Parents as Teachers is an organization that supports parents as the first and most important teacher in their child’s life. I was pleased to be invited to attend the PAT Conference for Early Childhood Professionals as a blogger and PAT program coordinator/parent educator. Many thanks to PAT for providing me the opportunity to attend an amazing and informative conference; and to my school district for providing professional leave and travel.
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These sweet little diaper babies are adorable gifts and so easy your kids can help make them too. I will be making several to give to new parents in my program along with a bag of diapers. I would love to claim the idea but Pharma blog has a detailed post for creating these little people.
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Do you find yourself looking for ways to organize and store odds and ends without spending extra cash on containers? Repurposed containers work beautifully. I don’t feel guilty for throwing them out, using them saves money, and they can be spiffed up with a bit of paper and mod podge.
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We had the amazing experience of exploring Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. It was especially refreshing because we have been experiencing record breaking heat all summer. We drank in the cool mountain breeze and vistas. The sights, sounds, and smells were so gorgeous that I can’t help but share some photos with you along with a few tips that we learned along the way.
We quickly learned that mountain weather can be fickle and storms come up fast. Be prepared for them.
On our first hike we experienced rain, intense hail, and sun all in about twenty minutes. During the hail we were in the car in the parking lot.The hail was so intense we had to yell to each other to be heard. Whew! If we had arrived just a few minutes earlier we would have been on the trail.
Once the hail passed we hopped out of the car with our umbrellas, which aren’t exactly safe when there is lightening about. Many times I wished that we had five dollar ponchos in a pouch. Even so the rain felt great to us!
There are trail guides available. We hiked up Marmot Point which is above the tree line near the Alpine Visitor Center along Trail Ridge Road.
The hike was steep and the altitude was nearly 11, 900 feet. We felt oxygen deprived, but took our time and made it to the top. There were a few children on the trail, but I know that I likely would not have made it up the to the top if I had to carry a child. Know that your kids are up for a hike or that you can carry little ones in high altitudes. 
The views were spectacular. These photos only capture a hint of the moment. I wish you could smell air and feel the wind. Be sure your children can follow directions and can cooperate; there were steep slopes and drop offs all around:
The next day we hiked around Bear Lake. This trail was wide and flat and could easily be accessed with a stroller or wheelchair. After completing that trail we made the hike to Emerald Lake. The temperature changed frequently. It was cool and breezy near a lake or stream then as we hiked up the mountain we became very warm. A light weight jacket would have been better than the heavy zip up sweatshirt that I wore.This is Dream Lake:
This trail was popular and all ages were making their way up to the lake. When we reached the top of the trail we relaxed on the lake’s edge to enjoy the sights and the sounds of a waterfall spilling into Emerald Lake. It was amazing!
Emerald Lake is at the tree line and the snow fed waterfall is toward the back left of the basin. This is the view from large boulders at the end of the trail.
As you can tell I could go on and on!
One final word: be aware of altitude sickness, drink lots of water, wear a hat, use sunscreen and rest as needed. After three days of hiking we were a bit sunburnt and tired in a very good way.
I hope you have the opportunity to enjoy the parks and trails in your area. A hike provides the opportunity to bond as a family and enjoy the great outdoors. You can enjoy each others company, engage in conversation, and exercise all at the same time.
You don’t just talk about science, language, and history you can experience it and touch it.For example, this was the first time I walked on “tundra”. We didn’t just talk about it we felt it with our hands and feet as we sat on it. We felt the cold stream water, smelled beautiful wild flowers, and touched the pine trees. Hiking is an interactive learning experience.
If you have a favorite park or hiking trail that you would like to share with fellow readers leave the link in the comments and I will add it to the following list. I’ll add a new header for states or countries if needed.
Having fun enjoying the great outdoors together!
Big Creek State Park – Polk City
The Beach at Wales – a post from Taming the Goblin
Moving is stressful and these moving tips for kids will hopefully help with a smooth transition. Summer time is often moving time. School is out and we want to get our kids settled before it begins. We moved our family when our girls were 4 and 6 years old. We worked hard to make them feel prepared and at home in our new house. The following are few tips that we used when we moved. Plus, fellow bloggers friends have shared their moving tips too!
