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KIDS + GARDENS = AMAZING COMBO | PART ONE

4/30/2019

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We're going to cover a lot of ~ground~ in these posts. Make sure you hit up all 3 parts!:

Why kids + gardens are amazing (Part 1)
Good plant choices for littles (Part 1)
Basic how-tos of gardening (Part 2)
Tips and tricks for including the kids at any age (Part 2)
BONUS: Mini STEM lessons you can incorporate (Part 3)

Reasons Why Gardening with Kids is SO GOOD.

- Planting veggies with your kids gives them a vested interest in naturally healthy foods. Many kids who wouldn't dream of touching a cherry tomato on their own terms will happily grab one to munch from a plant they've grown themselves.
- Kids will often expand their own palate through curiosity. My little one was eating cilantro by the handful the other day. He didn't start there, but he's been sampling things from our backyard for years now and he's a fairly broad eater.
- Like any chore, having responsibility (watering, helping dig the hole, etc) builds confidence and character.
- There are LOTS of natural STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math) lessons to be found in the garden (See Part 3). Most of them happen with little or no planning (yay!).
Good Kid-Friendly Plant Choices (especially for beginners)

Veggies
Veggies are my FAVORITE things to plant. I grew up largely in suburbia, and the fact that I can grow my own food is MAGICAL to me. (I can hear all of the rural farm kids are snickering...I'm ok with it..HA). It took our small-town farmer's market in college to open my eyes to the joys of growing food. There is an amazing variety of plants out there that you've never heard of if you get your produce exclusively from the grocery store.

Good choices: I am a big believer in planting things that kids can go out and grab from the garden and eat on the spot. Here are some of our favorite varieties...
Tomatoes (need full sun - 8+ hours a day - plant in early May):
- I LOVE the "Sweet 100" or "Sweet Million" variety of grape/cherry tomatoes. They taste amazing, grow like crazy, and produce lots of tomatoes. (Good for when my little goes on a picking frenzy and pulls every single one off before I notice him). These are fairly easy to find at garden centers like Suburban Lawn and Garden or Family Tree.
- We like big ("slicer") varieties of tomatoes too, but they can be a bit more fickle. If you're starting out, I would strongly suggest a grape/cherry variety because they're more forgiving. Sometimes you wait for weeks and weeks for one big tomato to be ready, only to find a bug made it home right before it was ready. Plants with small tomatoes produce a larger number of tomatoes, so you have better odds.

Peppers (need full sun - 8+ hours a day - plant in early May):
- We really enjoy the lunchbox varieties of small peppers. These are sweet peppers that grow a few inches long and are easy to pick and eat for little ones. These are also easy to find in garden centers and come in a variety of fun colors.
- Bell peppers are also a fickle crop in Kansas City. They are hard to grow for beginners, and never seem to turn out like the ones in the store. If you're a bell pepper expert, send me your tips!

Cucumbers (need full sun - 8+ hours a day - plant in early May):
- Cucumbers are happiest when they have lots of space to climb. They are a vine that can grow wonderfully if given the space.
- We don't have a specific favorite variety, but we tend to look for ones labelled "burpless" and "spineless." Some cucumbers grow with little spines on them (weird!). I brush them off with a towel, but they can be off-putting to little hands.
- The birds and the bees - You can help pollinate your own cucumbers! After a vine gets big enough, it starts to produce flowers. There are two kinds: male and female. If you peek under the yellow flowers, the female flowers are attached to a tiny baby cucumber. The male flowers are not. If you take a Q-tip in the morning or early afternoon (before the flowers close up), you can transfer pollen from the males to the females by gently rubbing the Q-tip on the yellow, pollen-covered, dusty looking stigma from the male and then gently onto the same part of the female. This is especially great for brand new gardens where the local pollinators (bees and other bugs) haven't established a presence. What a great introduction to that big talk you're going to have in a few years!

