Author

Brittany Baron

three boys riding scooters on a sidewalk
Adventure Tips and Hacks

13 Outdoor Learning Activities for Toddlers

As we began our homeschool year and combing through curriculum after curriculum for toddlers and preschoolers I was simultaneously overwhelmed and unimpressed. The websites and books I found either required an expensive list of materials, hours of adult preparation time, or assistance of technology, sometimes all three. All of the things I was trying to avoid. Toddlers learn through play and the simpler, the better! Have you ever given your toddler a cardboard box? They don’t need expensive learning gadgets!

These ideas pulled from my years working in early education and largely inspired by our own kids’ interests and ideas are minimal set-up, inexpensive, and tech-free.

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three boys riding scooters on a sidewalk
Adventure Tips and Hacks

Back to School and Cutting Back on Screen Time

If your back-to-school plans include a shake-up of routine and a reset you are definitely not alone.

A theme in our end-of-summer parent sideline chatter has been the much-anticipated reduction of screen time that comes with school and a new routine. If you have followed our family over on @fivepax social media for a while you know, we are all about that screen-free life. For years our kids watched cartoons on weekend mornings while we prepped for adventures. And then maybe a few hours on a rare afternoon when we the parents needed to get some work done.

As the older kids have gotten bigger we have extended to 3 hours of tech each week with more hours available to be earned through chores. We have had a million things in our favor (a kiddo with screen anxiety to start). But we have also made a lot of intentional decisions as well. And we stick to them even when our kids let us know how unfair it seems. More on how below.

But let’s be real, it’s hard. Really hard to both set limits yes, but to stick to them.

Here are 5 strategies to help your family cut back on screen time that don’t feel like a dreaded punishment for everyone involved. These tips will leave you feeling confident about how to limit screen time for kids and set everyone up for a successful school year. 

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REI backpack
Camping and Hiking, Gift Guides

Best of REI’s Anniversary Sale

Schools out for summer! Around here that means time to get busy planning summer adventures. And as we dig out our gear and take inventory, there are a few things we need and a few things we want but have been waiting to buy when they go on sale! Well, folks, we are in the final hours of the REI anniversary sale!

I have spent an embarrassing amount of time combing through the entire REI website for the best deals and realized I should share the results of my late-night research. This way I can call it ‘work’ and I won’t feel guilty about how much it blew up my screen time this week.

If you are looking for a more comprehensive list for car camping with kids or backpacking we have those as well as a post on the best gifts for dad this father’s day!

Getting down to business, here are our top deals in the REI Co-Op Anniversary Sale!

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FivePax - How to travel more with kids
Gift Guides

Father’s Day Gift Guide for Outdoorsy Dads

There are endless gifts and lists for dads from grooming supplies to tech gear and gadgets. It begins to feel impossible to find the perfect gift for the ‘guy who has everything’. We have rounded up our very favorite finds for Father’s Day 2021 for the outdoor-loving dad or pop or dada or just awesome dude in your life.

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