Intentional and holistic rhythms, routines + systems to support your children, your home and yourself.

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Weekly Rhythm Free Printable Cards

"Wash on Monday, Iron on Tuesday,Mend on Wednesday, Churn on Thursday, Clean on Friday, Bake on Saturday, Rest ...

Seasonal Mealtime Planning

The theme last week on my Instagram page was “Nourishing Little Minds and Bodies” and as a part ...

Seasonal Mealtime Blessings

Over the years we have sung and said many blessings at our table. Saying or singing a blessing ...

Instagram

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Dropping in a day late (Aug 2nd is his birthday) to wish a Happy Birthday to Christian Robinson @theartoffun .

Christian is a talented and inspiring children’s illustrator, author and animator who is most known for his gorgeous drawings in a wide collection of moving and meaningful children’s books including:

🚌 Last Stop on Market Stress by Matt de La Peña
🌊 Carmela Full of Wishes by Matt de la Peña
🩰 The Bench by Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex
🚦Milo Imagines the World by Matt de la Peña
🎵 Nina A Story of Nina Simone by Traci N Todd
☂ Another and You Matter both by Christian himself

Thank you Christian for teaching us through your art and work that “we are all more alike than we seem”.

I’ve just read that there is a new Christian Robinson for @target Collection being released this month that includes more than 70 items across home and apparel for kids and baby.

Congratulations and Happy Birthday Christian! #familymentorscelebrated

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… or river or lake or stone… 💚

Taking a week off from posting to enjoy my own dirt paths this summer.

I’ll see you in a week when we’ll begin talking about - GASP - back-to-school planning.

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Children love that feeling of autonomy but when it comes to walking a distance you need to quite literally babystep from being in a carrier with you all the way to walking independently with their own pack.

Children around the age of 4-5, depending on temperament can be expected to carry their own backpack for an hour or so as long as it is ergonomic, the right size and lightly packed.

As they get older children ages 7 and up can carry their backpack equipped with everything they need for much longer distances.

Although not everyone on a walk needs their own first aid kit & sunscreen, it is nice for children to feel they have all the essentials and it helps them in preparedness.

For older children ready for next level adventures some other fun things to have in their backpack include:

🔥 flint & steel
🔪 a whittling knife
🧶some rope or twine
🎣 a fishing rod and small tackle box
🍳 mini single little camp stove for making their own food or hot drinks

A note on shoes: we have used @keen.kids for canoe trips because they are adaptable for in and out of water but when we hike my children and I wear barefoot shoes from @wildling.shoes which I know can be controversial in terms of “support” but have worked well for us

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What food you pack for a camping trip is dependent on whether you are going tent camping, have an RV or a trailer.

If you have one of the latter two options, you'll have a fridge and freezer as well as cupboard space. If this is the case, your options widen in terms of what you can easily bring and store.

In general, but especially if you are tent-camping:

🍽 try to do as much prep as you can in advance
🍽 especially for those who can’t make a fire because of dry conditions, you’ll need bring a camp stove, pots and pans for boiling, steaming and frying
🍽 a quality cooler like a Yeti goes a long way in keeping food cool
🍽 try to keep snacks light and high-energy
🍽 prep and freeze as much as you can so the meals stay fresh and as a bonus keep other food cool

🥣 BREAKFASTS:
🌾 consider pre-mixing the dry ingredients needed for pancakes & even pre-measuring amounts required for making oatmeal
🍎 whole fruit is easy to cut up
🥬 bring greens that hold-up well to saute (like kale or chard) with bacon and eggs
🌶 mild kraut or kimchi to have with eggs and toast in the mornings

🥙 LUNCHES
🥗 We make salads that keep well: like potato salad, quinoa salad, and bean salad
🥑 sliced meat, avocado or hard-boiled egg plus extra veggies to round out the meal
🥘 DINNERS
🌭 frozen chilli, pasta, marinated chicken, sausages & hot dogs.
🥩 ensure you eat any fresh meat one of the first nights you're there
🎃 pre-bake spaghetti squash to add to pasta to increase the veggie content & kick up the protein with either meat or lentil bolognese OR keep it simple and bring your favourite noodles and jarred sauce
🥕 leftover salads from lunch, fresh veggies, or steamed veggies with a bit of butter and salt

- This is a Guest Post from my friend @angerosemoore who’s husband happens to be an avid camper!

FOR MORE INFO:
@onwillowsbend goes camping with her children in Tasmania often and has shared in the past how they pack dehydrated meals and just add water to keep things light

@freshoffthegrid has lots of delicious camp food ideas too

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This week we’ll be discussing the benefits of family camping.

Camping can turn into a pretty cost prohibitive experience depending on the type you choose, but you can reap the benefits of camping by doing things like: going on a day hike, camping in the backyard under the stars or sharing gear with friends.

There have been a lot of questions about camping with babies or toddlers. The youngest we have ever taken camping was a 3-year-old but you could start much earlier, it’s a matter of… energy, experience, access and pure will!

I find longer trips without drive-up accessibility are harder with very little ones as you need more gear (diapers, wipes & sometimes milk namely) but I do know some families that do it and love it.

The sweet spot seems to be when your youngest is around the age of 5-6 - they can carry their own things, they are fairly strong swimmers, they’ve stopped napping and they have some sensibility around a campfire.

I’ll speak more in my stories this week about these thoughts.

Our family has almost entirely done canoe backtripping (no drive-up access). This year we’ll be going to a drive-up campsite for the first time in almost 10 years so maybe I’ll have more to say about it in a few weeks. 🔥 🌲 ⛺️

PS. At the end of the week I’ll be releasing a free “Family Camping Packing List” so keep your 👀 peeled for it!

#camping #familycamping #familycampingtrip #benefitsofcamping

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This week we’ll talk about family camping!

🏕 benefits
🏕 campfire songs & stories
🏕 day hiking essentials and
🏕 camp food

I’ll also be answering as many questions as I can in my stories so keep your eyes out and your notifications on.

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Last day sharing the podcast series I did with Chinyelu @we_nurture ! I hope you’ve enjoyed it!

In the final episode we speak about the importance of not vilifying media and helping children understand when it’s appropriate to use it as a tool in life.

IN THIS EPISODE WE COVERED:
✨ How to manage screen time with your children
✨ How to hold boundaries with younger children and model a positive example
✨ How screen time can negatively impact your child’s development
✨ How to find the screen time rhythm that is best for your family

Click my highlights to find a swipe up link directly to the episode and I hope you have a wonderful somewhat unplugged weekend!

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$The fourth episode I recorded with Chinyelu @we_nurture covered the importance of play for childhood healthy development. Research shows that play is essential for 💫 physical and emotional health 💫 promoting relationship-building skills 💫 stimulation of the imagination 💫 overall wellbeing of a developing child In this episode, we cover ⭐️ the four different different types of play and their benefits ⭐️ outdoor play activity ideas ⭐️ the value of open-ended toys ⭐️how to transition from indoor to outdoor activities with ease ⭐️ strategies for creating toys without spending too much money How do you encourage play in your home and what does it look like in all it’s glorious forms? {Also, if you’ve read this far- I worked on minimizing my “ums” in podcast interviews but sounds like I need to work on my “you know”s. 😂}$

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