After a long winter, the warm fresh air is a great change in climate. Our weather varies like crazy – one day can be humid and sticky, flirting with over 100 degrees, and the next day could be a snowy hail. So, we try to get the most out of our time outside when the weather allows!

This Father’s Day, the entire family was home, and we decided to relax and spend some time at home in our pool, and ended the day with a random family workout session and a campfire with s’mores! Nothing can ruin a fun family day like sunburn and mosquitos!

Since it was hot and humid most of the day, our pool was a refreshing treat, and we went swimming during the day’s hottest hours. In order to beat the heat during the day, we used Banana Boat® SunComfort sunscreen lotion line. Its water resistant formula allows for up to 80 minutes of protection for the sun, so we could enjoy the day. Make sure you re-apply according to the directions on the package to avoid sunburn.

Its light formula is great for simple, everyday usage; such as a trip to the beach or at an outdoor concert or sporting event. It is available in SPF 30 and 50+.

As the sun cooled down, we ended the day with a campfire. Because of rampant mosquitos, we used OFF! Deep Woods® Insect Repellent for long lasting mosquito protection. OFF! Deep Woods® is an insect repellent, and can be used for a variety of outdoor events from hiking and camping, to a small campfire in your own backyard. For the best use, we used it outdoors and applied it to our own hands before rubbing it on the little ones. We enjoyed being able to focus on our family time, instead of worrying about mosquitoes.

You can purchase both Banana Boat® and OFF!® at your local Walmart.

The post Make Outdoor Family Days More Fun! first appeared on True Aim.

Fun Nature Activities

Catch Butterflies

Catching butterflies and moths with a net is a wonderful way to learn more about both types of insects. You and your children can study the wings, the antennae, the body, and the legs. Take a magnifying glass and study the pollen on the butterfly’s legs. Use a butterfly book to discover what type of insect you captured.

Keep a journal to draw and write about the butterflies and moths you see. What types of flowers are they attracted to and what shape and coloring do their wings have? Journal about the fascinating creatures. It will be fun to read and remember a summer chasing butterflies in a couple of years.

Study Flowers

Summer is blooming with flowers. There are wildflowers, cultivated flowers, dandelions, and daisies just to list a few. Make a point of learning the various flowers in your area one plant at a time. Kids love being able to identify the various plants they see. Knowing this is a rose, this is a dandelion, and this one is a marigold encourages children to want to learn more about the flowers they see.

Learn about the different wildflowers in your area. Wildflowers may be simple and delicate flowers, but they are just as pretty as the cultured flowers. Don’t try to memorize them all at once, simply choose one and look for it where ever you go this summer. Once you’ve learned it, choose another one. Eventually you will know most, if not all, the wild flowers in your region.

Hikes

Head outside and spend as much of the summer hiking and exploring the outdoors. Look for the butterflies and moths you’ve studied. See if you can identify the wildflowers the butterflies most enjoy.

Also keep an eye out towards interests your children may be showing in nature. One child may develop a fascination about ants and spend hours tracking the ants to their anthills. Another child may be curious about snails and slugs.

Encourage your kids to watch the various creatures and to study the plants.You’ll find your children will gradually grow into small naturalists.

What is your favorite summer nature activity?

The post 3 Fun Nature Activities for Summer first appeared on True Aim.

Here are 20 super fun ideas on how to learn outside:

20 Fun Learning Activities for Outside

• Learn about time with an outside Sundial. Easy and fun!
• Use this Water the Alphabet idea to learn your letters and add a sensory element to the learning with water.
• Use side walk chalk for these fun Color Hop or Sight Words Hop games.
• While outside, use natural elements for learning. A Nature Color Hunt, Name Writing, Nature Shapes and Nature Weaving are great ideas to use nature hunt finds for learning.
• Work on fine motor skills with this pretty Leaf Threading activity.
• Found some sticks on your nature walk? Use it as a Counting Sticks activity.
• Experiment outdoors are a way of learning outside too. A simple Sink or Float Experiment will entertain even the younger ones.
• Discover what What melts in the sun? or make your own Solar Oven!
• Use stones for storytelling like these pretty Story Stones, a fun way to tell stories indeed!
• Rock Stacking are great in so many ways!
• Have an Alphabet Obstacle Course to practice alphabetical order and burn some energy too.
• Make a Rainbow Wind Sock or use paper plates for a Giant Memory Game.
• Craft outside with Mud Painting or use recyclables on your slide for a fabulous Color Mixing activity!

Great and super fun ideas on taking your learning activities outside and enjoy nature!

More outdoor learning activities fun ideas:

Study Flowers with your Kids
Make a Butterfly Feeder
Bug Search Experiment

The post  20 Fun Learning Activities for Outside first appeared on True Aim.

With the busy everyday aspects of life including school and work, take some family time with these 30 frugal summer activities for kids – most of them are free! These family activities range from trying new recipes, to hands-on learning, and overall quality family time! Print this free printable for a fun-filled summer!

1. Go jump roping (try double dutch for an extra challenge)
2. Try an outdoor science experiment (here are 20 ideas)
3. Set up a relay race (American Ninja Warrior style is always fun)
4. Have a campfire
5. Go swimming
6. Go to a movie outdoors
7. Make no-churn ice cream (check out some delicious recipes)
8. Play with sidewalk chalk (you can even try making your own!)
9. Go to the beach
10. Stargaze
11. Try a new sport (speedminton, kickball, baseball and ultimate frisbee are always fun)
12. Invite friends over for dinner
13. Go camping in your backyard
14. Have a scavenger hunt
15. Create a lemonade stand (use this free pack, designed for grades 3-7)
16. Play Tic-Tac-Toe with frisbees (see tutorial)
17. Try a Pinterest craft
18. DIY popsicles (incrediblely simple to make, even if you don’t have popsicle molds)
19. Visit the park
20. Try something new (life-size versions of games like Angry Birds, Hungry Hungry Hippos, and Jenga are always fun)
21. Have a water fight (water balloons are always fun)
22. Play frisbee
23. Visit a friend
24. Go on a bike ride
25. Have a BBQ
26. Play kickball
27. Make root beer floats
28. Try fresh produce (visit your local farmer’s market)
29. Have a photo shoot (or make a family movie!)
30. Outdoor family game night! (waterproof UNO is fun)

DOWNLOAD THE FREE PRINTABLE HERE!

