How to Get Your Child to Do Their Summer Work

(Please note that all ideas on this blog are owned by Leslie Burby and copyrighted as such. Feel free to play these games but you do not have the right to sell or reprint this idea (in books, on social media, on a blog, or any other computer sharing) without giving credit to Leslie Burby and linking to this blog.)

In the summer, I agree that kids need time to be kids and climb a tree and walk a stone wall because working on motor skills is important, too, but kids do need to keep their brains sharp as well. Most parents and kids think of sitting at the kitchen table doing worksheet after worksheet to beat the dreaded "brain drain." "Brain drain" basically means that children forget most of what they learned in school during the summer. To stop the kids from forgetting what they learned, I have my children do a combination of fun "games" and "science experiments" as well as worksheets. Why? Well, because if I only do the fun games and experiments than my kids have a hard time sitting still in class. So I think that there needs to be a balance. We aim for only one or two worksheets to be done a day or 2 twice a week (but we don't stress if we miss one day because Grandma decided to bring us to the zoo or Mom needs a break and we spend the day walking the river.)
However, even though we read every day, and do worksheets (almost) every day, my kids still have a tendency to have days when they just don't want to do their worksheets. (Each of my children are sent home with a packet of dittos to work on during the summer and it has to be handed in on the first day of school.) So when the complaining starts, my brain starts racing of ideas to get them to complete the dreaded worksheets while having fun with them. Here are just two ideas.

MONEY

In order to get my kids to identify the fronts and backs of the coins (just the four basic penny, nickel, dime, quarter) we did crayon rubbing. 
I recommend using Glue Dots of the 1/2in size to get the coin to stay still while rubbing.
Before we started I folded the college ruled paper into fourths and wrote Penny, Nickel, Dime, Quarter. I wrote 1 cent with the penny, and 5 cents in the nickel box, and ten cents in the dime and 1 = 25 cents, 2= 50 cents, 3= 75 cents, 4= $1.00 or 100 cents in the quarter box.

First, put a Glue Dot on the back of a coin and stick it to your table or floor.


Then, have the children rub a crayon over it. We used the fat toddler crayons, but explore with different size and different color crayons for fun.


After everyone had a good rubbing of the front and back of each coin we played a game.





MONEY HUNT

I had this idea to have a money hunt instead of an egg hunt. The deal was that they could keep all the coins found if they added them up correctly. I was going to hide them in a small area beside my patio but one of my daughters was very concerned that she wouldn't be able to find the coins in grass and didn't want us to lose money because that would be wasteful. So to calm her anxiety, and because I don't want to waste money (she had a very good point) I dumped all our change on the freshly cleaned kitchen floor and gave them 60 seconds to collect as many coins as possible. 

 RULES

1.They must try to collect at least one of each coin.
2. After the timer goes off everyone must go to the table or set area to add the money but before counting they must make sure every player has one of each coin. If one player doesn't have a quarter and the other player has two then the player with two must surrender one quarter tot he player without a quarter.
3. They must sort their coins on the paper.
4. They must add up how much money they have for each kind of coin. 22 cents in pennies, 30 cents in dimes, etc.
5. They must then add up all four totals to see how much money they have in total.
6. If they add correctly, they keep the money.

The kids had a blast. I loved this game because they worked on:
skip counting (counted by 1's, 5's, 10's and 25's);
adding;
sorting;
fine motor skills (picking up the money and sorting it);
individual and team play.

Best of all they were rewarded for their hard work immediately and positively. As soon as they filled out the worksheet from the school and the math they did to add up their coins.

Traveling with Children on and off the Autism Spectrum

I don't travel out-of-state with my children very often but when I do, tons of planning comes into play. I have three small children (ages 3,6,& 7). Here are my favorite ways to make traveling pleasant:

Pre-Vacation

1. Make a boredom buster bag. 

Fun while learning letter recognition

    If you know you are going on vacation shop the Dollar store, the Dollar aisle at Target, the clearance aisle at Joanne Fabrics, or other craft stores (like A.C.Moore, or Michaels). Buy cheap things that will fill the boredom but do NOT give it to them all at once. Wait! Wait until they are restless, then give them one thing. The top images are for younger children ages 6 months - 4 and as the article goes on the games are for older ages.

We own this in pink. Makes learning letters fun with songs and games.

