Talking in All Caps

Our Favorite Ipad/Iphone Apps for Older Toddlers/Young Preschoolers

2012-02-15T13:27:00.001-08:00

These were some of Gordie’s favorite apps as a 2 year old. Many of these would be enjoyed by kids older or younger than this as well. All the ones on this list do cost a small amount, but I find particularly with apps for kids the extra cost often makes a real difference in terms of play value. That’s not to say that no free apps are worthwhile, just that I’m often quite happy to spend the money on a well developed kids app.

1. Toddler Counting $0.99 by iTot Apps

This app is super simple, but Gordie goes back to it again and again. Attractive pictures of real objects pop up on the screen and all you do is count the objects by touching each one.

2. Wood Puzzle/Wood Maze by http://www.tropisounds.com/ $1.99 Ipad (HD), $1.99 Iphone/Ipad

These are actually two separate apps both of which are really good. I’d suggest getting the puzzle one first as the maze is a bit more challenging. In both instances the app acts like a real wooden toy. The pieces for the puzzle app are cut out in shapes rather than just squares like many puzzle apps. In the maze, you have to move the pieces to the correct spot by moving it along the track – this can require moving other pieces out of the way. The puzzles themselves are cute and there’s a pretty large number of them.

3. Monkey Preschool Lunchbox by THUP games $0.99

This has probably been Gordie’s favorite app this past year. There’s a number of different little games in it, all featuring fruit. There is a memory game, puzzle game, color and letter matching games and more.

4. Build a Word – by WordWorld $.099

This app doesn’t have a lot of words (and all the words are animal names) but Gordie was really taken with ‘grabbing’ the letters and spelling them out. I found this worked better for him on the iphone/itouch because you’re supposed to ‘shake it up’ to get to the next word. The iPad was just a bit too big for him to do this. If you don’t like your kid ‘shaking’ your iphone (and who could blame you?) you may want to give this one a pass that being said it was a big hit at our house, I just wish they used a different method to get to the next word.

5. Jellytoons Toddler Skills – Bobo’s Birthday Challenge by MindShapes $1.99

The app has a number of different mini-games geared towards toddlers – after each you get to pick a ‘present’ to put on your sticker board. Gordie loved this app when we got it. but he mastered it fairly quickly and then lost interest. I’d recommend it for younger toddlers or wait to get it until you know you’re going to need a distraction because you’re sick or travelling (or whatever).

6. Olivia Paints – by Soma Creates $1.99

There are a lot of different painting apps out there, but this one is Gordie’s favorite. He recognizes Olivia from the books which I think it part of the reason, but he also finds it fairly intuitive to use. I think it’s neat that the color mixing is done just like a real artist on a color palette.

7. Cars Lightning Was Here: My Puzzle Book by Disney Publishing World Wide $0.99

This app can actually be really frustrating. It’s way to easy for your kid to end up in set-up or menu screens without intending to. But, it’s Cars! So if your kid is a fan, but they probably love it anyway. The app is like a book where you complete puzzles along the way and can look for little hidden objects as well.

8. Fish School, Word Wagon, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Park Math – by Duck Duck Moose, $0.99-$1.99

Duck, Duck Moose is probably my favorite kids app producer. I’ve listed 4 of their apps that Gordie particularly loved this past year. They are all really good though. I highly recommend checking a few out. They are cute, attractive with great playability.

9. The Monster At the End of this Book by Sesame Street $3.99

This is my favorite book from my childhood. The cute twist ending still makes me smile. This interactive book is well done and is fun for older toddlers and preschoolers who like to be a little bit bad (by turning the pages when Grover asks you not to).

10. Elmo Loves ABCs – by Sesame Street, $4.99 (Ipad only)

This is not a small app – it is huge! It has tons of video clips from sesame street that correspond to the different letters of the alphabet. There is a lot of content in this app as well including letter tracing, coloring, songs and letter/word correspondence.

I’m always on the lookout for new apps, what are you kid’s favorites? Also, be sure to look at my post on Why I’m okay with my toddler using an Ipad and the list of our favorite kids apps that I made when Gordie turned 2.

Why I’m Okay With my Toddler Playing With An Ipad

2012-02-13T18:11:00.000-08:00

It seems there is never an end to the number of things you can do to prove you are a less than adequate parent and nothing you can do to prove you are a great one. As someone who is used to being able to be successful when I put my mind to something, this can be a difficult adjustment. If you are not careful you can turn yourself inside out trying to do all the right things in an attempt to achieve something unachievable.

One of the latest topics along these lines is about how you shouldn’t be letting your kids (especially your young kids) play with your Ipad/Iphone. With the current popularity of smart phones and tablets and the proliferation of apps for them which are engaging to toddlers in a way that no other platform has managed to previously reach, this is really no surprise.

Every new form of media is subject to this criticism. Today, we are quite familiar with the criticism about kids and television, but you might be surprised to know that similar criticism was levelled against novels when they first became widely available as well.

Novels “written chiefly to the young, the ignorant, and the idle, to whom they serve as lectures of conduct, and introductions into life. They are the entertainment of minds unfurnished with ideas, and therefore easily susceptible of impressions”
-Samuel Johnson as quoted in The Cambridge History of Literary Criticism: The eighteenth century

They induce a 'bloated imagination, sickly judgment and disgust towards all the real business of life'
- Gentleman's Magazine, 58 (Nov. 1788) as quoted in The Cambridge History of Literary Criticism: The eighteenth century

To me, this suggests that it is not the media itself that is the issue, but what we fear it is replacing. In general these concerns boil down to: face to face communication (particularly with parents, caregivers and teachers), the instruction of morals and values, an active life style and engaging in diversions rather than productive work (or play as the case may be). Interestingly, these can all still be levelled against reading novels.

Am I suggesting that there is no downside to limitless screen time? No, I’m simply saying it’s nothing new. Furthermore, although I have recently read a couple of articles on the internet suggesting that we are using Ipads and Iphone as digital pacifers (certainly true at least in some cases and I’m not convinced that is always a bad thing) as well as the assertion that these devices with young children results in speech delay. However, although we may find this to be true, these are currently assumptions based on research on TV and kids and opinions (some ‘experts’ some not) rather than actual research on kids, ipads and speech development.

Ultimately, whatever the results of the studies (when they are conducted) end up being, research of this nature notoriously difficult to make real world conclusions about. This doesn’t mean that such research shouldn’t be done, we just need to be careful about decisions made based on it.

