The Hiker Mama

Category: Education

  • Book Review: The Bluebird Effect, and Interview with Julie Zickefoose

    Book Review: The Bluebird Effect, and Interview with Julie Zickefoose

    I was recently approached by the publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to review a new book by Julie Zickefoose – The Bluebird Effect: Uncommon Bonds with Common Birds.  When we opened the package, we all gasped at the beauty of the illustrations.  The first thing that struck me was the heft of the book – the…

  • Nature Rocks Summer Activity Guide

    Nature Rocks Summer Activity Guide

    Summer is finally getting under way here in our neck of the woods (though we’ve had one of the coldest Junes on record…again…) and we are thinking of how to fill the longer days.  Of course we go out hiking a lot, but sometimes we need a little boost of ideas to help us connect…

  • Seattle By Foot Kid’s Tour – An Urban Adventure

    Seattle By Foot Kid’s Tour – An Urban Adventure

    Normally this blog is about getting kids out into nature, but on Thursday we had the chance for a different kind of hike.  The good folks at ParentMap asked me to review the brand new kid’s walking tour of Seattle put on by the company Seattle by Foot. We began our adventure by taking the…

  • What we’ve been up to

    What we’ve been up to

    “The days they pass so quickly now, the nights are seldom long.”  John Denver sings this in one of his songs, and I think it describes the life of a mother very well.  The days have filled with activities and outings, trips out of town and gatherings with friends.  I have several things to share…

  • Family Fun Day at the University of Washington

    Family Fun Day at the University of Washington

    Last weekend (the day before Mother’s Day) we went to an event put on by the school of Earth and Space Sciences at the University of Washington.  They had two rooms of tables set up with displays and hands-on activities covering various topics in geology, physics, rocketry, soil science, space science, and others.  There were…

  • Book Review: Peterson Field Guide to Moths of NE North America

    Book Review: Peterson Field Guide to Moths of NE North America

    I recently received a package in the mail of three books from the publisher (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) to review.  One of them was Peterson Field Guide to Moths of Northeastern North America, by David Beadle and Seabrooke Leckie.  We flipped through, entranced by the full-color photos of hundreds of moths.  The introduction to the Guide…

  • Bird Note Podcasts

    Bird Note Podcasts

    When we go on long drives, we bring a lot of things along for the kids to do – coloring, books, stuffed animals, paper and pencils.  We also like listening to podcasts to pass the time. One of our favorites is Bird Note, a local production on one of our NPR stations.  Each 2-minute show…