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!

***************************

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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Rainbows occur when sunlight bounces off water- it’s a dance of water fairies and sun (fire) fairies. (Highly technical here!)

The sun rays (light) split as they enter the water and are refracted creating all the colors of the rainbow.

On Earth Day, we were blessed with perfect weather all day and then an evening rain storm just as the sun was setting.

We snuck out for a pizza dinner at our favorite local dive and on our way home we saw a full arching rainbow.

And this one was REALLY special because it was Jeremiah’s first memorable rainbow and I want to share it with you.

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Gardening with kids can be messy. They don’t always “follow the row” , although this makes for a very beautiful garden, some of us with mild OCD  might go nuts as the spinach and lettuce get mixed together.

As a very loving and nurturing mama, of course I want my kids to enjoy planting and growing their own food, so what do I do as the seeds get sprinkled together and I just “know” it will be a mess?

I let it go. Peas taste great if they grow next to spinach. (And I always thin it out later).

But kids with big smiles showering seed into fresh turned dirt is so fun, healthy and exciting.

My son has learned to plant in a straight line… can you guess why? (Mama had something to do with it). But he likes to plant 4 varieties of peas in the same row, and he does.

Here are my suggestions for gardening with kids:

1) Start small. Or if you have a big garden, give the kids their own smaller space and allow the children to pick what they want to grow and let them do it!

2) Plant in containers: use pots and window boxes to contain the dirt or create containers using straw bales or tree stumps (get creative!) Give the kids some special area that it theirs.

3) Always honor what the kids want to do in their space; and be clear about the boundaries with where their space begins and ends… make garden signs or build a special “fence” with sticks or stones.

4) A one-year-old can plant a seed. Get kids in the garden as soon as they can walk (actually a sitting baby who doesn’t crawl yet is a great garden companion! And littler ones can come along for the ride on your back or in a stroller.)

5) Plant veggies you know your kids will eat, then plant a few new ones, most kids will eat “their” vegetables.

Happy Spring! May your garden abound with delicious foods!

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One of my favorite summer activities is to build little forts and huts in the nooks and crannies of trees, or built a  tipi with sticks and cover it with bark… all for the fairies of the forest.

This winter I decided to build winter fairy houses (cause the fairies need a place to stay all year- right?). So out in the winter-scape of sled tracks and snow angels, we built this lovely little igloo for the fairies of our forest.

After we built this, part of me climbed in to wait out the rest of the winter. I dragged myself out today to write this post… but I might end up back in hibernation.

How are y’all doing out there? I heard it snowed in Texas today- how ’bout that?

This is part of the 30 minute blog challenge of Steady Mom. Post time start to finish 20 minutes. (Although it took me all day to get the 20 minutes of sit down time!)

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I have recently become a “mother” to a 6 month old who is a big, healthy, happy little girl.

A big part of taking care of a growing baby is feeding her and since she doesn’t get the benefit of the delicious healthy “mama’s milk” I am doing my best to supply her with lots of “real” food- not just formula. I feed her all the colors of the rainbow and she just glows!

I enjoy making her solid foods.  This morning she had brown rice cereal, with blueberries (handpicked and frozen by me!) and bananas.  For lunch she will have some rice with peas (homegrown) and carrots and for dinner squash (homegrown) and green beans.  I like giving her a variety of foods and nutrients and I feel especially happy when I feed her foods we grew.  The foods are so full of life and fresh energy.  I can tell from the gleam in her eye and the smile on her face that she can taste the love. Foods fresh from Mother Earth give her the sustenance that mama’s milk gives too.

I use a food mill and make up enough food for a few days, freezing some and leaving some in the fridge for quick use. I re-use baby food jars that I have had for a long time because I feel better about freezing food in glass!

And as a side note…. the feeding process has humbled me.  I have always had judgement about folks who bottle and or formula feed.. and although I believe that breast is best… I now have the experience of formula feeding because of a special situation.  It is good to have an alternative like formula; I still wish for every baby a healthy, happy nursing life.

And may all children eat food from their own backyard.. right from the beginning!

This post is part of the 30-minute blog challenge of Steady Mom. Say it in 30 minutes!

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1) Fresh air is SURE to tire ‘em out! Then mom’s (or dad’s) can get some well earned “free” time.

2) Rote learning actually requires a lower brain function then creative learning… unstructured outside play leads to smarter adults.

3) Kids that play outside have more self-esteem and confidence.

4) Outside kids move  lots and  they stay fitter and healthier… while “thin is in” really “fit is it” we can honor different body types and stay healthy.

5) Outdoor time has a positive effect on kids moods.

This way we have happy, healthy, smart, confident children who are ready to go to bed at bedtime!

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It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that the days are getting shorter and the nights longer, but just for the heck of it, I looked it up today and here’s the data (for Rhode Island): 7:01 am sunrise and 4:16 pm sunset; with the day length shortening by about 47 seconds each day… we are fast approaching the shortest day of the year (December 21st). 

Make a lantern, bundle up and head outside!

There are many ways to make a lantern and I am going to share two simple ones.

