Kids Who Explore

Would you know what to do if you encountered a bear in the outdoors? Would you know the difference between a defensive or predatory encounter? We are here to help keep you educated, so you can explore safely!    Disclaimer that the information we’re provided you today, as well as the information from Bear Safety & More Inc and RecSafe with Wildlife (as we partnered with Kim Titchener), cannot guarantee that animal encounters can be prevented. This information is intended as a guide to help reduce the likelihood of an encounter and provide education in the occurrence of an encounter.   What to Know:  Animals are around us  Best way to reduce encounters is to be prepared  Attacks are extremely rare  Don’t let your kids explore farther than an arm’s length from you   Keep your dog on a leash at all times  Be loud!  Travel in groups of 4 or more  Pay attention to your surroundings (droppings, tracks, dens, torn up tress and logs, digging, berry bushes)  If you spot an animal, leave the area  Carry bear spray in a holster on your body and be ready to use it (Scat Belt brand mentioned) – read the instructions and practice pulling it out  Take a bear safety course  Practice with your kids ahead of time (in a non-scary way)    If Camping:  Know where to store your food – bear-safe garbage bins, bear locker, or in your vehicle (front country camping) and know if your site has it available  Pay attention to your surroundings – garbage, trees/berry bushes/salmon in water, animals that have been feeding, birds of prey    If You Experience an Encounter:  *There are two types of bear encounters: Defensive and Non-Defensive (Predatory) encounters.*  Defensive Bear Encounters - caused by surprising a bear at close range, if cubs are present, or if the bear is feeding  Bears are clearly stressed, aggressive, huffing/jaw popping, salivating/foaming, hunched up, showing signs of discomfort  They can bluff charge or run in a zig-zag pattern   It may be your instinct to yell, act big, and become aggressive too. Please don’t! React by telling the bear you are NOT a threat. De-escalate the situation, back away slowly, talk softly, and prepare your bear spray. If in a group, group up and stay calm. Make your intention to leave the area and not to fight  If the bear attacks, the number one reaction from you is to deploy bear spray. If that’s not possible, lie face down and protect your neck, spread your legs (to brace yourself into the ground), and play dead. Wait until the bear is gone before getting up! Make sure once you begin to move again you know which direction the bear has travelled to avoid another encounter  Most defensive attacks are short. If it continues to attack and the bear has become predatory, you need to change tactics and begin to fight for your life    Non-Defensive (Predatory) Bear Encounters  This encounter is rare and more common with black bears and solo hikers (95% of grizzly bear encounters are defensive and not predatory!)  Bear follows a person, and has a slow, hesitant approach. They can approach confidently, or try to sneak up on you before running towards you and attacking. They appear curious, but this is the situation where they are dangerous!  If you’re in a predatory encounter, show aggression right away! Stand your ground and make sure you let the bear know that you are not vulnerable  Prepare bear spray and deploy if the bear gets close enough  Please Keep Exploring! All of us at Kids Who Explore have had bear encounters, and thankfully they have all ended well. Talking about it definitely adds to nerves about exploring in bear country, but we know being informed is the best way to be! Remember these encounters are rare, equip yourself with the knowledge and gear you need to stay safe!    Thank you to Mounts Store for supporting today’s podcast! www.mountsstore.com to check them out.    Today’s Host: @laurenrodycheberle from @kidswhoexplore Production: @kpmediaproductions. Music: @michaelferraro_music 

Have you ever wondered if becoming a parent will change your adventures? Have you ever wondering what travelling the world would look like with kids? Meghan J. Ward wondered too, and she made it happen. She tells us all about it in her books, and today on the podcast!    Meghan J. Ward is a writer, editor, digital content specialist and all-around storyteller based in Banff, Canada (Treaty 7 territory), and mama of two. An avid outdoor adventurer with a voracious appetite to understand her surroundings, she has established herself as a mountain historian and an authoritative voice in the Rockies outdoor and travel scene. She has authored four Canadian Rockies photo/travel books, which she collaborated on with her husband, Paul Zizka, a celebrated landscape photographer/ She is also the author of a children’s book, The Wonders That I Find, and a travelogue/memoir, Lights to Guide Me Home.    Parenting during travel amplifies parenting. And in response to the “they won’t remember this” comments, babies remember in their bodies, in their cells, even if they cannot access the stories.    Book Recommendation: Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman    Follow Meghan J. Ward:  Website: https://www.meghanjoyward.com  Books: https://www.meghanjoyward.com/books-1  IG: @meghanjward  Husband IG: @paulzizkaphoto       Check out KWE’s #patch4apurpose to support 1, or all 8, charities: https://kidswhoexplore.com/product/original-explorer-patch4apurpose/    Today’s Host: @adriannaadventures & @laurenrodycheberle from @kidswhoexplore Production: @kpmediaproductions. Music: @michaelferraro_music 

