Tag Archives: go outside

Camp Au Pair – Let’s Go Outside

Let’s get our creative hats on! This week we have a variety of creative outdoor activities! Whether you are walking in the woods or in your own neighborhood, we can have all kinds of fun together!

Feeling creative? Check out the Au Pair in America Pinterest boards for some great ideas to get you started!

Field Trips:

Please discuss any field trip options as a family and decide if this is an activity you are comfortable participating in before heading out!

Annmarie Garden :

Enchanted Summer at the Garden

Through September 4, 2023

Enjoy a safe, outdoor, engaging experience during Annmarie’s Enchanted Summer at the Garden!  You will find a variety of low-touch, no-touch fun along the trails and paths of the Sculpture Garden.  Grab your bug spray, pack a picnic blanket or chairs, and spend your summer with us! Admission.

During the Enchanted Summer, daily visitors can:

-Explore the galleries

-Search for over 100 fairy houses

-Play in the Fairy Lolly nature play space

-Build your own fairy house in the forest

-Search for gems and fossils at the Fairy Grove Mining sluice (additional fees apply)

-Try the Wild Rumpus Run

-Enjoy unique photo ops along the trail

-Find the hidden Dragons Nest

-Search for the hidden tree pop paintings

-Pack a picnic to enjoy in the park or enjoy our Food Truck Fridays

-Create your own artwork in the artLAB creative reuse studio

-Enjoy the sculpture throughout the park, including the Creature in the Garden exhibit

Gold Petal Farm:

Goldpetal Farm is Southern Maryland’s ONLY living maze. We design, plant and manage two unique mazes, providing about six weeks of beauty, nature and family fun. Admission.

Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum:

Explore the grounds, trails, Indian Village and more of Jefferson Patterson Park! The grounds and outdoor facilities are open. Enjoy 560 Scenic acres along the Patuxent River in Calvert County, more than 65 identified archaeological sites! Check out the Visitor Center full of interactive exhibits, enjoy the trails, the educational programs or exhibits, find the beach areas, the hidden playground and so much more! No admission.

 

Books:

 

Photo credit: Chalk art – Walter {Flickr}; Sach1tb {Flickr}; Cynthia Chan

Camp Au Pair – Nature Exploration

Now for some fun in nature!!! Get out and explore a bit, collect some treasures along the way! Most of these activities are easily created using items likely already around the house, but you may need to plan ahead a bit to have supplies on hand! Check with your host family about getting supplies to use!

So many great ideas! Check them out on the Au Pair in America Pinterest boards here!

Let’s Learn About:

  • The Baltimore Oriole. From their brief taxonomic hiatus to their intense sugar cravings, there’s a lot to know about these brilliant birds.
  • Make hummingbird nectar. Hummingbirds may be some of the smallest birds in the world,  but fluttering those tiny wings can be quite a workout. Flapping away at up to 90 beats per second burns up calories fast; to maintain their momentum, hummingbirds need to eat—a lot! To satisfy their speedy metabolisms, these busy birds consume half their body weight in bugs and nectar, feeding every 10-15 minutes and visiting 1,000-2,000 flowers per day.
  • Illustrator Johanna Basford teaches us how to draw simple birds.

Focus on History:

Rachel Carson, was a writer, scientist, and ecologist. She had a a life-long love of nature and the living world that Rachel expressed first as a writer and later as a student of marine biology.

Field Trips:

Annmarie Gardens Insectival is happening on July 22! Come experience all kinds of insect fun! Insect costumes! Learn about pollinators and arachnids! Check out the Misty Meadows Sprinkler Zone! Lots of insect fun and games! Buy tickets now!

Check out Annmarie Sculpture Garden and Arts Center. They have a wonderful Fairy Lolly to play in and trails to walk along. This summer, they are hosting an Enchanted Summer at the Garden. Admission is charged.

Historic St. Mary’s City walking trails are open year round.  While the living history portion of the center is by admission, hikers can travel a rustic 3.2 mile path through 700 acres of natural areas without tickets. This trail travels through woods and fields at water’s edge along Milburn Creek and the St. Mary’s River. This hike offers numerous opportunities to discover the native flora and fauna of the tidewater region.

Virtual Field Trip Options:

The Nature Conservancy of Oklahoma: Escape the confines of your home and take a virtual  field trip through Oklahoma’s vast wilderness by clicking through several 360-degree views of the Conservancy’s various preserves. You can also click on features of the landscapes to learn more about the unique prairie ecosystem.

Yellowstone National Park: Experience the main attractions of Yellowstone National Park from the comfort of your home! Feast your eyes on famous sights such as the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Mammoth Hot Springs and Mud Volcano. Old Faithful geyser is not to be missed.

Virtual dives:

You won’t need scuba gear to feel like you’re underwater with these stunning high-res 360-degree views of national marine sanctuaries like the Florida Keys, Monterey Bay and the Olympic Coast. You can even pair your device with a virtual reality headset for the ultimate immersive experience.

Webcams:

National Audubon Society Webcams: Explore a variety of webcam options, from Africa, farms, bears, puffins, wolves, honeybees, and even the Aurora Borealis.

Videos: Check out the cool videos at Bob’s Pennsylvania Wildlife Camera 

Resources:

Consider joining in the Free Forest School near you! Free Forest School ignites children’s innate capacity to learn through unstructured play in nature, fostering healthy development & nurturing the next generation of creative thinkers, collaborative leaders & environmental stewards.

