Here is a time tested and much loved product for ya. We started buying up these lucious leg warmers when my two youngest were pretty darn young:

Now… nearly 4 years later we STILL love our babylegs. Yesterday my daughter wore organic wool babylegs under a skirt to school. Today is an off-school day for her but she still came out sporting the babylegs… this time to keep her arms worm with a short sleeve tee. The color is called Mossy and they are organic too. I love that any of my kids could wear these… boy or girl, and they do.

My daughter wants you to excuse her messy hair… it WAS first thing in the morning yo!

For breakfast: Bear Naked Granola, almond milk, and deydrated strawberries and blueberries.

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We read a lot in this house. It is enjoyable and it is a way to instill a love of learning in my kids. A BIG part of that is reading books that will help them come to know the natural and world around them and want to protect it. But instead of books with a “green” message I usually prefer to go a different route. We like to read books that encourage environmentalism and protection simply by painting a beautiful picture of the world around us so that kids will WANT to preserve it. There is no clear cut directive to protect or preserve because I believe that what they value… they will learn to protect. My job is just to show them how wonderful and amazing this planet and all its animal inhabitants are. I trust in the hearts of my kids to use that foundation to become environmental activists and enthusiasts as they grow up. So a book titled Little Jenny Goes Green is not likely to appeal to me but a book called Little Jenny Loves the Forest… THAT sounds more up my alley.

Little publishers like the Tilbury House turn out books that I like. Their books are about cultural diversity, social justice, nature, and the environment but they do not teach about these themes in preachy ways. I want my kids to value the same things I do but I want them to be critical thinkers to. The last Tilbury book we read was  Under the Night Sky, if you recall. It is a very special book.

This week we read Bearly There by Rebekah Raye and it too, is a special book. It follows the story of a black bear who wakes from hibernation. He does all the typical bear things like scratch his back on the bark of a tree, eat some acorns and wiggly bugs and then he catches the scent of something he cannot ignore. We then get transferred into the world of a little boy named Charlie who takes care of geese in his backyard. He raised them since they were hatch-lings and he is very protective of them. When the bear breaks into the shed that sits adjacent to the shed where Charlie’s geese live, he is very concerned. His dad informs him that the bear was more interested in the sunflower seeds that were in the shed and that they should store them where the bear cannot get them.

The bear makes the rounds to other homes in the area, raiding bird feeders and compost piles, and soon neighbors are starting to panic and talk of shooting the bear begins.

In a very lovely twist though, Charlie keeps a cool head and he does his research on black bears. He then draws a large poster with a bear on it and under the bear it reads “What To Do If You Have a Bear In Your Backyard – The bear isn’t the problem - you are!” Following that he highlights six ways to get proactive and deter a bear from coming onto your property. None of those ways involve harming the bear either. Then Charlie and his father use this list to get their own yard in order and create a plan to get the bear back in the woods where it belongs.

The story and the illustrations are fabulous. My kids understood right away what the point of the story was and especially like that it was a child who had acted on behalf of the bear. I loved the fact that research and a calm head were used to solve the problem rather than just “eliminate” it. The parents in the story were good role models as well.

It allowed for some great discussion afterwards… such as when I asked what will happen when we destroy our forests and wooded areas to build homes and shopping malls? Where will the bears go?

In my search for books that tell great stories about nature and animals Bearly There falls into the pretty darn close to perfect category. It has a great story, it highlights creative thinking and cooperation, and it highlights respect for our environment and the animals who live in it. All of this is accomplished just through the weaving of a good story and not by preaching.

Special thanks to Tillsbury Press for sending me a copy, although they sent me a galley copy that fell apart after one reading. I will definitely be buying this book for our family library.

This post is also part of a blog tour and 9 lucky winners will be chosen from all of those who leave comments on the participating tour posts from (October 16-30) to win one of the following prizes:

- A set of four art cards (2 sets available)
- A signed wildlife art print
- An original sketch from Bear-ly There
- An original sketch from The Very Best Bed
- An original sketch from Thanks to the Animals
- A copy of Bear-ly There, The Very Best Bed, or Thanks to the Animals, signed by Rebekah Raye
Winners will be announced on Oct. 31, US/Canada addresses only, please.

Twitter Prize
Everyone that participates in the Twitter Book Party, and/or posts anything about the tour using the hashtag #Bear-lyThere from October 15-30 will be entered to win a complete set of Bear-ly There, Thanks to the Animals, and The Very Best Bed, all signed by Rebekah Raye. Winners will be announced on Oct. 31, US/Canada addresses only, please.

This week saw an emotional event. My youngest child started preschool and I cried my very last first day of school tears… sigh. It was completely unplanned that he would go to school this year. Since he will turn 4 in January I thought I would send him to preschool next year but I changed my mind last week.

If you recall, my youngest has speech issues.. he doesn’t talk that much and when he does no one else outside of family can understand him. Last year he started attending Speech Therapy twice a week but he DETESTED it so he we discontinued. This year I hoped to work more with him myself, using picture books, his Tag Junior, and some other tools designed for speech therapy at home and I think we have made some serious improvement. I also wanted him to get more interaction with other kids, who are not related to him, so he could hear them talk and use their words. But perhaps we live in a No Free Range Kids zone because the playgrounds are all but abandoned when we go.

Then out of the blue I get a call from the school district in our new city and they tell me that our old school district decided to send them paperwork for my son and they asked if I wanted to put him in preschool. The preschool is an immersion preschool with half the kids being special needs. I went down there took a look, really liked what I saw, and decided to send him. He is only in school 2.5 hours each day but with the bus ride it is more like 4 hours. If you count the two hour naps he takes when he gets home then you can see why I miss him so much!!

The school is only 5 minutes away too but that is the other development in our lives… our one car policy is biting us in the backside since my husband just got switched to working days. But Parker is always trying to jump on the bus at his sibling’s school, so I think the bus ride is a perk as far as he is concerned. Now I actually have to drag myself out of bed at 6:00 am to get him ready for the bus at 6:55… AND make sure he gets the only breakfast he can be convinced to eat at that hour… sliced fruit sprinkled with Bare Naked banana crunch granola. Like me, he doesn’t like eating first thing in the morning.

So, we will see how this goes. I never wanted to send him to preschool this early but I want to make sure he gets help with his speech issues BEFORE he starts Kindergarten. Next year I may send him to a private pre-school and if we are living where I think we may be living, I will have TONS of options.. Waldorf, Montessori, ect.

But by golly this kid has been attached to my hip since he was born and I am having a hard time with this separation. In the picture at the top take notice of his shirt.. I put masking tape on it with his name… I had fantasies of him being lost all morning and he can’t say his own name very well. It sounds more like Potter than Parker.

What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger…

Please watch this fabulous video about how important play is to kids and how important the setting is. How we spend our time as a child affects who we grow up to be. With children spending so much time inside what will that mean for future generations? What will your kids remember about their childhood? Can the lifestyle and attitudes of modern day parents be an obstacle for meaningful play? These are important questions.

One of my best tips for getting kids outside… go with them! Grab a blanket and some books and read to them… fun in your own backyard.