A flash of white: Bald eagles soar just in time for Eagle Days
A bald eagle soars over the bluffs at the Spring Green Conservancy. Even at a distance, the birds are magnificent.
Flash of white. Check.
Huge wing span. Check.
Yes, it’s eagle spotting time in southern Wisconsin.
“Quit while they’re still kicking” or when to know it’s time to leave
Learning to skate with walkers helps kids gain confidence.
One of the best pieces of teaching advice I ever got was ”Quit while they’re still kicking.”
At first, I didn’t get it.
Why quit if the kids are still having fun?
Turns out, there’s an art to knowing when to end an activity.
Here’s a case in point.
I went skating on Monday with my 5- and 6-year-old nieces and their mother at Hartmeyer Ice Arena. It was the girls’ first time on skates and I thought they did really well.
They used walkers at first and then graduated to skating on their own. Sure, they fell down a lot, but they seemed to enjoy it…at first. After about an hour of skating, the novelty wore off and they grew tired of falling.
Tears came shortly thereafter. I suggested to their mother that it may be time to leave, but the girls objected. They stayed a bit longer and the whining increased as the kids grew more and more tired. Then, they wanted to go.
While it is very difficult to leave while kids are still having fun, I find that it’s always better to leave them wanting more. Forty-five minutes to an hour is plenty for a first time activity. Then, the next time, they’ll be excited to go again.
Let me know how you decide when enough is enough.
Going Inside to get Outside? Indoor Skating at Hartmeyer Arena
Skating is a favorite winter sport, but this year, we have no ice.
Balmy temperatures means families must go inside to enjoy this great holiday activity.
Thankfully, Hartmeyer Ice Arena offers public skating on two days:
- Monday, December 26 from noon-2 pm or
- Friday, December 30 from 2-4 pm
Admission is just $4 for adults and $3 for kids.
Skate rentals are $2.
I’ll be there for fun on Monday and for work on Friday, when I’m offering childcare for families. Click this link for more information or email me to register. Just drop your kids (1st-5th grade only) off. Cost is $26 and includes skates, admission and apple snack or $24 if you bring your own skates.
This is a great activity for families on a budget and lots of fun.
Hope to see you there. I’ll be the one in the red fleece jacket.
There ought to be a law: Wisconsin Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights
This may seem like a no brainer, but in today’s world of competing interests and childhood obesity we can no longer assume that kids are getting outside.
Come to a public hearing on January 5th from 10 am to 2 pm at the State Capitol to promote the Wisconsin Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights.
Meet the bill’s sponsors, Assemblywoman Taylor and Senator Larson; witness the official announcement of the bill; hand deliver children’s artwork and information packets to other legislators; and celebrate with kid-friendly snacks at a Children’s Bill of Rights social. Read the language and co-sponsors here.
Bring your children, students, scout group, afterschool club or church group!
Help demonstrate to legislators just how many children, families, schools, and businesses find this topic critical!
Tentative schedule:
10am – Meet with Representatives Taylor and Larson
10:30am – Official press conference and speakers (children to display artwork)
11:15am – Children and other attendees hand deliver artwork and information packets to other legislators
12pm – Social and treats for attending children
Admission: Free and open to the public – but please register.
Parking fee: Call for information on downtown parking
Location:
State Capitol Building
115 East State Capitol Bldg.
Madison, WI United States 53702
Kids learn to enjoy winter at Indian Lake County Park
Even without snow, the kids made use of the sledding hill.
Lou and his mother didn’t look too happy as we gathered at 9 a.m. on a cold, December morning for a trip to Indian Lake County Park.
“I had my doubts,” mom admitted. But she showed up anyway along with 30 others. At the end of the day, they were all smiles and glad they came.
Despite the lack of snow and 10 degree temps, the kids found lots of ways to stay warm and have fun. Plus, Indian Lake is a drop-dead gorgeous park. The sunny, blue skies formed a perfect back drop for limitless outdoor fun:
- Kids ran, slid and rolled down a frost covered sledding hill.
- Kids played on a huge pile of wood. They turned the wood pile into a fort, a mountain or just a neat place to climb. They killed off space aliens, played soldier games and lots more.
