Flat Stanley is always in thick of things

It's been a while since my daughters' Flat Stanley has been on an adventure but he built up some serious mileage traveling to all but one continent a couple of years back.

But not only did Flat Stanley introduce my (then) young daughters to geography when we first started this project (they were 6 & 7 at the time), he also opened up the world of current events when he survived Katrina with his host family and spent some time with the troops in Iraq.

The girls learned about these events through the eyes of their Flat Stanley and his hosts. It gave them a new perspective on these national news items and brought things down to a personal level that they could grasp and understand (for better or worse). My hope with both of these particular "trips" was that my daughter's silly little drawing brought a bit of levity to otherwise serious, scary and unsettling experiences.

Last night my dad forwarded me a news story about the Flat Stanley traveling on the US Airways plane that landed in the Hudson River. I bet that third grade class in Kentucky has had a good long chat about that miraculous story after reading Stanley's first-hand account of it.

If you're unfamiliar with what the heck a Flat Stanley is, learn more on Wikipedia.

Flat Stanley traveling is typically a school project so trading usually requires the blessing of a classroom teacher to get started with the Official Flat Stanley project. But there is a Yahoo Group of Flat Travelers for families interest in starting a traveling Flat Stanley on their own. Or if you have a friend who travels and is willing to take a flat friend along for a few photo ops, that's even better.

If your family has a Flat Stanley, tell us about him. My girls are thinking about getting back to hosting and traveling again and would love to hear about other kids in Maine doing it.

G. at the Portland Public Library a few years ago with the inspiration for the Flat Stanley project.

 
L., the Almeida Fam's Flat Stanley creator, imitating her drawing at Sebago Lake the year she drew it.

Remember pets names? Yes. People? Not so much

G., my 12-year-old is a serious animal-lover. Not the love them and let someone else do the dirty work type either.

She's out there working on the coldest of early winter mornings helping to feed, muck out stalls and halter train Sparkles and another cow (his name is Handsome Guy and he's a bit less feisty than Sparkles). Very rarely does she ever complain about the cold. She's just happy to be out there with the animals.

This winter the temperatures have plummeted to double digits below zero during her days at the farm (she's there once a week). Her hair, which was not wet in the least, actually froze more than once. But this has not stopped her from wanting to be out there with the cows.

It was about 15 below zero when this photo was taken and G. had been out with the cows for about an hour.

Since G. was a preschooler she has loved trick-or-treating. Yes, she likes the candy but that's not really the reason she likes going door-to-door on Halloween. She considers this a time to catch up with all of her furry friends in the neighborhood, of which she knows the name of every single one of them.

The human neighbor's names? Not so much.

And because of this, I should not have been surprised last Saturday that G. recognized a couple of huskies at the Girl Scout dog sledding event at Pondicherry.

"Hey, there's Juno mom! She was one of the lead dogs when I went on my ride at the Musher's Bowl."

I was skeptical for a nanosecond before I realized this was G. If she said that dog was Juno I was inclined to believe her.

Then the dog sled team leader introduced her dogs to the very large group of Girl Scouts in attendance. And wouldn't you know, that really was Juno.

Definitely one of those small world moments. And a time to confirm that G. who may have some learning challenges, rarely gets a name wrong.

At least when it comes to her friends of the 4-legged variety.

G. picked out Juno from all the other huskies on the dog sled team.

This is not Juno as she was busy leading the sled team on the track around Pondicherry. I believe this is Madison (although G.'s not here right now to confirm this so I could be wrong).

L. got a short ride on the dog sled. G. was not as assertive in keeping her place in line and there were so many girls at this event, G. never did get on a sled. But she was content to visit with the dogs for a while.

BTW, G. still solicits L.'s help to debate the get-a-dog issue at our house but L.'s heart isn't in to it and therefore mom is still prevailing on this front. And G. does seem content with her cats, cows, chickens and visiting her dog friends at other's houses. For now at least.

