Earlier this month we hit our goal of 1000 hours outside for the year 2020! If you haven’t heard of this challenge, it’s main objective is to get children to match screen time with outdoor time. The average child has 1200 hours of screen time each year! 1000 Hours Outside seeks to shift some of that time towards more productive time spent outdoors!
From The States
Adventures in Travel and Education
Often families post online asking for recommendations for a good hike for little ones close to the Anchorage area. My first suggestion is always Reflections lake.
Out of all the hikes we have been on Reflections Lake is likely the one we have visited most often. It is always at the top of my list when suggesting hikes for small children.
Reflections is a 1 mile Loop hike around Reflections Lake and boats amazing views or Pioneer Peak. The trail is mostly flat. Where there are hills, there is usually a path to the side that offers a less steep option. There are multiple rocky/muddy beaches along the trail, benches, and a viewing tower about halfway around. The parking at Reflections Lake is free and there are outhouses available close to the trailhead.
Summer solstice marks the longest day of the year and shortest night. It is the time of year in which earth’s north pole is at its maximum tilt towards the sun, traveling it’s longest path across the sky. This day marks the official start of the summer season.
Solstices are a big deal up here in Alaska. We get around 19 hours of daylight between sunrise and sunset on summer solstice. It is pretty modest compared to what Barrow (Utqiagvik), AK gets (approximately 79 days straight with no sunset). However, I’ll take it. And honestly, even after the official time for sunset it does not become as dark as what most people would consider “night”. It’s more like a twilight.
Recently our playgrounds opened again! We live just down the street from an elementary school and we often visit the playground there. Our first time back on this playground Jasper found a ladybug and his interest in this tiny insect inspired our ladybug nature study.
Up to this point we had always gotten the little kits at the store to dye eggs with. However, I had failed to pick one up before this virus stuff started happening and they don’t seem to be a Click List option. I know there were other options out there for dyeing eggs and so to Pinterest I went! We had everything in the house to complete Fizzing Easter Eggs so this is what I chose!
Did you know there are two different starts to the Iditarod, the ceremonial start and the restart. Though we had hoped to attend the restart this year, we have only ever attended the ceremonial start.
The ceremonial starts begins in Anchorage and has done so since 1983. Starting at 10am on the first Saturday in March, racers leave the start line and go on an 11 mile run to Campbell Airstrip. This run does not count for their official race time. The restart begins at 2pm the following day in a town called Willow, about 70 miles north of Anchorage.
The year 2020 has presented us with many days of negative temperatures. This has given us the great opportunity to experiment with projects that require cold weather! Recently we made frozen bubbles!
There are 616 named glaciers in Alaska. Though there is estimated to be around 100,000 glaciers within the state. I have seen more glaciers than I can count since moving to here. We have hiked to both Byron Glacier and Exit Glacier. However, until last Saturday I had never actually touched a glacier!
I have been trying to find incentive to get us out in these frigid temperatures and Pinterest has provided! The last few days we have been experimenting with making colorful icicles! Let me tell you, they are beautiful!
Yesterday we built our second rainbow snow volcano in just over a week! This may be Jasper’s new favorite thing to do! To create this project all you need is some simple household items (until your child uses all of the vinegar and baking soda and you have to run to the store to replenish it)!
Before we moved to Alaska, we had never celebrated the solstices before. I only knew when the winter solstice was because it is the same day as my brother and sister’s. However, in Alaska the summer and winter solstice is a big deal. There are multiple celebrations. We particularly enjoy the Solstice Tree Tour in Kincaid Park and the Ice Lantern Walk at the Eagle River Nature Center. This year we hope to attend Anchorage’s solstice festival for the first time.
This time next Fall we will be a few months into our true home school journey. For the time being we are trying to find what works for us and when good times for lessons are. I love to incorporate learning into the time we already spend outside. The last few weeks we explored a “Fall” theme. At this age, exploring the world around us is a great way for Jasper to learn! In addition Jasper is very interested in writing, so I have found ways to incorporate writing into our learning.
Acoustic Dispersion isn’t a term I was familiar with until earlier this week. There was a video that I believe went viral a few years back (video below). It was of a man throwing a rock at a frozen lake and the lake making this amazing noise (something similar to the pew pew noise of Star Wars blasters). Well, this lake happens to be in Alaska and is only a short distance from where we live!
During Alaskan fall and spring we have the unfortunate reality that children need to wear gloves to stay warm outside. However, we then encounter the problem that most gloves quickly become soaked in our endless puddles or soggy snow. Jan and Jul Waterproof Mittens solve this issue!