There are essentially two main methods that can be used to study concepts like this: experimental or observational. An experimental study might look something like this: half of a group of 3 and 4 year olds play with an Ipad app for 30 minutes and the other half play with blocks for 30 minutes. Then you evaluate them with some kind of measure that you had also administered prior to ‘play time’. Although the chances of any difference found between your two groups being a result of your manipulation (playing with an ipad vs not) there are a number of issues with this methodology in terms of real world conclusions. First, the any difference is likely to be transient rather than a long term effect – although it’s possible that it may point to something long term, it’s impossible to know without examining the issue over a longer period of time. Additionally, there are a large variety of different apps that can be used with an Ipad with different levels of interactivity, educational content etc. There can also be a huge variation in how often and how long toddlers are using Ipads as well as how available they are to them.

As it is unlikely you will find parents willing to agree to participating in a study where researchers determine how much time and what apps their children can use over time, the only other realistic option is to examine Ipad use in Toddlers without manipulating it (observational study). Because of the lack of any planned intervention, it is impossible to determine whether Ipad use causes any effects found or whether they are due to some other factor. For instance, particularly at this point in time, it is a very select group of toddlers who have access to Ipads – they are going to tend to have parents that have more money than average, be tech savvy, as well as a number of other possibilities. These factors could both be responsible for the research findings instead of the Ipad use itself. In addition, because not all groups of toddlers have equal access to Ipads, the findings may not be applicable to say, kids who’s parents have limited economic resources.

At any rate, in my opinion, as long as you ensure that your children still engage in other forms of play, get plenty of attention, physical activity and other good parenting basics, it is unlikely that your kid will suffer as a result of playing with an Ipad any more than anything else you could do ‘wrong’.

There are also a number of benefits that I find personally to letting your toddler use your Iphone/Ipad.

1. It makes travelling easier. There is nothing that can compare with the amount of different kinds of travel friendly entertainment an Ipad can hold in such a compact amount of space. And honestly, isn’t everyone happier with an entertained toddler in a car or on a plane?

2. It can make it easier to take them to places where they have to wait. Whether it is a necessity like waiting for the doctor, or something fun like going out to eat at a restaurant, having an Ipad or a smart phone in reserve can make the whole experience more survivable and make it more likely that you won’t hesitate to do it again.

3. It can give you as a parent a much needed break. Can this be over used? Absolutely. But it is frequently different as a parent to get childcare relief on demand. If you’ve had a bad day and are in a terrible mood or are ill, are your kids really going to be worse off because they played a game on an ipad or better off because you were able to get some rest? Of course there are other kind of diversions that can be used for this purpose, this is just one method that I’ve appreciated having at my disposal.

You may have noticed that I didn’t mention any education effects on my list of benefits. Although there are things that I know Gordie has learned from using an Ipad, I don’t know it has been the best method to teach him those things, just a method. And honestly, to me, it doesn’t matter. I don’t think that any kid will suffer from not having access to an Ipad, I have found it beneficial as a parent, but kids catch on to these things so quickly, they are no danger of being behind their peers without one and there is nothing you can do on an ipad that you couldn’t do in another way.

So, do you let your kids play with your smart phone or Ipad? Does it make you feel guilty? Are there any benefits you’ve found that I didn’t think of?

Our Top 10 Favorite Toddler/Baby Books

2012-02-09T06:50:00.000-08:00

“That’s Not My…” Series by Usbourne Books

We have a ton of books from this series (That’s not my… Monster, Kitten, Truck, Robot, Tiger etc). When Gordie was super little they were great because the touchy-feely spots helped keep his interest in reading. As he got bigger they made great bedtime books because they were soothing and predictable. Now, he’s starting to be able to read them himself. I buy these as gifts a lot for baby showers.
Grumpy Bird

I had never heard of this book before Gordie got it for his first birthday. It stars a bird so grumpy he can’t fly so he takes a walk meeting his friends along the way who oblivious to his bad mood join him on his walk eventually cheering him up. Gordie would bring it over to me to read it over and over and over again. Despite that, I never got tired of reading it to him. It was the first non-baby book that Gordie took an interest in. It’s a cute story with a nice rhythm. If you haven’t read it, I’d definitely recommend giving it a try.
Me Hungry!

After loving Grumpy Bird so much, I looked for other books by Jeremy Tankard and found this one. It’s a lot shorter than grumpy bird, and even really little kids will be able to identify with wanting something while their parents are busy. Gordie would drag this book over (it’s bigger than most board books despite the limited words) to read again and again.
Green Eggs and Ham

I’m sure everyone is familiar with this book. It’s one of the longest books that Gordie and I both enjoyed while he was a toddler. The repeating phrases and common words used make it a great choice to help make the transition from super short stories.
But Not the Hippopotamus

This book features a hippopotamus who feels left out of all the fun. It is a short lively read with a great rhythm and cute rhymes.
Moo Baa La La La

There aren’t many book that use animal sounds extensively that don’t make me wish I was reading something else pretty quickly. This book is the exception. This twist on animal sounds both engaged Gordie and kept me from throwing the book across the room. One of the great things about books with animal sounds is that your little one can ‘read’ with you from a very young age by filling in the right sound.
The Going To Bed Book

A lot of books designed to lull kids to sleep are a little… dull. This book manages to be both fun and soothing in the end.
Are You My Mommy?

Little duck can’t find his mommy and so goes off in search of her. This book was one of the first that Gordie helped pick out himself (he loved ducks). The little touchy-feely spots helped engage him when he was little and he still likes reading it sometimes now.
Sometimes I Like To Curl Up In a Ball

This bedtime book was perfect for an energetic toddler. Little Wombat talks about all of his favorite things to do and ends with him going to sleep. For months this book was a necessary component of our bedtime routine.
Tinkerbell Look and Find

I’ve always liked Tinkerbell, so Gordie had seen Tinkerbell here and there around our house. When he was a year and a half I put on the Tinkerbell movie. Up until this point he hadn’t paid any attention to TV at all. He was amazed to see “Tinkerbell! In a movie!” Tinkerbell was Gordie’s first love. He loved looking searching through these books to find the objects on the list. There is a whole series of these books which are great for toddlers with their thick pages and straight forward list of objects to find.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar

This book is kind of an honorable mention on this list. It has been one of Gordie’s favorites and he will still pull it out for us to read. But it is one of the few books that I actually hid for a while because I just couldn’t stand reading it one more time. It’s funny, because it isn’t that I don’t like the book, but I reached my limit with reading it over and over again quicker than many of Gordie’s favorite books.

So that’s our list, what’s on yours?

Worries for My 2nd Child

2012-02-08T10:34:00.001-08:00

As we await the arrival of our 2nd child, only a few weeks away, I think about some of the worries I have for her. It’s funny how different they are from the ones at the end of my first pregnancy.

Although some of my fears at that time, may in fact occur, I’m no longer stressed about whether I’ll be able to breastfeed or calm my baby, or so many of those first time mom worries. I know I’ll be (at least a little) less frazzled and definitely more confident right from the beginning.

