camping with kids

How to Protect Your Kids From Tick Bites: What Works Best?

Summer is just around the corner. Are you ready to protect your kids from tick bites? Here's what I've learned about the best way to prevent tick bites.

How To Avoid Tick Bites This Summer: Your Best Bet for Preventing Tick Bites (Originally published May 20, 2017; last updated May 2020) Summer is just around the corner in the Northern Hemisphere. Are you ready to protect your kids from tick bites? Since at least 2017, it seems that each spring brings fresh warnings […]

How to Protect Your Kids From Tick Bites: What Works Best? Read More »

Super Stocking Stuffers for Happy Travelers

Need some stocking-stuffer ideas for Christmas? Or a "little something" for friends' kids at the holidays? These super stocking stuffers are under $10 each!

Need some stocking-stuffer ideas for Christmas? Or a “little something” to give to friends’ kids at the holidays? These super stocking stuffers are under $10 each, and are favorites in our house for family travel. And one of the best parts? There are no batteries or sounds involved! No fighting over electronics, running out of

Super Stocking Stuffers for Happy Travelers Read More »

Summer Science Fun: S’Mores Solar Oven (Easy DIY!)

August 10 is National S'Mores Day in the U.S. Making your own s'mores solar oven is a fun, easy project - and (shh!) your kids may learn some science, too!

How To Make Your Own S’Mores Solar Oven: Looking for some summertime fun activities for your kids? S’mores always ranks at the top of my kids’ favorite summer activities list. And making solar oven s’mores is where easy kids’ crafts meets summer fun activities for kids. With supplies you already have on hand around the

Summer Science Fun: S’Mores Solar Oven (Easy DIY!) Read More »

Max Out The Rest Of Summer: Ten Ideas For Your Bucket List

Summer's almost over. How are you going to make the most of the time that remains until school resumes? Here are our top 10 Rest of Summer Must-Do's.

It’s now August. Back-to-school is coming. When you think about the rest of summer, are you a glass-half-full type, or a glass-half-empty? Rest of Summer: The Glass-Half-Empty Version A few weeks ago I was all “Oh, summer has flown by, it’s almost over,” when a blogger-friend in the U.K., Victoria at Lylia Rose, left a

Max Out The Rest Of Summer: Ten Ideas For Your Bucket List Read More »

My Top 10 Family Camping Splurges, Part 2

When Kimmie checked into sleep-away camp yesterday, her gear included lots of my family camping splurges. Which is why her luggage took up a fraction as much space as the other kids'.

I have to admit, I was pretty proud when I dropped Kimmie off at her first sleep-away camp adventure yesterday. She’s there for all of two nights, and her luggage reflected this fact. Thanks to the family camping splurges we invested in last summer, she was one of the best-outfitted kids there. And also one

My Top 10 Family Camping Splurges, Part 2 Read More »

Family Camping Splurges: My Top Ten Picks, Part 1

If you and your family like to camp, these family camping splurges will make your adventures oh-so-much-nicer.

As longtime readers know, I’m not a fan of having stuff one doesn’t need. But if you camp often enough, these family camping splurges are worth considering. And many of them have uses beyond family camping trips. I added these things to our family camping checklist after three back-to-back camping trips last summer. While we

Family Camping Splurges: My Top Ten Picks, Part 1 Read More »

Loving the Environment for Kids: 5 Tips for Raising Eco-Friendly Offspring

(NOTE: I first wrote “Loving the Environment for Kids: My Top Five Tips for Raising Eco-Friendly Offspring” as a guest post for The Everyday Ecologist in June 2016. Since it’s no longer available on that website, I’m republishing it here with a few updates while I’m traveling. Enjoy! – Flossie) What do your kids know

Loving the Environment for Kids: 5 Tips for Raising Eco-Friendly Offspring Read More »

Permethrin Clothing Treatment: A DIY Guide (Save Money!)

Want to give your family the best protection against ticks and mosquitoes this summer? DIY permethrin clothing treatment is easier than you'd think.

Tick season is going to be especially bad this year. More ticks = more tick bites = greater risk of contracting Lyme Disease or another tick-borne illness. And as I noted in my last post, permethrin clothing treatment is your best bet to keep ticks away. Of course, you can buy clothing commercially treated with

Permethrin Clothing Treatment: A DIY Guide (Save Money!) Read More »

Responsible Kids On the Road: My Top Tips for Travel

Do you have responsible kids on the road? Maybe you’re thinking, Hah, I can’t even get my kids to be responsible for their own stuff at home, let alone when we’re traveling. (I hear ya; it’s an ongoing struggle.) But take heart. Being away from home is a great time to mold responsible kids. You’re

Responsible Kids On the Road: My Top Tips for Travel Read More »

Our First Family Camping Trip, Done Better (Learn From Our Mistakes!)

While there were plenty of things we did right on our first family camping trip, there are plenty of others we could have done better. Learn from our mistakes, so you don't have to repeat them!

Overall, our first family camping trip went quite well. Still, though, I’m someone who’s always looking to improve things the next time around. So on the way home from our first camping expedition with kiddos a few weeks ago, I made a list of things I wish we’d done better. Sure, it would have been

Our First Family Camping Trip, Done Better (Learn From Our Mistakes!) Read More »

Must-Haves for Family Camping with Preschoolers

We survived our first family camping trip with preschoolers in tow. Not that there was ever any doubt – my husband and I have both loved camping since we were in Scouts – but still, we’re pretty pleased overall with how smoothly the weekend went. For the most part, our previous experience in planning camping

Must-Haves for Family Camping with Preschoolers Read More »

Prepping for our First Family Camping Trip

This weekend marks our first family camping trip. My husband and I used to camp (or at least hike) every summer, back in our pre-parenthood existence. The further away from home our car-camping and occasional backpacking trips took us, the better. We’ve been kept awake all night by the foghorns near the Bay of Fundy

Prepping for our First Family Camping Trip Read More »