Read, Read, Read

Summer is flying and quite often, it feels as if June is busy with camps and sports but things begin to slow down around July.  Swimming and playing are all fun, but don’t forget to read!

Have you checked out your local library’s summer reading program? 

•    Olathe has “Find Fido” every Friday.  And children receive a treat once they visit the library and find him.  They also    offer  free movies and “Storytime in the Park.”
  Check out their program here: http://www.olathelibrary.org/kidsprograms

One of the most important things that you can do for your child is to read aloud to them… and then record it on this:

• http://hpb.com/fyb/pdfs/FYBReadingLog.pdf

And then take your child shopping at Half Price Books with the “bucks” that you earn!

• Ernie Miller has a special “Storytime Under the Stars” tomorrow night.  Info can be found here: http://www.erniemiller.com/calanderpage.html

 

• And, finally, ahem, Chuck E. Cheese has a whole lot of certificates that you can print off (especially reading) and complete for 10 free tokens.  (I have found that going there right when they open and are fresh and clean, is a good time to drop by and play with tokens.  And, you can get out of there before lunch-score!)

http://www.chuckecheese.com/activities/rewards-calendars

• Check out http://www.thecraftycrow.net/ for a great list of books to read each month, fun crafts to do, and other great activities.

Some good reads to help keep perspective

The weather is hot and sometimes the days are long.  Yesterday I instituted “no screen day.”  Did I tell you that the days are long? Years ago, when my children were preschoolers, we had many creative days spent baking, sewing, and creating art.  Lately, it seems that screens have gotten in the way.  So our “no screen day” included banana bread baking, Scrabble flash playing and even a little (ahem) acrobatics.

Hey, whatever it takes, right?  The kids thought I was funny and it really didn’t hurt that bad.

But, it’s always important to remember that kids need to be bored (so, you don’t need to always be doing acrobatic, wall climbing stunts)… because, quite often, that’s where creativity begins!: (click on pic for article)

And, as always, perspective is everything.  My oldest is 13 and when you think about it, I really only have 5 more summers with her before she’s grown.

Have you read this article?  (click on the picture)

Bass Pro Summer Camp Fun

Hello everyone!  What a summer it’s been so far!  Can you believe the rain that we’ve had?  It’s no fun when you’re all holed up in the house… I think we spent plenty of time there this winter!

So, I’d like to continue my roll of posts of fun things going on around the area in order to help make this the  easiest best summer ever with your children!

Bass Pro has some great, easy, and FREE activities for you all to enjoy this summer!  Click on the picture to learn more or give them a call for more information.

Crafts happen every Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday from noon to 2:00 p.m.

 

Firefly Forest Adventures- no longer available :(

I have to share a little adventure that my children and I went on last week… to Firefly Forest!  Perhaps you’ve heard of it.   I know that I had for the past year or so but was unsure of exactly how to maneuver getting there and hiking it.

We packed a picnic lunch and some extra water, drove to Deanna Rose Farmstead and parked in the older parking lot.  If you walk to the east side of the farm along Switzer, you can take a sidewalk south to a walking trail.  First we followed the path west (to our right) and found the entrance to the forest.

There were three houses along the trail!  It was fun to take in each and every detail.  Someone went to a lot of work in putting each home together.  And, I loved that they seemed so well preserved.

After seeing the three little homes, we turned around and walked the other way (west) and ventured under Switzer on the path.  There were several sets of more fairy homes that we noticed (about three sets in all)!

Some were set into trees with miniature doors and furniture and others were free standing.  And besides the little homes, there were so many other things that my girls and I enjoyed: a little creek (which had a snake on a rock sunning himself), a large tree that had fallen over and had the prettiest green bugs on it, and so many other fun surprises in the forest!

It was a fun little adventure that was very easy to do!  For those who have little ones, I do suggest bringing a stroller because there is walking and it can get to be tiresome.  There are benches along the way to sit and rest as well!

You can find more information about it here.