Father of girls indulges his metro guy self

The girls nagged Fino about being a party pooper in not allowing me to take - and post - a photo here of his spa treatments (done with recipes the girls made from their Klutz Body Book).

They caught him in a relaxed state during his "treatment" session tonight and he agreed to a photo on the condition that I focus on the girls and not him.
 

 
The lavender salt soak is a favorite and made with Epsom salts, warm water and a few drops of lavender oil.

 
G. works on messaging, then buffing, out Fino's nails. Not pictured, but also enjoyed by Fino tonight, was the honey souffle mask made with egg white, honey and lavender oil.

I think Fino appreciates having daughters these days (even more so than usual) because he appears to very much enjoy these manicures and pedicures.

But if you ask him, he'll laugh and say he's indulging the girls.

I think not.

He's a total metro guy at heart.

The randomness of Twitter - and the Wendys

This afternoon a post was made on Twitter by StupidPointless with a #wendy tag on it (which I noticed because of an email notification that this member started following me on that site).

I have seen the # (aka hashtag) on other Twitter posts but I'm still a novice in the Twitter world and haven't quite figured everything out yet.

Well, it turns out that the hashtag is a way to key word Tweets and find others talking about the same topic.
The most widely used hashtag (or so it appears) is for the #followfriday when people on Twitter recommend other peeps to follow. This blogger explains it.

But StupidPointless was the first one I saw using the hashtag for the name Wendy (which appears to be totally random but originated with wendywings) and well, it somehow got me connected with a bunch of other women named Wendy on Twitter from all over the world (and it appears in another random commonality that most of us have cats).

Now in addition to working with a fellow Wendy (which has required the use of my initials in work emails and everyone referring to me as "Wendy A" at the office) as well as calling myself Wendy A. with one of the girls' 4-H club because there's a Wendy G. leader there, I now have a whole host of new Wendy friends.

So in the spirit of solidarity, the Twittering Wendys declared today (unofficially) WENDY day on Twitter.
(And StupidPointless should be proud to have lived up to the screen name with an enjoyable afternoon of randomness - with full credit to wendywings for getting it all started.)

You can check out the #wendy thread on Twitter to see this strange development firsthand.
And hey, maybe tomorrow you can declare your own namesake day on Twitter!

Sewing for a fashion show

This is crunch time for the girls to finish their projects for the 4-H Fashion Revue coming up next weekend so they have been doing a lot of sewing lately.




This year the girls talked a friend in to doing the revue (their version of a sewing circle involves a sewing machine and fleece) and A. came over a couple of weeks ago to make her fleece hat and scarf (she's a newbie so this was her first sewing project ever).

While helping A. with her sewing project I realized how much I miss the days of beginner sewing because it was, well, easier for me. It's one thing to teach straight stitching and putting in elastic waist bands. That's stuff I can do easily.

But this year L. chose a fleece coat pattern that requires button holes (I stink at that) and G.'s fitted dress, a zipper (I hate zippers too).

It's not that I have not done these things before, I've just not done them well. And trying to teach the girls how to do it? Let's just say these projects have taken quite a bit of time to make.

But L. has not lost her sense of humor through the learning curve of button holes (which neither of us has mastered and L.'s afraid to put one on her coat but this weekend she's taking the plunge).

The 4-H Fashion Revue is basically a fashion show where kids sew (or knit/crochet) an item to wear for the show. The projects are judged, which requires the kids to stand before a round of judges and talk about their project and provide info about them (like how they made their project, why they chose that particular pattern, what was hard/easy for them, etc). The kids also write a commentary about their project (and themselves) that is read during their time modeling their piece on the stage.

The kids are awarded ribbons for their projects but I think the real appeal of this particular 4-H event for kids (it's a Cumberland County-wide event but kids from other counties have also participated in the past) is the individual fashion statement opportunity and walking the runway.

