Share the Love: Don't Miss the Chicago Botanic Garden's Brand New Regenstein Learning Center Grand Opening {Giveaway!}

Forget the X-Box. The iPads. The Wii and all the screens and games for which my boys beg.

And bring on the hills -- medium-sized and closely spaced together and perfectly padded, green-grassy hills.

Hills {who knew} are apparently the very thing that've been missing all of my boys' childhoods.

We discovered this secret of the hills when we attended last Friday the preview day for the Chicago Botanic Garden's Regenstein Learning Campus' grand opening, and my kids immediately mad-dashed for the perfectly crafted rolling hills that comprise a good chunk of the new outdoor Nature Play Garden. As we toured the outdoor garden, our boys promptly ran to the top of the biggest one ... and began rolling down without abandon in the soft green grasses.

Likely, though, hills and the greatness of the outdoors in general is what's increasingly missing in a great majority of our kids' lives as they grow up in an ever-increasing electronic world, making the unveiling of the Garden's Regenstein Learning Campus even more exciting and, honestly, necessary.

Nestled to the right of the parking lots when first entering the garden by car, the Regenstein Learning Campus is home to the Grunsfeld Growing Garden, The Kleinman Family Cove and the newly constructed Learning Center and outdoor Nature Play Garden. The grand opening, scheduled for Saturday and Sunday September 10 and 11, 2016, is just around the calendar corner, and if you're looking for something wonderful to fill your weekend, this is it!

During opening weekend of the center, the Garden will offer refreshments and free activities like seed play, soil sandbox, watering activities, yoga, make-you-own smoothies, water play and a walk and talk in the Nature Play Garden with the goal of showcasing just a sampling of the 500 classes offered at the Joseph Regenstein, Jr. School.

In addition to the free activities, the Garden also is generously giving away one parking pass so one family here can attend the grand opening of the center for free! See below to enter for the parking pass giveaway.

Here's a little cheat sheet of what to expect when you visit during the grand opening or beyond:

Photo courtesy of the Chicago Botanic Garden

The Nature Play Garden is a sensory-rich outdoor play space thoughtfully and intuitively designed for all ages to enjoy interacting with nature in a hands-on way. Roll down the grassy hills, play in the open grassy areas, splash in the streams of water, climb on the logs and tunnel through the willow tunnel at the Nature Play Garden. It's designed just for that!

The Learning Center is home to learning rooms, the classrooms that house the Garden's preschool and camps, multiple bathrooms, water-bottle filling stations, Chicago-area history and a bee hive! Explore the classrooms, use the bathroom, take a breather and check out the busy bees bustling around their hive in this new building.

The Grunsfeld Growing Garden gives children an up-close view of the growing fruits and as well as the opportunity to help take care for these plants by watering them and tending to them. Often times, family drop-in activities are planned in the growing garden.

The Kleinman Family Cove features 800 feet of shoreline gardens for exploration and observation of flora and fauna as well as stepping stones that visitors can navigate as they explore and enjoy the beautiful waterfront.

And don't forget, mom and dad, to make a long pitstop at the hills; they aren't just refreshing for the kiddos.

Disclosure: My family loves the Chicago Botanic Garden and the great outdoors, so we are thrilled to be Garden Ambassadors, sharing our love the Garden here and across social media! In exchange for writing and sharing, we receive a yearly membership to the Garden so we can continue to explore and learn and grow and share! 


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Share the Love: Secret Homeschooling at the Chicago Botanic Garden

Several afternoons ago, the kiddos and I ventured out to the Chicago Botanic Garden to picnic, shoot some photos and do a special, surprise project.

They were so stoked about the surprise project and picnic that they didn't even know what I was doing.

But I'll tell you what I was up to: secret homeschooling.

On the weekends or even weekdays when I need to engage all four of my kiddos meaningfully without it feeling like school, I think up a secret homeschooling plan that couldn't ever be labeled as school work in their minds.

The Chicago Botanic Garden has become one of my go-to places for secret homeschooling. And you don't really actually have to be a homeschooler to do this secret homeschool project; you could just be a person who loves autumn and wants to enjoy the heck out of it with the added bonus of secretly homeschooling your kids on a weekend, nonetheless!

Here's all you need to do a round of secret homeschooling while the whole family enjoys the beauty of autumn at the garden:
-a blanket for sitting
-a plethora of coloring devices
-several large sheets of paper
-one hard surface per child
-one picturesque view beneath a tree or near a bench, like this one:

Present it like this: ok, guys, let's explore and find the most beautiful place we can. Once you agree on a place, we'll start a project! You have 20 minutes - go!