     If your children have the fine-motor control to color then buy them a coloring book and crayons or print out free coloring pages of a variety of their favorite things from the computer. I found these great Pack&Go packs with mini coloring books and crayons and stickers at Target and Walmart. For my son that has difficulty using his hands we got Invisible Ink markers with the coloring books with Jake and the Neverland Pirates. This way he doesn't have to worry about staying in the lines because no matter where he colors, a hidden image appears and he is practicing fine-motor skills. I also gave him a fold out sticker scene with stickers to keep him busy while waiting for food at a diner, which also blocked out the visual sensory overload.

Teaches animals and animal sounds while promoting fine motor skills and bucket for easy clean up.

We also, bring a cookie sheet with magnetic letters to encourage spelling and word growth but Shhhh! don't tell my kids that it is educational. They think they are sending secret messages to each other. 

Also, we buy two new movies. One for the way to and one for the way home.

For older children, printout maps of where you are going so they can track your journey and learn geography. In addition, they can play travel bingo, or license plate games, etc. 

My daughter's Leapfrog Tag system. I love the Tag because it is more sturdy than other tablets.

Flip to Win game by Melissa & Doug with Hangman or Memory options

When all else fails - play I spy.
I also pack a craft bag, so when they wake up early they have something to do (at least momentarily) to hopefully not wake my sleeping parents.

Bath caddies can be used to carry crafts, and juicy juice juice boxes fits in the soap holder

For older children and teens, perhaps give them $10 or $20 to spend on new games or apps for their tablets or Leapfrog Tag system. Give your teen their own packing list to check off what they need, but include items like ear buds, charger or batteries, carrying case for their system or tablet, etc. Plus I found these amazing things at Barnes and Noble to keep older children, teens and adults busy.

Mad Libs, need I say more? For a hilarious ending pass it around so everybody fills in one word.

Travel desk with white board and zip pocket underneath.

For the coolest coloring carry case check out this blog where Stacy Vaughn turns old DVD cases into coloring cases.

Love this Sticker Dolly Dressing Travel book because I can emphasize the importance of proper attire for weather while playing with dolls and the book weaves a neat story while teaching world geography.

We love Highlights hidden pictures so much that we have a smaller travel size one we bought at Target that remains in the van.

BRAIN GAMES!

Magnetic classics

 Legos, legos, legos for everyone!

2.  Prepare your vehicle. 

      In my house, my husband, has the van serviced so the oil is changed and    tires are checked and replaced if necessary. When we have time, he               cleans it out of all the goldfish crackers crumbs. He sets up our DVD player in the van. We only allow TV watching in the van on long trips.

      I get organized so they can reach their crayons and a juice box without          calling MOOOOMMMMMMMMM every two minutes. I use a shower caddy, which fits two coloring books per side, a 24 pack of crayons and Juicy Juice boxes. Also, tie up a plastic bag for garbage from the wrappers.

3. Do ALL your laundry.

You can't pack it if it isn't clean. Besides, who wants to come home to mounds of dirty clothes?

4. Make sure you have enough medication for your entire trip.

Allow yourself three days before you leave to call your doctor if you need a refill so they can sort things out with your pharmacy. I love Walgreens because they are everywhere and their computers are linked better than some other major pharmacies that I haven't had the best of luck with. I personally had to refill my scripts and made sure the hubby picked them up the night before we left and then I left them at home. I ended up having to call a Walgreens in Maine and they got me a supply for the duration of my trip without any hassle. THANKS!

5. Map out stops/call the airline.

Roadtrips - Stops will happen. Children need to pee at the most inopportune times. Map your route and then find fun places to stop just in case. Our favorite place to stop when driving to Maine is at the Soloman Pond Mall because it is indoors (so I don't have to worry about rain or temperature), it has a variety of food options (for the variety of sensory issues we have in my family), it has several bathrooms and family bathrooms, it has a small child's play area (so they can burn off some energy and then get back in the van to nap), and it has inexpensive rides (an indoor carousel for $2 and 75 cent rides). 
My favorite new free app on my Smart Phone is Scout. You type in your ending location and then you can search for coffee, food, gas and more on your route. I LOVE it! So if you don't have time to map it all out ahead of time, download Scout. (No, I do not get paid for products that I endorse, I just like to share what actually works for me and my family.)

Flying - Have your child watch the video on the TSA website to help them mentally prepare for what traveling by plan is like as well as other movies with images or video of boarding, taking off and landing and collecting luggage.