Radishes (need full sun or part shade - 6+ hours a day - plant in early April or once things start to cool down again in late September):
- Ok, I know that radishes aren't the most popular little veggie because they're kind of peppery. Hear me out though...radishes can go from seed to plate in less than a month. For kids, waiting can be the hardest part of gardening, so this can be an awesome plant to use to show the progression of how things grow from seed.
- If eating whole radishes isn't your thing, take a page from the French. They eat them for breakfast sliced thin on a piece of good bread with butter and salt.
- Unless your little is a spice-lover, read the back of seed packs to find one that is described as "mild" or "sweet."
- These are better planted in the cooler months. Spring and Fall are your best bets. You can only find these in seed packs. They generally aren't available as seedlings (small plants already starting to grow).

Sugar Snap Peas (need full sun - 8+ hours a day - plant in mid-April):
- These are another pick-and-eat favorite of ours. They are great to eat whole. My kids also refer to them as "treasure peas" because you can split the pod open and find the sweet "treasure" inside. We love that added little bonus.
- These plants vine. Plant them in a sunny spot along a fence, or with something they can climb up (like a trellis).
- Some amazing pinteresty parents build tee-peas where the peas climb a tee-pee frame and you have an instant spring playhouse. So fun!
- Make sure you get "sugar snap peas" instead of "sweet peas" if you want to be able to eat the pod (easier for very little children). The sweet peas are also delightful, but the pods are tough and fibrous and not good to eat.

Sweet Potatoes (need full sun - 8+ hours a day - plant in mid May):
-These are good if you have an in-ground garden or a raised bed. They're fairly easy to grow, but take a bit of preparation and space. They don't seem to show up at garden centers until May.
-The BIG bonus of these is that kids LOVE digging them up in the fall. It's a real-life treasure hunt. Do a bit of reading on these babies, and got for it if you have the space! We've basically planted them and forgotten about them, only to dig up 40lbs of sweet potatoes in the fall from a 3x3ft raised bed. Yay!

Other Veggies
Of course, there are TONS of other amazing veggies to discover. Each has their own preferred amount of sun and time of year to be planted. I TOTALLY encourage exploration, but make sure you read up on how to treat each plant well. Through lots of trial and error (mostly error), I've finally started paying full attention to those little plastic plant markers that they stick in the pot with the plant.

Herbs
We LOVE herbs. This is the original sensory play! Even if you don't use them much to cook, they are SO wonderful for kids! My little ones love to go out and pick the leaves and smell them. They even eat some of their favorites straight off the plant from time to time.
-ALSO, these are great if you don't have dedicated yard space for a garden. Herbs grow really well in pots, so these are a great choice if there's no place for a garden.
FYI:
Annual: means you plant it at the beginning of the season and it dies at the end of the season
Perennial: means it comes back perennially. Given good care, this plant will re-grow every year. Many herbs are perennials.

Favorite varieties (Check the tags...some need full sun but others are ok with some shade):
- Basil (annual) - SO easy to find a cooking use for this. Our favorite thing to do is to make a dinner of crusty bread, fresh mozzarella, good balsamic (it's sweeter than they cheaper versions), olive oil, fresh tomatoes, fresh basil, salt and pepper (a.k.a. caprese salad). It is, hands down, one of our kids' top five favorite meals.
- Mint (SUCH a perennial) - This smells SO good, and you can make your own tea and a variety of other drinks with it. It grows PROLIFICALLY, so it's very easy to care for. That's also it's downside. It will absolutely take over whatever area you plant it in. You've been warned. My strong recommendation is that you plant this in a pot and not in your yard. Also, be on the lookout for creative varieties. You can find lemon mint, orange mint, pineapple mint, and even chocolate mint. These are really fun for kids!
- Stevia (annual) - Our kids call this "sugar leaf." Yes, it's the same stevia that is in your favorite low-sugar treats, and yes, you can make your own stevia drops with it (look online for recipes). My kids love eating this and sharing it with their friends. It is SUPER sweet and has the same mild aftertaste that stevia sweeteners have.
- Lavender (perennial) - This one just smells nice. You can harvest the pretty purple flowers for a variety of baking/home/bath product uses.  It is fairly easy to grow.
- Any other herbs! - Seriously, most any herb you find will be a winner. Go to a quality nursery (not a big box, though those are fine) for the biggest variety and let your little pick their favorites!

