playing outside!)

Well, our families are still friends and when I am in a bind for childcare or my laundry just piles up too high or my son needs a place to stay the night- I call them up and off he goes backpack-in-hand ready to visit his best friends. (Much like my brother and I when we were young.)

When we arrived we had a great lunch and then we went to work on the garden; I had offered to put in veggies, since they are always so helpful to me.

The kids helped digging and making raised beds.

We planted peas, onions sets, lettuce, carrots, beets, spinach, kale and potatos. The day was filled with team work, and laughter and a little heavy lifting.

In the end, we made a beautiful garden. 

To another generation of friendship. Thanks!

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Welcome back the the Backyard Mama Children and Nature Blog Carnival. Shared between the kids, the house, the chickens and creating a business, my time has been in short supply. I look forward to sharing ideas and inspiration with you in whatever form you can today.

And I promise, no matter how enticing it is to play outside, next week I’ll be back to continue creating this community of awesome explorers.

Please link- up, remember to follow the rules and include the line “this is part of the Backyard Mama blog carnival” with a link back to this post.

Thank you for your support and participation! Now unplug and head outside from some Nature Play! ~ The Backyard Mama

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Life is bursting forth through every blade of grass, tree leaf, flower and even in the smiles on the faces of passersby.

As I write, I am listening the the chirping of our baby chicks- one day old and making it on their own in a plastic container in my living room. The sheaths on their feathers are breaking as little feathers emerge.

Out the window the backyard is radiant.

April Showers Bring May Flowers.

The apple blossoms are in full bloom.

Peas and lettuce are growing and looking scrumptious!

Tulips and daffodils are punctuating the green with lovely streaks of color.

Blossoms on the blueberry bushes remind us of tasty treats to come.

And the perennial garden is filling in nicely.

This is the joy and celebration of May Day. To spend time playing in the dirt, picking flowers, making baskets, dancing the May Pole to lively music, and enjoying festivities with friends and family.

I am excited to participate in a May Pole this weekend; other great May Day activities include: making dandilion necklases, or forsythia wreath headresses, or delivering home made May flower baskets.

Whatever you do on May Day- celebrate this fresh new life beaming from every nook and cranny.

And while your at it, remember this is my favorite holiday.

In case you’re inspired to make your own May Pole, here are some great simple instructions.

As always, the best thing to do is enjoy whatever you can get to- even if it’s just stopping for a moment to smell the flowers.

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Thank you for participating or stopping by Backyard Mama’s Children and Nature Blog Carnival. Everyone is such an inspiration.

Check out previous carnivals if you haven’t been here before- there’s a wealth of great information here!

Please remember to follow the rules and link back to this post by adding a line such as “this is part of the Backyard Mama blog carnival” to the end of your post.

Mcklinky will close at 11:59 pm April 29th.

Future Topics:

May 5th- Writer’s Choice (generally involving children and nature).

May 12th- Three outdoor adventures you are planning for this summer. (May involve kids or how to involve kids).

Now unplug and head outside! ~ Shannon {The Backyard Mama}

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Tonight after dinner we went for a walk to the pond.

When we arrived at the pond, we listened for the ducks and geese and looked for the beaver, then we started to head home, but decided to walk through the woods to the waterfall.

The air was a little chilly, but not cold and the sun hung low on the horizon.

As we walked we chatted about glaciers, kettle ponds, and how the big huge boulders were placed all over by ice a long time ago. 

The path winds along parallel to the pond; we sat and watched a flock of geese swim through the water, then one made a bunch of noise and took off into the air; the others followed.

We saw the reflection of the sun in the water as we sat on a big boulder and hung our legs over the edge.

When we arrived at the little dock and the waterfall, we planned to swim and canoe and wade in the water later this Spring in warmer weather.

On our way home, my son choose to cut through the woods rather than follow the path, he turned to me, “Mom, this is a real adventure.” And that it was- we climbed over logs and stumps and rocks, finally arriving in our neighbor’s backyard.

When we go home, we ate a little snack and he headed to bed (and me to the computer).

I love to share these precious moments with my son in nature- so straightforward, rewarding and simple.  This is why I wish for every person to have a connection with nature as a foundation for life!

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Thank you for stopping by! I’m really enjoying linking up with other nature friendly blogs each week.

If you’re here to participate, please remember to follow the rules and link back to this post!

 April 21st the topic is Earth Day and Kids.

April 28th the topic is May Fun for Kids in Nature!

Thanks for your support and I look forward to reading each and every entry!

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I’ve been having computor trouble and lots of kids to attend to. So sorry if this was a drag for you today! Hope it will work itself out. Now I have written and re-written this post so many times.. I am off to my favorite nature place to recover from getting this together! Thanks for joining!.