And this morning I'm now feeling nostalgic about my girls' first fashion show. It took a lot of convincing to get L.'s 6-year-old self out on the runway that first year (and she's still not keen on taking that first step on stage but once she does, she has a lot of fun).

In 2005, L.'s diagonal quilt idea for her fleece pillow was pretty cool and a great first project for her even though the diagonal part was a little tricky for her to figure out at first. G. made her a-frame skirt quite roomy so she's been able to get A LOT of wear out of it. (And if you regularly read my blog, you'll realize that she's still wearing this skirt!)

This skirt, with capris under it, is a favorite hiking outfit. This photo from Frankenstein Cliff was taken this past fall.

I also tracked down a couple of photos with links to previous fashion revues. All the 4Hers come up with some fabulous sewing projects every year and I'm happy to report that sewing crafts are still alive and well with this generation.

L. made a fairy quilt and G. made her doll a dress. See photos of the Fashion Revue entries by all the kids in 2007.
 
Last year G. undertook an easier project because she really wanted a new poncho (the one I made for her for Christmas several years ago was looking ratty) and she thought it would be fun to model a new one at the fashion show. It took L. a couple of months of on and off work to make the doll, which included embroidering the face and heart, making the body, sewing on the hair (the hardest job of all!) and then making the clothes. This project was actually inspired by grandma because she made the exact same doll for me when I was a kid (L. now has possession of that one and her own).

More about the 2008 4-H Fashion Revue.

And just a quick tidbit for aspiring sewers (young and old). Jo-Ann Fabrics offers sewing classes regularly at their stores. When the girls and I made a quick pit-stop for L.'s buttons the other day, we saw a class in action so I know the Portland store offers them.

Natural recipes for body care for tweens

G. received the Klutz "Body Book" for Christmas and it has turned in to one of her favorite books of all time (it was on my list of book gift ideas for tweens/teens a while back).

The book has recipes for natural body care that utilize ingredients typically found in your kitchen (with the exception of essential oils that are provided with the book).

At least a couple of times every week since Christmas day, the girls have made a recipe. Everything from citrus toners, intensive moisturizing soaks for nails (fingers and feet) to facials masks and hair rinses.
My weekly shopping list now regularly includes lemons, pineapple juice and chamomile tea bags.
The facial masks have been a particular favorite to experiment with even though the girls found a couple that were more than a little messy in both application and removal.

The "Oatmeal honey mask" is made with 3 tablespoons of uncooked oatmeal and 2 tablespoons of honey. This is a favorite for L. because the removal of this particular one is "easy" as she eats most of it off her face.

The "Simple oatmeal mask" with oatmeal flour and milk was a lot messier so L. likes the honey mask better (and I'm told the other one tastes better anyhow).

And Fino, who is a total metro-guy at heart, has enjoyed the girls' manicures, pedicures and facials they've done for him. (But humoring the girls did not include allowing me to take photos of him, the party pooper!)
I personally enjoyed the "Pineapple soak" for my feet. It was made with warm tap water and 2 cups of pineapple juice and the girls reused the soak several times before throwing it out (but they had to warm it up every time because there is nothing fun about putting your feet in room temperature water in a cold house in the winter).

L.'s favorite recipes in the book are the hair rinses. Both girls have dark brown hair but that has not stopped them from thinking that the chamomile rinse gives them more pronounced highlights (the book indicates it's best for bringing out the highlights in blond and red hair).

The "Chamomile rinse" is 2 cups of water and 2 chamomile tag bags. The book says, "Use it as a final rinse and it will leave your hair shiny and softly scented." I think the girls simply like the smell of chamomile in their hair so this has been a regularly made recipe for them. One of G.'s favorite recipes (besides the oatmeal honey mask because she likes to eat that off her face too) is the "Cornmeal exfoliating scrub," which is simply 3 teaspoons of cornmeal and a bit of warm water.

"It makes my skin feel really smooth after and that's why I like it."

This book has been an endless supply of entertainment (of the inexpensive variety) for my girls and likely one of the best Christmas gifts of all time at our house. I mean, it's mid-February and they still aren't tired of this book yet.