But there are different things that occupy my mind this time around. I want this baby to feel special and valued. This didn’t concern me with my first baby. It seems easy to do with one. But with two there is balances and trade-offs and everything isn’t new anymore. There are few firsts that haven’t been done before by your first.

I’m planning a meet-the-baby party to welcome our new baby into the world. I know many people don’t think it’s appropriate to have a baby shower for subsequent children, but I think every child deserves to his/her birth to be celebrated. I want my 2nd child to have reams of photos taken of her as a baby and not have 90% of them include her older sibling. I want her to have a baby book where her milestones are recorded just like her big brother. I worry with those last two that I may be setting myself up for failure. (Even in the pregnancy photo on this post my son is visible playing in the background).

I wonder whether I’ll be able to get quality time alone with both of my kids. I wondering whether I’ll be able to be able to balance their different needs without inappropriately prioritizing one over the other. Will my two kids get along?

I know there will be things I struggle with that I never even considered. I know some of the things I worry about now will end up as real difficulties. And some of these things won’t end up as an issue at all. And I know, like every parent, I’ll never run out of things to worry about.

What did you worry about while you were transitioning from one to two kids? How did it actually go? Do you have any advice?

Having a C-section Sucks, but it’s Not all Bad

2011-10-16T08:38:00.001-07:00

Now that I’m pregnant again, I’ve been reflecting on my previous experience with giving birth with mixed emotions. I ended up with a C-section the first go around. It was definitely not what I had hoped for, but it ended up being the only real choice.

This time around, I’ve requested a C-section. Not because I want one but because it seems like the best option available to me. The circumstances that lead to my first C-section are likely to recur and if you are going to have a C-section anyway, it’s much nicer to have a planned one than an emergency C-section after a long time of trying for a vaginal birth and not getting anywhere.

But I can’t say I feel 100% comfortable with the decision. I don’t feel that anyone pressured me into having a C-section – there really was no other option, but I do feel like my body failed me. I feel a little betrayed that it wouldn’t do so many of the things required to birth a baby. Perhaps part of the reason I don’t want to try again is because I don’t trust my body anymore? I don’t know. Regardless, this is not a decision I have made lightly and I do not suspect I’ll be changing my mind.

While I’m thinking about it, I thought I’d share a bit my first experience having a C-section. A few things that surprised me and a few benefits to having a C-section.

But first, a PSA:

Denying the possibility that you could end up having a C-section, will not ensure that you will not have one, but will ensure that you are not as prepared as you could be.

Trust me – if denial worked, I would not be writing this article. By all means think positively, but at the same time, don’t skip that section in your book or however you are preparing yourself and make sure you have a plan in place for if you need to be in the hospital for 3 days (or more).

Things that Surprised Me:

Even though you can’t feel any pain you can still feel everything. I did not see this coming. It is kind of creepy and this makes many people nauseous.

You will still bleed. Have pads in your bag. Big ones. These will also come in handy if your water breaks before you get to the hospital.

Some Benefits

Medical professionals stop being so interested in your lower lady parts.

There is no way you’re going to get an episiotomy and the ‘trauma’ to that general area is low.

You don’t have to wait any longer to have sex after having your baby or to have your next one than women who have vaginal births but you may be more likely to listen to the recommendations.

In Calgary you get priority for a private room. This can quickly turn into a negative as if there is not one available when you are getting your room they will not move you to a private room and you will be sharing for the whole 3 days.

Your husband or support person will probably change all the diapers in the first couple days.

So did you have a C-section? How did you feel about it? How did you decide whether to try for a vaginal birth or not afterwards? Did you feel as ambivalent about the decision as I do? Any other benefits I missed?

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-12T06:48:00.000-07:00

Peanut Butter Banana Yogurt Pancakes

2011-10-11T16:46:00.000-07:00

Our pancake kick continued, but the blueberries we used in our previous recipe didn’t last. So I thought I’d try a new modification. I love peanut butter and these pancakes are fantastic. A little skiff of peanut butter on top while they are still warm makes them even better. They’d also make an awesome peanut butter and banana sandwich.

Blueberry Banana Yogurt Pancake Recipe

(Adapted from Bed & Breakfast Inns Online)
1 Cup Flour
1 Tablespoon Sugar
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
½ Teaspoon Salt
1/4 cup Peanut Butter
2 Large Eggs
1 Cup Plain Yogurt (Balkan is nice)
1 Ripe Banana Mashed
2 Tablespoons Butter, Melted

Directions:

1. Mix dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl.
2. Add the peanut butter to the dry ingredients and mix well. It’ll have a crumbly texture when it’s done, but it will totally work.
3. In a large bowl, beat eggs, add yogurt, melted butter and mash in the banana. You can do this by breaking it into pieces and then mashing it up with the whisk or you can mash them first. They need to be small but do not need to be completely mashed. If you hate mashing you could even just slice them thinly.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet (half the time I do this backwards, but this way you don’t have flour mixture stuck to the bottom). Mix just enough so that you no longer see any dry flour.
5. Cook the pancakes on a medium-high heat for about 2 minutes per side. If you haven’t cooked them before try doing a test pancake before making a whole bunch.

What’s Your Role When Your Kids are Outside? – Life Outside

2011-10-07T06:02:00.000-07:00

Now that the Life Outdoors – Fall Challenge has been going on for a couple of weeks, I’ve noticed another set of expectations that I have for outdoor play that makes it seem like more work than just staying in.

I have no problem reading a book or writing a blog post while Gordie is happily playing by himself inside. But to take a book outside just seems so… deliberate. Like I am planning on ignoring my child.

It doesn’t really make sense does it? Just because I bring a book out, doesn’t mean I have to read it. And if it’s there, and Gordie is happily playing by himself, I’m going to have a much better time out there reading my book instead of tapping my foot until we go back in.

If the point is for Gordie to get outside, it doesn’t really matter what I’m doing does it? It’s about him, not me.

I think that being able to play independently is a really good skill for kids to have – both inside and outside. It’s not that I’m never going to play with him. I do and I will continue to do so all time. But letting him or even encouraging him to play by himself isn’t an inferior form of play.

So, this week I’m going to try to worry less about whether I’m being a good enough mom outside and just feel good that we are outside.

Wordless Wednesday–Life Outside–Airplane Watching

2011-10-05T06:35:00.000-07:00

Blueberry Banana Yogurt Pancakes

2011-10-04T06:12:00.000-07:00

I almost never make pancakes. I made some off hand comment that used the word pancakes (what on earth could that be? I cannot for the life of me figure out how you use the word pancakes without saying something like “let’s have pancakes”). Regardless, Gordie thought this was the best idea he had ever heard. I managed to get out of making pancakes for lunch but promised he could have them for dinner.

