Summer camp at home: Week 7 -- Racing cars

With Cars 2 out this summer -- and also because my boys just love cars -- we had to have a week about car racing in our summer camp at home. Last time we went to Disney World, we had to visit Ridemakerz in Downtown Disney to check out the kinds of toy cars we could custom make. My preschooler made a ... well, a rescue dump truck. How's that for customization?Anyway, this week will be about cars

Summer camp at home: Week 6 -- Out on the ranch

Summer is halfway over. It's hard to believe that in a month, I'll be lining up things my preschooler needs to go back to school. So we're going to enjoy summer while we have it -- a more fluid schedule and more impromptu fun.This week, we're going to be cowpokes out on the ranch:- Visit a local farm. There's a county park a couple cities away where we can see ponies, a pig, goats and even

Summer camp at home: Week 5 -- World Traveler

With our patriotic "America, the Beautiful" themed week of summer camp at home a couple weeks behind us, it seemed natural to have a week focused on other countries of the world as well.It's never to early to teach little ones about the world they live in, and that includes different cultures. Even if my four- and two-year-olds don't get everything we might explore this week, I think they will

Ranger Rick's Geocache Trails comes to South Florida

Ranger Rick, the National Wildlife Federation's ambassador to kids who want to learn about wildlife and nature, is the host of a new adventure -- geocaching! Ranger Rick Geocache Trails is a fun way to get families outside, learning about the outdoors and exploring the world!Geocaching has become a popular outdoor activity. Using a GPS device or app, people find caches that others have hidden by

Summer camp at home: Week 4 -- Space

With the last space shuttle launch happening on Friday, this is the perfect week to focus on space for summer "camp" at home.We live about a three-hour drive away from the "Space Coast" of Florida and plan to go there to get a better view of the launch. (We can sort of see it where we live, but it still looks like a shiny blip.) Years before our children were born, my husband and I had it on our

Host an owl-themed birthday party

It's hard to believe, but my baby is going to be two years old this week. Sniff, sniff.We had a party for him on Saturday with about 40 family members and friends showing up. I don't think my baby knew everyone was there for him -- but he had a good time.It was my husband's idea to have the party at a local wildlife rehabilitation and nature center, where biologists bring out various animals for

Summer camp at home: Week 3 -- America, the Beautiful

There's a long holiday weekend ahead! Independence Day is next Monday. I know lots of folks will be traveling or barbecuing with friends and trying to stay cool. In my plan to keep my boys entertained and learning something for the 10 weeks of summer at home, we're going to keep things simple this week -- not too many activities, both to recoup from my baby's birthday party last week and also

My preschooler's 9 trips to Disney World

On my family's most recent trip to Disney World a couple weeks ago, I found myself thinking my oldest son had now been to Disney 10 times.And I was a little shocked. So I started thinking about that.He is four and a half, so that averages out to be about two times per year. Going to Disney World twice a year doesn't really sound that impossible. Disney World is a three-hour drive from our home ..

Great American Backyard Campout

This coming Saturday, June 25, is the Great American Backyard Campout. Organized by the National Wildlife Federation, the idea of the Campout is to get kids enjoying the outdoors -- where they feel safe and comfortable.I think it's genius!(Not to mention, I know plenty of grown-ups who would say yes to camping in their own backyard over a wilderness area. Any month of the year.)If you ask me,

Summer camp at home: Week 2 -- Camping

My family loves camping, and because Saturday, June 25 is the day of the Great American Backyard Campout, next week seems like the perfect week for a camping theme for our summer camp at home.My love of camping started early. As a kid, my family camped at a state park and national lakeshore near our house. Later, my husband and I were invited to go camping with friends two months after we were

Summer camp at home: Week 1 -- Mr. Popper's Penguins

Today begins the first full week of summer for my preschooler. I've got big plans for our summer together, which lasts 10 weeks. If you are looking for things to do with your children over the summer and ways to keep them entertained, please check out my initial post about having summer camp at home. I will post what we are doing each week in more detail.This week, the movie Mr. Popper's Penguins