Books:

Check out your library (or Amazon) for great books about the outdoors!

  • Backpack Explorer: On the Nature Trail.
  • My First Book About Backyard Nature: Ecology for Kids!
  • Hiking Day, by Anne Rockwell. A little girl and her family go hiking up a nearby mountain for the very first time. As they climb up and up the path, they see everything from a friendly toad to a prickly porcupine, tall leafy trees to tiny red berries.
  • Gator, gator, gator, by Daniel Bernstrom. A fearless little girl takes off in search of a giant gator–but she’s not going into that swamp alone! No way! She wants YOU, the reader, to come along. Off you go, peering through the lush landscapes, looking for that gator! But each time you think you see it? Oops! Just a fox. Or some ducks! Or a snake. Maybe you’ll never find the gator, gator, gator…

Photos by: Virginia State Parks {flickr}, rain0975 {flickr}, Nick Goodrum {flickr}, Fred Schroeder {flickr}, Cynthia Chan

Camp Au Pair – Bugs & Butterflies

Get ready to get buggy as we explore bugs and butterflies this week! Ready for some serious fun?

Activities

Check out the Au Pair in America Pinterest site for more great ideas!

Field Trips can be a great way for kids to learn and have new experiences. As always, have a conversation as a family about suitable activities and COVID precautions before venturing out. Here are a few places to go, that fit this theme:

  • Goldpetal Farms sunflower maze. The flowers attracts bees and butterflies! *Admission*
  • Historic St. Mary’s City has a lovely variety of outdoor spaces were bugs, butterflies and critters abound! *Admission*
  • The Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum grounds offer a wide variety of outdoor habitats.
  • Battle Creek Cypress Swamp. The trails are open during operating hours. This is one of the northernmost stands of bald cypress trees in North America. A short boardwalk trail enables visitors to experience the majestic quality of the cypress trees and the tranquility of the swamp.

Videos – You can find many great videos of butterflies and insects on YouTube. Check out these videos for kids about bees and ants. All about Insects covers lots of tiny creatures who crawl and fly. Here is a video showing a Monarch Butterfly metamorphosis time-lapse.

Books:

  • The Big Book of Bugs:
    A beautifully illustrated, informative book for children introducing them to bugs that creep, crawl, bite, fly, and moreFrom moths and beetles to worms and spiders, the world is crawling with fascinating bugs. The Big Book of Bugs is the first fact-filled book for children to explore the vast array of creepy-crawlies that share our Earth.
  • How to Draw Bugs & Insects:Young artists learn to draw by following 8 simple step illustrations. Perfect for children who are learning to draw.★ Simple step-by-step instructions★ Filled with cute ladybugs, bumble bees, butterflies and many more insects and bugs!★ Single sided printing to prevent bleed through

    ★ Extra pages to practice drawing all the animals

  • The Amazing Life Cycle of Butterflies: From moth to chrysalis to beautiful butterfly, learn  about a butterfly’s life. Children have lots of questions about the world around them, and this book helps them discover many amazing and wonderful scientific facts about butterflies.
  • Insects, Spiders & Other Terrestrial Arthropods: Written by noted entomologist George C. McGavin, this comprehensive handbook covers all 29 orders of insect as well as spiders and terrestrial arthropods. It’s packed with hundreds of annotated photographs and illustrations to help you discern the many types of insects and gives you a brief description of each insect family with main characteristics, including life cycles, the environment in which they thrive, and a photographic guide to assist you in categorizing the insect group. It’s an indispensable handbook for beginners and enthusiasts alike.

Photo: Nick Goodrum {flickr} & Cynthia Chan

Big Kids Need Interaction Too!

Just because a child is old enough to occupy themselves, doesn’t mean that they should be expected to do so the majority of the time.  Host families have a certain expectation of activity and involvement for their children. Get the kids engaged and active. You can be more fun than the TV or a video game.

Problem:
But, my kids don’t want to do anything but watch TV or play video games.

Solution:
Instead of saying,  “Would you like to (fill in the blank with any activity)?  The answer will often be, “No.”

Try this, “Now we are going to (fill in the blank with any activity.) or “Would you rather do  _____ or ______?”  Make sure both the choices are good options.
Your chances of co-operation are greatly increased. Even kids who are reluctant to try new things will usually get in the spirit of things and have fun, if you pick a good activity.

Problem:
I don’t know what to do with school age kids.

Solution:
Look for ideas online. Google “activities school age kids” or “activities tweens”. Below is a list of some ideas to get you started.

  • Cooking
  • Making things (check craft stores or online stores like Michael’s for kits and models that are age appropriate)
  • Going outside for fun activities
  • Sports (kick around a soccer ball, play tennis, bicycling, roller skating, shoot hoops)
  • Let them teach you to do something they enjoy. Kids this age love being the expert.
  • Get outdoors and visit local parks.  You can even make a project of reviewing all the local parks (what kind of equipment they have, is there shade?)  They can write this up and keep, so they remember which ones they want to go to again and which ones to skip in the future.
  • Let them help you search and plan some activities.
  • Check on the APIA Pinterest page and here on our cluster blog for ideas.
  • If you have a GPS, try taking them geocaching. Here is a website with all the details.

Note: Always get permission from your host parents before taking the kids places.

Photo: Killian77