Girls in Engineering, Expo this Saturday

This week is Engineering Week. It's celebrated across the US to encourage more kids to explore the world of engineering as a career path. And this year the awareness-type week in Maine has targeted 4H girls (and Girl Scouts) to teach them about engineering careers because less than 10 percent of US engineers are women.

My girls' trip to campus with their fellow female 4Hers (Girl Scouts were invited another day this week) included an in-depth look at the impact that engineering has on the world around them. This program was all about practical application as the girls explored mechanical, electrical, chemical and biomedical engineering.
They spent time in the lab learning about the mechanics of structures by creating a miniature building support column (which was made with paper, scissors and tape) and testing their designs.

OK, this is where I got a bit lost but the testing machine measures newtons to determine the "gravitational constant" (I think). So my takeaway was that this was how the column's stability under pressure is figured out.

The girls then had a fascinating (truly!) chat in the biomedical engineering lab with a lab researcher at the University about microscopic nanoparticles. This research is creating molecular cancer probes as a way to detect pancreatic cancer. The girls were able to do some hands-on chemistry to make the gold nanoparticles used in this research and then view them under a microscope to see the illumination of these particles to understand how they work.

The accuracy, and less invasive way, of detecting cancer cells in the pancreas and removing only those cells during surgery more efficiently (i.e., shorter surgery time, which is key for survival rates for pancreatic cancer patients we were told) is an utterly fascinating field of study. (Can you tell I learned a lot at this program too?)

After the biomedical lab experiments, the girls moved on to more chemical engineering work. Even though I think every girl in our group had made slime before, seeing a chart with its chemical properties and explanation of the reaction allowed them to feel more mature while enjoying the process of making it again.

I don't care what the teens say, they still like making messes and having fun with slime. The tour of the paper making machines was also interesting (although a bit noisy so I missed some of the explanation on how they work).

The girls also made a stop in the robotic manipulation lab for a game of chess with a robot and had a chance to see a variety of computer engineering projects being made at the University.

This engineering program at UMaine was specifically geared for girls in 4H and Girl Scouts but this Saturday's Engineer's Expo at USM's Gorham campus is open to everyone!

My girls have been to the Engineer's Expo a couple of times and even though some of the concepts were unfamiliar - L.'s commentary about "a thing-a-ma-bob that has to do with something" was amusing one year - they always leave thinking math and science is fun. There are a lot of hands-on experiments to make the basic engineering concepts easy to understand for kids of all ages.

And really, it's a well-done, inexpensive and educational event (there's a suggested donation of $2 because there are so many freebies given to the kids to take home).

Photos from the 2007 ExpoEvent details about this year's Engineer's Expo

I'm not sure my girls are convinced they want to become engineers but L.'s got a hankering for "building computer stuff" (she was really taken with the chess-playing robot and computer light show demonstration) so I'm hoping to steer her in that direction to see if it's something she'd like to do.

Because my other take-away from these engineering programs? Financial security is really darn good in this field.

Wrapping up our bird counting weekend

The kids kept busy with the Great Backyard Bird Count while I spent the weekend under-the-weather (this was a well-timed, much appreciated diversion for the kids as they spent the whole weekend at home, an unusual scenario for us).

Each morning they sat in the comfy chair stationed in front of the living room window watching the trees in our yard and the well-stocked bird feeder (thanks to their diligence in filling it every night).

As of tonight, these are the Backyard Bird Count numbers reported nationwide (the final deadline for submissions is March 1):

Total Checklists Submitted: 70,263
Total Species Observed: 589
Total Individual Birds Counted: 8,136,950
That's a whole lot of people committed to counting a whole lot of birds!

We saw a few critters trying to eat from our feeder but the blue jays, which we saw in abundance during the count, seemed to scare everyone else off most days (I've always thought they were bullies, which Mama Bird confirmed for me recently).