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We have a new bright colorful look on the blog thanks to my daughter, Lydia. She is graphic design and illustration student. Lydia and I have been talking about this for months. We’ve saved snippets of ideas on Pinterest. She has learned how design is implemented via online technology. I’ve learned about Photoshop elements. I had no idea of it’s capabilities; it’s amazing. Lydia is a patient teacher and for that I am truly grateful! It has been frustrating for us both at times as we try to translate our ideas and vision into a digital online medium. She used many hours of her visit home plugging away, tweaking, and enduring countless suggestions from her mother. It has been amazing to work together!
A Moment of Gratitude
I must say thanks to my family for their support of my blog. They are forever encouraging and endure all kinds of ‘blog talk’. My husband is my number one cheerleader. My eldest designer-daughter, Bethany, is my hands-on, go-to, in-person IT support staff. She designed my original graphics and is always willing to answer questions and give me feedback. Adam, my son-in-law, is the picture of patience as we girls ‘talk blog’. So…my heartfelt “thank-you” to Doug, Lydia, Bethany and Adam!
Connecting to CCK ~ Housekeeping
This summer I plan to post more frequently on the blog. If you subscribe to CCK via email and find it frustrating to receive an increasing number of posts in your in-box you might want to subscribe through a reader (RSS). Just click on the orange heart in the top right corner. I use Google reader and put it on my Google home page so that the CCK feed shows up like a headline. There are dozens of readers to choose from that are great.
Faith and Family
I plan to post more faith and Christian focused topics as this has always been a central point of our family. CCK’s primary focus will continue to be general early childhood activities, but I can’t ignore the importance of faith in our lives. Therefore, if I have ideas, resources, and activities to share that are faith related you will see them on the blog.
Thank YOU!
Thank you for taking precious moments of your time reading my sporadic posts. I remember being shocked that anyone would follow the blog, and thrilled to have 100 people following on Facebook. Now we have nearly 2000 followers on Facebook alone.
My heartfelt and humble ‘thank you’ to each and everyone!
Kristi
Once again, welcome to the Small Hands Creating Hope project! I am very pleased to be a part of this exciting fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. This project is a team effort of an incredibly talented group of bloggers who produce and write about fun, creative, and educational activities for kids. Each of us has worked with our children or students to create a craft that could be made by or for someone facing cancer. The projects in this book are stunning, and several include tutorials so that you can recreate them with your own children or students.
All of this wonderful ideas have been compiled into a beautiful ebook. For a minimum donation of $15 to the American Cancer society, you can receive this wonderful resource. An email with the download link, as well as a second link that allows you to purchase a hard copy of the book at production cost will be sent once we receive your donation. This button will take you directly to the American Cancer Society’s donation page:
If you donate but do not receive this email for any reason, or if you have trouble with the download, email smallhandsproject (at) gmail (dot) com.
Creative Connections for Kids contributed a yellow and purple watercolor butterfly to the project:
Just look at a few of the activities that are featured in the book!
MaryAnne at Mama Smiles compiled this book as a way of celebrating thirty years of cancer survivorship! She was diagnosed when she was just two years old. We are so thankful for her life! We are hoping to raise $3000 by July 4th. We are running a blog hop from May 14th until July 4th to celebrate and raise funds so that, in the future, thirty years of cancer survivorship will be the norm, not the exception! Learn about each of the bloggers who participated in the book by visiting each blog on their assigned dates – a few bloggers will be running celebratory giveaways too.