I put this together so I could feel like even though we were having pancakes for dinner, we were getting some decent nutrition too. Whole wheat pancakes always seem to be lacking something so I decided to add things to the pancakes instead. Plain yogurt, a banana and blueberries make these a lot more nutrient dense than your average pancake as well as sweet and moist.

Blueberry Banana Yogurt Pancake Recipe

(Adapted from Bed & Breakfast Inns Online)
1 Cup Flour
1 Tablespoon Sugar
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
½ Teaspoon Salt
2 Large Eggs
1 Cup Plain Yogurt (Balkan is nice)
1 Ripe Banana Mashed
2 Tablespoons Butter, Melted
2 Handfuls of Blueberries

Directions:

1. Mix dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl.
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs, add yogurt, melted butter and mash in the banana. You can do this by breaking it into pieces and then mashing it up with the whisk or you can mash them first. They need to be small but do not need to be completely mashed. If you hate mashing you could even just slice them thinly.
3.Add the dry ingredients to the wet (half the time I do this backwards, but this way you don’t have flour mixture stuck to the bottom). Mix just enough so that you no longer see any dry flour.
4. Add the blueberries and gently fold them in.
5. Cook the pancakes on a medium-high heat for about 2 minutes per side. If you haven’t cooked them before try doing a test pancake before making a whole bunch.

Easy Outdoor Fun–Spray Bottle

2011-10-03T15:27:00.000-07:00

As part of our “Life Outside – Fall Challenge” I’m trying to find simple things to do outside. I had a spray bottle hanging around the house (used only for water) that I gave to Gordie to try out.

It was seriously, the best thing ever! For something so simple, it amused him all week. It was a little difficult for him to figure out at first, especially since it was a bit too big for him to handle but he persevered. The best thing is, because we were outside it didn’t matter what got sprayed (well except for when it was me!)

Life Outside–What Does it Take to Say You Went Outside Today?

2011-09-30T06:09:00.000-07:00

After starting the Life Outside Fall Challenge I started to think about how I would decide whether we had achieved success for that day. How will I define “going outside” with Gordie?

Time

Although I can’t see counting the amount of time it takes to go from the house to the car, on really busy days, or days with bad weather, I’m not sure that requiring a minimum amount of time is going to be helpful. I think even if it’s a short time any time outside is a win, particularly if you don’t feel like going out in the first place.

Activity

At first I was thinking that this would be about playing outside. But that’s really just part of what we can do outside. Going for a walk is still good time, so is raking the leaves or watering the garden. I’m going to try to do some different things and make it fun for me and for Gordie, but just being outside is enough.

What I’ve Realized

It turns out that I have more expectations and “rules” for outside time than I thought I did. Unfortunately this makes it so we go outside less. It makes it seem like a lot of work. Instead of spending whatever amount of time doing whatever outside, it seems easier to just stay in. This is something that I’m really going to try to work on this Fall – taking advantage of time outside no matter how short and not worrying so much about what we are doing once we are there.

How do you define spending time outside with your kids? Are your expectations making it so you don’t go out as much as you’d like?

Easy Roasted Beets

2011-09-29T17:47:00.000-07:00

I starting making these when we had a community garden plot. I had planted things like beets and turnips that I read grown well in Siberia. I figured it they grew well there, I shouldn’t have a problem. And it totally worked, they were awesome. This year, I tried a square foot garden and had no luck whatsoever with my beets or turnips. I’m not entirely sure why, but if you had more luck than I did, this recipe is great.

Simple Roasted Beets Recipe
Beets trimmed and washed
Extra virgin olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Freshly ground pepper
Aluminum foil

Directions

Preheat oven to 400F.
Line a baking tray and wrap each beet with aluminum foil.
Roast beets for approximately 40 minutes. Longer if you have big beets, less if you have small beets.
When the beets are cooked through, take them out of the oven. I recommend covering your hands when you work with the beets, gloves are good, but I hate now they make my hands smell so I usually just use two sandwich sized ziplock bags.
Peel the beets. If the beets have been cooked long enough, the skin should slide right off with your fingers.
Cut each beet in half and then slice into half moons. It looks pretty to have full circles but the beets can be pretty slippery. Halving them first can really save your fingers.
Put the beets into a bowl and toss with the olive oil, vinegar and pepper. If you think they need a bit more flavor, add more vinegar. You only need enough olive oil to coat and the pepper can get to be too much pretty quickly.

Note: Beets contain quite a lot of natural dye. When you eat them this goes through your body with predictable purple/red results. This is perfectly harmless but can look a little alarming if you are not prepared. :)

8 Things I Love About Cooler Weather

2011-09-28T15:36:00.001-07:00

I can be a bit of a weather whiner – I don’t like it too hot, or too cold, or too windy. Luckily Calgary weather provides a lot of opportunities for people who like to complain about the weather. If you’re not unhappy with the weather right now, just wait, it’ll change soon enough. To shake things up a bit, instead of complaining I thought I’d write a list of things I look forward to with the cooling temperatures.

1. My Winter Duvet – there is nothing better than snuggling into a big fluffy duvet.

2. My Oven – Most of my favorite recipes involve my oven. Cooking is so much more fun when you don’t melt while you do it.

3. No Bugs! – The best thing about freezing cold weather – it kills off all the bugs.

4. Hot Drinks – I love warming my hands on a hot mug of tea.

5. Jackets – my seatbelt always sits better when I’m wearing a jacket, I hate it rubbing against my skin.

6. No sunscreen – I don’t have to worry about Gordie getting a sunburn while we are playing outside.

7. You can always put on more clothes but there is a limit to how much you can take off.

8. Fall TV – What can I say? I love my TV shows.

I was going for 10 things but I still really miss summer. Maybe I’ll have to read my list again.

Fall Sensory Box

2011-09-26T06:12:00.000-07:00

While Gordie and I were out on a walk, we picked up leave, pinecones and sticks to use for a Fall sensory box. It was a little harder than I had expected to get the leaves, most of the trees still hadn’t started to drop them, but it was still fun. We also used some other items from around the house.

What’s inside?

leaves
pinecones (check them for sticky sap)
sticks
fork (rake)
small bowl
small gourds
decorative corn
large rock

This bin wasn’t as bit a hit as the last one. The process of creating it was a lot more engaging for him than the bin itself. I also think it would have been better with a larger quantify of leaves so you could really run your fingers through them and rake them around. I think we’ll try it again when more leaves have fallen.

I’m Finding Myself Unable to Resist a Good Challenge–Outdoor Play Challenge

2011-09-23T06:04:00.000-07:00

My friend Misty wrote a post called “Life Outside - Making Myself Responsible” where she challenges herself to take her son outside everyday.