Giving a time limit makes it into a race, so my kids take off quickly and burn some energy before we sit down to recreate our favorite space on paper.

Once they find their "most beautiful place," share with them that you'll come back again to the same exact spot to draw a stunningly different picture during a different season. If your kids are anything like mine, they are motivated by finished product, too, so I offer to take all four pictures and compile them into a large frame for hanging in our home. This also helps for getting them to do their best work!

Though not all of my children love art equally, they enjoy working outside and put quite a bit of effort into their pictures. Well, the bigger three worked and put in quite a bit of effort for about 40 minutes. Our three year old worked and put in quite a bit of effort for about four minutes. She then played in the dirt, leaves and with sticks nearby, which kept her mostly happy and me mostly sane.

So what do they learn?

• they see and understand the changing landscape in a new way
• they gain a clearer understanding of what autumn looks like in our area
• they gain experience using true-to-life colors or shading in a drawing
• they gain experience on how to draw a picture from a scene (perspective) instead of from imagination
• they have a chance to articulate their pictures as they explain them to me

There's more, of course, too, that I'm sure they are gathering with all of their senses! All in all, it was a big win, and I promised the kids another round of this project on a nice winter day for a new view of the same scene.

There's still plenty of beautiful days left! Go enjoy one!

Full disclosure: Because I sincerely love the outdoors, nature and specifically the mission and efforts of the Chicago Botanic Garden, I have partnered with the garden to help spread the word about its events and features. Kindly, the garden provides me with a membership. 

Share the Love: Tips for Visiting #ButterfliesandBlooms at Chicago Botanic Garden

A few weekends ago when it was nice and warm, we took guests visiting from Eastern Europe to the Butterflies and Blooms Exhibit at the Chicago Botanic Garden. With our guests being new to the Chicago area, we honestly couldn't think of a better place to visit. The beauty of the garden never disappoints, and it makes for the perfect place to have relaxed, easy conversations. 

While we were visiting the exhibit we felt like the butterfly whispers! Every time we turned around, another butterfly landed on a party of our entourage.

Planning to visit Butterflies and Blooms at the Chicago Botanic Garden? Keep these tips in mind if you'd like to be a butterfly whisperer, too!

1. Walk slowly. Stand next to flowers. Be calm.
2. Visit on a very warm day. The butterflies are more active when it's warm and sunny.
3. Wear brightly colored shirts if you'd like to be a butterfly landing pad.
4. Don't wear insect repellent!
5. Enjoy!

Note: I am a grateful ambassador for the Chicago Botanic Garden. In exchange for my membership, I write about the garden and help other families navigate the garden through our experiences. What a joy!

Holiday Bucket List: A Guide for Experiencing the Beauty of the Holidays as a Family in Chicagoland {part one}

Each year, my family aims to experience and enjoy life together during the holidays, placing less emphasis on the gift aspect and more on togetherness. This is part one of a series detailing some of our favorite Chicagoland destinations during the Christmas season. Be sure to scroll down to the end; one of our favorite places is giving one family a set of tickets!

Chicago Botanic Garden Wonderland Express
If you've been around here for awhile, you've gathered we are Chicago Botanic Garden enthusiasts. {What's not to love?! The great outdoors, plenty of space to explore and enjoy, winter exhibits to help relieve the stir craziness that sets in!}

Photo courtesy of the Chicago Botanic Garden

While the Botanic Garden is a hot destination for my kids during the spring, summer and fall, they pretty much ask year round how many days are left until we see the Wonderland Express, the garden's holiday-themed train exhibit that sprawls through the indoor atriums.

Photo courtesy of the Chicago Botanic Garden

My boys, now 4 and 6, are absolutely enamored by the entire set up of trains chugging around the tracks of the mini Windy City. When they were younger, they spent most of their time chasing the trains as they ventured along the tracks. Now that the boys are older, they want to explore every single landmark building and discuss each of the tiny replicas along the tracks. John and I not only enjoy the family time with the boys while here, but we also enjoy marveling over how each and every piece of the mini city is made of natural materials like leaves, bark and other elements found in the great outdoors.

Photo courtesy of the Chicago Botanic Garden

The Wonderland Express is well worth any trek you'd make as well as the cost.

When: November 29, 2013 - January 5, 2014
Time: Open daily from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. with few exceptions
Where: Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, IL
More Information: Chicago Botanic Garden

Marriott Theatre for Young Audiences: The Nutcracker

Perhaps you're thinking what I first thought when John and I mulled sharing our love of theatre with the kiddos: no way, no how will my kids sit through a live play!

