No bears are out tonight...

For our last week of summer "school" Talin and I had planned on taking Ezra on his first camping trip. So, all week long we learned about forests, camping, hiking, and woodland animals.

Our first project was lots of fun! First, Ezra glued down die cut trees, a sun, and his favorite...a campfire.

Then he glued down a picture of Mommy, Daddy, and himself.

Now for the fun part....he glued die-cut foam tents on top of the pictures so that when he opened the flaps our pictures were inside the tent. He thought that was HILARIOUS!!

Of course we had to end things by adding a little color...

I got in on the action and drew some grass and a fire pit. He loved the pop-up feel of this picture. =)

Next, we used a sticker kit that I found at Michael's for a $1. It came complete with glittery animals(I know...they don't look sparkly...but trust me...they were.) and letters.

Ezra pointed to which animal he wanted me to pull of the backing...

and then stuck it down on a pre-cut sheet of construction paper.

When all the animals had a "home" we went back through the pages and talked about what sound each animal's name started with...then we pulled the corresponding letter off the sticker sheet..

and put it next to the animal. I think that Ezra thought this was the "food" for his animal friends because every time he stuck the letter on the page he would say, "nom, nom, nom"...and all of the letters are strangely close to the animals mouths....

Once he was done I glued the pages together (stapling would have been so much easier...note to self...get a stapler) and viola! He had created a little alphabet book about forest animals.

The last craft we were able to squeak in this week (only 3 projects? How sad is that? I guess our week was busier then I thought!) was a paper plate owl.

He really loved this one because it involved markers, googly eyes, and a foam beak!

Once everything was colored, glued, and basically put together...

he was so excited to see his new owl friend that he couldn't stop giving him kisses! =)

He was also VERY excited to show him all of the cool cars parked outside, "look owl!"

Owl got a place of honor on Ezra's bedroom door.

When Talin got home on Friday we realized that in a crowded state like California you have to book your campsite MONTHS in advance!! Needless to say...we hadn't planned ahead and there were no campsites open. Oh well! I guess we'll have to have that adventure another time.

Instead, we packed up our little explorer and headed up to Muir Woods. When we were living in Oakland we used to make frequent trips up to marvel at the redwoods. Something about living on the peninsula has stopped that activity...I think it's because we have to drive through the city now...and that is NEVER fun! We decided to start early to avoid the heaviest traffic....Ezra was super excited about breakfast in the car! =)

We made it through the toughest traffic spots without much trouble...in fact, some of the roads were eerily empty...

we got across the bridge in record time!

Finding a parking place at Muir Woods was a different story! Bah! Sweet Talin dropped us off, parked about 1/2 mile away and then made the trek back. We were FINALLY on our way!

I had forgotten the feeling of standing underneath the shade of these trees. Even surrounded by Labor Day sight seers I still felt the quiet reverence that always floods my soul when I walk into these woods.

A couple of deer were eating right next to the path. Completely unconcerned with the unending flow of humans streaming past them (they're in the upper left corner...can you see them?)

Ezra LOVED that he was free to run, climb, and explore.

He's such a city kid, I worry sometimes that he doesn't have enough access to nature...

or that his awareness of the natural world around him is somehow being stunted by life in a two bedroom apartment...in a big city.

I can't tell you how happy it made me to see him hiking, getting down in the dirt and looking at bugs, picking up rocks and tossing them into the stream. I've said it before...and I'll say it again, kids need this! If I could I would BEG Talin to buy us a huge ranch somewhere so that I could just throw open the doors, look down at Ezra and say, "lets go get dirty!" Ha! Maybe one day.

In the mean time though...it's fun to have places like this near by...

what would we do without National Parks to preserve this amazing beauty for us?

By the end of our adventures Ezra was dirty and tired....

but he'd learned a lot...seen a lot...and seemed to really enjoy being in the woods.

Needless to say he was literally snoring 10 seconds after we buckled him in! =)

And yes, Aunt Heidi, we stopped at that fun little grocery store and got yogurt pretzles...just like old times. =)

Our books this week were: Maisy Goes Camping, Ten in the Den, Old Bear, Rabbit's Morning, and Kitten's First Full Moon