14 May Mama Smiles
15 May Artsy Craftsy Mom and Rainbows Within Reach
16 May B. Inspired, Mama!
17 May Rainy Day Mum and Imagination Soup
18 May Inspiration Laboratories
19 May Experimenting Mom
20 May Outlaw Mom
21 May NurtureStore
22 May Living Montessori Now
23 May Mess for Less
24 May Having Fun at Home and CraftoArt
25 May Mama Mia’s Heart2Heart
26 May Angelique Felix and Sense of Wonder
27 May Sun Hats & Wellie Boots
28 May Duck Duck Octopus
29 May Smiling like Sunshine
30 May Mommy with Selective Memory
31 May One Perfect Day
1 June The Educators’ Spin On It
2 June Kids Stuff World
3 June Rainy Day Mum
4 June Teach Preschool
5 June Dirt and Boogers
6 June Creative Connections for Kids and The Golden Gleam
7 June Montessori Tidbits
8 June Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas
9 June The Iowa Farmer’s Wife
10 June Scribble Doodle and Draw
11 June Learn with Play
12 June Kitchen Counter Chronicles
13 June CRAYON Freckles
14 June Glittering Muffins
15 June Wise Owl Factory
16 June Crafty Maa
18 June Lessons Learnt Journal
20 June Growing a Jeweled Rose
21 June Growing Play
23 June JDaniel4′s Mom
We would love for you to post the Small Hands Creating Hope button in your sidebar for this project to help promote the project.
Thank you for your support!
Why is sensory play such as finger-painting, play dough, sand, mud, and etc important to a child’s development?
When engaged in sensory play children use all of their senses. It promotes sensory integration which is the ability of the body to integrate and process all of the information it receives via the sensory modalities of touch, taste, smell, hearing, and vision. As children pour, dump, build, scoop, and explore they are learning about spatial concepts (full, empty). They learn pre-math concepts along with language and vocabulary. Messy play can be calming to children. It is not just about making a mess and getting dirty; it is an essential component to learning that encourages exploration and discovery through play.
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Welcome to the Small Hands Creating Hope project! I am very pleased to be a part of this exciting fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. This project is a team effort of an incredibly talented group of bloggers who produce and write about fun, creative, and educational activities for kids! Each of us has worked with our children or students to create a craft that could be made by or for someone facing cancer. The projects in this book are stunning, and several include tutorials so that you can recreate them with your own children or students.
All of this wonderful ideas have been compiled into a beautiful ebook. For a minimum donation of $15 to the American Cancer society, you can receive this wonderful resource. An email with the download link, as well as a second link that allows you to purchase a hard copy of the book at production cost will be sent once we receive your donation. This button will take you directly to the American Cancer Society’s donation page:
If you donate but do not receive this email for any reason, or if you have trouble with the download, email smallhandsproject (at) gmail (dot) com.
MaryAnne at Mama Smiles compiled this book as a way of celebrating thirty years of cancer survivorship! She was diagnosed when she was just two years old. We are so thankful for her life! We are hoping to raise $3000 by July 4th. We are running a blog hop from May 14th until July 4th to celebrate and raise funds so that, in the future, thirty years of cancer survivorship will be the norm, not the exception! Learn about each of the bloggers who participated in the book by visiting each blog on their assigned dates – a few bloggers will be running celebratory giveaways, too!
14 May Mama Smiles
15 May Artsy Craftsy Mom and Rainbows Within Reach
16 May B. Inspired, Mama!
17 May Rainy Day Mum and Imagination Soup
18 May Inspiration Laboratories
19 May Experimenting Mom
20 May Outlaw Mom
21 May NurtureStore
22 May Living Montessori Now
23 May Mess for Less
24 May Having Fun at Home and CraftoArt
25 May Mama Mia’s Heart2Heart
26 May Angelique Felix and Sense of Wonder
27 May Sun Hats & Wellie Boots
28 May Duck Duck Octopus
29 May Smiling like Sunshine
30 May Mommy with Selective Memory
31 May One Perfect Day
1 June The Educators’ Spin On It
2 June Kids Stuff World
3 June Rainy Day Mum
4 June Teach Preschool
5 June Dirt and Boogers
6 June Creative Connections for Kids and The Golden Gleam
7 June Montessori Tidbits
8 June Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas
9 June The Iowa Farmer’s Wife
10 June Scribble Doodle and Draw
11 June Learn with Play
12 June Kitchen Counter Chronicles
13 June CRAYON Freckles
14 June Glittering Muffins
15 June Wise Owl Factory
16 June Crafty Maa
18 June Lessons Learnt Journal
20 June Growing a Jeweled Rose
21 June Growing Play
23 June JDaniel4′s Mom
We would love for you to post the button in your sidebar for this event, in order to get as much publicity for this event as possible.
Thank you for your support!
