By Michelle Riggen-Ransom

This “Meet a Parent” is a little different than usual. To kick off a summer of gardening, I interviewed my friend and avid gardener TJ Sondermann about his gardening habits. TJ is a librarian who is currently at home with his almost seven-month-old son. He’s also a committed urban gardener, a fount of techie and greenie information, and an all-around nice guy. Let’s meet him!

Where do live?
TJS: Providence, RI

What are you planting this year?
TJS: This year we’re removing lots of lawn to make room for perennials. In the veggie garden, we’re planting corn (which we grow mainly to make the dry stalks into fall decorations as the squirrels always eat all the corn), lots of assorted greens, eggplant, tomatoes, pickling cucumbers, our regular assortment of herbs, and we’re experimenting with Brussels sprouts.

We’re also planting a neighborhood BYOS (bring your own scissor) herb garden on the side of our house this year. Come on over for a sprig of thyme if you need it.

Where do you garden?
TJS: The first day we looked at the house that would become our own, my wife was asking all sorts of appropriate questions about taxes and heating bills. Me, I had my eye on about sixty square feet of space in the backyard that was screaming, “Clear me out and plant some veggies.”

I’m also volunteering a bit at the Mount Hope Community Garden this year. I can’t think of a better way to get your family involved in the fabric of your neighborhood than by standing shoulder to shoulder, knee-deep in compost with the diverse group of folks who generally make up a community garden.

Who do you garden with?
TJS: Generally with my wife and a small group of friends whose children range in age from 4 months to 6 years of age. We all pitch in (with advice or manual labor) from time to time at one another’s backyard plots and share the bounty either directly or through weekly dinners. Last year a few of us (kids included) plucked many pounds of basil leaves from stems and had a pesto making party. Everyone went home with a few containers of freshly made pesto.

What is your favorite thing about gardening with your child?
TJS: I’ve been hooked on gardening since my grandfather sat me on his lap at age 5 and showed me a cucumber that he had grown inside a beer bottle (Michelob, of course), and I cannot wait to do the same for my son.

Thanks, TJ! Happy Gardening to you and your family.

Nature/Nurture, written by Michelle Riggen-Ransom, is an occasional column with ideas and information to help kids and their families engage with the natural world in fun, interesting ways. Share your thoughts and explorations by adding your comment below, or contact us with your story ideas.

PHOTO CREDIT: From TJ Sondermann’s Flickr account

I am sending my boys (age 6) to day camp for the first time this summer. Here is our checklist to help keep track of all of the essentials and make our camp mornings easy and stress-free. Print your own copy and tuck into your child’s bag so they can check off everything they should bring home. Add your own suggestions in the comments below.

This list of items for day camp should fit into your child’s backpack.

___ Sunscreen with an SPF rating of at least 45 (I think the roll-on kind is easier for younger kids to re-apply it themselves.)

___ Insect repellant wipes and/or insect repellent wristband (Do not send an aerosol can of insect repellant—the spray will sting if it gets in your child’s eyes.)

___ Bathing suit and towel (I recommend the cheap, super thin ones—less bulk in the backpack.)

___ Water bottle filled with ice-cold water

___ Hat

___ Comfortable running shoes or closed-toe sports sandals WITH socks

___ Extra set of clothes (especially a pair of socks and shirt if they get wet from the rain)

___ Raincoat

___ Medication: All camps should have your child’s medical information on file. Having an extra note with details in their backpack and attached to their Prescription medication and/or Epi-Pen is helpful.

___ Food: Most day camps will provide lunch and snacks. If you pack a lunch it should be easy to eat on the ground. A sandwich (avoid peanut butter since most camps are nut-free), fruit and a juice box or water makes for a healthy lunch. Granola bars make an excellent snack. Some camps may have snack bars – find out the rules and cost of items ahead of time so you can plan if and how much money you want your child to have everyday. I recommend putting money in a zippered change purse or Ziploc baggy. Notify the camp of any food allergies your child may have.