Last December, when the boys were 5 and 3, we decided to give it a whirl anyway, as the Marriott Theatre for Young Audiences specifically aims its shows for, well, young audiences, by making them lively, beautiful and entertaining. And they do it all in one hour!

Our boys, now 6 and 4, have delightfully experienced three productions, and they have really liked each one {says the surprised mom of two really active, light-saber sporting little boys}. We recently attended the opening-day performance of the Nutcracker. I didn't know how it was going to play out because the Nutcracker my husband and I knew centered all around ballet; however, this story was adapted into a wonderful production geared toward young audiences.

Photo courtesy of Peter Coombs and the Marriott Theatre

The boys enjoyed the music, the story, the animated characters and even the dance! Our youngest kept asking, "Mommy, how do they spin like that!?"in response to some of the ballet dances during the show. While this production of the Nutcracker did feature some splendidly talented dancers, the show wasn't dance-centric. In true Marriott fashion, the production was beautifully choreographed, funny, engaging and featured a wonderfully animated cast that was perfect for small children, older children and adults alike.

Photo courtesy of Peter Coombs and the Marriott Theatre

When: November 8, 2013 - December 28, 2013
Time: Click Here for showtimes
Where: Marriott Theatre, Lincolnshire, IL
More Information: Marriott Theatre 

So are you ready to cross a few things off your Holiday Bucket List? How about going to the Wonderland Express this holiday season compliments of the Chicago Botanic Garden?! The lovely people at the Chicago Botanic Garden are giving away a family four pack of tickets for the Wonderland Express as well as a free parking ticket. 

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Stay tuned for part two of the Holiday Bucket List tomorrow. I have another great giveaway planned!

Disclosure: First and foremost, I only work with organizations I really love. I am a Chicago Botanic Garden ambassador who receives a membership in exchange for sharing about the garden on a regular basis. 
The Marriott Theatre invited my family to press day to see the Nutcracker so we could share our experiences with other families. 

Share the Love: How to Sway Your Kindergartener

How do you convince a six year old who wants to go to school for a full day (but can't for numerous reasons) to be happy about leaving his classroom every day at 11:30? 

Easy.

Like this.

If you are local to Chicago, and you're looking to soak up the final days of summer, make a trip to the Chicago Botanic Garden {or perhaps you're like me -- trying to fill long afternoons by blending awesomeness with education for a kindergartener and a preschooler who think every day should be a party ...}

Though the Butterflies and Blooms exhibit, pictured above in the last two pictures, is closed for the season, the outdoor model rail road, also pictured above, is up and chugging along past the landscapes of America, routing past an exploding volcano and gushing geysor. Huge hits, I tell ya. 

And, of course, the gardens are still bursting with beautiful blooms and lots of wildlife that are more than willing to exchange friendship for food -- and, oh, look there's an education opportunity! Don't feed the ducks! God does a great job of providing for them all by Himself -- no matter what that duck tries to tell you, kids!

Disclosure: I am an ambassador for the Chicago Botanic Garden and write several times a year about the awesome things the garden offers for families in exchange for a membership. Why do I do this? Because the garden is a fantastic place for families to enjoy the outdoors and learn about nature through exploration, hands-on activities in the children's garden and exhibits! It's a gem in our very backyard! 

Share the Love: Alice in Wonderland {Marriott Theater for Young Audiences}

I've mentioned before that I am blessed to have married a Renaissance man, and as a future mother-in-law {very, very, very future} to two young women, I thought it would earn me bonus points if we succeeded in raising Renaissance young men who could not only go hunt their food but also sautee it lightly in garlic-lemon olive oil while reciting their favorite lines from Shakespeare as well as Star Wars.

I kid about the last part, but in all seriousness John and I have been theatre lovers since our high school days, and we love sharing our passions with our boys, so we're extremely fortunate to have the Marriott Theatre for Young Audiences nearby our home in here in northern Chicagoland.

A few weekends ago we ventured down to the theatre to view Alice in Wonderland -- this time dressed to the nines at my oldest son's insistence after he heard a friend who attended the last performance ask me why weren't dressed for theatre. {What can I say? Kid's got mad style sense.}

And Alice in Wonderland was wonderful!

Photo courtesy of Peter Coombs and The Marriott Theatre

The boys very much enjoyed the lively singing and dancing and the heavy audience participation, all of which was executed brilliantly by the actors and actresses in the show.

