Seattle with Kids: Hiking Little Si

There are lots of great hikes around here to do. A very popular one is called Little Si, out in North Bend. Do not get it confused with the Mount Si hike - that one is WAY harder. Little Si is still a pretty difficult hike. The round-trip is a little less than 5 miles with a 1500 ft elevation gain. I would not take beginner hikers on this one. You may want to plan easier hikes to "work up" to this one. The trail is very nicely maintained but there are very steep sections where my kids had to use all-fours. When we went, my kids were 4 and 6 and they made it with lots of rest breaks. I think it took us 3 hours to get up to the top, but significantly shorter on the way down so be sure to allow enough time.

A tip on parking. There are two lots. Go past the first one, as the second one is the one right at the trailhead. If that one is full, head to the overflow lot which you already passed. It is a very popular trail so go early on a weekend. When we arrived at just after 9am, the primary lot was already full.

Learn how to make bread

Title:Bread Bakery

One thing I love about reading is extending what we learn when we read into our daily activities. It brings the book alive and I think is going to really help turn my boys into kids (and adults) who love to read.

After reading this book to my 3-year old, my husband decided that we needed to make bread. I'd better go ahead and confess that we used a trusty bread machine instead of doing the whole thing by hand but it was still lots of fun and very educational. My son was able to help collect the ingredients and measure, and with the help of the instruction manual for the machine, watch each of the steps the machine performed, through the little viewing window on the top of the machine. When my kids get a little older, I'd love to try making it by hand with them.

My son loved it and we all enjoyed the bread so much that we have already made a second loaf. Guess who ran to the bookshelf to find the Bread Bakerybook to read while the bread baked?

*this post originally written 5/8/2006

Billy and Blaze by Clarence William Anderson

Title: Billy and Blaze
Author: Clarence William Anderson
Ages: 4+

I love older books. This one was written in 1936. It is a bit longer than a picture book but not so long that a little one cannot enjoy it. The story is simple and sweet and easy to follow along. There is a whole series of books about Billy and his horse to keep you reading away the summer!