Nature Girl

Our daughter is seriously intrigued by science, and it is an interest that we try to encourage whenever and however possible.  We try to watch a lot of nature shows with her, because animals are hugely popular in her world at the moment.

Ditto for dinosaurs.

We watched a National Geographic documentary last week on paleontologists and how they study fossils -- from finding a skeleton in Mongolia to its transport back to the US to be assembled and studied at the Museum of Natural History in NYC.  (Since we visited there a couple of  years ago, it was very exciting because the dinosaur exhibits there were a huge hit, and you got to see a brief glimpse of them in the documentary.)  It was fascinating to watch the start to finish dinosaur discovery to assembly, and even more so to see how mesmerized she was and curious about so many of the things that occurred.

The whys and hows are really interesting for her, and her love of learning continues to grow -- which makes us really, really happy.

Lots Of Surprises

One of the coolest things I've discovered about Yellowstone in my research thus far?  There are native pelicans there.

You don't really think of pelicans as an inland bird, and yet there they are. 

I booked a couple of touring excursions for us while we are there -- they apparently fill up really quickly, too, and I wanted to be sure we got these.  One is a driving/walking tour of the Firehole Basin -- we'll get to see all the geysers, hot terraces, and bubbling mud pits one family could possibly dream of on this, and do so with someone who has a working knowledge of geology which is evenbetter.

The second is one I booked for myself at Mr. ReddHedd's urging:  it's a way-too-early in the morning photography "safari," which they try to keep to small numbers with an instructor who goes along to help you improve. 

Between now and then, the plan is that I'll have gotten myself a decent DSLR camera and worked on taking photos with it.  Am still looking at pros and cons of several models, but am having lots of fun with it at the moment without even having gotten a camera.

If anyone has suggestions, pros or cons, about a camera for a beginner who wants to do some nature photos, perhaps a few landscapes, maybe some decent macros, and just plain have some creative fun along the way?  Please let me know.

But today?  I have to run over to the Steptoe & Johnson old office building and spend several hours inventorying furniture that is being donated to St. Mary's (The Peanut's elementary school). 

Books On Tape For Long Driving Trips With Kids

As the plans for our driving trek next summer begin to take shape, that nagging feeling of "are we there yet"-itis keeps cropping up.

If you have a child, or have ever traveled with one for even a short drive, you know what I mean.

We've been thinking about possible book on tape ideas that will be interesting for all of us.  The Peanut has issues with car sickness, and I don't want to overload us with too many "read it to yourself" activities because of that.  (We're also going to give SeaBands a try, along with a couple of other things between now and then to see if we can come up with something that eases it back without the sleepy hangover that she gets from motion sickness tablets.)

In a prior thread, Suz suggested the Little House books, which is a great idea since we are planning to visit several of the places that the Ingalls family lived in through the years.  But since we are already reading those books to get through as many as we can between now and next June, I think re-plowing already read territory might prove to be a fatal error.

Mr. ReddHedd and I have been talking about several of the classics:  Treasure Island, Heidi, The Secret Garden, Swiss Family Robinson, Chronicles of Narnia, etc.

Fighting boredom in the car for The Peanut is a huge one for us.  And tackling it in a myriad of ways will go a long, long way to keeping momma sane and happy, too.

As we all know, when momma's not happy, no one is happy.

So help me out here, and let me know what has -- or has not -- worked for you in the past.  Any suggestions from folks who have done this with their own kids for a long road trip?  Or just suggestions for books that work well as a book on tape for a soon-to-be 8 year old?  Would love to hear your suggestions!