Unlike Cinderella, which was the last show we saw at the Marriott Theatre for Young Audiences, this performance really appealed to my boys, ages 3.5 and 5.5 because of the plot's deep roots in silliness rather than whimsical romance.

The Mad Hatter and the White Rabbit were two stand-out characters that our boys exclaimed about long after the proverbial curtain was drawn; I think we've stolen imaginary sugar tarts in play more times than I can count, and we've had a few silly tea parties since the show that have sent them into fits of laughter all over again at the ridiculousness of that silly Hatter.

Photo courtesy of Peter Coombs and The Marriott Theatre

John and I very much enjoyed the show, too. It was very quick-moving and entertaining for the youngsters as well as the parents! We laughed along at the silliness and "nonsense" of the nonsensical Wonderland so wonderfully brought to life by the cast members and decorated well with fitting, vibrant music, costume and scenery.

Only one thing disappointed my oldest thespian in the making and that was that the story line for the musical differed quite a bit from the movie, which is completely and totally normal for movies turned stage productions; however, if you have an Alice and Wonderland aficionado perhaps prepare him or her for such so he or she can sit back and enjoy the show without wondering what happened to certain scenes.

Overall, Alice in Wonderland is a spectacular performance, and we'd excitedly see it again. The show runs now through May 18, 2013. Tickets are available for purchase by visiting The Marriott Theatre's site.

Disclosure: My family was invited to preview Alice in Wonderland at The Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire and I agreed that I would like to share a review of the show here on my blog with you, my friends. Hope you enjoy the show as much as we did!

Share the Love: Adventures in Chicago and Beyond with the Adler Planetarium

Even though the beautiful and boisterous city of Chicago with all of its amazing culture and sight seeing and family destination is in our suburban backyard, my young family has only ventured there to enjoy pieces of its wonder a few times.

Call me wimpy, but I've let this gem rest just outside of our stomping ground until this summer because I've been sort of intimidated by the thought of taking our two rambunctious and curious boys to Chicago to enjoy some of what the city has to offer by myself.

But when the Adler Planetarium invited us {as in both parents plus the boys!} to come check out the museum and its new Welcome to the Universe Exhibit, I knew I had to man up; I rationalized that two parents with two arms each should easily be able to wrangle and chase two tiny tornadoes throughout the great big city.

And, honestly, what could two little rambunctious and curious boys love more than a day spent exploring the vastness of not just Chicago but also our planet and solar system?

If you answered nothing besides actually riding in a Starship Cruiser with Master Yoda and Luke Skywalker, you're pretty much right on target; we actually had to discuss myriad times before our trip that Darth Vader and Obi One would NOT be at the planetarium, as it was not the home of Star Wars. {Ahem.}

To say that we enjoyed our time spent exploring The Adler and Chicago would be an understatement; though it's been weeks since our trip, my boys are still talking about our Chicago staycation.

Generously, Swissotel Chicago gifted us with a room to call home base during our Adler exploration trip.

G insisted I take a picture of us in the bathroom of our Swissotel room, and he excitedly pointed out that there was a phone next to the toilet in case you need to call for help. 

The boys, 5 and almost 3, were like bees drawn to honey when they walked into the room and saw the large picture window spread out across the wall just beyond our beds. We must have looked out the window for at least 15 minutes exclaiming excitedly as tour boats floated down the Chicago River toward Lake Michigan.

The view from Swissotel Chicago

Of course, that was about the stillest they were during the entire weekend because our staycation was hopping with stops at Lou Malnati's on the Gold Coast for dinner, Millenium Park, the lakeshore via Shoreline Sightseeing water taxi and, of course, the Adler.

We spent the bulk of our time exploring the vastness of the life beyond our planet at the Adler. Upon arriving, we picked two shows to enjoy: 3D Sun and Welcome to the Universe.

Our oldest was mesmerized by the 3D Sun show until it became a little too real, and he needed to exit the show so we could talk about how the sun probably would not shoot fire balls at the Earth. We quickly moved onto exploring some of the large telescopes, the planets, pieces of moon rock and the solar system models before the next show began.

Our Solar System exhibit

When we entered the waiting area for the Welcome to the Universe show, I wasn't sure we'd actually be able to tear our oldest away from the interactive, motion-driven floor-to-ceiling video games on the walls. He quickly discovered that he could make the various spaceship shadows on the walls move by using his body to direct them. At one point, he declared, "Mom! Look! I'm using the Force to move this! ... Where ARE we?!"

May the Force be with you. 