I’ve decided to take up the challenge with her. During the summer, this was not something I had much trouble with, but this month, I’ve been kind of bad. Even though the weather has often been lovely, I haven’t felt like going anywhere. We’re expecting another baby in March and pregnancy makes me feel soooo tired.

Although I’m starting to feel a bit more energetic now that I’m in my 2nd trimester, the weather is not going to be making it more attractive for me to go outside as it gets colder.

I think outdoor play is so important for kids. I also think it makes it easier to care for them too. Way less mess to clean up, less to get into and they love it so much!

Today was the first day of our challenge and happily it was successful. We went for a walk to the grocery store (at which I was an impulsive sucker, buying a halloween cup, mini pumpkin, decorative corn and monkey stickers) and collected leaves and pinecones along the way.

Although the walk isn’t far, our neighborhood is VERY hilly. Getting to the store isn’t bad, but getting back is basically uphill the whole way. I had to take a lot of breaks. I have a feeling that perhaps there is some middle ground between doing nothing and trying to kill myself. Is it just me that has this problem?

We stopped off at a playground on the way home (Mama needed a break) and saw a woodpecker a couple blocks from home.

I’m sure most of our outdoor play won’t take all morning, especially when it gets cold, but I’m excited to try to keep it up and make it fun.

Anyone interested in taking the challenge too?

Construction Site: Sensory Bin

2011-09-22T13:12:00.000-07:00

Gordie loves construction vehicles. We go around spotting them whenever we drive around. I can now identify all kinds of different vehicles by name instead of calling them all “diggers”. So I decided to use that as the theme for our first sensory bin.

What’s Inside

Base – Mixed dry beans
Construction trucks and figures
Small cups
2 spoons (shovels)

That was it, but it held his attention for a long time. I had to be right there with him but he was actually pretty good about the “keeping the beans in the bin” rule.

Just Call Me Mother of the Year

2011-09-21T19:51:00.000-07:00

My friend Jen, writes an awesome blog over at Family, Food, Fitness and Fun. She wrote a post called “Just Call Me Mother of the Year” that I would encourage you all to read. It inspired me to get back to blogging and to write this post.

This is why I think I should be awarded the title of Mother of the Year.

Reason #1 – Gordie didn’t do any kind of art all summer including coloring. My Calgary Playground Review blog showed all the outdoor activity we did, but what it didn’t show was that was ALL we did. We went out in the morning to a playground and the most impressive thing we did after that was having a nap.

Reason #2 – This month Gordie and I have hardly left the house. Although I finally did get some art supplies, we’ve hardly gone anywhere. I don’t think we’ve gone to a single playground, and even on the really nice days we often just stay home. Kids don’t need sunlight and fresh air do they?

Reason #3 – Gordie often wears pajamas from nap time until bed time. Gordie often asks to wear pajamas for nap – and anything that is going to make him sleep better I’m all for. But seriously, how often am I supposed to change his clothes? If we’re not going anywhere, he is likely to wear them until he goes to bed.

Reason #4 – I think I spend more time looking for fun things to do with Gordie than actually doing them. But I have an awesome board on pinterest filled with ideas – it’s almost as good right?

Reason #5 – I hate singing Gordie his bedtime song. I know some lullabies that I really love, Douglas Mountain, Morningtime Ride, Baby’s Boat. But I end up singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, every single night and for every nap. Really, the song is just not that great.

Reason #6 – I’m finding it really difficult to get my energy together to make good food. One time Gordie ate Kraft Dinner for lunch, dinner and lunch again the next day.

Those are just a few of the reasons why I think I deserve the title of Mother of the Year. How about you? Any confessions to make?

Badlands National Park

2011-07-10T14:40:00.001-07:00

The Badlands weren’t in our original itinerary. We squeezed them in at the end of a very long day (after seeing the Devils Tower and Mount Rushmore) and unfortunately the lighting wasn’t great by the time we got there and we didn’t have a lot of energy left to get out and walk around.

Nonetheless I’m really glad we went. If you have made it to Rapid City it is only 88 more miles to get to the Badlands and the Highway 240 Loop Road through the park only takes an extra 60 minutes if you don’t stop.

Passport Stamp: Inside the Visitor Centre mid way through the park.
Accommodations: There are campgrounds inside the park as well as Cedar Pass Lodge (located by the visitor center). Rapid City is the closest large-ish city.
Approximate Time: 60 minutes – half a day.
Worth the Trip: Absolutely.
Jr. Ranger Program: Available in the Visitor Centre give yourself about an hour to complete it
Admission: $15 for 7 days.

If we were to go again, I’d try to make sure we had enough time to get out and do a few short walks.

It’s amazing how fast the scenery changes while you go through. Similar to Drumheller in Alberta, this area is also a large fossil bed. It is considered to be one of the richest mammal fossil beds in the world.

There are two stops (one on each end of the loop road) that I would also recommend.

The Minuteman Missile National Historic Site is on the Badlands Loop and is located south of I-90 at exit 131. It closes at 4:30pm so it unfortunately wasn’t open while we passed through. At the site is a underground launch control centre and a missile silo from the cold war. The visitor centre gives you some insight into the cold war period and gives information about what the missile sites were really like as opposed to what you see in the movies.

You can see the Missile Silo May 2 – October 31 with no reservations. You can also get a tour of the launch control centre. On Tuesdays and Thursdays they offer short tours in the morning for the first 200 visitors. On Mondays, Wednesdays, Friday and Saturdays you can get a formal tour but you need to make reservations in advance. See the Minuteman Missile website for more information.

You can also get a stamp for your passport book at the visitor centre and they offer a Junior ranger program for kids 7 and up.

The 2nd stop is located in Wall South Dakota at the West end of the Badlands Loop. It’s pretty hard to miss Wall Drug. There are billboards along the way starting miles away. Offering things like free ice water, homemade doughnuts and 5 cent coffee. By the time we saw our 50th sign, we knew we had to go see what it was. It was pretty much what we had expected. It’s a large building complex that feels like a cross between a flea market and a mom and pop store. This was our last stop of the day.

They have a lot of souvenir areas, as well as a kids play space, a large western art gallery along the walls of the cafe and half a T-Rex up on the wall that moves and roars a few times an hour. Gordie was not fond of the T-Rex. If you have a kid would might also find it scary, I would suggest taking a look at the map and being very careful going into the back building. We we at the opposite end of the building and it still made Gordie burst into tears. You can find more about Wall Drug at http://walldrug.com

If you missed Mount Rushmore, the Devils Tower,Yellowstone or my tips for taking kids to National Parks/Monuments be sure to check them out too.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial

2011-07-01T15:54:00.001-07:00

We stopped in at the Mount Rushmore after leaving the Devils Tower. They are relatively close to each other (okay it’s about 2.5 hrs) and neither should require more than half a day each, so together they make a really great travel day.

