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Friday, 10 February 2012 17:31

Planning meeting and recipe

Written by Prairie Play (aka Patty)
We had a nice turnout for the planning meeting today.  We had all sorts of cool ideas for this year’s gathering.  Some of the activities that we can look forward to are:  snow activities (if Winter hasn’t given up yet), berry picking, scavenger hunts, bike riding, leaf collecting, kite flying, nature crafts, seedling plantings, science experiments/observations, story time in the woods, picnics, obstacle courses, hikes in many of the surrounding natural areas, nature center visits, and a family camping trip.
We also made a Valentine’s Day craft for the birds.
patty
Here is the recipe.
1 1/2 cups of veggie shortening
1/2 cup of almond butter (or any natural nut butter)
3 cups of cornmeal
1/2 of corn flour (or wheat flour)
3 cups of birdseed
Fill the mixture into molds, punch hold in center, and freeze.  Use twine or yarn to hang.
Part of Outdoor Valentine link up
Tuesday, 07 February 2012 19:28

Nature play at Cassels park

Written by Kari

We have been having fun in our outdoor playgroup Upper Beach, Toronto. Our winter has been very mild with little snow. We have had fun sledding, making a river down a hill, old fashion puddle jumping  sand play and ice sledding. We always have a little snack time at the end, hot chocolate is always a winner in winter.

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Sledding

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Ice sledding

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Ice sledding

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Puddle Jumping

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Making a river down a hill

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Hot chocolate !

We meet every Monday in Cassels Park between 01.30- 3.00. Join us for some in the park. Join our group for update about meetings to be sure we are there. Or just show up and join the fun!

Tuesday, 07 February 2012 14:12

Outside Every Day- February 6th and a Book Review: Snow

Written by Courtney

Mild weather continues here, but at least we can read about the white stuff.  One of my favorite books as a child was Snow by P.D. Eastman (a protoge of Dr. Seuss) and illustrated by Roy McKie.

SnowCover

It helped that the children in it are a little blond boy and girl, so my mom used to pretend it was me and my brother.  It's a playful, easy to read story of a brother, sister, and their dog and their adventures outside in the snow.  To this day we always name our snowmen Ned and when you read the book you will see why.  Haven't read it?  Check it out!

SnowFeet

Yesterday we dropped off some skis at a friend's house who is going to try skiing for the first time.  Hopefully we will join her on the slopes soon!  While we were there the boys played with a whole group of kids from the neighborhood, including a couple of older girls who were great at organizing games for the little ones.  Lots of spontaneous outdoor fun.

Sunday, 05 February 2012 14:18

Outside Every Day- Superbowl 2012: Watch TV- Outside!

Written by Courtney

It's Super Bowl Sunday in New England and Patriots fans are gearing up for the game.  The upcoming game takes me down memory lane: 10 years ago my husband and I got engaged while skiing on the mountain where I spent my time as a child.  We celebrated the news with my extended family apres ski, dancing singing at the bar in the lodge, and the next day the Patriots won the Super Bowl.  It was a great weekend.

The other day I was flipping through a slideshow on boston.com that was a collection of readers' photos showing their Patriots pride.  One reader sent in a picture of them tailgating outside their house watching the football game in the yard and the caption said that they watch every game OUTSIDE with their family and neighbors.  Genius.  I love it.  I think we need to try this next season.

This is New England.  You have to be hard core to tailgate!

snowtailgate

This is a random picture of Pats fans tailgating, but you get the idea!

 

It's been too long since we've updated on our winter adventures.  We've been through some sickness and injuries, but we've still managed to get outside almost every day.  The weather here is up and down- no coats one day and bundled up in snow gear the next.  We are trying to take it in stride, go with the flow and do what we can given the weather.  Sledding while it's snowing and then riding bikes at our favorite state park by the ocean in the same week?  Why not?  Here's what we've been up to.  What have you been doing this winter?  Have you had weather like us?

First time skiing down from the top of the mountain:

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We went on a "Quest" (similar to letterboxing) at the local nature center where we found some bunny tracks in the remaining snow:

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Sledding at our local hill while it was actually snowing!  Many people were out sledding:

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Chasing after birds on a "warm" day in the city:

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Exploring a new playground with a "real" zip line! :

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And we got our bikes and scooters out to some of the local parks after the recent snow melted.  We got a new fire pit so the kids are itching to try that out.  Do you have a fire pit in your yard?  We're thinking of making s'mores.  Do you use it to make snacks?