Well, we jumped on the slim bandwagon! Honestly, I had avoided making slime because it was my understanding that some of the ingredients weren’t completely safe. Did you know you don’t have to use borax to make awesome slim? Well apparently my husband did! Jasper and his dad started making slime together earlier this year and Jasper loves it!
This summer was HOT for Alaska. In fact Anchorage broke its all time record high this summer! We did the more swimming we have ever done and we were lucky to find a couple new places to keep cool in the water. Man Made Beach was one of them!
Jack-O-Lanterns come and go so fast that I almost don’t think they are worth the trouble (though the kids do love it). However, I do love to pick all the pumpkin seeds out and roast them up! It’s a super simple thing to do and my son often helps me pick all the seeds out of the pumpkin guts (for a few minutes at least).
First you simply pick out all the pumpkin seeds and wash them off. You want to do your best to get all the slime and bits of pumpkin out of the mix. The less pumpkin guts left mixed in, the crispier your seeds will end up!
We have been using Oaki rain suits for a few years now. They are pretty much the unofficial uniform for small children in Alaska during the spring, summer and fall. However, much of the year Alaska is covered in a good deal of snow. So when I heard that Oaki had begun offering snowsuits in addition to their rain suits I was excited to have Jasper try one out!
Alaska is rainy, some areas more than others. We have tried many different types of rain boots since moving here. My son’s love of splashing in puddles is ever growing. Inevitably he will always throw himself into a knee-deep puddle, and that was the extent of any protection his old rain boots provided. Our hikes and outdoor excursions usually ended with me back at the van, stripping my son down, because his shoes and pants were soaked through. This simply wasn’t a good mix as the Alaskan summer quickly turned into fall.
If you follow me on Instagram or have read my previous blog posts, you know that this is not my first pregnancy. However, when I was pregnant with Jasper we lived in southern Illinois. In addition, Jasper is a July baby, so the majority of my previous maternity wardrobe consisted of shorts and short-sleeved tops. July in southern Illinois can easily reach the upper 90’s, if not breaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Since we moved to Alaska, in January of 2017, the hottest it has ever gotten was 82…
Jasper seems to love all holidays (what child doesn’t). Especially the holidays that include presents and candy. For Valentines Day we generally get Jasper one of those $1 boxes of chocolates that Walmart sells. Then sometimes we also get him a small Valentines themed toy. So that means Valentines Day is among Jasper’s favorite holidays (along with his birthday, Christmas, Easter, Halloween, etc). I personally enjoy Valentines Day because there are lots of fun Valentines themed projects you can do!
Maternity clothing can be tricky. Sometimes it makes you look like a walking tent, and other times it can be so tight that is shows every lump and bump you don’t want the world to see. However, with PinkBlush you can find stylish maternity clothing that is flattering to your shape (even as that shape gets bigger… and bigger).
Yesterday morning I was woken yet again by another aftershock. This one was a 4.2. This 4.2 followed two that registered around 5.0 earlier this week. It is interesting how much you learn about earthquakes after going through one as large as a 7.0. The main thing I have learned is that earthquakes often come with a warning. A few seconds before the world starts to shake, you hear the earthquake coming. The noise is similar to the heater kicking on or an airplane flying past. So sometimes you experience that jolt of fear for no reason. Other times the noise is the reason you are woken at 6:16 am. Then you get to wait with bated breath for a few nerve wracking seconds to see how large the aftershock will be and whether or not your child will wake up crying.
Where I grew up, in the Midwest, if there were solstice celebrations, I was unaware of them. However, here in Alaska, celebrating the summer and winter solstice is a much bigger deal. This is for the obvious reason that the solstices have a real effect on every day life here.
I assume when the average person envisions Anchorage, Alaska they picture mountains capped with snow and valleys rounded out by the glaciers that once passed through them. They may think of salmon swimming up the streams or moose wondering about. Often people find it quite surprising to learn that nestled in the forests of Anchorages Kincaid Park there rises a sand dune straight from the forest floor. However, this remnant of the Ice Age was in fact deposited by a glacier moving through the Anchorage Bowl!
Jasper’s third birthday is upon us and I don’t know where the times has gone. He is so big and so smart. He can do so many things and is constantly impressing me. However, at the same time it makes me very sad to know that his baby years are past. This year we celebrated on his birthday, just the three of us at home. However, this coming weekend Jasper will have a birthday party. He has chosen a Monsters Inc theme and he is very excited for his birthday cake!
