Threading The Fuxipfad in Mainhardt

One sunny autumn day, we went on a short hiking trip at the Fuxipfad in Mainhardt. It was a very interesting hiking trail, with different stations at various locations that is perfect for educating children about nature. It highlighted the animals and plants that can be observed in the area. 

Off for some adventure at the Fuxipfad. Thank you for the hearty welcome Fuxi!

I learned a lot of things on that day like how dead things, like dead tree trunks, are a source of life of other organisms like mushrooms. And how ants also help in decay process of dead leaves and trees. I also learned how important trees are in keeping water in the ground.

Mushrooms growing on the stump of a dead tree trunk.

I also got a chance to learn the organisms living in the creek, like the different fish and crawling insects, and birds too. There was a very interesting photo board that looks dark but they become clear when you insert and move the "flashlight", which is a metal plate. 

There was also a picture puzzle that shows what kind of tree grows in the area and some facts about them.

Daddy explaining to me the names of the trees and other facts and how their trunks look like. 

After completing the trail, we stopped for a bit at the children's playground which was already empty since it was already dark and then we went to a restaurant to fill our hungry bellies. We got the "Fuxi Meal" but that will be another story. :) 

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Scribble Cards For "On The Way"

Does your family like to go on roadtrips? What do you usually do to keep your little ones from getting bored along the way?

I may just have the answer to that! The scribble cards for "on the way". Actually, I just translated it in the best way I can. :-) It is actually called "Kritzelkarten für unterwegs" but its English original name is "Usborne Activity Cards Holiday Doodles".

This handy and small activity box is composed of 50 doodle cards that encourages children to add details to the pictures and even to answer some easy mazes. There is also a special pen with which to doodle on the card. So whether you are in the car, in the plane or in the train, or even at home when it is raining and too wet to play outside, you will never get bored. You could let your imagination run wild and these set of cards allows you to be more creative as you try to continue on with the drawings.

Like drawing the earrings on this woman's face:

To putting in the decors and creatures in the fish tank:

I guess it will be more interesting if the pen comes in different colors too!

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Exploring the Animal Kingdom With Tiptoi

I enjoy going to the city library. The new one along Mailänder Platz is a very modern one and it has got an entire floor for the children's section on the 2nd floor! What I love about this section is that we are allowed to make some noise... but not the annoying kind of noise. We can ask questions, ask our parents to read a book aloud to us or play some educational board games.

On my latest visit to the library, I was in the mood for some animal adventure and so I took the educational gameboard Adventure Animal Kingdom (Abenteuer Tierwelt) from the shelf and my Mommy got the Tiptoi pen from the librarian.

It is a game with four levels of difficulty: green, red, blue and yellow. It was easy to play the game. I choose the green and red levels. For the green level, I just had to tip the pen onto the animal cards that look like puzzle pieces and listened to the general information about the animal. There are cards that have paw prints logo on them and/or sound logo on them. The paw prints are for the red level I think and you will try to match the paw print from the round cards to the type of animal. You can use the pen to help you find the right animal with the corresponding print as it will tell you what animal it is and then some more additional information. As for the sound logo, it allows you to learn what kind of sounds animals make. It helps you identify (if you are in the zoo, for example) what kind of animal it is just by listening to the sound it makes.

It really is an interesting game. This is a great gift for children who are in the early stages of school as a supplementary learning material. Just a good way of confirming that indeed learning can be FUN! 

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