Family Friendly Adventure's posterous

Dedicated to sharing activities for the adventurous family

Jump Rope Water Splash

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On the hot summer days the best activities involve water. Jump Rope Water Slash is on of my daughters favorites.


Required: Jump rope, plastic cups, and water
Players: Small to large groups

Give each child a plastic or paper cup full of water. While two players twirl a large jump rope, jumpers one by one are to attempt three consecutive jumps. They are to do this while holding onto their cup of water and trying to do let any water spill. The child that has the most water left is the winner. You can keep playing until only one person has water left in their cup.

Have Fun!

Is it a rock, clam shell or small colored crab

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Chances are if you see a smooth, colored item on the beach, it's sea glass. Sea glass is deposited into the ocean and then transformed through a naturally occurring process into appealing little beach treasures. Identifying sea glass should be the easy part; the challenge lies in finding it.

Have patience when searching the beaches for sea glass. Sea glass can be harder to find nowadays, because littering (which is the most common way for glass to end up in the ocean) is less socially acceptable than it once was.

Keep your eye out for unusual colors during low tide. This is when the largest amount of beach is exposed. Brown, green and clear are some of the most commonly seen colors, but blue, yellow and a number of other colors can also be found.

Get out there a find some sea glass.

Helping Hands

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Sharing the outdoors and the adventures the natural world posses with our children. This blog was created in an effort to highlight the activities and news which can be hard to find through traditional outlets. That said I have recently seen more and more blogs, websites, and message boards helping in this effort. A result of this is the recent article in Eco Child's Play om MokuZoku and the company's efforts to reconnect children with the outdoor world. 

Please take a look: http://tinyurl.com/nyafrq

Play The Planet

Adventure Therapy

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Family adventures are increasingly being used as therapy for families facing difficulty with communication and conflict resolution. The action centered therapy involved in family adventure allows opportunities for genuine, guided interaction between family members. By putting families in unfamiliar environments, disequilibrium is created, allowing the underlying family dynamics to be revealed.  Just as importantly, most programs are using activities structured for success, such that families develop more positive dynamics.  

Recent research suggests that family adventure programs can improve the interpersonal relations among adolescents and their parents, particularly with regard to:

  • communication
  • problem solving
  • dysfunctional behavior
  • conflict resolution

That said there is obviously some merit in actively embracing family adventure to build the bonds and understanding all families need before problems arise. 

 

Grab the kids and busca adventura.

 

 

 

 

E.O Wilson and MokuZoku

E.O. Wilson the Pulitzer prize winner, biologist, researcher, theorist, naturalist and MokuZoku a children's gaming company focused on the connection of online and offline activities have combined forces and developed two great videos on natural child development and the importance of getting kids outdoors.

Please take a look:


Roots

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National Geographic, a long time proponent of Family Adventure, has a great project for families around the world. Did you ever wonder about your most ancient ancestors? The Genographic Project introduces you and your family to them, and explains the genetic journeys that bond your personal lineage over tens of thousands of years.

This project is one of the coolest things National Geographic has ever done and they have done some very cool stuff. Participants in the Genographic Project are able to see deep ancestral migratory routes, discovering who they are and how we are all related. Once finished, your personal DNA analysis shows you how the mutations on your genes identify you as a member of a specific family. They also provide maps, video overviews, and a detailed explanation which takes you on a guided tour of your ancestors' journey.

What better to promote family ties than to understand your families roots and progression. Check it out at 

Volunteer as a Family

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Join one of the many volunteer programs with an established local organization or come up with your own family program, for example, by planning your own marine or land clean-up day.

Family volunteering strengthens families and strengthens our community. When you decide to become a family volunteer, you are not only contributing to an important cause, but you are also helping your family and children in ways you never thought possible. Here is a sample of benefits your family and your community can achieve through family volunteering.