Flowers
There is SUCH a variety of flowers that I'm not going to go into many specifics of which to choose. Our basic method is to walk into a garden center and pick the ones that look pretty. You yard is unique, so pick varieties that fit your sun/shade setup.
- If you are going to plant in your yard (and not in a pot) and know that you have lots of bunnies around, consider covering the plant with a bit of chicken wire for a while. I have lost MANY plants to the giant population of bunnies in our neighborhood.
- These are a wonderful "instant gratification" choice for kids. Often they flowers at a garden center are already in bloom, so there's no waiting to enjoy a pretty display.
-If you're concerned about ease of caring for your flowers, Go to a nursery (not a big box) and find a worker who will give you recommendations. I have had great luck with wonderful advice-givers at many of the local KC nurseries.
- One final note: a few of the flowers found at local nurseries are beautiful but toxic (like foxglove). Do a quick internet search on your chosen varieties if your little one is in the stage where they might pick and eat the flowers.

COMING UP IN PART 2 and PART 3
Basic how-tos of gardening (Part 2)
Tips and tricks for including the kids at any age (Part 2)
BONUS: Mini STEM lessons you can incorporate (Part 3)

That's all for Part 1! Stay tuned for Part 2 and Part 3 coming soon!

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WHAT YOU CAN GET FOR FREE WITH YOUR KC MEMBERSHIPS...a KC Parent's guide to reciprocity.

3/18/2019

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Friends, lets talk about my FAVORITE x 1,000 kid-related word (besides “phase”…ha!). The R-Word. RECIPROCITY. R-E-C-I-P-R-O-C-I-T-Y. Reciprocity.

What is this magic thing, you ask? Well, if you have a membership/season pass to many of our fine KC kid-related institutions, you probably already have access to this fine benefit.

Reciprocity is when institutions (zoos, science museums, children’s museums, arboretums, etc) form a network. If you have membership at one within the network, then you get FREEEEEEEE access to any of the others in that same network! Each kind of institution has its own network, so you might belong to one or more.

EXAMPLES:
Have a SCIENCE CITY/UNION STATION membership? Use it at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. We JUST used this over spring break, and we saved $70 for our family of four (2 adults, 2 kids). The whole membership only costs $95, so it was a DEAL.
Have a KC ZOO pass? Planning your summer vacation? You can get in HALF-PRICE at the world-class zoo in Omaha! (Save $38 for a family of 4…admission is $38 instead of $76).

What about WONDERSCOPE? Check out the DELIGHTFUL museum in Topeka’s Gage Park (where you can also get half priced admission with your zoo pass at the Topeka Zoo next door). If you have a $150 membership level or higher, you get in free there too!

Overland Park ARBORETUM members? (If you’re not, you should be! We LOOOVE the hikes, train display, and nature playgrounds, and it’s very affordable). Visit the excellent Missouri Botanical Gardens this summer!

Are you planning a bigger trip this summer? Check the museums in the city/state you’re headed to, or consider a leg-stretch at a location along your road trip route! No offense, McDonalds, but running around an amazing science center for a hour ABSOLUTELY beats your PlayPlace. (Sorry-not-sorry).

Don’t have a pass, but planning a trip? Check what your ticket prices would be at any of the museums/zoos you’re planning on hitting up. Are they within the reciprocal network? Does the cost offset the price of the KC-based pass? We actually bought the Union Station/Science City pass this year because we knew we were visiting Chicago and San Francisco within the calendar year. The pass gets us well over $100 worth of admissions (just for the two days of visits to the museums we’re planning to visit in those cities) PLUS we get access to all the great stuff here in KC!
Here are some of our favorite FREE/reduced price places within a few hours of KC (and PLEASE drop your favorites in the comments if we missed some...which I know we did!):

SCIENCE CITY/UNION STATION ($95 for family of 4) gets you into: The List: https://www.astc.org/members/pdf/PassPub05_14.pdf

The Standouts:

The Exploration Place. This is in Wichita. So close!
CHICAGO: Field Museum AND Museum of Science and Industry! Both amazing and FREE using reciprocity! What a deal!
Denver Museum of Nature and Science. We had a blast here last summer. They have a killer gem and mineral collection, and tons of stuff to do!

