Summer Fun at Nature School & Little Movers!

             Hey folks! Between camping, swim lessons, and catching up on farm work, we are taking a bit of a break with the state park visits. BUT, I did want to share about a couple of other things I'm excited about this summer: The start of our local nature school and the return of the Little Movers and storytime at our not-so-local library.

             Since it's not our closest library, we didn't find out about the Little Movers program until right before Easter. We were only able to go to one...And then they went on break for the month of May to get ready for their summer reading program. :/ But, it, along with storytime are back, which we got to experience for the first time a couple of weeks ago.

             We haven't been to any storytimes for a very long time...Like, before Ripley was even born, I think. Myka would NOT STOP TALKING, so we left. This time was much better and she does a lot better now, thank God!

             The staff at the Linton library, from our experience so far, are great! The storytime librarian is not exception. She read several short stories for the children. Then they were able to do an edible craft afterwards that went along with one of the books! The other parents and grandparents have been very nice and helpful so far too. One woman even helped me keep Ripley corralled in the activity room. Ha ha Again, like I've stated in a previous library post, we enjoy Linton's library MUCH more than our own.

             Little Movers is a fun program too. It's meant for preschoolers (although Ripley enjoys joining in sometimes too) and is all about singing and dancing. What little kid doesn't love that? So far, it's been a great way to meet other parents who have children the same age, get some social interaction for Myka, and have some gross motor fun!

             Now, I mentioned nature school...I was SUPER excited to learn about this! An acquaintance of mine introduced me to it on Facebook. At first I was afraid it was going to be in Bloomington. We are kind of burnt out on it and the majority of the people there, so I wasn't really looking forward to driving there every week. As it turns out, the family who started it only live 10 minutes from our house! Hooray for other people who live in the boonies!

             I've been hoping for someone around here to start something like this, but I just don't have the time or patience “to people”, as I call it, to start one myself. Basically, we'll be having different lessons and hands-on nature activities each week with a different theme. Everyone is encouraged to pitch in with “leading” in whatever areas/subjects they feel comfortable doing so, as well as give suggestions and ideas. And it's open to all ages of children!

             Our first session was about soil, compost, and gardening. We started off talking and taking a look at different types of soil. We also talked about compost and what all goes in it and why it's good for gardens. After our lunch break, we got started on our small garden! 

             Most of the kids were very involved with helping prepare and plant the garden. It was really cool to see. After we finished that up, we also planted a sunflower hut. I loved that idea so much I planted one at home later that week too!

             I'm learning to set my expectations lower with Myka when it comes to doing new things lately. Does that sound bad? Regardless, she did about as well as I thought she would. I was able to talk her into a few things, but other than that she just wanted to run around, explore, and play with the other kids. But, she's 4 and I figured she is learning and garnering some much needed social skills and she's still playing outside, so it's all good. ;)

             Do you have anything like nature school near you? Have your kids ever been to one?