Photo Credit: Children’s Critter Pack from LLBean

By Katy Killilea

Drive time from Providence, RI: @ 38 minutes (@ 28 miles) (directions)

Tiverton is home to some of Rhode Island’s best sandwiches and cookies (at Provender) cheese (at Milk and Honey Bazaar) and ice cream (at Gray’s), all of which make going for a family hike there a brilliant idea.

There are many enticing options for hikes in Tiverton. Weetamoo Woods is just half a mile from Tiverton Four Corners (located at the intersection of routes 77 and 179, and the home of the above-referenced delicacies) and makes for an exciting hike for a wide age range. Our group was comprised of two moms and four kids (ages 5, 5, 6, and 7.) We saw a family with young teenagers and a twelve-year-old who seemed equally well-matched for the hike.

Other than proximity to high-quality snacks, what’s so special about Weetamoo Woods? The hiking trail is what was once Rhode Island’s only highway. (History!) Stone walls and stone slab bridges are regular features, as mighty as the days they were built centuries ago. (Architecture!) As we ventured through the woods, we found princess pines, holly trees, onion grasses, and skunk cabbages. (Botany!) The stone bridges cross brooks of various depths and speeds. (Water to throw sticks into!) And then, at last, we reached High Rock.

High Rock is indeed a very large rock. When you reach the top of it, you find yourself up above the treetops. Our kids were flabbergasted by their achievement. (”This is the highest mountain in the world!” and “This is the awesomest place I’ve ever seen!”) The adults in our group ruled out a High Rock game of hide-and-seek that was percolating. It did feel slightly treacherous, and a younger child or someone uncoordinated could easily fall quite a distance and get hurt. However, my perception of danger may have been skewed by my poor choice of footwear (boiled wool clogs). Next time I’ll wear sneakers or hiking boots. Reaching and climbing High Rock was a reasonable goal for our group of moderately experienced child hikers.

(more…)

By Erin Goodman

Our annual, treasured Potluck Picnic in the Park actually began out of sheer desperation two years ago when, a few weeks after our son was born, our daughter was turning two.

Up until a week before her birthday, I planned to host a party for our friends and family at our house, as I had done for her first birthday. And then sleep-deprivation and postpartum hormones kicked into high gear, and through my sobs I began trying to figure out how the heck to get out of the insanity that I had created for myself.

Remembering the wonderful collective first-birthday celebration my friends (aka the “Yoga Mamas”) held at Goddard Memorial Park the year before, I made a quick phone call to secure adjoining picnic sites for our celebration.

The party, which also celebrated Father’s Day, was so much fun that everyone, especially older relatives with fond memories of childhood picnics at Goddard and Pulaski parks, immediately started talking about making it an annual tradition.

Then this year, in the hopes of creating a more relaxing Father’s Day for my husband, who spent the last two schlepping gear to the park, moving picnic tables, and flipping burgers, we decided to celebrate the kids’ birthdays (quietly) on their actual birthdays, move the picnic to Memorial Day weekend, expand the invite list, and make it an (unofficial) start of summer party. And that’s just what we did!
And since all our guests brought the food, we got to focus on the really fun stuff!

I picked up burlap coffee bean bags ($1 a piece at Building 19) for sack races, a giant parachute ($24.95 at Target), hula hoops, balloons for animal-making (which, somewhere along the way, my husband has become quite proficient at), Frisbees, a wiffle ball and bat, a couple of Nerf balls, and plenty of jars of bubbles (all purchased at iParty).

(more…)

There are many ways to share the magical world of butterflies with our children.

Read about them:
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Kaito’s Cloth by Glenda Millard and illustrated by Gaye Chapman

Find them:
Explore your garden or local park and try to catch one with a butterfly net. Buy one at Target or Benny’s or online at butterflystores.com

Raise your own:
Buy a kit, complete with reusable mesh butterfly house and certificates for butterfly larvae. You will see something like this.

Become one:
Make your own butterfly wings with these how-to directions on the Family fun website.