KC ZOO Pass ($65-$200 depending on what county you live in and if you add the rides option) gets you HALF PRICE admission generally: The List: https://www.speakcdn.com/assets/2332/reciprocitychart.pdf
The Standouts:

The St. Louis Zoo. This world-class zoo has free admission already, but your KC Zoo pass will get you half price Adventure Passes. This is a great year-round zoo because it has plenty of indoor spaces. Bring a stroller, as there is lots of walking involved.
The Omaha Zoo. If you’ve never been, put this on your summer bucket list. This regularly ranks in the top 10 zoos in the world, for good reason. They also recently added a fabulous kid play area. It’s worth a weekend trip all on its own, but it can get crowded at peak times so plan a weekday trip if you can.
The Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield, MO. This is a great size to do in an afternoon, and they offer giraffe feeding for a small fee.
The Topeka Zoo. We do at least two Topeka trips a year, and we always spend most of our time at Gage Park (think a much smaller, more kid-friendly version of Swope Park). The zoo is in the park, and admission is cheap before the discount is even applied! It’s a smaller zoo, but worth a visit. ALSO, when you go, make sure you save time for a trip on the train that goes all around the park (a few dollars gets you a ~10 min ride) and the adjoining extensive playgrounds. During rose season, there is a gorgeous rose garden on site, and you MUST visit the Kansas Children’s Discovery Center.

WONDERSCOPE (must be the $150+ pass level to gain access to the ACM reciprocity program) The List: http://childrensmuseums.org/images/Reciprocal_Brochure_3419.pdf
The Standouts:

The Magic House (St. Louis) YES, PLEASE. There is basically nothing not to like about this place. It’s great for lots of ages, and you can explore it for hours. It can get crowded at peak times, so plan accordingly.
Des Moines Children’s Museum.
Omaha Children’s Museum. Make sure you also check out the zoo in town if you’re going!
Lincoln Children’s Museum. This place is a delight! It had a broad range of activities, and lots of bigger spaces to move in.
The Amazeum in Bentonville, AR. Very “sciencey," with TONS of hands-on exhibits. It’s also next door to the outstanding modern art museum, Crystal Bridges (which always has FREE admission). I do confess I struggled with keeping even one little curious/rambunctious boy “museum ready” in the art museum, BUT Crystal Bridges has a FABULOUS network of trails and art outside that’s much easier to make kid-friendly. Hotels are very modestly priced in the area. Great weekend trip from KC!

The OP ARBORETUM ($50 or $75, depending on age of your kids) gives you free access to: The List: https://www.ahsgardening.org/uploads/pdfs/2019_RAP_Members.pdf
The Standouts:

The St. Louis Botanical Gardens - Free admission to this excellent garden. You should absolutely pay the small extra fee to get access to the new children’s garden. It’s lovely and my kids spend hours there. There’s plenty of other things to do. Bring quarters to feed the fish at the koi pond.
I am POSITIVE there are other standouts, but I don’t have experience with any others. If you know of any that are great for kids, send us a message and we will add them!

TIPS on USING RECIPROCITY:

Always bring your ID and PASS because they don’t magically know you’re a member unless you can prove it.
Always check the relevant membership list. They can change slightly from year-to-year.
Read the fine print. Some individual museums/zoos/etc. make their own rules. Make sure you read the details and know what to expect. The zoo memberships are especially detailed. Some allow free admission. Others give you half off. Some passes get you bonus stuff. For instance, the St. Louis Science Center is free admission all the time, but your Union Station pass gets you free parking up close, and free admission to some of their paid exhibits (including the Discovery Room, which is great for pre-schoolers).
90 Mile Rule. Most of these institute a “90 Mile Rule” where you can only use the freebies if the museum you have membership to is 90+ miles as the crow flies from the freebie museum. Each place enforces this differently. Call ahead if you have questions!
Extra Credit. If you’re a planner like me, consider calling the places you’re planning to visit ahead of your trip. This allows you to confirm the reciprocity and takes out guesswork.

Purpose Play always wants to make great play easy for you! We hope you are inspired to go out and get the most out of your memberships AND we hope you join us for this month’s pop-up play event!

