22 Articles
Many families are wondering how in the world they are supposed to homeschool when they have multiple kids running around, all needing different things. While our kids are fairly closely spaced (almost-9, 7, 4.5), one could still easily feel overwhelmed with how to provide an education for a 3rd grader,
As schools start rolling out their proposed re-opening plans, a lot of parents are looking at the guidelines and requirements and saying, “WELP, I guess we’re going to homeschool!” Whether you’re doing it because there are no other feasible options, or you fear the inevitable total shut-down in the fall,
I don’t even know how long it’s been since we’ve posted but the world has pretty much been turned upside down since March. There are a lot of things we could discuss but, for now, I’m going to stick with talking about homeschooling. For those who don’t know, our family
I know, just what you need, right? Yet another activity for your already-overwhelmed kids to do while you are all quarantined due to CoVid-19. This one is so easy, though, I promise. Zero prep! And it could have some extended educational returns, depending on how your kids respond to it.
Have you ever done something that felt really really BRAVE to you but also made you feel kind of stupid because you were afraid of it or it was a challenge? That’s what I (Karen) am calling “stupid-brave.” And, I’m embracing it. Today, I ran on a new-to-me trail. It
Since we’ve been homeschooling, I (Karen) have read a lot of books about the topic. I remember reading once about how art shouldn’t be “taught” or forced upon kids until at least third grade. Instead, you should spend all that time and energy you would otherwise devote to painting and
Here’s our gift guide for adventurous women/moms! While I haven’t tried most of these, I would be thrilled to find any of them under the tree! 🙂 STOCKING STUFFERS Hair Bands: If she’s a mom and she has long hair, I guarantee you she can always use more of these!
The best gifts are those that show the recipient you really thought about who they are and what they like. Below are our best ideas for gifts for outdoorsy guys – some items that Matt has personally tried and liked, others that are still on his wish list. And, of
Two of the things I love most about homeschooling are how much I am learning and how the kids seem to internalize the most random information. In September, our Forest School group met up with Jesse and Johanna of Zia Permaculture to learn about local wild mushrooms and herbs. I
Everyone’s least favorite part of camping is packing all your gear. Matt has calculated that, no matter how much time we spend packing the night before a camping trip, it still takes us at least 3 hours to leave the house in the morning. And, almost always – though, in
No, NOT the infamous “Hooters”! Ha!! While perhaps poorly named, “Hoots” is nevertheless a fantastic indoor play area on the northwest side of Albuquerque, near the Balloon Park. I’ve made a point of stopping here after a long day of running errands in ABQ or doing other parent-directed activities, so
Lara Casey, the brain behind “Powersheets” posed the question in this year’s summer section of the planner, “When fall rolls around, what experiences do you want to look back on and say, ‘I’m grateful I did that this summer?’” For some reason, this question caught my heart. There has been
Those of you with kids can appreciate what I mean when I say that this outing didn’t take us nearly as long as I wanted it to. After a few glorious rainy days, it seemed that myself and the boys were getting a bit stir-crazy. I had no energy for
Kind of a silly thing to write about but it’s been working so well for us these days, I thought I’d share. Generally, I prepare lunches for the kids the normal way – each kid gets a plate with all the same things on it. I decide what they eat
Recently, the boys and I joined some friends for a tour of the capitol building in Santa Fe. The Capitol “Rotunda” is really quite beautiful. Largely hidden by trees (at least on the side we came in on!), you realize immediately that the building is round. What you don’t see
The other day, I ran into a friend outside of the grocery store. She told me that their family was getting ready to go camping. She sighed as she said it, shoulders slumped, and declared, “It’s just so hard, you know? There is just so much stuff to do…” She
Last week, we were up in the Jemez Mountains, celebrating a friend’s birthday. A group of us hiked along the trail at Las Conchas, settling down about a half-mile in, on the banks of the stream. Between the six families, there were TWENTY-ONE kids 12 and under. A handful of
“Mama, when are my caterpillars going to be here?” Jasper, our almost 5 year old, asks sweetly. This boy, who has been counting down the days to his birthday for the last 2 months, has been temporarily distracted by the impending arrival of caterpillars for our butterfly house. As an
*In honor of the upcoming Memorial Day, I thought I’d add a post from May 2016* I’m not sure WHY we felt the need to go camping on Memorial Day weekend, THE busiest camping weekend of the year. We go camping year-around, so why we chose this weekend to
When our first son was only 7 weeks old (yes, you read that right), we decided to celebrate our wedding anniversary by camping in the national forest outside of Durango, CO. Since it was barely October – and our brains had been frazzled from lack of sleep – we didn’t
The area of Las Conchas is truly a gem tucked up in the Jemez Mountains. Miraculously untouched by recent fires (though surrounded by the aftermath) AND boasting the lovely Jemez River (though these days more of a meandering stream…), it can feel like a bit of an oasis in this
Lately, I’ve been reading some other family-adventure type articles and blogs. The one thing I’ve noticed is that in nearly all of them, the moms are super outdoorsy. Like, women who are dying to get back to hiking/biking/climbing/kayaking/backpacking a week after having a baby. I see pictures of moms with