Do you have picture-perfect images of what it could look like to garden with your kids? It doesn’t need to be fancy. Elissa likes to tell people it can be as easy as you want it to be, and your own trail and error will take you far!    Elissa is wife to Tobin. She is a wetland biologist, and mama to two boys, aged 5.5 years and 3 months. Before having kids, she worked as a wildlife biologist specializing in birds, and then an environmental educator. She grew up competitively horseback riding and now works part-time as a riding instructor and farm/nature teacher for children. Elissa and her family live on a small suburban farm with chickens, horses, a large garden, berry patch, and fruit orchard. They love to travel, mountain bike, ski, rock climb, hike, bikepack, and camp as a family.     Benefits of Gardening with Kids:  Easy way for kids to learn how to fail  Trail and error can teach them a lot!  They learn how to properly weed and identify plants   Then have to care for something by watering it regularly   Promotes healthy eating  Encourages motor skills  Reduces stress  Teaches patience, resilience and responsibility  Improves mood  Educates about the natural world and biological process  Strengthens family connections  Nurtures self-confidence  Gets you outside, and gets you grounding!     Types of Gardens:  Container gardens  In-ground gardens  Community gardens    Some Good Foods to Start With:  Snap peas  Carrots  Kale   Tomatoes - from a start instead of seed   Strawberries - from a start instead of seed (and/or in a hanging pot)  Green onions (can grow in water in a glass by the window)    Fun Kid-Friendly Tips:  Tomatoes go out after Mother’s Day   Check your growing zone to determine frost dates and when to seed   Give kids spray bottle instead of hose (or small watering can)   Plant large seed size (easy to grab for kids)   Through trial and error learn which plants need sunnier spots, when to leave a sprinkle of seeds, how deep you should seed, etc.   Raised beds are perfect height for little gardeners  When seeding, can use a measuring tape for a visual marker (plus math skills!); Younger kids, you can draw a visual line with your finger   Kids can use popsicle sticks to label veggies/fruit   Kids can use scissors for harvesting   Give them a “yes spot” to dig     Other Gardening Tips:  Planting native plants to your region requires less water and less artificial fertilizer  Good irrigation system (or neighbours watering) can help if you’re away  Raised beds and/or hardware mesh can help to keep wildlife from eating your food!  You can line beds with metal, depending on the wood   Book Recommendation: Nature Play at Home   Follow Elissa on IG: @seattlestorys    Check out KWE’s #patch4apurpose to support 1, or all 8, charities: https://kidswhoexplore.com/product/original-explorer-patch4apurpose/     Today’s Host: @adriannaadventures & @laurenrodycheberle from @kidswhoexplore Production: @kpmediaproductions. Music: @michaelferraro_music  