But we had an enterprising hen who gave the blue jays a run for their money one morning.

 
I didn't realize initially that this was a chicken and G. was much amused by my confusion. The final results of the Almeida kids' bird watching included only three species -- blue jay, black-capped chickadee and northern cardinal over their 4 days of counting. They considered this OK but vowed to keep watching regularly for new ones as the weather warms and keep track of what they find.

Although G. spent time outside trying to catch the birds with her camera, they proved a bit elusive. But she managed a few to add to her growing birding scrapbook.

And just to confirm that not only were the two girls bird watching, the cats seemed to enjoy it too (and were not subjected to dress-up more than once this weekend).

Making bread in a bag, kid-friendly and fun

The girls and I have spent a lot of memorable hours in the kitchen, especially when they were younger (they seem to be old pros at baking these days, especially G., and don't need me around to help much anymore). The first year they joined 4-H (at 5 and 6 years old), the first projects they entered in to the county fair were baked goods. The girls have also made their own 4-H cookbooks with dinner and appetizer recipes as well. The cookbook projects required that the girls make each recipe and photograph the results before including it in their respective cookbooks (so like I said, we've spent a lot of time together in the kitchen). But one thing I've avoided all these years is yeast recipes (a category at the county fair for the more advanced 4-H bakers) because I've never been any good at it myself (except for soft pretzels, which are very forgiving -- and my bread maker, which doesn't really count because the machine does all the work). But last weekend the 4-H club made their own yeast bread and the great thing about this particular recipe was that not only was it easy for the kids to follow, the mixing method - done in a bag - was a lot of fun for them. The kids loved squishing the ingredients around and it really minimized the mess (I know, not so green but with 18 kids of varying ages, it made the teacher's/parent's work oh so much easier to manage). Every 4-Her left the class with a mini-loaf and by the time we got home, the dough had doubled in size and was ready to bake. And man, that was some really tasty bread!

 
I emailed the girls' 4-H leader asking for the the recipe so I could share this very kid-friendly - and yummy - bread recipe here.

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 package rapid-rise yeast
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons nonfat dry-milk
1 cup hot water
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup whole wheat flour

Directions
1. Combine one cup all-purpose flour, yeast, sugar, dry milk and salt in 1 – gallon zipper freezer bag.
2. Seal bag. Squeeze upper part of bag to force out air and then seal the bag.
3. Shake and work the bag with fingers to blend ingredients.
4. Carefully add hot water and oil to dry ingredients in the bag. Reseal bag and mix by working with fingers.
5. Add whole-wheat flour. Reseal bag and mix ingredients thoroughly.
6. Gradually add remaining cup of all-purpose flour to bag. Reseal and work with fingers.
7. Work dough until it is stiff and pulls away from the sides of the bag.
8. Take dough out of bag, and place on floured sheet of waxed paper.
9. Knead (push and pull) dough 2 to 4 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
10. Cover dough with a moist cloth or towel; let dough stand for 10 minutes.
11. Divide dough in half.
12. Roll each piece of the dough into 5-inch x 32-inch rectangle.
13. Roll up from narrow end to form loaf. Pinch edges and ends to seal.
14. Place each loaf in a greased mini-loaf pan; spray with cooking spray.
15. Cover loaves with a cloth and place in a warm place; let dough rise until doubled (twice as big).
16. When ready to bake loaves, preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
17. Place loaf pans in oven and bake at 375 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until baked through.
18. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly; removed from pan and rub top of loaves with butter or margarine. Let cool before slicing.

Recipe source: Exploring the Treasures of 4-H

 

Backyard Bird Count and multi-tasking

This is the second day the girls have been diligently observing our yard and noting the number of birds for the Great Backyard Bird Count going on this weekend around the country (you can still join in if you're interested). Yesterday G. spotted a couple of blue jays while she was observing the yard.

We've got the comfortable recliner set up in front of our large living room window for the weekend for this project. This morning during L.'s bird-watching shift, she was a little tired since we didn't get in from the Pirates game until late last night.

