Nature Play – Page 2 – Suburban Nature Explorations

Nature Play, Roberts Regional Park, Oakland

One of our favorite parks for play is Roberts Regional Park in the Oakland Hills. This park, nestled in the redwoods, has something for everyone. First, if you have a child, the play structure here is among the best in the Bay Area (and it’s barrier free / wheelchair accessible). But other than that, theContinue reading “Nature Play, Roberts Regional Park, Oakland”

Look for Lizards

As the weather has been warming up, we’ve been seeing more and more lizards on our walks. I believe these little guys (they are about 3-5 inches long) are Western Fence Lizards. We have them all over the place here in the East Bay. Maybe your child(ren) would like to go on a walk toContinue reading “Look for Lizards”

Family Hike, Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve, Oakland

After several days stuck home due to sickness, my husband, son, and I headed out today for a short hike through the Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve in the Oakland Hills. The 1.7 mile Huckleberry Path seemed about the right distance, and I’ve heard from many sources that it’s a great hike to do with aContinue reading “Family Hike, Huckleberry Botanic Regional Preserve, Oakland”

Urbia Adventures: Exploring Nature in San Francisco

A friend recently told me about some fun-looking educational treasure hunting booklets created and sold through the Urbia Adventure League. These booklets were created based upon the concept of letterboxing (which I wrote about last week), but add so much more. Each booklet has at least ten pages packed full of information and activities designedContinue reading “Urbia Adventures: Exploring Nature in San Francisco”

Nature Walk, Redwood Regional Park, Oakland

My favorite spot in the San Francisco East Bay to take kids for a nature walk is Redwood Regional Park, but, for a variety of reasons, we haven’t visited the park for a few months. We had a break in the rain late this week, so we headed to the park for a walkContinue reading “Nature Walk, Redwood Regional Park, Oakland”

Letterboxing: The Search for the Gingerbread Man

I’m happy to report that our first letterboxing experience was (mostly) a success. For our first outing, I wanted to do a search that was, 1) relatively easy, and 2) close to home. After searching on letterboxing.org for boxes hidden in Dublin, California, I was glad to find there was a box hidden in DublinContinue reading “Letterboxing: The Search for the Gingerbread Man”

Letterboxing: Getting Ready for the Hunt

Letterboxing has been around forever (well, at least, a few hundred years), but I just learned about it within the past year. Though I’ve been interested in trying it out with my son, it somehow seemed a bit overwhelming just to get started. But now I’m ready to begin. If you’re new to letterboxing, likeContinue reading “Letterboxing: Getting Ready for the Hunt”

Sticks, Rocks, Water… and Friends

I’m convinced that all a kid needs to have fun in nature is a stick, some rocks, a body of water, and a friend or two (or five) to play with. Nothing more. Photos taken this morning at Shadow Cliffs Regional Park, Pleasanton.

Exploring Nature with Your Baby: 6 Tips

The sight of leaves blowing in the wind, the scent of flowers, the feel of grass, the sound of bird song… these are just a few of the wonderful outdoor sensory experiences available for any baby to enjoy. Getting outside is good for both baby and parent… the more often, the better. WhenContinue reading “Exploring Nature with Your Baby: 6 Tips”