6. Prepare your children. 

Two of my children are autistic and as a result they have anxiety. To try to preemptively cut anxiety off, I talk to them and show them pictures (because my Little Man is a visual kind-of-guy) for two weeks before we leave. Ask them what they would like to take with them to be comfortable from home. They might miss home but they can take something with them to make them remember home while traveling and to remind them that they will be home soon. Talk to them about places they would like to visit. If one child wants to collect shells on the beach but the other wants to go to an arcade then consider splitting up for the day. Do not force them to do something that will result in a meltdown - no one wins. If you suggest something and they adamantly don't want to do it, ask them why. They might need a day to think about why they don't want to but give them the time they need to communicate. Often I think 'Oh what a great place this would be to visit!' and my children disagree so the hubby and I separate for the day. Planning helps.

Packing

1. Packing Lists

 Get your FREE printable packing lists emailed to you by visiting Inkwellpress.com. You have to type in your email and then you can print out which packing list suits your trip best. Otherwise, follow my Pinterest Travel Board or Google Images for great packing list options.

2. Pack Children's Clothes 

Once you have your checklists printed, start by packing the kid's clothes. My daughter's clothes are matched by outfit. The bottom is folded in half then tucked into the neckline of the shirt. So when I pack I just lift the outfit by hanger and fold in half. When we get to our travel destination, we just hang up her clothes which makes for effortless unpacking and she needs no help getting dressed in the morning. Throw in two sweaters, a pair of pants, two bathing suits, two night gowns, socks and underwear and she is good to go. In a small carry-on I fit 8 days of outfits for both my girls like this.I also saw this cool idea on Facebook where the mom put the folded shirt on top of the folded shorts then rolled them up and shoved the outfit into a pair of socks. GENIUS! Although, my girls don't wear socks that often in the summer and one of my kids worried about wrinkling her outfits. LOL
For teens there is a good article about how to help teens with distraction issues pack at NCLD.org

3. Food

 Clean out your fridge and give things that will go bad to a neighbor or food pantry.
Then pre-package snacks instead of buying them prepackaged. I buy two big bags of a "chip snack" like Doritos and Cheetos at BJ's Wholesale club for $5.98 and a box of snack size plastic baggies from the dollar store and divide up portions.

 

 This way I don't have to worry about bowls and containers on the trip or passing a few. If we decide to go to the beach in the morning I can just grab a few bags and go. Of course, I also always have healthy snacks packs such as cheese sticks (cheddar, and mozzarella), raisins, pre-washed and sliced grapes and other fruits, nuts (if no allergies), etc. For snacks that don't need refrigeration like pretzels I use a giant sized Goldfish box that I taped a 9x12 sheet of paper to and wrote Assorted Snacks so I can just toss them a snack in the van.

4. Pack toiletries and your clothes.

Toiletries get tricky. Why? Because you have to use them up until the minutes before you leave. So what do I do? I leave gallon sized ziplock bags with sharpie marker notes on them to remind me. One for the Shampoo. One for the Conditioner. One for toothbrush and tooth paste. One for hair things. My makeup is in a makeup bag and I don't wear makeup everyday so I usually just pack that and travel without 'face paint' for a day. As far as deodorant, q-tips, shaving gel and razor, it is all packed in my travel toiletry bag that my awesome husband bought to support Fill-A-Need foundation from a Stella Dot fundraiser.

My clothes, I really don't have any crazy or clever trick. The best advice I can give you is check the weather in the location that you will be going to see how hot or cold it will be. I always pack for all weather situations. When I go to Maine in the summer, for instance, I always pack shorts and shorts sleeves, but I also pack two long sleeve shirts, a sweater or two and a pair of jeans just in case. I will never, ever forget when I was 19 I went to Disneyland with nothing packed but halter tops and shorts and it was the coldest Florida temperatures Florida had ever seen. I spent a fortune on a sweater and was uncomfortable most of the trip because of how cold I was. So my advice, pack at least one of everything (one short sleeved, one long sleeved, one pant, one short, one sweater, one dress) and more of what you anticipate the weather to be like. Also, if you are a flip flop lover like me don't forget to pack your sneakers and socks. You never know when you might need to cover your piggies (aka. toes).

5. Check your checklist.

Does it include the items that your children wanted to bring to help them feel comfortable?
Did you pack headphones? Extra batteries and chargers?

