Air Plants are the perfect plants for kids to explore gardening

Caring for your air plants There are many varieties of air plants, the one shown here and in The Out Of This World Air Plant Kids Gift Box is Tillandsia Ionantha. This little plant doesn’t grow in soil as it will probably be too wet and rot and they don’t have roots. Instead, soak new air plants in water for 30 minutes, let them dry, and then spritz them once a week to keep them healthy and growing. And some air plants may even bloom. Don’t place the plants in full sun as they will dry out quickly and possibly burn the leaves.

Kids will love to show off their plants to family and friends. Set plants on sea shells found on vacation, or use the sea urchin shell provided in The Out Of This World Air Plant Kids Gift Set and either set the air plant in the hole or hang it upside down to look like a jellyfish. The options are endless, such as sitting them on small logs or sticks, carving out the top of a wine cork and sitting the air plant on top, creating a layered colored-sand vase, and more.

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After dinner, sit around the campfire and tell stories, sing songs or see who can find constellations in the night sky the quickest. The hours pass by quickly when you enjoy time with your family, watching the flames dance and change colors. And to make the night even more special, break out the fixings for s’mores. Get creative on how you make your s’more. Maybe add strawberries, bananas, or even chocolate hazelnut spread. The sky’s the limit; if you like it, go ahead and make it the way you want.

One of my favorite variations on the s’more is a take on the traditional one. But instead of graham crackers, use two chocolate chip cookies with a toasted marshmallow, peanut butter, and chocolate hazelnut spread. Or you can use a chocolate bar instead of the hazelnut spread if you prefer. In The Outdoor Kid Happy Camper gift box, I’ll share a few favorite s’more recipes, and you’ll get an expandable s’more fork to help roast your marshmallows. Of course, if you, your kids, and your family create a true s’more masterpiece, we would love to see pictures or hear about it. You can post them on The Outdoor Kid Facebook page.

The Outdoor Kid Happy Camper gift box is a wonderful gift that will help your child explore the great outdoors and will provide hours of fun and learning. The time you spend with kids learning, exploring, and having fun will benefit them for their lifetime.

Happy Camping!

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The Outdoor Kids Seed Starting Kits are educational and fun!

If you don’t have one of The Outdoor Kid Kits, you can still order them and receive them in time to learn how to grow seeds. But, you can get seeds, soilless potting mix, and the other items at your local garden center or home improvement store, too. The key is to make sure your seeds have the right conditions to sprout and grow. A warm, sunny windowsill, a mister to water until they sprout, and a lot of love are what it takes to succeed. Also, make sure the potting mix doesn’t stay too wet, or your seeds may rot.

Egg cartons, yogurt cups, and more

You can use many different items to start your seeds in, such as cardboard egg cartons, yogurt cups, cottage cheese containers, and more. Make sure to poke holes in the bottom of the containers so water can drain and your seeds won’t rot.

The perfect activity for friends and the entire family

Growing flowers, vegetables, and fruit is fun and rewarding for the entire family and friends. There’s satisfaction in growing your flowers and food. You’ll have a smile on your face when you go to the garden or on the patio or deck and snip a flower for a vase or pick fresh tomatoes for dinner. And fruits and veggies are fresh and better tasting than you can sometimes get at the store.

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We just launched our first kid’s gift box perfect for getting kids outdoors in the backyard, campground, or woods. The gift box is full of fun activities, great products, and hours of fun. But, more importantly, it will start kids on the path to exploring the lifelong love of camping. So order yours today for the child in your life!

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Create wonderful memories

I think some of my best memories are camping with my kids and grandkids. Camping in a tent, cabin, or camper doesn’t really matter. It’s getting out in nature and spending time with those you love and teaching them the skills they need to do this with their kids and grandkids someday. Gathering sticks for kindling and learning how to build the perfect, safe fire. If you have a little patience with kids, they can learn almost anything given the opportunity. How to cast a fishing pole, throw a frisbee, cook breakfast for the family, and more.

There are so many things for kids and families to do when camping

I love cooking while camping. Breakfast tastes so much better made early in the morning, either on the grill or over a fire. If your kids like hamburgers, carrots, and potatoes, foil packet dinners are fun to make and easy to cook. Take a large piece of foil, enough to hold all of the fixin’s and form a pocket. Have your kids patty the hamburgers and then carefully chop carrots, potatoes and onions. Place the hamburger in the middle of the foil, top with veggies and potatoes, and a little salt and pepper. Bring the sides of the foil together and fold over. Then fold the bottom up, so you form a packet. Seal the packet enough to hold a little water and so juices don’t leak out. Finish folding the top down to seal the packet and place it on the grill. Cook for 20 minutes, flip and cook another 20 minutes. Open the packets, add condiments if you want, or dump everything on a plate. It’s easy, fun, and tasty.

The Outdoor Kid Happy Camper Kids Gift Box

The Outdoor Kid has something to help start or continue the lifelong love of camping. The Happy Camper Kids Gift Box is packed full of great camping products and fun activities. A star guide and compass to help kids find the North Star and Big and Little Dippers. A scavenger hunt for hours of fun, a backpack for carrying your child’s treasures, and more.

Nighttime is a special time camping under the stars

When the sun goes down and the kids start to settle in for the night, it’s a great time to have lasting conversations and continue the fun. Who doesn’t love sitting around the campfire, roasting marshmallows for yummy s’mores, staring up at the night sky? People for centuries have watched the stars, spied shooting stars, and thought about how vast this universe really is. Help kids learn how to spot the North Star, and you’ll always know which direction is north, and you won’t be lost. Then challenge them with finding constellations, such as Leo, Aquarius, Hercules, and more. Use the handy star guide and sample s’more recipes in the gift box to help you on your path to fun around the campfire.

