The Wise Parent Wise Kid Summer Series conversation: Geocaching

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The Wise Parent Wise Kid Summer Series conversation: Geocaching

We had the fun pleasure of connecting and chatting with these two. A nurse practitioner and her daughter, a 2-grade teacher, who love to go geocaching. It is a great low – no cost way to get outside, explore your local area or a new area and discover treasure!

Geocaching actually is the ‘21^st century’ treasure hunting experience based on Letter-boxing, a tried and true and ‘very un-techy’ activity created in 1854 in England!

MH: Hi I’m Maureen Havrilla

FTF: Share a few fun facts about yourself so we can get to know you:

MH:  Wife, Mother, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Runner.  I love to travel and camp, and love all things Disney.

Passion:  Kids!

Favorite Foods: Food! And chocolate – it’s a food group! And coffee.  And chocolate and coffee together

Favorite thing to do to take a break: read, take a run, crochet – and always travel!

Favorite Quote/ Quip: “Venture outside your comfort zone.  The rewards are worth it.” -Rapunzel, Tangled

I am most proud of: my kids, they have become fabulous adults

I wish I could: travel more!

CH: And I am Casey Havrilla

FTF: Share a few fun facts about yourself so we can get to know you:

CH: I am a teacher of second graders, a Native Texan, and a huge hockey fan.

Passion:  Teaching our future generation a love of learning.

Favorite Foods: baked potatoes, crème brulee, and anything that involves a caprese salad

Favorite thing to do to take a break: cooking/baking, reading

Favorite Quote/ Quip: “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”.  -Wayne Gretzy

I am most proud of: all of my students

I wish I could: multitask and be in more than one place at the same time

FTF: What is GEOCACHING?

Casey and Maureen: a real world treasure hunt! It’s a great way to get out with your family and friends and experience something new.  It’s the thrill of the hunt and the feeling of excitement when you find the cache – big or small!

FTF: How did you get started:

Casey: My best friend got me started

Maureen: Casey! And I have since shared with cousins and friends!

FTF: How can a family get started with geocaching?

Casey: Download a Geocache app, I use the official Geocaching app. I can get badges for collecting different states.

Maureen: I have a different app, but they all show about the same thing. Mine was free, but some have small charges.   

FTF: What are some of your best tips for geocaching for families?

Casey: Don’t give up, keep looking.

Maureen: whenever you travel, look for available caches – makes traveling interesting and fun

FTF: What is a good age to start geocaching?

Casey: if they can walk and talk independently, they should be able to understand with a parent’s help.

Maureen: I have shared with two friends with kids, one had a 9 year old daughter who loved it, and one had a three boys, the oldest two were 4 and 8 and they had fun.  Walking is a big part, so at least able to hike a little.

FTF: So far, what has been your ‘favorite find’?

Casey: The one in Central Park

Maureen: The one we have yet to find at Inks Lake – still looking!

FTF: Have you found any caches outside of Texas:

Casey and Maureen: Yes! That is what makes it fun, we check where ever we travel, even on the way to the grocery store!

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Fun Facts: where did Geocaching come from?

Letter Boxing– 1854 UK

Geocaching—2000, OR

ConQuest–2004, B.U.G: use your camera phone to capture code hidden around your city

Plundr– 2007, Dartmouth College dorm room, WIFI hotspots are contested islands to ‘capture’

Pokémon GO!–2016, Nintendo: Hunt and collect

FAST FACTS:

Geocaching was started in May of 2000. It started in Beaverton OR.

As GPS became more accessible and and accurate for everyone the process adapted from Letter boxing was started

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geocaching

How to start Geocaching:

You need to set up a user account on a

geocaching website. A good site to use is www.geocaching.com

What do you pack?

https://www.geocaching.com/blog/2013/02/here-are-9-geocaching-tools-what-else-should-you-pack

Today’ Resources:

A video:

https://www.geocaching.com/play

http://familysponge.com/play/family-adventures/geocaching-with-kids

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geocaching

www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-07-12/long-before-pokemon-go-there-was-geocaching

Do This To Inspire a Love of Reading in Your Kids!

As part of the continuing “Wise Parents, Wise Kids” Summer Series, I enjoyed learning about the many new ways families can plug into today's public libraries.  My guest Rachael Barrera, Children’s Librarian at the Brook Hollow Public Library in San Antonio, Texas and a fellow parent.

I've got to tell you, the video conversation is really fun and inspirational!  You can see that by going here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHLaHYT-H9Q

If you'd rather read, here are some highlights:

Fine-Tuned Families: What are some things a family can do at the library these days?

Response:  The library offers a number of programs for children of all ages and their families.  Play and Learn programs are for children 5 and under to interact with their caregiver. We have five early literacy practices: Reading, Talking, Singing, Writing, and Playing.  Little Read Wagon, our Early Literacy Team, offers these programs around the city all year long.  Story Times for Preschoolers, Baby Time, and Toddler Time suit every age of early childhood and support development.  Tween Time in libraries support the child who is 9-12 years, a group that often gets overlooked in libraries.  Kids Time also supports the learning and literacy of school age children. Discovery Time encourages learning early math and science skills. Summer Reading Programs encourage the love of independent reading at home.

FTF:  How can these great offerings help parents foster a love of reading in their kids?

Response:  Libraries of today create a joyful connection between the child, reading and learning.  Examples are neat art projects, group reading programs, individual reading challenges, and family activities.  Whatever brings joy to that particular child helps him or her love reading and learning.

FTF:  What are some of your best tips for parents of different-aged readers?

Response:  WORD!  The more words your child hears before kindergarten the greater his future academic success. Let your child pick the books he or she wants to read. Don’t get hung up on “reading level” (unless working toward closing an educational gap.)  When a child likes the stuff she reads, the more she will read, the more she comprehends what she reads, the easier it becomes to read, and so on. Don’t give up picture books too soon, they actually help a child’s comprehension like chapter books can’t. That firm foundation will help in years to come. For older tweens and teens, access to a free, vast supply of books is a gift and inspires more “book time” and less “screen time”.

Resources:

www.Mysapl.org – The main website for the San Antonio Public Library system.

www.Mysapl.org/location.aspx?id=bro - The Brook Hollow Library’s location and phone numbers.

 

http://www.guysread.com/   - A great example of one of many online sources to encourage a love of reading in our kids.

Ending the School Year on a High Note

Can you believe that summer is almost here! How is the end of the school year going for your family? This is the time of year when it is very natural for your sons and daughters to get so excited about summer that they might struggle to apply themselves in school. Here are a couple of simple and easy ways you can help your children finish out the school year strong.

1. Plan it Out-

Especially in the middle and high school years, our sons and daughters can feel a bit overwhelmed by what needs to be done- between end-of-year projects, essays and finals. If the load feels heavy, suggest to your child that they take a weekly calendar and block in times for studying AND for decompressing. Completing projects and studying for finals is a lot less daunting if you have a plan in place.

2. Don’t Hover-

Once your son or daughter has got a plan and set some reasonable goals, step back and let him or her handle it as much as possible. As children grow and mature they should take on more responsibilities, helping them to become self-sufficient. Hovering and asking for frequent updates and even offering help when they don’t want it, can not only easily irritate and distract, but can also indirectly send them the message that “you need me in order to succeed.” Instead, you want to strive to send your son or daughter the message that “you can do this!”

For more tips on what you can do to help your kiddos finish the school year on a high note, click the link and listen to my “Wise Parents, Wise Kids” interview session with Parent Advocate Angela Woodrow: http://bit.ly/1LUV2js