Passport Stamp: Inside the Visitor Centre.
Accommodations: You can stay at nearby Rapid City, SD. Rapid City seems to have every kind of tourist attraction you could think of, Waterslides, Minigolf, Petting Zoo etc.
Approximate Time: 30 minutes – half a day
Worth the Trip: It is definitely something to see
Jr. Ranger Program: Available in the Visitor Centre (you will need approximately 1 hr to complete it)
Admission: Admission is actually free but you need to pay for parking ($11) which is not covered by any National Park pass. This is good for all year.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect at Mount Rushmore. I asked my husband along the way whether it was going to seem majestic or kitschy. In the end, it wasn’t either. The view of Mount Rushmore you typically see is in the picture above. That had always given me the impression that it was the mountain. But as you can see in my first picture, it’s actually quite a bit smaller than I had expected. It’s still huge, but it is only carved into a small part of the mountain. So it didn’t seem tacky, but it didn’t have the overwhelming presence that I was expecting either. It is really an amazing feat of human engineering, but I can’t say that I really connected with it. This I suspect was due to, as a Canadian, it just doesn’t represent part of my history.

We didn’t spend a long time at Mount Rushmore, we were trying to get to the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site and Badlands National Park later that day, so we missed all of the museum areas, walks and kids exploration area. We did stop for lunch and a woman there asked to take Gordie’s picture and then offered to take one of our family for us. I’m glad she did as it ended up being one of the few with all of us in it. Gordie looks a little suspicious :)

If we were to go again, I think I would save it for later in the day and get there just before dark. I don’t know if you could get a full appreciate for it without seeing it during the day. But in the evening they do a lighting ceremony which includes a ranger talk, and a film and concludes with the lighting of the sculpture. It starts at 9pm May 8th to August 13th and 8pm August 14 to September 8th.

Stay Tuned for our trip to Badlands National Park. If you missed the Devils Tower, Yellowstone or my tips for taking kids to National Parks/Monuments be sure to check them out too.

Devils Tower National Monument

2011-06-28T14:15:00.001-07:00

The Devils Tower of Wyoming is the first US National Monument. It was also our first stop after leaving Yellowstone. It is a natural geological feature – actually the core of a volcano, which became exposed after years of erosion. The Devils Tower is composed of 6 sided columns that are slowly falling apart, creating the boulder field at the base of the tower. This tower was featured in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Yes, it is a real place, no it is not hollow.

Passport Stamp: Inside the Visitor Centre at the base of the Tower (open mid-spring through fall)
Accommodations: Not at the Monument. But you can stay at nearby Hulett.
Approximate Time: 30 minutes if you’re just stopping to look, 1.5 - 2 hours if you want to walk the 2km path around the tower too. There is a longer path (8km) if you are interested as well.
Worth the Trip: Absolutely. It is a really interesting site. But I probably wouldn’t go again until my kid(s) would be old enough to remember.
Jr. Ranger Program: Available in the Visitor Centre (you will need approximately 1 hr to complete it)

Setting out on our walk around the tower.

Can you see Gordie and my husband sitting out on the boulders?

See? There they are. You can climb a short ways into the boulder field but if you want to get closer or climb the tower (yes you can actually climb the tower) you have to register at the Visitor Centre.

We saw someone climbing up the tower while we were there. The first people who were recorded to have climbed the tower built a huge ladder to get to the top. Apparently you can still see pieces of it up there, but we weren’t able to identify them.

After Gordie had climbed up onto the boulder field with his daddy he wanted to climb every boulder he came across (of which there were a lot).

The area is considered sacred to the natives of the area who tie prayer mats and and other items in the trees.

White tailed deer, mule deer, rabbits and porcupines live in the area along with many birds. Gordie really enjoyed looking for the chipmunks we saw along the way too. Also, watch for snakes! We ran across the one above (which it turns out is actually just a bull snake).

Stay tuned for Mount Rushmore! And if you missed my series on Yellowstone National Park, you can find it here. You may also want to take a look at my tips about taking your kids to US National Parks/ Monuments.

Wildlife in Yellowstone–Yellowstone #6

2011-06-27T11:30:00.001-07:00

Yellowstone National Park has the largest concentration of wildlife in the lower 48 states. Wildlife spotting was probably my husband’s favorite part of Yellowstone and it helped keep Gordie amused too while we were driving around the park.

You are probably more likely than not to see wildlife while you are in Yellowstone, even if you are only there for a short time. But remember to keep your distance and do not feed any of the animals. All of the animals in Yellowstone are wild no matter how tame they may seem.

The animals you are most likely to see in Yellowstone are bison. Although at one point the Yellowstone herd was down to less than 50 bison, the herd in Yellowstone is now of the the largest in the US at 3500. Sometimes they can cause quite the traffic jam as they wander along the road. They can be found all along the Western areas of Yellowstone during June and July but by August you may need to go to the Hayden Valley to see them (between Yellowstone Lake and the Canyon area). Although they do not seem as dangerous as wolves or bears they are responsible for more injuries and even some deaths. It can be sometimes be difficult to keep the legal distance of 25 meters away, but make sure you do not approach or cross in front of them.

We waited on the path pictured below for 20 minutes waiting for the bison to move away from the edge of the path. Although a few people went by, no one with kids did.

Bears are a lot less commonly seen while in the park. They tend to be in the North East areas of Yellowstone. If you are interested in seeing a bear, pay attention to the other cars on the road. If there are a lot of cars stopped somewhere (and lots of fancy cameras) someone has probably spotted some unusual wildlife like a bear or a wolf.

We were on our way to a restaurant when we spotted a bear on our last day in the park. My husband got out to see if he could get a picture while Gordie and I waited in the car. Gordie – “Daddy’s looking for bears. I’m not. I’m looking for the restaurant.”

Elk are plentiful in Yellowstone. They are commonly found in the Northern areas of the park (Mammoth, Tower/Roosevelt).

Wolves are not seen very often by visitors to the park because they tend not to hang out around populated areas during the summer months. This year was a late, cold spring, so we ended up seeing wolves on three occasions. The first time is pictured below, on the road to the Grand Teton National Park. The guy in the picture is crazy. Although legally, you only have to keep 25 meters away from them, it’s recommended you keep 100 meters away (like the bears). We also saw one running across a field near the Old Faithful area and far far far away (I saw it through a telescope) we saw two wolves feasting on an elk.

Although historically mountain goats haven’t lived in the area, they’ve started to colonize the northern rocky areas of the park.

