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Archive for Outdoors

Involved parents = healthy kids

A new study published today in the journal Pediatrics suggest that 3 routines in childhood will fight obesity, specifically in preschoolers. Thanks to ParentDish for pointing it out.
Want to know what the 3 magic routines are? My guess is, if you’re reading this blog, you already practice them.

Family meals at least 5 times a week. [...]

5 Reasons Edible Schoolyards are Necessary

Have you heard of the Edible Schoolyard? It’s this fantastic concept of putting gardens in our schools. Not just any gardens, but green-powered gardens that kids take care of. Do you get it? Our kids, who too often think that milk and carrots come from Super Walmart, are suddenly thrust into an active ’schoolyard’ (in [...]

Freedom Gardens – grow your own!

I just came across this site, and what actually drew me in was the 1950s communist style illustration of happy workers headed off with their hoes and rakes, with a backdrop of a suburban neighborhood. Something about the illustration and the propaganda-esque name (“Freedom Gardens”) put me off a little to start with. But maybe [...]

Do you do poo?

Well, natural fertilizer doesn’t have to be the butt of potty jokes. You can actually use kitchen waste to make your own fertilizer for your yard and garden. Why? You’ll save money and send less to the landfill, reduce your climate footprint, and you’ll be creating your very own concoction – and who doesn’t like [...]

Keep bugs at bay

Summer is here and so are the mosquitoes, no-see-ums, and other pesky biters. And apparently my 2-year-old son is their favorite snack. Really, my entire family goes outside and none of the 7 of us get a single bite – except Liam. By the time we go inside he’s covered head to toe in bites. [...]

Grow some earthy kids

I just found an awesome tool to get kids excited about earth, the cycle of life, and where food comes from. Check out these awesome toys from HSP Nature Toys:

The battle against bugs!

Even the mere thought of a mosquito bite makes my skin itch! I haven’t stopped scratching since I sat down!
When somebody wrote in asking about natural insect repellents for their children it made me realize that I had no idea what I would be using as a bug repellent for MY OWN [...]

It’s for the Birds!

Here at Broomhuggers we love to find new ways to use things that would normally get thrown away! Kathy just wrote a great post on what to do with your left over bacon grease to dispose of it and a reader asked if you could use bacon grease to make seed balls for the [...]

Food-friendly insecticide

What do you do to control bugs and little critters on your vegetable garden? Are you ready for this? (Drum roll please…) Rhubarb!
Rhubarb leaf tea, that is. Next time you buy some rhubarb to make your fantastic strawberry-rhubarb pie, don’t discard the leaves.

Kids need green!

Of all the places to come across a fascinating, well-thought out argument, I was surprised to see one in “Drive” – the Subaru magazine. It talks about how the way children see and experience nature has changed drastically within the space of a few decades.
“Well-meaning public school systems, media, and parents are effectively scaring children [...]