But after a few minutes of watching the feeder with no birds in sight, L. decided to solicit some bird-watching helpers to join her -- our cats Dulce and Lupus. I'm fairly certain the cats didn't care for L.'s multi-tasking (i.e., dressing them up) while watching for birds and am guessing that Dulce and Lupus are hoping the feathered guys come back to the feeder tomorrow during her next bird watching shift.

A dulce Valentine gesture

Grandma sent some Valentine's candy to the girls and it took them a few minutes to see that this box of candy was different from the kind she usually sends.

The girls have given their cats Spanish names throughout the years (they have a Spanish heritage with Fino's side of the family). The names have included: * Chion (cry baby) A very fitting name for that cat; he died last year. * Besos (kisses) She died a few years ago. * Dulce (sweet - but actually the cat's full name is Dulce de Leche in honor of the caramel spot on her forehead) She's a year-old indoor cat.

So when my mom saw Dulce written on the box, she said she couldn't resist buying this particular candy for the girls (she knows how much they LOVE their cats). Now G. is thinking maybe we need another cat because she has lots of new naming possibilities thanks to these candy hearts ... or maybe for the sled dog she really wants. But no, I'm still holding strong and she is not getting a dog (or cat) for Valentine's Day this year. A girl can wish though.

Creating artwork is all about the details

L. has always liked to draw and has had a knack for adding details that are interesting - and often amusing. She tends to have a unique perspective on things and that comes through in her art work. L. had just turned 4-years-old the first time she felt eyelashes were an important feature for every female face she drew.

I need to take a moment to comment that I actually remembered to write on the back of this drawing. It's titled, "Singing in the Rain." I didn't remember to write the artist's thoughts on every drawing but I highly recommend it if you've got little ones. You will definitely NOT remember what these drawings were supposed to be in a few years (and you will really wish you had made the notation)!

No drawing made during her preschool years were without eyelashes.

No notation made on this drawing but I'm thinking the things sticking out of the mouths are teeth. At 11 years old, she still has a passion for drawing and has refined her subject's eyelashes to be more in proportion, most of the time. (I qualify this because L. has particularly long eye lashes so she often still makes comments that they should be more clear in her drawings.)

But she has branched out with this eyelash thing beyond drawings. Today she made a snowman with a friend and I couldn't help but laugh. This is a quintessential L. creation.

The sticks were "just right for my snowman." L. spent quite a bit of time giggling as she yelled to me to LOOK after she added the eyelash detail.

Sometimes art (and humor) is appreciated more with the addition of the smallest of details.

Back story on my family's skiing adventures

After fielding some questions about how my family started cross country skiing and the fact that I did not become proficient (a term I used loosely) with this sport until a few years ago, I thought I'd share this back story of how we got started.

I started my kids on downhill skis when they were 4 and 5 years old. We needed a winter sport in our lives because my husband grew up in southern Californian and was not enjoying the Maine winters (our first in Maine with a newborn was the big ice storm in '98 and the winter we decided to downhill started early with record snow fall totals). The girls loved ski school at Attitash (we had coupons that made this affordable that year) and Fino and I took snowboarding classes (it was kid-less bliss for a couple of hours on the slopes every time we went, which was just what we needed at the time). We opted for snowboarding because Fino knew how to ski (thanks to the Army) but I had only downhill skied once when I was a teen (I actually hit a car in the parking lot that first time because I jumped a snow bank due to my inability to slow down -- I was fine but my dad was a nervous wreck and wouldn't take me again). So Fino and I settled on something that was new to both of us to learn while the kids were busy with their own class.