See them locally:

• The Flutterby: Butterflies in Bloom runs from May 26 to September 1, 2008
Wander through a beautifully landscaped 2100-square foot greenhouse (located inside the zoo), filled with hundreds of free-flying butterflies.
Admission: Special ticket required for Flutterby exhibit ($3 Adults; $2 Kids, ages 3-13; Kids under three are free) in addition to regular Zoo admission.
Roger Williams Park Zoo - 1000 Elmwood Avenue, Providence, RI
Phone: 401-785-3510

• Painted Wings in Flight: Summer Butterfly Programs
Guided by expert naturalists, Audubon programs take you to fields and refuges throughout the state filled with thousands of butterflies. Find out more online at Butterflying with Audubon.
Admission: Varies, call for details.
Audubon Society of Rhode Island (ASRI)
Phone: 401-949-5454

Photos are from the “Flutterby: Butterflies n Bloom” in Exhibit. Photo credit: Douglas Itkin

5 Traverse Gallery presents a lovely family-friendly show of forty one bird paintings and drawings by father, Bill Shattuck, and son, Ben Shattuck. This tiny gallery located right off Wickenden Street (near Utrecht Art Supply store) is the perfect size and place to explore art with children. Make it a fun and educational outing for you and your kids—learn the names of the birds and see how a charcoal drawing of a Hooded Merganser can be very different from an oil on panel version by another artist.

Nearby snack joints located on Wickenden Street: Coffee Exchange and Blue Elephant.

Details:
The show runs until June 14, 2008.  
5 Traverse - 5 Traverse Street, Providence, RI 02906
Phone: 401-225-8784
Hours: 12pm - 5pm, Wednesday through Saturday.

By Katy Killilea

When expert fisher-friends invited us to join them at one of their hot family fishing spots this weekend, we were ready. We had just acquired fine rods and reels from a tag sale, the sun was shining, and we had half a box of peanut butter crackers already tucked into our beach bag—we were ready to go! And so we went on our way, for the very first time, to fish at Sabin Point Park in East Providence.

The kids’ ages were (a strapping, fearless) three years to (a patient, nurturing) seven-and-a-half, and casting off the tiny beach at Sabin Point suited them perfectly. The bait was clams. The expert family provided this bait, as well as hooks and bobbins. There were a few brief, harrowing moments when the inexperienced children waggled their rods and hooks a little too close to their mom’s face. Many lines got tangled in many Crocs. But the good times far outweighed the bad. And we didn’t even catch a fish!

The children stood so patiently in the water, casting over and over and reeling in seaweed. The knowledgeable parents instructed the rest of us on the art of casting, maintaining a line-unsnagging posture, and everything else we needed to know. Sabin Point is a beautiful part of Rhode Island. We spent most of our time on the beach fishing, but there is also a playground with tons of swings, little slides, and even those low basketball hoops with real backboards that are so hard to find. Ducks and minnows were easy to spot, as were jolly men smoking cigars. Lovely sea glass as well as ordinary sharp shards of glass are plentiful (so use caution where you walk or sit) . There are big rocks perfect for balancing and clambering and there’s even a two-hundred-meter track paved for tricycle and beginning bicycle riders.

Overcome with hunger for fish after two hours spent fishing at the beach, our group headed to Blount’s Clam Shack on Water Street in Warren. The Clam Shack is open for the 2008 season and is as brilliant as last year with a new trailer that serves Wildberry Frozen Yogurt and Gelato. On a sunny day, there is no better place to be. Many diners arrive by boat, so there is plenty to watch on the water. The sun feels more intensely bright there–the crushed white shell ground cover and the proximity to water are unbearable without sunglasses– so every table has an umbrella, and there are big white tents set up for extra shade.
(more…)

By Michelle Riggen-Ransom

CREDIT: Paper cutout illustration from the book, How Babies Are Made
By Andrew C. Andry and Steven Schepp.
“Mommy, how are babies made?” The question, of course, had been raised before, what with a little sister joining our household just over a year ago. My husband and I have staved off the inevitable from our curious boy with a deft combination of avoidance, generalities, and feel-good euphemisms. While I was pregnant, we talked to my (then) three-year-old son about the cozy place the baby was growing inside Mommy’s body, how she was developing week by week, and what would happen when she was born and my son would become transformed into the esteemed position of Big Brother.