1) Materials:

• a) quart-size ball jar,
• b) wire for hanging handle,
• c) tissue paper cut up into small pieces,
• d) no-cook paste  
• e) a tea light (candle)

Wrap the wire around the neck of the jar, and make a sturdy handle for carrying, (I suggest making the handle to one side to avoid hand burning). Using the paste, glue small pieces of tissue paper to the outside of the glass jar, overlapping the colors like stained-glass.

2) Materials

• a) Wax Paper
• b) tissue paper cut up in small pieces
• c) an iron
• d) towel
• e) glue or tape
• d) a tea light (candle)

Sandwich pieces of tissue paper between wax paper.  Overlap the tissue paper for a stained glass effect. Make sure the “waxy” side of the tissue paper is on the inside of the sandwich. Make an approximately 15 inch by 8 inch rectangle. (Let the kids measure for a math reminder!)

Even out the edges so it’s a nice even rectangle, then make a three inch long two inch wide “fridge” across the bottom.  Connect the two side edges of the wax paper, interlace the fridge to make a secure bottom (adding a piece of round cardboard or heavy weight paper makes this a little sturdier). Tape or glue the bottom and the seam along the side.

Look up and check out the stars! Do you see any shapes in the stars? Do you think the stars can see the light from your lantern? Enjoy the night sky!

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Here’s another view of our Climbing Tree.

This beautiful little maple tree is in our front yard and these radiantly red leaves have fallen to the ground in the past month.

Remember as a child watching the leaves fall to the ground, dancing in the gusty wind? And then trying to catch them? 

Last Thurdsay was the perfect leaf catching day here in our backyard so we ran and danced and caught leaves and made wishes with each successful catch.

This brought back such found memories of my childhood.

This morning, I found this wonderful little poem in a book called Autumn**.  

The Wind and the Leaves

1) ‘Come, little leaves said the wind one day,

Come o’re the meadow with me and play;

Put on your dresses of red and gold, 

Summer is gone and the days grow cold.’ 

2) Soon as the leaves heard the wind’s loud call,

Down they came fluttering, one and all;

Over the fields they danced and flew,

Singing the soft little songs they knew.

3) Dancing and whirling the little leaves went

Winter had called them, and they were content,

Soon, fast asleep on their earthy bed,

The snow laid a coverlet over their heads.

The colors, smells, warmth of the last days of Autumn are so beautiful and I can’t wait to get outside and enjoy them!

**Poems, Songs, Storied collected by Kindergarten Teachers from Steiner Schools in Britain for use in their work,  1983, Wynstones Press

{The is part of the 30-minute blog challenge brought to us by Steady Mom.}

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This time of year the darkness sets in so early that candles can be a really fun activity that can represent “lighting the way to a new year”.

Shopping List:

• Candle Wicks  (available at craft and hobby stores)
• Beeswax (available at Amazon- might be available locally too)
• Other needs:
• Small sized coffee cans
• Newspaper
• Lots of pot holders
• A large pot
• Sturdy twigs

1) The beeswax comes as a big block; chop this up into small pieces that will fit into coffee cans.

2) Fill a pot with water and place cans of beeswax into the pot. Don’t let the cans float (remove some water if they do).

3) Allow the wax to melt in the cans. (Adding fresh chunks as the wax melts).

…….While the wax is melting.

4) Cut 12 inch wicks. Tie one end of each wick to a twig.

5) Remember to check on your melting wax! When the cans have 6-8 inches of  melted wax, remove from the heat and place on a newspaper-covered area. (Note: use newspaper it’s a mess otherwise).

6) Dip the wick into the wax while holding onto the stick. “Dip it down; pick it up.”

7) Allow the wax to harden on the wick then re-dip… over and over and over again. Till the candle is large enough to fit in a candle holder. (To flatten the bottom of the candle, use wax paper and with each dip tap the candle on the wax paper- it will make the candle a tad easier to use in a candle holder).

Once you’re done, save the cans for next year (you can remelt the wax that’s left inside) and keep the newspaper for a fire in the wood stove (the wax on the paper will help the fire ignite).

Add some education to the process? Make honey cakes, use beeswax and talk about the gifts from the honey bees!

For more information or for guidance on making candles in a classroom setting, read Earthwaysby Carol Petrash.

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My little man is growing up; he’ll be three at the end of the month.  I still remember the overwhelming joy I felt when I realized I was pregnant; the absolute love when I first looked at this little naked body; the joy when he first nursed; the terror with the first big cut (a lip wound) and all the blood; I remember the first steps; potty training, weaning…. and now my little baby boy is climbing trees.

This time of year change is so obvious and natural and gentle. I enjoy taking the children outside to experience the everyday changes of falling pine cones, falling leaves, acorns etc. 

Last week, we went to the park where there was a cute little squirrel gathering goods for the winter and running up and down one tree.  My son, who genuinely thinks of squirrels as his friends and playmates, began chasing after it.  In complete terror, the squirrel perched on one very high branch. 

Jeremiah is learning from his nature buddies and I am learning to appreciate the changes and seasons as a mother.

Have a great day!  Be happy!

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