My daughter and I are heading out tomorrow for a three day camping trip.

This is our second annual 'Moms & Girls' trip~ begun last year to help our young daughters bond (and the moms, too!).  We live in a small town and they attend a small school and have been 'the girls' since about age 3, so it is valuable for us to work on group building and healthy relationships in an intentional and positive way.

Last Year at the Campfire

We have realized that unless they are taught how to relate, young girls are quick to mimic what they see in older girls and pop culture~ which is competition, exclusion, bullying.  Rather than leave them in the 'jungle' of girl meanness, we are hoping to give them the skills and confidence to work together through all the playground 'stuff'. This camping trip is a fun way to work and play together! 

Our particular challenge this week will be the 'three's a crowd' dimension (gosh, don't we ALL remember that one?!), as our 4th girl/mom cannot attend. 
We are stocked up on crafts, sunscreen, bug juice (it is Northern Ontario!) and marshmallows.
Glow sticks, bathing suits and bikes are at the ready.

To set the mood, I thought I'd dig up some fun, natural, camping themed goodies for you to enjoy on Etsy (many from the Natural Kids team :: search naturalkids) while I take a wee blogging break until week-end.

1. Needlefelted Campfire, by Chimera.
2. Woodland Animals (3 Piece Set), by the Wood Garden.
3. Wooden Bears (5 Piece Set), by Just Hatched.
4. Doe & Fawn, by Darial Vovsky.
5. Bike Safely Organic Hoodie, by handfull.
6. Children's Tent, by Dance in My Garden.
7. Reversible Organic Baby Shoes, by  Wee Pereas.
8. Camping Wooden Playset, by Armadillo Dreams.
9. Conifer Cone Cap Gnome, by Painting Pixie.
10. Bug Stuff, by B Noel Aromatics.

Have a great week, I'll be back on Friday if the black bears (note to self :: remind children that black bears are the ones that you try and scare off by being big and scary~ don't play dead!) don't eat us up... although I suspect our true danger will come from the blackflies, horseflies, deerflies and mosquitoes... ♥♥