The Fresh Air Friends

10/04/2023

Pop Up Playdate today!

Join our playdate group for a pop-up play date today at Piney Run Park. We're meeting by the Nature Center at 10 am.

Piney Run does have an entrance fee - $6/per Carroll County car or $12/out of county car

Hope you can join us!

09/30/2023

love this!

This is your sign to close your laptop and go outside. (Your body will thank you! 💙🌲)

Watch a new episode of with Baratunde Thurston tonight at 8/7c!

08/15/2023

Registration just opened for my Fall season of Tinkergarten classes! This Fall will be a 6-week session from October 4th - November 6th. Early bird rate is available until September 🙂

More information can be found here: https://thefreshairfriends.mailchimpsites.com/classes

If in-person classes don't work for you this Fall, you can sign up for Tinkergarten Anywhere! This gives you access to 10 video lessons, along with all of the play ideas, book suggestions, and resources for caregivers that you would normally receive in an in-person class. Here's my leader link for the discounted rate ($5/month): http://www.tinkergarten.com/rc/jeng0ebb

06/15/2023

Friends, check out this local mudfest that is taking place this weekend! We can't make it, but I wish we could! Fun for the whole family 😁

Pictured: a dino about to be placed for mud fun

https://montgomeryparks.org/events/mudfest/?fbclid=IwAR1WJxuVTq8mhSvWeJ7VlcKxumEjbjKt9lyBrKd5yDHsW9ezz8awwwIKz2A

06/07/2023

Sharing a resource as we start to see some haze in our area from wildfire smoke...you can use airnow.gov to help you determine if the air quality near you is safe for outdoor play!

AirNow is your one-stop source for air quality data. Our recently redesigned site highlights air quality in your local area first, while still providing air quality information at state, national, and world views.

05/31/2023

One last chance to try a free spring Tinkergarten class, on Tuesday, June 6th!

Classes are held from 2-3 pm at Wildwood Park in Mount Airy.

Pre-registration is required, register at: https://form.jotform.com/231028367220144

05/25/2023

This week at Tinkergarten, we pretended to be creatures of prey and predators in the wild to imagine what they might need...then we built bunny hideouts for our Forest Bunnies 🐰 Check out our creations in the pictures!

Explorers can build on this play by building a real rabbit refuge, either in a yard or nearby park:

🥕Gather small branches and twigs, as well as rabbit snacks (clover, dandelions, carrots, lettuce, grass clippings)

🏠Pick a place where rabbits will feel safe (quiet, without much activity)

🌳 Put the longest branches in the middle of the spot, tangling them up. Rabbits prefer branches jumbled together. Try to make a pile at least 3 feet high. Poke smaller branches and twigs into the jumbled pile of sticks.

🥬Place a small amount (no more than 2 handfuls) of rabbit munchies around the edge of the rabbit refuge.

🐰Now for the most fun - stay away from the refuge and see if any bunnies appear! The best times to see them would be either early in the morning or near dusk.

If you try this at home, share your progress here! ⬇

05/25/2023

Thank you to everyone who joined our playgroup this morning! I think we had close to 20 kids at play, it was a great group.

2 out of my 3 kids are thoroughly worn out and solidly napping, so I call that a win 😁

I'll announce summer events soon - if you have a favorite outdoor spot that you think would be great for a playgroup, comment here or send me a message!

05/24/2023

What can be a source of hours of fun play this summer? Rocks. YES, rocks!

here are some play ideas:
- turn the rock into a creature and use mud/water/nature treasures to build a creature habitat. In one of our Tinkergarten classes, we made mud homes for pig rocks
- turn the rocks into feeling friends to practice identifying and naming feelings
- "paint" the rock, using paintbrushes or sponges and water. Watch how the rocks change color with water and what they look like as they dry
- move the rocks from one place to another (little ones in particular LOVE to transport items)
- create shapes and art - spirals and hearts have been some favorite rock creations in my Tinkergarten classes

For students that are learning reading or math, you can use rocks to practice:
- counting
- grouping
- spelling

Parents, do your kids also love playing with rocks? Share your play ideas here! ⬇️

05/23/2023

Looking through old Tinkergarten photos... I LOVE seeing the joy on kids' faces in class when they are engaged in play!

Children explored their sense of sight and painting with items found in nature at Tinkergarten at Wildwood Park in Mt. Airy, Wednesday July 20, 2022. Tinkergarten (https://tinkergarten.com/leaders/jen.grieb) is a national program for children from 18 months to 8 years old. With nature as the classro...

05/22/2023

Update: Registration is closed. Looking forward to seeing everyone on Thursday!

Join us for a playgroup this THURSDAY, May 25th!

We will meet and play at the new playscape at Piney Run, from 9 - 11 am.

The only fee is park admission. For those without a park pass, the cost is $6/car for Carroll County vehicles and $12/car for out of county vehicles.

There are many families registered to play and spots are still available!

Sign up at: https://form.jotform.com/231028367220144