6. Don't forget medications and medical equipment needed.

This includes items that help your child with sensory overload like sunglasses and noise reduction headphones or ear plugs.
 If you take medications as soon as you take your last dose pack it or put it in your purse.

This may seem like a lot but it pays off. Careful planning and consideration of everyone traveling can alleviate many stresses and lead to a much more peaceful trip. For more great ideas check out my Pinterest Board all about Traveling with kids.

Looking to the Future

On the evening on June 30th, I resigned from my role as editor-in-chief from Autism Parenting Magazine. I will miss many of the wonderful people I have met while being editor. I am looking forward to what the future holds and I am exploring many options. I would like to say thank you to the people that have been supportive during this difficult transition.
In the future-
I will be speaking in Phoenix, AZ at the Back to School Conference on September 14th at the Autism Conferences of America.
I am an active Board Member for Hope 4 Autism, which is looking for runners and volunteers at the Hartford Marathon this October 11th. Hope 4 Autism will also be having a cupcake fundraiser in September which I look forward to helping plan.
Please like my Author page on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLeslieBurbyhttps://www.facebook.com/AuthorLeslieBurby to stay connected and up to date with the latest autism, and special education happenings.

Leslie

BEWARE ASD COMMUNITY

There is one thing I can’t stand more than anything in the ASD community and that is people claiming to be “experts” on a subject when they haven’t lived or experienced it themselves and creating products/or paid-for-advice for autistic individuals or their parents for significant financial gain without considering if the advice or products they are selling are actually benefiting or harming their customers. Don’t get me wrong there are good intentioned people out there that don’t know anyone directly that has autism but still want to learn and help people in the autism community. Plus when you donate a significant amount of time to studying and creating something you do need to recoup some costs or you will eventually be living under a bridge.  However, I caution parents to please consider your sources of information and the sources motives. If their number one motive is to make money from you – then BEWARE!  The advice or product/s they are selling need to be researched before using them on your child or student. Please be careful! It only takes an extra minute or two to do a Google search of reviews of a product or informational source. I also will tell you that some reviews need to be read carefully though because I have seen people write pieces that are completely inaccurate, but again it just took an extra minute to do one more search of their claim to prove that their article was entirely fabricated. As a parent of three children, (two on the spectrum) I urge you to please consider your source and guard your money. Make sure that money you donate and spend goes to safe, moral causes and/or businesses, etc.  Just in case, there is a negative viewer out there that thinks that I write and edit only for financial gain let me explain one thing - I make it a goal to have sound advice for our children and parents through the magazine and have insisted that people that can’t afford a yearly subscription still have access to some of the information through our You Tube channel and the Autism Parenting Magazine blog.  Ultimately, the magazine is a business and it has expenses so we must charge to keep up the production but know this I will never knowingly sell bad information or recommend a product that I haven’t tried for my own financial gain without considering the effect it has on people’s well-being or finances. 

I have Failed

The other day my daughter came home from school agitated. This is not uncommon. Some days are difficult because she has been bullied, or no one would play with her at recess, or she was overwhelmed with sensory stimuli.  Of course, trying to get her to tell me why she is agitated would just agitate her more so I gave her a snack and let her go calm down.
Later that evening, I told her that her school was trying to raise money to have an author come to the school and I wanted to know if she would mind if I went to the school to speak for free to help the school save some money and help educate everyone about autism and acceptance.

The conversation went like this:
Me: "Hey, hun, your school is having a Read-a-thon to raise money to have an author come to the                school. Do you think it would be okay if mommy went to the school to speak as an author?"

Her: "Can I stand on stage with you?"

Me: "I don't know. I don't know if they will even choose mommy."

Her: "Why won't you let me stand on stage with you?"

Me: "I didn't say NO, I said I don't know because it would be up to the school probably."

Her: "Well, what would you talk about? I don't know what you talk about when you go give speeches          to people."

Me: "Remember mommy told you that she helped start Autism Parenting Magazine to help other parents        understand autism, so they know how to help their children? So I talk about autism."

Her: "Are you going to tell everyone that I have Asperger's?"

Me: "Well, no, not if you don't want me to but many people know already."

Her: [angrily] "What?! You told them!"

Me: "Well, the school knows because it is their job to help you when I am not there so they need to know."

Her: "Who else knows?"