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This past week we have had a lot of rain here in Rhode Island… and as I went walking down the street with my mother and son, looking for puddles to splash in and run off streams by the edge of the road to dam- up, I remembered the Spring rains of my childhood.

We lived in an incredibly unique community- as a child I rarely had adult supervision- we played in the creeks and forests, meadows and up and down the roads. In the Spring we headed to the creek, inner-tube in hand, and floated the rapids, splashed, made mud pies and laughed.

The creek we played in was about 3 feet wide on a normal day, but doubled in size in April. There were a few pretty wild rapids that were just daring enough for a young adventurer to experiment with white water.

When we were worn out from being cold and wet, we’d head over the a big hill ;with tons of small run-off streams and we’d build dams and re-direct the water flow to make little ponds and float boats. Eventually the dam would break, and boats float away; of course we’d start over- this took hours of focused excitement!

This deluge of 2010 brought back so many wonderful memories- I had a great time digging trenches to keep the rain from pooling next to our foundation. I watched as my garden became completely submerged in water. I splashed in a puddle got soaked, then heard a saturated tree crumble in the woods.

As I sat down to write about my favorite outdoor place of childhood- I realized that this special place was where ever I was outside, breathing fresh air, experiencing the elements, and enjoying the excitement of company.

Thanks for participating once again in the Nature and Children Blog Carnival. So many wonderful people joined in last week, I encourage newcomers to read the entries.

Welcome to the second Nature and Children blog carnival with the theme: favorite place in nature from your childhood.

Please remember to link back to this post and follow the rules.

April 14 theme: Writer’s Choice (must have to do with children and nature generally)

April 21st Kids and Earth Day!

Off to play! ~Shannon

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Children are constantly learning; they are sponges for whatever is around them. The magnificent web of life in nature creates a gentle learning environment.

When my son was learning to walk, I took him into our pine forest and he’d teeter-totter around on his wobbly legs. We spent a bunch of time at one special very small hill he’d crawl up, then run down; or toddle up then roll down.  He was learning gross-motor skills.

Last week, I took one of the babies I care for out to our garden and showed her the flower heather. She grabbed it with her little hands, worked at taking individual flowers off the stem. Of course she wanted to take it into her mouth, but that’s how babies learn! She was practicing her fine-motor skills. 

We go to tons of playgrounds, but my son’s favorite is the one where he can play with his squirrel friend. Yes, he loves squirrels, but this one grey squirrel really plays with my son. Through this relationship my son is learning stewardship and care for the earth {and socialization!}. 

There are the tough lessons too, our two rabbits died, and we’ve lost two chickens and one rooster. But life and death go together and children can understand this especially when they experience it through nature. This is the gift of understanding life.

 Playing outside in the elements, experiencing the seasons; listening to the ways the animals communicate, or the way the wind sounds on a breezy day or a windy day. The feel of the salt air and sand at the beach offers a deep and real experience of the senses. 

Unstructured child’s play is the best way for kids to learn these things- because it’s on their terms and their experiences are guiding their development.

So the next time you or I send our kids outside… watch closely and learn something!

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Thanks for joining the first Backyard Mama Nature and Children blog carnival. I am so honored by your participation and interest.

Remember to follow the rules and to link back to this post.

And now the drum roll….. next week’s topic: share with us a favorite outside hide-out/ place from childhood.  

See you next week…. now head outside! ~ Backyard Mama

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Spring is so wonderful. Everything is bursting with life and vitality. The sun is warming and it seems impossible to get enough outdoor time.

I’ve been doing everything outdoors: my laundry, working in the garden, coloring, tending chickens and taking walks in the woods.  This doesn’t leave much time for blogging and less time for looking around for all the great things you write.

But I love this community that enriches my life and so I am really excited to share my newest idea: create a weekly blog carnival!

The rules:

1) The carnival is open to all outdoor enthusiasts.

The topic with change weekly but the theme of connecting children (and adults) to nature will remain constant.

2) I will announce the topic each Wednesday for the following week.

3) Write your post at your convenience.

Each Wednesday come over and enter your permalink through McLinky. Please include blurb at the end of your post such as “this post is part of the Backyard Mama Wednesday link-up” and link back to me.

The Goals:

1) Create Community.

The primary goal of this carnival is to encourage a community of nature lovers to share ideas, offer support, ask questions and communicate.

2) Offer one-stop “shopping”.

I want to encourage a “grand central station” of ideas and information for connecting children and nature. Each specific topic will have links to a an array of blogs which will offer a variety of perspectives and experiences.

3) To have fun.

This is an idea, keep it fun, creative and vibrant. We’ll try it and see how it goes!

Last Wednesday I announced this weeks topic: learning through play in nature.

I can’t wait to see what we all muster up!

Come on over and link-up on Wednesday, then see what’s in store for next week!

Thanks for joining me I look forward to learning from you!

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