One in an occasional series of travel essays for families with kids: When most Americans think of our National Park Service (NPS), we have visions of forests and mountains, rivers and seashores. Not 1.2 million pounds of iron and steel churning out 6200 horsepower, capable of hauling 120 freight cars over mountains at 40 miles […]
Tai Shan, the U. S. National Zoo’s giant panda cub, celebrates his first birthday today. What do you give a 56-pound cub for his birthday? Tai Shan got a giant fruitsicle, a new soccer ball, and several other toys. If you have animal-loving kids, make sure they check out the live Panda Cam to see
Here’s an easy activity idea: When grandparents, other relatives, or close friends come for a visit, videotape them reading stories to your child. You’ll soon compile a nice alternative to commercial videos for those times when your child insists on watching something. It’s a nice way to keep a family connection even when relatives live
Tomorrow, June 24, is the Great American Backyard Campout (GABC). It’s sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) as a way of getting kids to experience the wonders of nature and for families to share the outdoors together. I think this is a terrific idea. While my personal idea of camping is setting out with
I don’t usually do such materialistic posts, but Amazon.com has a few sales going on right now that may be of interest. (My mom’s an inveterate bargain hunter; you can blame it on her.) Eligible books are 4-for-3 (lowest price one is free), including children’s books from Eric Carle, Dr. Seuss, and others, as well
Fire trucks are one of my son’s current obsessions. He has an entire fire company’s worth of vehicles in his playroom. He’s visited fire houses and fire museums, and managed to collect three different Junior Firefighter badges and five hats. He and his teddy bear “rescue” me on a regular basis. It was thus with
I loved paper airplanes as a kid, and now have lots of fun making them for my son. He’s not quite old enough to fold them himself, but when he is, we may try the self-proclaimed “Best Paper Airplane in the World.” Thanks to Lifehacker for stepping away from their usual productivity tips to point
Google has released version 4 of their amazing 3D mapping software, Google Earth. If you haven’t played around with it, I highly recommend giving it a try, especially if you have kids who are learning geography. “Fly” around the earth and see both satellite views and road maps. Overlay landmarks and geographic features. See 3D
A fun activity with your kids can be a nice antidote to all the FMA-related political buzz today. Sesame Workshop has a great collection of craft, game, recipe, song, and playdate ideas, searchable by activity type, theme, and learning area. The ideas are geared for toddlers through early readers and writers. I’m going to try
An extensive study titled “The Media Family: Electronic Media in the Lives of Infants, Toddlers, Preschoolers and Their Parents,” by the Kaiser Family Foundation, looks at television use among families with children six months to six years old. Among the findings: One third of children under six have a TV in their bedrooms. This rises
