Discovering Treasure at the Beach: Guest Post from Kitchen Counter Chronicles

Today I bring you Jenn from Kitchen Counter Chronicles.  She is a crafter, baker, and gardener and a stay at home mom to two girls.  She writes all about the fun stuff she does with her girls and all the things that she makes and does on her kitchen counters.  Make sure you head over to her blog to see her amazing blog. 

Take it away Jen!

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I am very excited to be a guest on Dirt and Boogers today...I love this place! 

I don't know about you, but I am always looking for new ways to get my kids outside. One of our family's goals this year is to spend time outside playing everyday. It's a challenge. My girls are actually pretty keen outdoor kids. However, I have learned that is best to give them some sort of task or activity to do when we are outside. Simply walking to the store is not good enough. Sometimes they take along a camera or sketch book and other times we launch a scavenger hunt. Last week I decided to incorporate another love of my girls Kinder eggs. 

Every time that we see my step mother she showers my children with Kinder eggs. The reality is that all my kids really want is the toy inside. So, when the chocolate is gone and the toy is opened, I'm left wondering what to do with those little containers? I think we have a million of them (okay maybe closer to 20). What to do with the containers? Enter our outing last week. 

I passed each girl one empty Kinder container and instructed them that they could fill it with whatever they wanted. This seemed like an exciting endeavour to my girls.

They jumped on their scooters and we set off for a day at the beach. As they scooted they would stop and discuss the possibility of popping a flower bud inside the case...nope. There were hopes of finding an empty robin's egg or some tiny treasure. However, it was when we got to the beach that the container was filled...beach glass.

After spending some time throwing rocks into the lake, my girls discovered a large selection of beach glass glittering amongst the rocks. The perfect treasure for their little cases.

The beauty of beach glass is that it leads to an incredible conversation; what did the glass used to be, where did the glass come from, how did the glass become so smooth and what will we do with the glass once we get home. Our wonderfully long conversation was followed by the girls excitedly wanting to head home and add these pieces to our growing rock collection. 

I love the how the simple search for something to place in their Kinder containers helped us to have a totally enjoyable day. It always amazes me how the easiest activity can change a walk to the beach into an exciting adventure. Another day spent outside with my girls. Another great conversation with my girls. Another fun use for those silly little containers.

Thanks again Dirt and Boogers. If you would like to read more about our outdoor and indoor adventures, please drop by Kitchen Counter Chronicles.