Me: "The people on our street."

Her: "Why would you tell them?"

Me: "I didn't run around hanging signs, hun. They asked me.."

Her: "They asked you if I had Asperger's?"

Me: "Well, no some of them asked me why you were acting a certain way one day and it came out.              Others asked me about my books and if I was writing about parenting autistics, did I have an              autistic child?"

Her: "I don't want anyone to know! I tried to tell my group at school and three [of the five] kids                  laughed at me. When I told them not to laugh at me they laughed harder."

Me: "Honey I am so sorry. Maybe they were just laughing at the word Asperger's because it sounds            like ass-burgers? [I tried to hug her.] Look I'm very sorry if I disrespected your privacy by telling        people. If you don't want me to than I won't mention your name anymore and I won't speak at            your school. You have to know that I wrote the children's books to help children understand                autism. Most children laugh at it because they don't understand it. I'm sure the children wouldn't          laugh at someone that had a physical disability and was in a wheelchair. I just thought that if we            explain it that they will treat you better."

Her: "Don't you see they treat me different and if you tell them I am different then they will ALL treat         me different!"

Me: [On my knees] "I am truly sorry if I have ever made you feel different. I know you have trouble           making friends but I am so jealous of how smart you and your father are and what an amazing             memory the two of you have. I know that you have some days when you get overwhelmed by             your senses but you are an amazing person. I was trying to show the world how amazing you are.       Mommy has told you that lots of awesome people have Asperger's like Einstein and probably Walt         Disney. Just think how boring our world would be without Disney movies? You knew that I was         writing the children's books based on things that you have done, why didn't you tell me you didn't         want to be mentioned?"

Her: "I didn't know how cruel people were then."

End conversation.

From now on I will refer to my daughter not by name to respect her privacy. She has taught me an abundance of knowledge and I hope that one day she will see herself as the amazingly awesome person that I see her as. I feel I have failed her, while trying to protect her and for that I am sorry. I have always tried to respect every individual for who they are and she feels disrespected. This was never my intention, I merely was trying to share the knowledge I have with others to make their journey a little easier during the difficult times. I was hoping that maybe when she is older that she would stand on stage with me and proudly say I have Asperger's and be a positive voice much like John Elder Robison and his son; or Temple Grandin and her mom Eustacia Cutler. Or maybe I hope that she will grow to be an author about her experience like how Jennifer O'Toole created Asperkids; or Jeannie Davide-Rivera wrote Twirling Naked; or how Renee Salas wrote Black and White: A Colorful Look at the Spectrum. As we continue to grow, I hope we continue to learn from each other.

My first children's book

My apologies for neglecting the blog. I have been fighting a battle with bronchitis which won when it turned to pneumonia and then left vertigo to linger. 

Anyway, I have very exciting news - my first children's book Grace Figures Out School is finally available. It is currently available on my publisher's site.  It will be officially released on January 10th, which means it will be available for sale at bookstores and major online retailers like Amazon. 

Please note that I am available for book signings, speaking engagements, writing workshops and more. I do not charge for book signings, or speaking engagements in and around my state (CT). The writing workshops depend on the time and distance needed. I have worked with my publisher to create my book as a coloring book for one dollar less than the price of the book. Also, I have asked them to create lined journals for writing workshops for children and even journals with wide lines (including the skyline and grassline, etc.) to make it easy for children to learn how to create their own stories.

Please contact me through Twitter @LeslieAPMag. 

For more information on the book read below: 

One of the biggest struggles I face as a parent with children on the spectrum is the judgmental comments that are frequently tossed my way.  This children’s book was inspired by my daughter with Asperger's when she was told to "throw out her ice cream cone" and she literally threw her cone across the restaurant. It made a huge splattered mess and she realized I didn't actually mean to "throw" it. She immediately started to cry and said, “But you said, “Throw it, out!?”

It was a lesson we both learned from, but as I hugged my daughter and cleaned up the mess we had to listen to people's comments about how I should hit her to teach her a lesson and how I was such a horrible parent. After cleaning up I suggested that the onlookers Google the word Asperger's and explained that figurative language doesn’t come easily to everyone. I have used the opportunity to write books for ALL people to teach a life lesson, a literary lesson and autism acceptance. This first book of a series is about the life lesson of attending a new school, while everyone in the class learns about autism, and figurative language. This book truly blends my two passions: English and special needs. I truly believe that we all have uniqueness that should be shared and understood. I believe that with knowledge comes understanding and with understanding come acceptance. It is my hope that every library in the world will own a copy and show that all children should be treated with kindness.  I encourage you all to "be curious, not judgmental."