- Kids played with sticks, the best toys ever.
- Kids examined beautiful frost crystals that coated the ground.
Sticks are the best toys ever. Note the lack of mittens.
- Kids helped build a fire.
- Kids played football and kicked around a ball.
- Kids hiked up the hill to see a historic chapel.
- Kids ate hot dogs and hot chocolate.
But mostly, the kids learned that sometimes it’s important to get up and go even if it’s cold. Parents set the example. Unfortunately, about 15 kids missed out because their parents cancelled.
We forget how warm kids get when they run around. No matter how many times we asked kids to put their hats on, most didn’t listen and took them off anyway. Go figure. Kids just don’t react to cold the same way as adults.
Winter is a great time to get outside. It’s important to help parents and kids learn how to enjoy the winter.
How do you respond to fears about cold weather?
Playing football in the morning sun. Again, no mittens. Are they crazy?
Indian Lake County Park with 60 people
Will be taking more than 60 kids and parents to Indian Lake County Park for some hiking tomorrow morning. It will be cold and sunny. I’m actually more concerned about the parents than the kids. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Pacific Loon on Lake Monona
Pacific Loon on Lake Monona.
You never know what you’ll see while biking.
On Monday, bike club went to Monona Terrace Convention Center and spotted two Pacific Loons feeding in the waters near the bike path. The kids thought they were ducks, but the pointy beak and diving behavior suggested otherwise.
I didn’t get the best photo, but that didn’t diminish the experience. Pacific loons do not nest in Wisconsin, so it’s always a thrill to see an uncommon bird.
I’ll try to head back there today to see if they’re still there. For more information go to:
http://www.birdweb.org/birdweb/bird/pacific_loon#
Carrot Juice vs Chips: Bike for Life explores the options
Surprise: Kids like carrot juice.
Carrot juice or chips?
Raw peanut butter anyone?
What do you think kids will eat?
Turns out they’ll eat all three, but not necessarily in that order.
I didn’t think they’d like carrot juice, but they did.
They watched intently as the Willy Street Coop juice bar man turned carrots into juice with the flip of a switch. The rich, orange juice flowed out and the kids eagerly drank it up. They also loved watching peanuts turn into peanut butter in the grinder. They liked that it looked kinda gross coming out of the machine, which always helps with kids.
After they tried the juice and peanut butter, I took out chips and chocolate to talk about portion size and choices in food. They squealed with delight. Sugar, salt and fat make for tough competition. No squeals for carrot juice and unsweetened/unsalted peanut butter, but then again, they had never tried them before. On the other hand, junk food, is readily available and a primary cause of obesity in kids.
Can you just 12 chips?
Of course, the real challenge with junk food is how much kids eat.
Did you know that there are about 12 chips and 250 calories in one serving? Have you ever tried eating just 12 chips in a sitting? That’s the challenge. I offered single serving bags of chips to make the point.
The next time you sit down to eat chips, challenge yourself and your kids to eat just one serving. And, before you eat, read the ingredient label. Turns out that the nacho cheese flavored chips are loaded with preservatives, whereas simple potato chips contain just potatoes, oil and salt. Even in the chip world, there are choices.
As for the chocolate, the package said a serving was half the bar. This seemed like a lot so we talked about that. Can you eat just a few squares of chocolate and put the rest away for another day? I know I can’t, which is why I don’t eat chips or eat sugar. I shared this with the kids so they know that there’s a choice. They don’t get it, but then again, they don’t have to, just yet.
Kids are smart and while most of their food choices are made by others, I believe that this information will make a difference to them.
Perhaps not now, but in the future.
What do you think?
Bike for Life is an obesity prevention program created and run by Diane Schwartz out of the Goodman Community Center. It’s funded by the Endres Foundation and the Rosenlund Family Foundation. The group is enjoying the great fall weather by biking around Madison. Next week, we’ll head up to the Capitol.
Quetico Vacation: Bruises, Eagles and Pictographs
The Sierra Club Quetico Crew 2011.