Happy Friday, everyone!  And go Patriots!

 

 

It's been too long since we've updated on our winter adventures.  We've been through some sickness and injuries, but we've still managed to get outside almost every day.  The weather here is up and down- no coats one day and bundled up in snow gear the next.  We are trying to take it in stride, go with the flow and do what we can given the weather.  Sledding while it's snowing and then riding bikes at our favorite state park by the ocean in the same week?  Why not?  Here's what we've been up to.  What have you been doing this winter?  Have you had weather like us?

First time skiing down from the top of the mountain:

2312F

We went on a "Quest" (similar to letterboxing) at the local nature center where we found some bunny tracks in the remaining snow:

2312E

Sledding at our local hill while it was actually snowing!  Many people were out sledding:

2312D

Chasing after birds on a "warm" day in the city:

2312A

Explored a new playground with a "real" zip line! :

2312C

And we got our bikes and scooters out to some of the local parks after the recent snow melted.  We got a new fire pit so the kids are itching to try that out.  Do you have a fire pit in your yard?  We're thinking of making s'mores.  Do you use it to make snacks?

Happy Friday, everyone!  And go Patriots!

 

 

Tuesday, 31 January 2012 23:11

Calgary outdoor playgroup

Written by Tanya Koob
Canada now has another official Outdoor Playgroup located in Calgary, Alberta. It is held every Friday morning at 10:30am. The location varies from week to week.  The group is aimed at the 2-4 year old toddler with younger siblings welcome to join. Interested moms or dads can visit our facebook page:  You can also send me a note on the AKN and I'll give you more information. Tanya

We finally got a few inches of snow enough to make it outside for some sledding and a picnic at the local park.  Fun pictures from today:

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Heading to the hill.

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The trek back up.

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The basketball court was good for perfectly smooth snow angels.

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And we capped it off with a lunch of hot tortellini and tea.

Friday, 20 January 2012 04:00

Outside Every Day- January 19th: A Bit of Snow

Written by Courtney
January19B
A bit of snow on the slopes and a bit of snow in our yard, but neither are related.  As you can see in the picture above, the snow on our local hill is all man-made so far this season.  We are definitely lacking in the white stuff this winter.  Send some this way, Seattle!  While we had clear, blue skies at ski lessons, twenty minutes away at our house it was snowing.  Just a dusting, though.  We're looking at another one for tonight, but no real accumulation.  The kids are getting antsy.  "No snow" winter activity suggestions are welcome!  Temperatures have been fluctuating a lot, but I see some ice art in our future if the temps stay cold.
My son has really been taking to skiing- he has only had two lessons and each time he has been pushed up to the next skill level.  He's been having a lot of fun, but with fun comes responsibility.  One of the instructors was explaining to a parent next to me today how she tries to bring safety awareness into her lessons- a reminder that skiing can be very dangerous and it's important to start early with this kind of training.  Our bunny hill is no half-pipe, but the death of free style skier Sarah Burke today is a good reminder that every sport has its risks.  The instructor was asking the child, "Is the snow warm and fluffy today or cold and hard?  Is the snow noisy or quiet?".  These simple questions start to raise awareness in the child's senses, and I really appreciate that the instructors are instilling this in the children.
Ski lesson bonus: I have met some really nice parents to chat with.  The kids are skiing in the cold for 1.5 hours so it's great to have someone to talk to!  More on that another time, perhaps.
This afternoon we hung out with our friends in our backyard snow dusting :)  What have you been up to?
Our outdoor playgroup will be meeting next Thursday: http://www.meetup.com/south-shore-playgroup-massachusetts/events/48214802/
January19A
Wednesday, 18 January 2012 06:21

Outside Every Day- January 17th, 2012: What a Tease!

Written by Courtney
We keep getting small snow flurries overnight and then they're melted so quickly in the morning.  The kids are getting mad and I feel bad for them.  It's such a tease!  Mud is not as much fun in the cold weather.  The forecast later in the week could bring some snow, so hopefully we'll be playing in some white stuff soon!
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