We started cross country skiing together when the girls were 6 and 7 years old. It was at this time we came to the realization that we could not afford trips to the mountain more than a couple of times a season (and coupons were becoming harder to come by). I had cross country skied a couple of times in college but was no expert. (I grew up in a city just outside Boston with a mother who HATED being outside and a dad who didn't care so much for it either. I had actually never been camping or hiking until a friend took me on a trip with her family in high school). I found out about the Healthy Hometowns program (as I mentioned in my column this month) through a friend and organized a group through my kids' 4-H club (at the time there were no ski groups for 6 and 7 year olds and that's why I decided I'd start my own).

Hooking up with Healthy Hometowns was a real money-saver. The cost of rentals - for the entire winter - through Healthy Hometowns was $40/per child that year (it's only gone up $5 since we started doing this) and the girls got racing-quality equipment (and still do). Putting this ski club together really was a leap of faith though (Healthy Hometowns requires an organized group - of any kind - to participate in their rental program). I was like the Goofy character on skis (with my boarding experience of two feet strapped to ONE board, managing my independent feet on skis was even more challenging and I tripped myself constantly) but I knew my kids would enjoy learning to cross country ski if they could learn with other kids and I wanted to make this work (I had the incentive to find a more affordable sport).

There were three things that made this work for me.

1. Pineland offered a class for Healthy Hometown Ski Club leaders to teach them games and skills to bring back to their groups. 

2. I had spent several years teaching gym-type classes for preschoolers and elementary school-aged kids through my local recreation department (Kindergym, school yard games, Jump Rope club and some others). 

3. I like to learn new things and view raising my kids as my second childhood (doing all the things I didn't get a chance to do the first time around).

And if you read my retro blog about winter sports, you will see the evolution of our skiing experience through the years (I started blogging in 2005 so it's not from the very beginning). We spent most of our early years with the ski club in an open field and small section of a trail. As for a couple of other questions I've been asked recently about when to start a child out on cross country skis, I'd say that they'd likely enjoy it in preschool. A couple of members in our 4-H ski club have younger siblings and one is 3 years old. He doesn't keep up with the other kids skiing for long but his mom or dad pull him on a sled when he gets tired. Another almost 4-year-old skied quite a distance one week and even tried the hula hoop a few times. Through the years on the trails, I have seen plenty of little ones like these two preschoolers do remarkably well on skis. They don't have a lot of endurance but they like to play the games and are capable of short distances. And having a sled standing by (or staying close to the trail head) makes this sport much more enjoyable to learn - and regularly do - as a family when you keep things realistic for little ones. OK, so that's the back story. Have I convinced anyone that cross country skiing can be for the everyday family?

Valentine craft, easy and fun

The Valentine garland written by Susan caught the attention of my girls and they decided to make it yesterday.

L. added her own flare to the garland instructions by writing the name of a family member in each of the hearts. This included not only the human family members, but the feline ones as well.
 

Now L. is thinking about expanding her garland to include all the chickens. With approximately 30 members of our poultry "family" (chickens, ducks and a guinea hen) living in the coop right now, she's going to busy with this project for a while.

The girls were able to follow the directions easily and did not need any help from me. And as they were content making their special garland, I was able to get some work done.

Now that's my kind of kid-friendly project.

Kid Tracks Column: Cross country skiing fun

My family really enjoys cross-country skiing. None of us have the endurance of a competitive Nordic skier (not even close), nor do we pay particular attention to miles traveled. No, we cross-country ski because it's a way for us to spend time outside on the snow-covered trails during the winter and play silly games.

About five years ago I took a class through the Maine Winter Sport Center's Healthy Hometowns program. The class was geared for adults who planned to work with novice skiers to teach them the basic skills of cross-country skiing (it was my first year organizing a 4-H ski club). This class had the adults playing several variations of tag, skiing through hula hoops and participating in other games that had many of us shaking our heads and wondering what the heck we'd signed up for. But after a successful slide on my skis through a hula hoop (with a less than stellar landing once I cleared it) I realized the point of the class.

Cross-country skiing doesn't have to be about mileage and endurance. It can simply be about having fun in an open field on a pair of skis.

