unplanned adventures

You cannot plan for everything.  I did not write in my planner for a deer to run into my husband’s car the other day.  He’s ok, but car is not.  Can’t afford a new car today and can’t share mine because he’s working outta town. Seems like we’re running outta options, but after the past few months of finding options despite obstacles I know we’ll find an answer to that one and the other issues that arise…   The mechanic said “it’s totaled,” so answer isn’t to get our hands dirty to fix it ourselves, which is too bad because I love watching my husband fix cars, fix our house … I’m a lucky lady! I realized I’m a lucky mom as well watching my boys grow into the same work ethic of learning how to fix things themselves.  These boys have loved working on rebuilding the house after our flood and constructing the center for “Adventure Academy.”

kidWORK

teaching kids to be responsible and resilient

I’ve been trying to plan for everything Adventure Academy will need and do, but you cannot plan for everything.  So emergency plans are developed and first aid kits are ready and parent’s are reminded to pack extra clothes for kids “just in case.”  Kids have accidents and get messy! As a teacher I try and teach parents the importance of letting kids learn to fix things and do things for themselves… let kids explore and get messy…and muddy! Mud is actually a great learning tool and the “mystery in the dirt” week was a great way to finish off the Nature Detective curriculum from Mother Goose Time.

11742697_10155872143055381_3469909975792626759_n

10885484_10155872143245381_8570389161365244292_n

 

 

 

 

From eating dirt (don’t worry it was chocolate pudding) to making hedgehog prints we had a lot of fun with our friends starting off this weeks unit.  It was unknowingly planned perfectly as we got to meet a real hedgehog a few days before at the library.  If your ever looking for a great animal presentation look up Animal Encounters!

11707345_10155872141030381_6499173403617824546_n

11811377_10155917279790381_970908602220302037_n

 

 

 

 

 

 

The second day continued the animal adventure as we discussed animals that need the dirt/mud and how their bodies make prints and “draw” in the dirt. For kids like mine who are sensory based learners drawing in the dirt is a teaching tool.  Although I use the curriculum for typically younger children I try to showcase the impacts of my first and second grade sons for other homeschoolers and those who work in multiage programs. A unique selling point for curriculums such as Mother Goose Time is the ability to simplify lessons for younger students and expand on them for older kids. For example: while tots draw randomly with the stick in the dirt, elementary ages can practice writing spelling words!

GAMES

The crafts and games can all be modified for different age groups with some creative thinking – which often comes straight from the kids brains. After using the activities as suggested I often ask “what else can we do with this” and get some great ideas! My boys played with the pattern materials for a long time creating patterns and making up matching games which built into classification activities.  Nature and animal lessons are endless in this Nature Detective kit as each activity seems to lead to another – often resulting in my boys assigning themselves homework! (One of their ideas: watch quick video below of big brother practicing reading the story to the little brother, while the little brother works on listening comprehension skills)

My boys love using their “homework” as a way to play teacher and teach each other and visiting children about whatever they learned.  They love reading the monthly book, as well as their created books to others and are now trying to read them in Spanish.  Since I never took a Spanish course we highlight the words we are working on and type in the words we don’t know how to pronounce online and keep practicing.  We’ll haveta stop in and ask Liz (the amazing lady who does the translations at the MGT office) if we are pronouncing them correctly!

11694934_10155917280350381_2219097136850491674_n

11701098_10155917280205381_7851083970961454933_n

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We hate to end the Nature Detective theme as we had so much fun with family and friends playing the nature moves game and making nature memories from lessons and materials in the package …and out in nature.  This is a great kit to make friends, make believe and make a mess with = summer learning to its fullest potential.  We’ll continue enjoying the great outdoors even as we start the next month’s package “Fables and Folktales.”  We can read stories at the picnic table, under a tree, in our tent… This summer has been about connecting as a family and as much opportunity as nature gives us to do so – stories are another great family time activity.   Adventure Academy and Mi Families challenge you to connect as a family every day! Play outside, read a book, read a cookbook and make a treat… Schedule in family time, but leave space open for unplanned adventures! Need tips and tools for dealing with those unplanned moments – ask us for help.  Need help coming up with ideas for family time activities – ask us, we’ve got many! …or order a MGT box to explore together.  Click here to get to their shop-site, click HERE to get to our PIN ideas, ask others for their thoughts on our FACEBOOK page, check out our YOUTUBE channel… We’re “reaching out with resources” for your family (or the families you work with) and would love to hear from you.  Feel free to comment below and subscribe above for our article updates.  THANKS FOR READING!!!!!

Posted in adventure academy, Back2School, Child Development, Curriculums, Education, Family, Homeschool, Language/Literacy, Learning through Play, Mi Families, Mother Goose Time, Parents, Providers, Reviews, Sensory, Video Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

*