The post 30 Frugal Summer Activities + A Free Printable! first appeared on True Aim.

Outdoor homeschool activities abound, but learning to recognize them requires homeschool moms to think outside of the typical school box. We have to leave behind the belief that learning only happens in a classroom and with a textbook. The truth is that the best and most influential learning happens outside of the classroom and without a textbook! Kids learn best when they experience things themselves and that doesn’t happen inside with a textbook.

Our Favorite Outdoor Homeschool Activities

• Nature Hikes

There is so much to learn out in nature! From trees and leaves, to plants, bugs, animals and seeds, nature is full of lessons to be learned! Take along a nature journal, a camera and curiosity to learn the most on this outdoor homeschool adventure!

• Write a Story/Play

Take pencils and paper outside with you and work together to write a story or a play together as a family! After the story is written, your kids can take turns creating illustrations for the story and you can have them read it aloud after dinner to you and your spouse. If you write a play together, have fun acting it out together once you are done!

• Physical Education

After spending many winter days indoors, you and your kids have plenty of energy to burn! Set up a baseball diamond, an obstacle course or a running track and have fun playing and learning together!

• Take a Road Trip

Road trips make great math and geography lessons! Have your kids pull out a map, determine the distance, time and finances required for a trip to your destination. Then, have them draw a map including stops along the way and create a schedule of events for your trip!

• Create Art

The spring and summer seasons provide many beautiful scenes for creating beautiful works of art! Gather your art supplies and sit outdoors for the afternoon with your kids and enjoy creating art together. Remember beauty is in the eye of the beholder, don’t expect or require perfection.

• Grow a Garden

Kids of all ages love to grow something of their own! Stop by the store and let your kids pick out a few seed packages of their own and plant a vegetable, fruit or flower of their choice. Teach them how to plant it, care for it and take pictures weekly as y’all watch it grow!

• Read a Book

Grab a new chapter book and lay outside under the shade of a tree (or sit in the sun!) and spend quality time together reading literature aloud to your children. You’ll also be giving them the opportunity to work on their attention spans, building their vocabulary, using their imagination and much more!

Getting outdoors with our kids will give us memories that last a lifetime! When we spend too much time indoors, we are prone to getting lost in the cycle of getting things done that “need” to be done. We need to learn to walk away from the laundry piles, the full sink of dishes and to-do lists waiting on the counter sometimes. The days with our children in our homes are fleeting and one day we’ll be wishing for just one more fun day in the sun with them!

What are your favorite outdoor homeschool activities?

The post 7 Fun Outdoor Homeschool Activities first appeared on True Aim.

Welcome to Mom’s Library!

Filled with parenting tips, activities for young children, craft, devotionals, recipes, and more!

Be sure to subscribe so don’t miss the next Library!
Follow the Mom’s Library Pinterest Board to see all of our featured posts.
Make sure you check out last week’s Mom’s Library for Unique Play Ideas!

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ABCmouse.com 1 Year Subscription

If you’ve ever wanted to try this program, this is a great opportunity!  Check out 4 reasons why we love ABCmouse.com, you can even try it for Free for a month, and then enter to win below!

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This Week’s Featured Posts…

Make a Fairy Garden

A mini magical land.

Backyard Art: Sun Prints

These prints were done on fabric with acrylic paint.  

Sprinkler Play and Learning

Kids always love the sprinkler!   So why not add a little learning to the fun?

Ride around on Ice Blocks

I don’t have a hill, but my kids would love riding them around like little cars.

Bike Day Activities

Check out all the fun “places” they set up to ride their bikes too.  Great ideas!

Pool Noodle Pool 

You can do anything with a pool noodle!  Children will love this activity via Ever Never Again.

Play with Watermelon!

Make some watermelon sculptures and don’t worry about the mess.

Backyard Bingo

Use backyard materials to make a game!

Experiment with Chalk

Blend the colors with your hands!

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The post 10 Backyard Activity Ideas and Mom’s Library #51 first appeared on True Aim.

Welcome to Mom’s Library!

Filled with parenting tips, activities for young children, craft, devotionals, recipes, and more!

Be sure to subscribe so don’t miss the next Library!
Follow the Mom’s Library Pinterest Board to see all of our featured posts.
Make sure you check out last week’s Mom’s Library for 8 Simple DIY Projects!

Our Weekly Giveaway is…

Any Kiwi Crate Craft Box!

You have to check out all of the things that were in my box!
Use the special code: Aim25 to get 25% off your first months crate!
Or choose which one you would like for your children and enter the Rafflecopter below.

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This Week’s Featured Posts…

4th of July Fireworks and Flag Craft

The rice makes a really unique effect in this craft!  

DIY Balance Beam

I Spy Book

Your children will look at their own I Spy Book over and over again.  

Wrecking Ball Block Play

Who doesn’t like to play demolition?  

Build a Boat and Sail the Seas

Great for a kiddie pool or make your own river!  

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The post Play Ideas and Mom’s Library #50! first appeared on True Aim.