We settled on a suitably generic-yet-factual phrase for how babies are made. “The mommies and the daddies put their bodies together in a certain way and that starts a baby growing” is what we ended up saying to him umpteen times as my due date drew nearer. This answer seemed to appease him. And once the baby came, we were all too busy and tired to think about much beyond getting dressed and fed on a regular basis.

So I was caught off-guard when, a couple of weeks ago, the question, “How are babies made?” came back with a vengeance. I started to give him our standard house answer, but he cut me off.

“I know they put their bodies together, but what parts of the body do they put together?” He looked at me with sweet, genuine puzzlement as I stammered, flailing around the room and crashing into walls like a wounded butterfly. We always explain EVERYTHING to him; why was this subject any different? It’s just science, right? Nonplussed, he pressed on: “Is it, like, their heads they put together? Or their tummies?” He was looking at me for honest answers in order to help him make sense of this crazy, crazy world, and what did I do? Giggled like a twelve-year-old and told him to ask his father. Aye! A grand mal, 1950s-style parenting failure!

But he didn’t ask has father; he asked me again a couple of weeks later. This time, he was in the tub, and as I cast my eyes wildly around the bathroom looking for some sort of an escape hatch, I happened to see a spider on the ceiling.

(more…)

Drive time from Providence, RI: @1 hour 45 minutes (@ 90 miles) (directions)

Details:
The Cape Cod Museum of Natural History - 869 Route 6A, Brewster, MA 02631
Open February through December
Admission: Adults - $8 (Seniors - $7), Ages 3-12 - $3.50, Under 3 - free. Free for members.
508-896-3867

Indoors: Kids can see everything from woolly mammoth tusks and whale baleen to a real beehive and learn about fish weirs and coastal changes. In the bird viewing room, kids watch birds outside a large picture window (with or without the binoculars) or see the osprey nest via video cam. Lots of hands-on activities keep children of all ages engaged—from a sandbox to crayon rubbings to studying shells under microscopes. Spend some time in the library or head downstairs to visit the aquarium. It was quiet the day we were there and we were lucky enough to get a personal guide who told us about the sea life. We learned fun facts like all turtles have thirteen scoots (the patterns on the top of their shells), no matter what their size, and the blood from horseshoe crabs is used in many of today’s pharmaceuticals.
Outdoors: Choose from several great nature walks – around a salt mash, through a wildflower and butterfly garden, or through a wooded path down to the beach. There are lots of picnic tables out front for having lunch or pausing for a snack.

Things we brought along for our hike:
• Magnifying glass to look at bugs and other treasures (My boys each have their own — $1.49 each from Ocean State Job Lot)
• Rhodia graph pad to record discoveries (fits perfectly into a six-year old’s pants pocket)
• Bottle of water
• Snacks (unfortunately I left ours in the car)
• Bird book
• A great walking stick (we actually didn’t bring one but found several to choose from along the way)

By Michelle Riggen-Ransom

Last year, we had a little garden where we grew a couple of radishes, some peas, beans, a few tiny carrots and one very impressive zucchini. Now that our littlest one is walking, we’re kicking it up a notch and turning a big section of our yard into a lovely, suburban, organic garden. This year’s planting plan includes turban squash, corn, a strawberry patch, another attempt at Brussels sprouts (which got munched by something last year), pumpkins, lettuce, and various herbs, along with last year’s favorites.

We’ve spent the last couple of cool spring weekends keeping warm by loading rocks from the garden area into a wheelbarrow and moving them to another, less fertile location. Stacking the rocks into a loose, low wall makes for an interesting outdoor space in and of itself, which will inspire bug-hunting and possibly snake -finding fun.

Preparing the soil and choosing the right plants is an important part of planning your garden. If you’re starting your first garden, you’ll probably want to test the soil to find out what you’re working with, as soil can vary in its pH and nutrient content. Since our soil is sandy, we’re adding topsoil mixed with a little peat moss. Sites like Clean Air Gardening offer great products and tips for using natural fertilizers like bat guano, bone meal, and fish meal, as well as vinegar-based weed killers. (I’m sure I’ll be writing more about fighting weeds organically later in the summer!)

(more…)