  • Children are able to develop compassion and an understanding for others. Not only will involving children in the decision-making process and volunteer activity help them feel appreciated and respected, but the volunteer activity will also enable them to acquire new skills.
  • Parents can help others while spending more time with their kids, passing on important values, and sharing meaningful conversations in a positive environment.
  • Nonprofits are often understaffed and overstressed and need additional help. Family volunteering helps them broaden their outreach to the community while improving community image and relations -- 97% of social service agencies that involved families found it to be very effective. Depending on their interests, family volunteers may want to help many types of non-profits, including the homeless, the sick and disabled, the elderly, children, animals, and the environment.
  • Society benefits from family volunteering, as it is a natural multiplier of volunteers. Studies show that children who volunteer are much more likely to continue as adults and carry on the tradition with their own children.

Great Back Yard State Park

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June is here. As we all know summer makes it much easier to enjoy time outdoors with the family. Beach, Mountains, or just the back yard. Long days fun of adventure. One of the coolest experiences a family can have is going on an exotic trip to a new an unexplored local. A few years ago most of us would have jumped at the idea and packed up the bags. Summer 2009 is a bit different. Times are a bit tougher and money can be tight. It is time to create adventure close to home. How about the back yard.

Introducing the backyard camp out. One of the many benefits to backyard camping is being close to home. Despite this closeness, you may want to avoid your home. This will help to make your backyard camping experience seem more lifelike. To prevent your backyard campout from being interrupted, due to multiple trips inside the house, you are advised to devise a plan. That plan should not only include camping equipment, but toys, snacks, food, and drinks. The best way to develop this plan is to pretend that you aren’t camping in your own backyard. By imagining that you will not have access to your home, you can better develop a camping plan.

When it comes to camping, whether it be backyard camping or not, one of the first things that you need to consider is your sleeping materials. Many campers use tents, while others use nothing, but a blanket. If you are planning on sleeping in a tent, you will want to make sure that your tent has all of the needed pieces and equipment. It may also be a good idea to setup your tent in advance. This may help to ensure that you can repair your tent or purchase a replacement, if needed.

If you are interested in sleeping under the stars, instead of using a tent, you will want to keep a close eye on the weather. Despite the fact that you will be camping in your own backyard, you will still want to make sure the weather is appropriate for sleeping without a tent. Regardless of whether or not you are sleeping with a tent, you will need a sleeping bag or blanket. Additional sleeping equipment may include pillows or an air mattress. In the event that you do not have these supplies, you can purchase them from most sports stores or department stores.

After you have decided how and where you will sleep, you will then want to prepare for other aspects of your backyard campout. What many campers enjoy about camping is eating outdoors. If you wish, you may also want to incorporate a backyard barbeque into your camping adventure. Simply by moving your cooking grill near your other camping supplies, you should be able to create the illusion of a campground. The type of food you cook should all depend on your preference and the preference of the other campers. If a backyard cookout is not possible, a pre-made picnic can be used as an alternative.

In addition to a full dinner meal, you may also want to think about having snacks on hand. There are a large number of snacks that are ideal for campers. These snacks may include, dry fruit, chips, pretzels, cookies, and other dry foods. If you are able to start a small fire, don’t forget the most important camping snack, smores. Although it may be easier to keep your food, drinks, and snacks inside your home, you may want to store them in outside ice coolers. This will not only help to keep your food fresh, but it may also reduce the number of camping interruptions.

Finally, depending on the length of your backyard campout, you may want to consider bringing along outdoor toys. These toys may include water guns, water balloons, a kickball, a Frisbee, baseball equipment, or other similar items. Even if these items do not get used, they are still nice to have on hand. At times, even in your own backyard, camping can be a little boring. Having a fairly large selection of outdoor activities to choose from will help to ensure that boredom is a thing of camping past.

Riciclaggio

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Since most of us are not lucky enough to be in the Dolomites eating Pruchetta and watching the Tour of Italy pass by thus we must consider other options for new family adventures. Being that the weather has turned and the evenings are getting longer, it is the perfect time to introduce your children to the many positives of cycling. Since it's inception the bicycle has been vehicle of freedom for children. A way to get around on their own.

But with freedom come responsibility. So take the kids out and show them the rules of the road. Helmet use, traffic laws, and hand signs. Make your own Grand Tour.