No MSG, HFCS, Transfats, etc: Unjunk Your Junk Food

What exactly is junk food? Sadly, it is what many Americans snack on. Full of artificial ingredients, high in calorie, empty in nutritional value, junk food is like junk toys: they do not sustain you and yet can cause great harm to your health and the planet. Unjunk Your Junk … [Read more...]

The Down and Dirty Guide to Camping with Kids: How to Plan Memorable Family Adventures and Connect Kids to Nature

I've been camping with my kids ever since they were babies. Even though we live in the mountains surrounded by nature, I love to explore the epic grandeur Mother Nature has to offer and prefer sleeping under the stars to the confinement of a tent. I've never it found it … [Read more...]

Planet Shoes and El Naturalista: Recycled and Eco-Friendly Foot Fashion

I first discovered El Naturalista when visiting a friend in Eugene. I slipped on her shoes to head out to the car, and I fell in love! When I headed to Italy last summer, I knew El Naturalista was the right choice for my Tuscan adventures. I needed comfortable shoes for … [Read more...]

Children’s Literature: Adventures of Little Herbert in Mushroom Land

I was excited to receive Adventures of Little Herbert in Mushroom Land by Natasha Guruleva, as mushroom hunting is one of our family's favorite past times. Mushrooms hold a special lore in children's literature. Think of the amanita in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It is a … [Read more...]

Encourage Early Literacy with Everything Mailbox

Common to many preschool and primary classrooms is a mailbox, as letter writing is one of the early literacy standards. Whether children are writing with letter like forms or forming actual sentences, the act is significant in the process of learning to read and create written … [Read more...]