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Sensory Christmas Countdown-The Birth of Jesus

12/8/2018

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I am so excited to share with you something fun that we did to prepare our hearts and get excited for Christmas this year. Our family is Christian, and so it was fun to celebrate our love of Jesus and sensory play with these activities. It was amazing to see how much our kids learned (4 Year Old Twins & 2 Year Old). Their focus was much better when participating in sensory play while we discussed the Birth of Jesus. During the sensory play we had discussions, sung songs, read our favorite Christmas books, and read from Luke 2.

Note on the Bins: For most of the bins I used stuff that I had laying around the house. My goal was to make it fun, quick, and inexpensive. All of the bins I prepared in less than 5 minutes and my girls enjoyed helping me put them together.

Day 1: Angel Sensory Bin
Contents: Marshmallows, tin foil, and cotton balls
Discussion: Angels are God's messengers and the news that angels told Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds in the Bible.

Day 2: Travel and Census Bin
Contents: People Figurines, Coins, Plane, Train, Car
Base: Noodles
Discussion: We counted people (basic concept of census), found coins in the sensory bin (represented taxes and reason for the census), and discussed Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem and how it was a long journey because they did not travel by plane, car, or train.

Day 3: No Room In Inn (Knock, Knock Sound Bin)
Base: Popcorn (awesome crunchy sound)
Contents: Bells, Pots and Pans, Spoons
**You could do anything that you have around the house that makes noise
Discussion: We talked about how there was no house or hotel that Mary and Joseph could stay in. I had the kids "knock" the different items together and I would say there was no room in the inn.

Day 4: Manger Scene (Where the Animals Live is Where Jesus was Born)
Base: Oats
Contents: Animals, Person Figurine to be baby Jesus, Yellow Ribbon to be Straw, Lego Block to be the manger, tissue paper to swaddle baby Jesus, popsicle sticks and Lincoln logs to build fences or mangers.
Discussion: We did a lot of singing "Away in a Manger" and "Silent Night." We talked about how baby Jesus was born where animals lived.

Day 5: Baby Washing (Could substitute with Baby Swaddling if you do not have a baby doll you can "wash")
Contents: Water, sponges, spray bottle, and soap
Discussion: We talked about baby Jesus being born. We washed the baby and then swaddled the baby. We talked about what a gift babies are.

Day 6: Shepherds Sensory Bin
Base: Marshmallows
Contents: Candy Canes, bells, and Cotton Balls
Discussion: We talked about shepherds and how their job was to watch sheep. We also talked about how candy canes are shaped similar to the staffs that shepherds used. We discussed angels appearing and telling the shepherds the good news.  We also talked about how exciting it was that the shepherds got to visit baby Jesus.

Day 7: Star in the Sky
Base: Shaving Cream
Content: Foam Stars
Discussion: We talked about how there was a bright star in the sky the night Jesus was born.  I introduced the Wise Men and talked about how they would follow the star to find Jesus.

Day 8: Bright Star
Base: Yellow Jello
Content: Foam Stars
Discussion: I used this day as kind of a fun review day and went over everything we had discussed.  We also talked more about the special star and Wise Men.

Day 9: Perfect Gifts (Our Perfect Gift)
Base: Heart Noodles
Content: Baby Jesus
Discussion: I wrapped up a cardboard box filled with heart noodles and Baby Jesus.  The kids unwrapped it and we talked about how at Christmas time we receive gifts.  I then discussed how Jesus is our greatest gift.  We talked about Jesus being God’s Son.  I also talked about the gifts the Wise Men brought Jesus.

Day 10: Birthday Party for Jesus Sensory Bin
Base: Rice
Content: Candles, Cupcake Tins, Cupcake Liners, Sprinkle Bottles (Anything Birthday Related)
Discussion: We talked about how Christmas is the celebration of Jesus’s birthday.  We sung happy birthday to Jesus and talked about how fun it is to celebrate birthdays.

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A New Adventure

5/22/2018

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We are excited to announce our new venture called Purpose Play LLC. We (Amy, Maureen, and Molly) are thrilled to offer unique activities for kids. Stay tuned for more updates on events and all things Purpose Play. Thanks for joining us on this journey.

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KIDS + GARDENS = AMAZING COMBO | PART ONE

WHAT YOU CAN GET FOR FREE WITH YOUR KC MEMBERSHIPS...a KC Parent's guide to reciprocity.

Sensory Christmas Countdown-The Birth of Jesus

A New Adventure

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