Canoeing in Quetico Provincial Park is the ultimate outdoor vacation. While there were no kids on this trip, it’s important for me to write about and share this experience. Who knows, perhaps I’ll take a group there someday. Well, maybe not… read on and you’ll understand why.
Quetico canoe trips are beautiful and rigorous. We saw so much wildlife that by the end of the trip, Bald Eagles became ordinary. My body grew strong while simultaneously getting beat up. Bruises of all shapes and sizes dotted my arms and legs from slipping on rocks, getting in and out of the canoe or falling with a 70 pound pack on my back. Canoeing the Quetico is a humbling experience and yet remains worth the effort.
Here’s the trip by the numbers:
Dates: August 28 to Sept 4
Duration: 8 days, 7 nights
Total Miles: 80
Portage Miles: 5
Longest Day: 20 miles
Shortest Day: 9 miles
Portages: 28
Longest portage: 1 mile
Shortest portage: 20 feet
Shortest unmarked portage: One step. (Okay technically this wasn’t a portage at all. Rather we had to step carefully on floating pieces of a sphagnum moss to maneuver the canoe through the wetland.)
Truth?
There were times on the trip, such as being stuck knee-deep in the mud with a 45 pound canoe on my shoulders, when I wondered why I would call this a vacation. And yet, it was. The wilderness is rejuvenating. It’s beautiful and everywhere you turn there’s another plant to look at and inspect. The lichen and moss are so diverse, I could write a book just about them. And there’s nothing better than drinking directly from clean, clear lakes. It’s feels like drinking hope.
The images and memories from this trip will last a long time.
Among my favorite images were the pictographs.
Rock wall on Lac la Croix where we saw many pictographs.
Ojibwe people painted pictures on rock walls throughout the Quetico about 400 years ago. We saw the best pictographs in the park on a massive rock wall on Lac la Croix. Approaching the rock wall, I imagined Ojibwe people camping on the nearby beach and visiting the rock wall for ceremonies or to make an offering. I imagined the painters resting on the beach before doing their work.
The images themselves are mysterious. The handprints reminded me of child play. The moose was a work of graceful art.
What do the paintings mean? Why did they do it? It’s easy to think that they were just playing or offering up artistic expression, but that’s not likely because the images are found on rock art elsewhere in the country. This lends credence to the theory that rock art had a spiritual purpose.
The paintings remain bright after hundreds of years due to a paint mixture of iron ore and bear fat. I tend to think that the painters
Handprints. Are they playful images or do they have deeper spiritual meaning?
must have known what they were doing when they made this very durable paint, but how they knew this is a mystery.
Modern Lac la Croix natives continue to worship at these rocks today. We did the same. To honor the drawings and the people who painted them we left a small offering of berries. I also made offerings when we crossed large lakes. Native people did this to protect themselves from the perils of big water. It’s a simple act of humility in an unforgiving environment.
After visiting the pictographs, we canoed another mile to Warrior Hill, a massive rock face used as a testing ground for young warriors. The story goes that young warriors raced to the top of the hill to earn entry into The Warrior Club. So, immediately, we took off our shoes and climbed up the sheer rock face to the top.
Graceful moose painted by talented Ojibwe artist.
The views were gorgeous and the feeling even better at the top. I imaged young Ojibwe men sparing and egging each other on as they raced up the hill. I imagined the winners strutting in front of young women, hoping to impress. I imagined the awe they felt as they looked at the beautiful view from the top. It is easy to believe in a power greater than myself from such a vantage point.
These images will be with me for a long time and I’ll post larger photos as soon as I get them.
Do you have any memorable moments to share from your outdoor vacation? Would you take kids?
Lots of Bubbles at Wisconsin PBS Kids Open House
They came; they made bubbles; they left.
I just went through 12 gallons of bubble juice at Wisconsin Public Television’s Open House at Vilas Hall in Madison, WI.
That’s a lot of bubbles.
That’s a lot of kids.
That’s a lot of fun.
About 1000 kids and parent showed up to make bubbles, see Mr. Steve and enjoy their favorite PBS Kids characters.
If you want me to come to your special event, just send me an email at getkidsoutside@gmail.com.
Bubbles are fun and even the smallest children can enjoy them.