Free to be a kid

As I mentioned in a previous post, we moved to a new, safe neighborhood near a park filled with children thinking that this is where our kids could be kids.

Sadly, this is not true.

The “Land I love” is not what it used to be. People are fearful of lawsuits and the laws keep piling up. So fast in fact that people can’t keep up with the latest restrictions. John Elder Robison shares his own frustration about this in his latest book Raising Cubby, where he explains how he was almost arrested for taking a picture of a subway and how his son was raked over the coals for having a chemistry lab at home.

This saddens me. When I need a reminder that my kids should be able to be kids I read Walls Are to Be Walked by Nathan Zimelman. Sometimes, I wish I owned at least twenty copies to handout to adults that need to be reminded of what it was like to be a child.

You see I remember growing up in the country and although my parents were fearful of me leaving the yard – they let me. They let me go and play with the other neighborhood kids. They let me scrap my knees and play baseball with the boys. As a result, I made mistakes like trying to slide into first base and getting a raspberry on my thigh that I thought would never heal. However, these life lessons have taught me more lessons than I would’ve ever learned staying cooped up in my yard.

I learned how to share, and take turns, and cooperate. I learned to bite my lip, to hold back tears and to be brave. I was given a small amount of independence and proved that I could make wise choices and make my parents proud. I learned so much by having a fantastic, adventurous childhood.

However, here we are today and I meet more and more parents that won’t even let their children play in their yards unless they are within twelve inches of them. For small children – I get it. They are still forming their Do’s and Don’t’s, but how are the kids going to learn trust and independence if no one allows it until  age 16 or later at college.

Has anyone thought about the fact that if you gave the kids some responsibility before they turn 16 that they might know how to properly act when the time comes?

Instead we smother them only to release them to the lions at 16 or at 18 when sent away to college to deal with everyday important moral and monetary choices. What happens – they fail! Why? This is what happens when they have had no experience in making small choices.

If it is our job to parent, then teach them the values and the principles in which you believe. Then let them put the principles into practice, watch and instruct, but eventually you need to let go and let them make choices.  Otherwise, you are telling them – I do not trust you to make your own informed decisions. You are not worthy of making your own choices. I remember your mistakes and don’t believe you can ever grow and improve from your past.

What kind of psychological damage do you think this will create?

You might as well take a boot and step all over their self-esteem.

I have become accustomed to brushing off what other people say about my children and about my parenting. However, I've never been one to remain silent. 

I wish I could raise my children in the country as I tried to do when they were first born but I believe my husband has a right to not sit in traffic for three hours a day. Three hours that he could be spending with his family. So we moved closer to where my husband has to work cutting his commute time, and increasing family time. I fear I made a huge mistake!

I had a neighbor tell me that they are worried my kids will get hit by a car. We live at the end of a dead end road. Hit by a car - while playing in their yard? Umm. I guess that's a risk I'm willing to take? The only time my children are in the road is when we have to cross the street to the sidewalk and I am with them. Yes, I let my six year old cross the dead end road to the sidewalk by herself with me watching from the front porch. Before she goes out we go over the steps. Stop. Look and listen. Then cross quickly, no stopping to talk to a friend, hit your sister or pick something up. I actually questioned my free range thinking about teaching my daughter to cross the street safely and what I came to conclude is that if the bus company thinks my daughter is old enough to cross the street then apparently I'm not alone in my thinking.

One of her favorite science concoctions lemon juice mixed with baking soda.

To me it makes no clear sense. I have neighbors that don't even let their children play in their yard. They drive them to the park that is a half mile away. That is their choice and I respect their decision and their parental concern. So I ask, that they respect my decision in letting my children play outside (especially my Aspergian daughter who would live outside if I let her). They are being watched. However, I let my children climb walls, and I let them do chemistry experiments with my supervision because I know that soon enough they will try these without me. So at least I can show them how to do it safely in hopes that if they decide to try it themselves that they will use the safety techniques I taught them.

In my mind, walls are to be walked and I am going to let my kids be kids and act like kids as long as they are kids because childhood is gone way too quickly.

My daughters playing on rock walls.