I brought those ski games back to not only the ski club I was leading that year (and let me clarify that I did not have a strong skill set for cross-country-skiing myself when I started that club), but to my family's own cross-country ski trips.

And we still play many of these games today.

Sometimes when my family goes out on the trail, we take goofy pictures with my digital camera (in-the-air photos are a favorite, which require the skier – the girls or mom – to jump in the air with our skis from a standing still position). Jumping is a great activity to work on balance control, which comes in handy on ungroomed trails and hills.

I'm also known to ski with a hula hoop strapped to my pack. It's a particularly enjoyable way to ski down small hills. The ability to direct and maintain ski position is a key skill for kids (and adults) to learn. It also teaches skiers how to bend their knees and straighten back up while moving, which helps with balance control. I'm always amazed at how quickly kids new to cross-country skiing figure out how to get through that hula hoop. It's a great confidence boost, not to mention it provides some of the best trail entertainment we've ever had at any time of year.

My 12-year-old highly recommends bringing a hula hoop out on the trail. "It's fun skiing through the hula hoop and it's good at helping you balance on your skis. And it's funny to watch your parents try to do it, too!"

Yeah, it is possible for a 6-foot-tall, not-so-thin mama to ski through a hula hoop. The ending isn't always pretty, but I think the belly laughing that goes on among my audience is usually worth the brief humiliation.

And if you don't have a hula hoop lying around the house, simply skiing down a small hill, in a squatting or standing position, can be a lot of fun too.

When we're with our ski club, the kids often request a round of amoeba tag. A boundary of play is marked off with ski poles and one person is chosen as “It.” When the "It" tags another skier, those two skiers have to join hands and try to tag someone else. The game goes until one person is left. We typically play this tag game on one ski (the kids get one-footed gliding figured out pretty quick during this game) and it's one of my 11-year-old's favorite group games. "I can move around pretty fast on my ski so I don't get tagged. I really like to win that (amoeba tag) game."

My 12-year-old also recommends the one-ski gliding competition. "I like to glide on one ski. It's a fun game to see who can glide the longest way without putting your (ski-less) foot down. I like to win that game."

Simon Says is a classic stand-by when my kids' interest is waning out on the trail and we have a while to go to get back to the trailhead. My girls may say they're too old to play this game (they're 11 and 12), but even though they roll their eyes at me when I suggest it, they do get into it. Simon Says is one of those games that everyone likes, no matter their age. A chance to boss parents and siblings around a bit? What's not to like?

The games I've mentioned are really only a sampling of the many options that can be adapted for skis. When you make the focus of your adventure about playing games rather than how much of the trail you can cover, even families with little to no experience with the sport can have an enjoyable outing. It's all about the right mind-set – just get outside with your family and have some fun.

MORE INFO
The Maine Winter Sports Center offers a season-long rental program for organized youth groups through their Healthy Hometowns Program. Find out more about program

KID-FRIENDLY TRAILS
Here’s a sampling of trails my family has enjoyed.

Twin Brooks, Cumberland
The groomed trails ($2 requested donation for non-residents) offer a nice variety of open field skiing as well as a wooded trail area.

Fuller Farm, Scarborough
The rolling hills in the open field of Fuller Farm offer lots of options for ski games as well as open field skiing on ungroomed trails.

Mountain Division Trail, Standish-Gorham-Windham
This multi-use trail’s snow covering is often packed down by snowmobiles and gives skiers the feel of groomed trails without the expense. My family has also found a variety of animal tracks off the trails that make this area even more appealing to them.

Riverside Golf Course, Portland
These trails are also groomed (with a $2 requested donation) and offers families easy options to ski as short (or long) distance as they’d like and never be too far from the car.

Maine Winter Sports Center, Fort Kent
My kids really enjoyed watching the biathlon athletes training (shooting and skiing) on this groomed (and free) trail system when we visited. There is also a lodge open to all visitors. Rentals are available for a fee at the trailhead.

Originally published in Raising Maine Magazine, February 2009