There is a lot of other animals that you may see too, including moose, small mammals, numerous birds and even snakes.

The snake above is actually just a bull snake. Which are harmless, but it looks like a rattlesnake. This is a good strategy for its threats from most other animals, but unfortunately for the snake, looking like a rattlesnake gets you killed by humans.

That’s the end of my series on Yellowstone, but stay tuned for the Devil’s Tower National Monument! Also, if you misssed them be sure to look at my tips on Taking Your Kids to US National Parks, Gordie’s Favorite Things In Yellowstone, Accommodations Things to See Around Old Faithful, Things to See in Other Geothermal Areas, and Other things to See in Yellowstone.

Other things to see in Yellowstone–Yellowstone #5

2011-06-25T13:51:00.001-07:00

Yellowstone’s most famous features are geothermal in nature But there is a lot more to Yellowstone than just that. Here are a few more areas in Yellowstone (and one just to the south) that you may want to visit.

1. Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River

Worth the stop – If you’re short time on time it’s not a must see, but it’s definitely a worthwhile sight..
Approximate time - Anywhere from a quick stop to a long walk.Difficulty of walk – easy – difficult depending on the path
My thoughts – I’d recommend the Artist Point on the South Rim if you’re only going to make one stop. It has the most classic view of the lower falls. If you want a nice view of the canyon itself go to Inspiration Point on the North Rim. I’d also suggest going to the Brink of the Upper Falls (North Rim). It’s not the best photographic opportunity, but you can get up really close to the waterfall and really feel how powerful it is. Gordie found this a little bit scary this year. He woke up having a nightmare about it.

2. The Area Around Tower Roosevelt

Worth the stop: Even if you just drive through instead of stop it’s worth a trip, but if you’re only in Yellowstone for a day or two and it’s not on your route, you may want to skip it
My thoughts: The Tower/Roosevelt area is in the North East corner of Yellowstone. The around around it is some of the best spots to see wildlife. We’ve seen bears to the South, and to the East you are very likely to see some elk. The geography is very different from the other areas of Yellowstone (more mountains and forests). There is a part along this roadway at gets to nearly 8000 ft in elevation. I generally think Calgary is pretty high up at around 3400 ft above sea level. There is also some interesting geology to look at, like the Bleached Cliffs pictured above. We had been hoping to see more of this area this year, but the road was closed while we were there.

3. Yellowstone Lake

Worth the stop: At least a drive by
My thoughts: To be quite honest, we haven’t spent much time at the Yellowstone Lake. We’ve walked along the West Thumb Geyser Basin, driven along the road beside it and eaten at a restaurant beside it. But that’s it. It doesn’t help that, as you can see in the picture above on the right, the lake was still frozen while we were there this year. But if you are interested, you can rest non-motorized boats or small powerboats (with a crew and guide) at Bridge Bay Marina to take out on the lake.

4. Grand Teton National Park/John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway

Worth the stop: It depends
My thoughts: Included in your entrance fee to Yellowstone, is admission to the National Park areas to the South, the John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway and the Grand Teton National Park. It’s a bit of an extra drive, but if you are a national park passport stamp collector, you’ll want to make the trip, because you can get a stamp for both of these national park areas. Sometimes the Parkway Visitor Centre is closed, but we were able to get both at the visitor’s center in the Grand Teton National Park. Also, if you are planning on participating (or rather, your kids) in the Jr. Ranger program, you can earn a badge in the Grand Teton National Park too.

The mountains and lake front in this area is stunning. This year, there was still quite a bit of snow along the way (see the picture above – my husband is 6’3”, that is a lot of snow!) and Jackson Lake was still pretty low in Coulter Bay Village. Other times, it is a pretty vibrant recreation area.

Check out the last instalment – Wildlife of Yellowstone. Also, if you missed them be sure to look at my tips on Taking Your Kids to US National Parks, Gordie’s Favorite Things In Yellowstone, Accommodations and Things to See Around Old Faithful, Things to See in Other Geothermal Areas.

Things to See in Other Geothermal Areas–Yellowstone #4

2011-06-22T06:44:00.000-07:00

This is a very dynamic area and things can change very quickly, so don’t be surprised if what you see isn’t quite as I’ve described it. Nonetheless this should give you an idea of what to expect at the many different geothermal walks outside of the Upper Geyser Basin.

Be sure to look at my tips on Taking Your Kids to US National Parks, Gordie’s Favorite Things In Yellowstone, Accommodations, Things to See Around Old Faithful, Other Things to See In Yellowstone and Wildlife of Yellowstone.

1. Norris Geyser Basin

Worth the stop – It’s a good stop, but you’re not going to see much here that you couldn’t see somewhere else
Approximate time - The Porcelain Basin Area is a fairly short walk, but if you did the Back Basin Area as well it would take over an hour.
Difficulty of walk – Primarily easy but some areas have steep sections.
My thoughts – This is a great area to see some of the different colors that the water can be. The Porcelain Basin Area is can get can get pretty hot on a warm day, but the Back Basin Area is more wooded.

2. Fountain Paint Pots

Worth the stop – I would highly recommend it
Approximate time - Short (0.8 km round trip)
Difficulty of walk – easy, but there are some steps
My thoughts – I really enjoyed this walk. The mud pots here were my favourite in the park – very active and bubbly. And Clepsydra Geyser erupts almost constantly. We also saw Jet Geyser erupt while we were there.

3. Firehole Lake Drive (one-way enterance in the south)

-Firehole Canyon Drive ( one-way starting in the north, swimming hole along the drive)

Worth the stop – Definitely
Approximate time – Both drives are will only take your a short way out of your way
Difficulty of walk – you don’t even have to leave the car if you don’t want to
My thoughts – I would highly recommend taking these two short detours.

4. Mammoth Area

Worth the stop – You don’t want to miss this area
Approximate time - If you only have a short time you can do a short walk at the lower level of the lower terraces, if you want to do the lower, main and upper terraces, expect it to take a while. Not to mention the Fort Yellowstone area is here as well.
Difficulty of walk – There is an short accessible path and at some times of the year you can drive the upper terrace loop (but it is not an easy drive and not for big vehicles (such as motor homes) the rest has stairs or steep paths along the way
My thoughts – This area is unlike any other. It’s not a particularly dynamic area, but it is gorgeous. The terraces are described as living sculptures. This area does change constantly though with different areas becoming active and inactive. We noticed changes just between our two trips. Apparently, the overall activity and volume of water remain fairly constant despite all this change.