Tighten Your Tinkler meets Kids Who Explore, because we all want to support postpartum women, so they can get back to doing all the things they love to do outside.     Christina Walsh is a physical therapist and co-founder of Tighten Your Tinkler. She’s a New Orleans mama of two who lived with pelvic floor issues herself. She supports postpartum women holistically through prolapse, diastasis recti, and more. The program helps women solve pelvic floor issues without kegels or internal vaginal devices.     Tighten Your Tinkler:  Functional training from a need they experienced themselves  You can do it at home with your children!  Helps with incontinence, sleeping through the night without needing to pee, and painful sex    When You Resume Activity Postpartum:  Make sure you’re cleared by your providers  If you’re having extra drainage, your body is asking you to slow down  Pelvic floor pressure or heaviness, back pain, or leakage – tune back into your body, slow down, and work your way back into it more gently     Why Kegels Aren’t Always the Answer:  You’re only getting stronger in ONE position  Can cause over tightening  You don’t need the pelvic floor to be a conscious muscle      Uneven terrain adds extra weight. When you ask more from your body, be gentle. You don’t have to live with discomfort, AND also, go slow!    So much of pelvic floor function is linked to the nervous system. Fight or Flight response links to bladder – so, take yourself out of that stressed state.     Immediately Postpartum:  Listen to body  Visit a Webster-certified chiro (adjust pubic joint)  Avoid high impact activity while breastfeeding   90/90 decompression technique!! Check link below   Don’t push pee out   Use Squatty Potty   Get enough fibre and stay hydrated  Go easy on your body!  Build strength     It’s never too late. Menopause can cause a shift of hormones as well, but they’ve seen success after people living with incontinence for over 28 years.     Links:  Decompression Position (to relax back, hips, and pelvic floor):  https://www.tightenyourtinkler.com/backandhiprelief  5-minute Root Cause Quiz: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/6C9SJ36    Book Suggestion:  Hunt Gather Parent by Michaeleen Doucleff  https://kidswhoexplore.com/podcasts/ep-42-why-to-avoid-kid-centered-activities-with-michaeleen-doucleff/    Follow Tighten Your Tinkler:  Website: www.tightenyourtinkler.com  IG: @tighten.your.tinkler  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tightenyourtinkler        Discount Code LAUREN gets you $50 off  https://www.tightenyourtinkler.com    Check out KWE’s #patch4apurpose to support 1, or all 8, charities: https://kidswhoexplore.com/product/original-explorer-patch4apurpose/  Today’s Host: @adriannaadventures & @laurenrodycheberle from @kidswhoexplore Production: @kpmediaproductions. Music: @michaelferraro_music 

When we asked Amy, who teaches at an outdoor school if there were any cons to learning in the outdoors, she couldn’t think of even one! However, she could name endless pros. Tune in to hear all of them!    Amy started her teaching career in Japan for a year and then came back home to Canada and has been working for Sturgeon Public Schools since. She has been teaching kindergarten for the past 14 years. A few years back, she read "There's No Such Thing As Bad Weather" by Linda Åkeson McGurkand together with another kindergarten teacher and principal, they made a proposal to their school board to run an outdoor kindergarten program. This is now officially their second year of the program. She has two daughters and three stepdaughters, and you can find them skating, sledding, going for walks, exploring new places, playing games in the backyard, and having fires. On top of that, her family is trying to get 1000 hours outside this year.     Benefits of Outdoor Learning:  Allows for play-based learning   Children can direct play  Allows for greater regulation and more joy!  Getting outside [especially before noon] helps regulate the circadian rhythm and helps sleep patterns   Suits many diverse learning needs and is inclusive to everyone   Lends well to boosting moods  Lessens the time needed for classroom management – kids don’t need to sit still or “stop running”  Kids learn to problem-solve together   Offers opportunities for risk-taking and adds to resilience     Sturgeon Heights School:  Their school is not a forest school [forest schools have very specific regulations and go through a certification process]  Their school follows the Alberta curriculum, and does it all while including lots of outdoor time (minimum 2 hours per day)  They are now adding outdoor schooling for up to Grade 3!   Provincial regulations allow them to take the kids outside until -25 degrees Celsius (with wind chill)  They have people come to them for “field trip” experiences  They have not found a negative to being outside more!    Kids are naturally curious learners. We don’t need to be worried about if they are learning outside…they are!    If we as adults lead, they will follow [us outside]!    Item Recommendations:  Heated Vest & Travel Hammock    Book Recommendation:  There's No Such Thing As Bad Weather by Linda Åkeson McGurk    Follow Sturgeon Public Schools at:  IG: @openairkindergarten or @sturgeonheightsschool      Thank you to Morrison Outdoors for sponsoring today’s podcast! Find more at: www.morrisonoutdoors.com  Use code FREECANADA within Canada from March 1-March 31, 2023 for free shipping on orders over $50!    Today’s Host: @adriannaadventures & @laurenrodycheberle from @kidswhoexplore Production: @kpmediaproductions. Music: @michaelferraro_music