Cherish the moments

Enjoy your time with your kids, family, and friends. Relax and enjoy the moments, especially the unexpected ones, which will bring laughs for years to come.

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Fishing in the great outdoors

As a young boy, I still remember my Grandpa and Grandma taking me fishing to lakes, rivers, and small trout streams in northern Iowa. Grandma would pack a lunch for all of us. We’d load up the car with fishing gear, folding chairs, Grandma, and the picnic basket, and off we’d go. Grandpa was great at teaching me the art of casting, watching the bobber, and setting the hook and reeling in the fish when the time came. Of course, it was after a lot of casts into trees and shrubs.

Here’s a tip: many kids’ fishing poles come with a rubber element to attach to the string. This helps kids practice casting and reeling without the worry of getting a hook stuck in a finger. If you don’t have one of those, you can use something like a rubber washer. Anything that has a little weight but won’t break a window if your child hasn’t quite gotten the handle of casting. I bought each of our grandkids a pole that’s small and easy to handle. You can find them at many sporting goods stores or on Amazon.com.

I believe one of the key tools of fishing is patience. You throw your line in the water and wait, and wait, and wait some more. Not every trip to the lakes and streams will be a success. But when you feel the tug or tap on the line, it’s definitely worth the wait. Parents, patience is just as important for you as it is for the kids. FIshing is a great learning experience and, after all, needs to be fun and exciting to build a lifetime of skills and enjoyment.

What type of fish are easier to catch?

Trout fishing requires a lot of patience and may not be the best way to teach small children how to fish. However, fishing for perch, bluegills, and sunfish on lakes or ponds is the perfect fishing experience. From the bank or in a boat will allow kids to cast and watch for the bobber to bob. And remember, now and then, you need to look around, find bugs, toads, rocks, sticks, and other fun stuff.

Savor the time you have with family and friends while fishing. It’s not always about the fish you catch. It’s about the time you spend together and the memories that will last a lifetime. Enjoy your day fishing!

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Or, like this little guy, August, start flower and vegetable seeds and plant gardens for gorgeous blooms and tasty food. Gardening can be rewarding and healthy for kids of all ages. Learning how to grow your own fresh fruits and vegetables for cooking or giving to others means healthier food because you know the vegetables come from your own garden. It’s better for your health, too, because you’re getting outside and enjoying the sunshine and fresh air. It’s proven that gardening can and does help your well-being. Getting outside in the garden also improves self-esteem and teaches you a lifelong hobby that brings joy to you and others.

Did you know you don’t need a huge garden to grow flowers and vegetables? I have two raised beds, 4 ft. x 6 ft. I plant peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, peas, radishes, and more. You can also plant in containers. You can plant all kinds of flowers in containers, but you can also plant veggies and fruits. Look for seed packets and plants with either container or patio listed. These plants are bred to be smaller but still produce lots of food. Plus, you can move the containers to sunny spots in your yard or on the deck or patio.

So get out and enjoy this Earth Day and every day. If you want to know more about earth day, visit www.earthday.org for information and ways you can contribute to this wonderful planet we live in.

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Sign-up today for your chance to win a Green Thumb Club Kid’s Seed-Starting Gift box. The lucky child who receives this gift will have hours of fun planting, nurturing, and finally, seeing the flowers bloom and harvesting the fruit. And there’s a fun scavenger hunt, compass, magnifying glass, and The Outdoor Kid sticker for added fun. One winner will be chosen at random from all entries received. We will reach out and notify the winner after the giveaway ends on April 21, 2021, using the email address provided at the time of entry. GOOD LUCK & check out the other great gift boxes on this site!

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Our new Funtastic Mini Container kit will help your child explore combining paint colors and using their imagination to create works of art. Then we’ll help them pot up their container, plant grass seed, water, and care for their new creations. When they are done with the grass seed, rinse out the container and use it for other seeds, small plants, or for storing other treasures.

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A little about seeds

Seeds have different germination times. That means the time it takes for them to break out of their seed coat, sprout, and grow. The packet your seeds came in will have a lot of useful information on it, such as days to germination, how deep to plant, how far to space the seeds, and more. It’s a good idea to read your packet and keep it for future reference. And, if you like the flowers, vegetables, and fruit, you’ll know the name so you can plant them again.

Start seeds in soilless potting mix and not dirt from outside. It has everything your seeds need for a good start. Soil from outside may not be clean enough and too heavy for starting them indoors. You can plant them in peat pots. There are various sizes of these biodegradable (they break down in the soil) pots. You plant in the peat pot, and when the seedlings are big enough, you plant the pot and the seedling in the ground or container. There are also plastic flats and trays you can fill with potting mix. When the seedlings are big enough, you carefully take them out of the flat and plant them. Peat pots and flats are available through Amazon.com or home improvement stores.

What else can you use for seedlings?

Most anything can be used to start seeds: eggshells, avocado skins, yogurt containers, and more. The important thing is to have holes in the container’s bottom so the seeds don’t get too wet and rot. Poke holes in the bottom of plastic and metal containers, such as yogurt cups and soup cans. Have fun with it and play around with different containers to see what works best for you. Then, plant your seedlings in the ground or a container, give them some care and love, and enjoy the flowers, vegetables, and fruit you grew from seed.

NOTE: As an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases.

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