5. Artists Paintpots

Worth the stop – A great stop but not a must see
Approximate time – Fairly short (1 mile round trip)
Difficulty of walk – generally flat and easy, but there is one very steep section
My thoughts – This is another great spot to see mud pots. They are at the very top of the hill though, so if your party is not up for the climb, go to the Fountain Paint pots instead. The walk includes a wetland meadow making it even prettier than some of the other geothermal areas.

6. Mud Volcano Area

Worth the stop – I’d give it a pass unless you are in the area looking for something to do
Approximate time – short (1km)
Difficulty of walk – there are some steep sections to get to the top of the loop
My thoughts – This area seems like it would be a lot more fun than it is. Unfortunately the geothermal features are not as dramatic currently as they once were. The Mud Volcano name sake has broken apart and is now just a mud pot. If you do decide to go, most of the interesting features are along the lower levels. Our favorite was the Dragon’s Mouth Spring where the water growls.Gordie walked away mimicking it.

7. West Thumb Geyser Basin

8. Midway Geyser Basin – Grand Prismatic Spring – Fairy Falls

In front of the Grand Prismatic Spring

View of the Grand Prismatic Spring from a hill along the trail to Fairy Falls

Worth the stop – yes just so you can tell people you stood beside the grand Prismatic Spring
Approximate time – The Midway Geyser Basin is a quick walk (.5miles) but if you really want to get a good view of the Grand Prismatic Spring you need to walk about a mile down the Fairy Falls path and scramble up a small hill. It is definitely worth it though.
Difficulty of walk – The Midway Geyser Basin is an easy walk. The Fairy Falls to the lookout for the Grand Prismatic is along a dirt road (no vehicles allowed) which we managed to push a stroller along.
My thoughts – This is one of the most impressive things in the park in my opinion. Unfortunately the best view of the Grand Prismatic Spring is directly above it. It frequently appears from this angle in books like “Earth from Above” and for good reason – it is truly gorgeous. When you are at the base of the spring you see what is in the top two pictures. Still impressive, but you lose a lot of the blue and green colors. The 3rd picture is taken from the hill along the path to Fairy Falls. The lookout point is not marked on the path, so you have to look at where the Spring is to figure out which hill you need to go up. There is a good chance though that someone else will be up it because it really is a view.

Just a note, if you find the hill make sure you look for the path up instead of scrambling straight up the hill. It’s not a bad climb if you find the path. My husband managed to do it while carrying Gordie last year (14 months old).

Check out the next post in this series - Other Things to See In Yellowstone.

Things to See Near Old Faithful–Yellowstone #3

2011-06-21T08:57:00.001-07:00

Yellowstone is so big, I’ve split the Things to See into 3 posts. This post covers the Upper Geyser Basin area which includes Old Faithful. This is a very dynamic area and things can change very quickly, so don’t be surprised if what you see isn’t quite as I’ve described it. Nonetheless this should give you an idea of what to expect at the many different walks in the upper Geyser Basin.

Be sure to look at my tips on Taking Your Kids to US National Parks, Gordie’s Favorite Things In Yellowstone, Accommodations, Things to See in Other Geothermal Areas, Other Things to See In Yellowstone and Wildlife of Yellowstone.

Upper Geyser Basin (around Old Faithful Geyser)

1. Old Faithful Geyser

Worth the stop – Absolutely. If you have any desire at all to see a large geyser erupt, Old Faithful is a must see.
Approximate time – It erupts every 50-120 minutes for 1.5-5 minutes.
Difficulty of walk – Easy.
My thoughts- When you get to the Old Faithful area first look and see if there is a crowd around the geyser. If there is, go! It will be erupting soon. Old Faithful is such a hit because it is the most frequently erupting large geyser and because it’s eruptions can be generally predicted +/- 10 minutes. So most of the time you don’t even have to wait that long. If you don’t see a crowd, you can go into the Visitor Centre, stores, or hotels and check when the next predicted eruption is. If it’s not for a while, you can take a look at the Visitor Centre, do some shopping, or walk around Geyser Hill. If you are on Geyser Hill when Old Faithful erupts you’ll still get a great view of the eruption.

2. Other predictable geysers

Worth the stop – Maybe. It depends on when the geysers are predicted to erupt, how long your kids are willing to wait around and the accuracy interval of the geyser you want to see.
Approximate time – The predicted eruption time varies from +/- 30 minutes to +/- 2 hours for the different geysers. The eruptions range from a few minutes to 20 minutes long.
Difficulty of walk – the pathways to most of the predictable geysers are pretty easy. You should be able to take a stroller.
My thoughts – When you enter the Old Faithful Area, stop in at one of the hotels or the visitor centre to see the predicted eruption times. If your kids are not good at waiting, don’t bother. There are lots of other things to see. We saw Castle Geyser Erupt. It erupts for 20 minutes and is a quick trip to get there. I was really happy we waited but we ended up waiting around for about an hour. Thank goodness for Ipods otherwise Gordie wouldn’t have made it. We also went up to the walk towards morning glory pool at the beginning where we would still be able to see it if it went off earlier rather than later.
Predictions – Castle +/- 1 hr, Grand Geyers +/- 2 hrs, Daisy and Riverside +/- 30 minutes.

3. Geyser Hill

Worth the stop – Absolutely.
Approximate time – Fairly short (2.1 km for the loop)
Difficulty of walk – Primarily easy, although there is a steep section to get from Old Faithful to the hill.
My thoughts- There are a bunch of smaller active geysers on this loop. If you’re lucky you might even see one erupt. But it is still interesting to look at even if you don’t. When we went last year, we saw Beehive erupt and it was one of the highlights of the trip for me.

4. Upper Geyser basin Walk (towards Morning Glory Pool)

Worth the stop – Definitely. Most of the large, predictable Geysers in Yellowstone are along this walk.
Approximate time – If you go all the way to the Morning Glory pool it’s pretty long (4.4km round trip) But you could easily stop at many points along the way and turn around.
Difficulty of walk – Easy
My thoughts – This is one of the parts of the park that I wish we had spent more time at. Next time I want to go all the way up to the Morning Glory Pool. This trip we only went as far as Grand Geyser. We saw a bluebird, an otter and two marmots in addition to all the interesting pools and geysers.

5. Biscuit Basin

Worth the stop – Not a bad stop, but you’re not missing much if you pass it by
Approximate time – fairly short walk (1km)
Difficulty of walk - easy
My thoughts- This has some pretty pools and jewel geyser is entertaining as it erupts every 7-10 minutes.

6. Black Sand Basin

Worth the stop – Yes
Approximate time - fairly short walk (1km)
Difficulty of walk – easy
My thoughts – To the west of the Old Faithful area - the pools here are beautiful and Cliff Geyser erupts every 10 minutes – it seems different every time too. I was pleasantly surprised by this area.

Take a look at the next post in this series - Things to See in Other Geothermal Areas.