When we finally were able to tear him away from the interactive walls, we found seats inside the Grainger Sky Theater and settled in for the presentation of Welcome to the Universe.

Light saber fighting with Melissa's jedi before Welcome to the Universe began.

The movie screen in the Grainger is spread magnificently across the dome-shaped ceiling, and from our vantage point beneath, it felt as though we were looking up at the actual night sky in Chicago. When the tour of the Chicago night sky morphed into exploration of the other planets and then our solar system, I couldn't get over the depth of the picture on the screen.

And our tour didn't end there; we then went beyond our galaxy and into neighboring ones, traveling past the Andromeda and the Coma Cluster of galaxies. I have never felt so small, so tiny as I did when we were experiencing the universe from our little chairs in our little city of Chicago on our little planet. The vastness of our universe was mind boggling and so incredibly cool.

And the movie was so realistic, I felt like I was really in a spaceship moving through the galaxies.

My youngest, who I expected to be totally distracted throughout the entire presentation, actually sat on my lap the whole time with his eyes glued to the "night sky" and exclaimed "wow!" "beautiful!" "stars!" through the duration of the show.

E and I were absolutely blown away by the beauty, the artistry, the precision and the magnificence of the Welcome to the Universe show. And I'm sure John would have been, too, had he not needed to escort our oldest from the theater after the poor kid said he thought the room was spinning. {See? Really, it's that realistic!}

We ended our tour of the Adler by making our own craters in the Our Solar System exhibit. Because, honestly, could we really end our Chicago staycation without leaving a gaping hole in something? I'm thankful such a mess was neatly contained inside the display box instead of sprawled across a restaurant table or the hotel beds.

Making holes in things we were welcomed to make holes in.

So now that we've successfully spent an overnight in Chicago and we didn't lose either child in any city or space blackholes or make holes in things we weren't welcome to make holes in, I think it's safe to say we'll be back.

And the Adler will certainly be included in our upcoming space and beyond adventures as the boys grow older and taller {they want to do the moon jump} and their interest and curiosity about our planet and space deepens beyond the Starship Cruiser.

But, hey, this was a great start.

Full disclosure: My family was invited by The Adler Planetarium to be members for a day so we could share our experiences at the Adler with our friends here. Generously, the Swissotel Chicago gifted us with a room for the night while Lou Malnati's Gold Coast fed us dinner on the house. Shoreline Sightseeing provided our family with transportation via water taxis, too. As always, all opinions are expressed are genuinely my own. 

Share the Love: Chicago Botanic Garden {Grunsfeld Children's Garden}

On alternating days, my boys want to be any of the following, depending on their moods:

1. Jedis
2. Pirates
3. Farmers who fix the pigs mud baths and chase the chickens
4. Horticulturist chefs
5. Biologists who primarily inspect dirt and eat tomatoes

Any combination of three more on any given day is optimal, of course, which is why we've spent quite a few days at the Chicago Botanic Garden's Grunsfeld Children's Garden this summer practicing the art of wielding light sabers and shovels while simultaneously exploring the botany and fauna of the Chicago-area landscapes.

The Grunsfeld Children's Garden, a new addition to the garden as a whole this year, was designed to be an interactive, hands-on, kid-centric garden where children can learn about plant life and the corresponding insects that accompany it through the five senses.

Be it sinking their hands into some soil or sorting veggies into their rightful plant family baskets, watering the garden flowers via spray bottle or slicing and dicing wooden veggies, the Grunsfeld Children's Garden features many interactive activities in which little ones can indulge four of their five senses during activity times. {No, guys, we don't EAT the plants at this garden! Back away from the cherry tomatoes! Sorry.}



Through September 30, 2012, activity times at the children's garden run from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays; best of all they are highly engaging and FREE! {Though, the Children's Garden is open for exploring normal garden hours.}

Our boys have immensely enjoyed all of our trips to the garden, and have often remarked about how it's even more fun than romping around and exploring our own sprawling veggie garden.

Even when I make them put away the light sabers while they water the plants {and each other}.

Also, it's gorgeous.



Bonus: Now is the perfect time to go explore the new children's garden because you can still catch the Butterflies and Blooms exhibit {and it's so much cooler out than during this summer's heat wave}. It's open through Labor Day weekend {2012}, and they are hundreds of beautiful, captivating butterflies inside. My boys were mesmerized, and I've never seen them be quite so careful and light footed.

Fine Print: I'm a grateful Chicago Botanic Garden Ambassador. I blog four times per year about garden happenings. My family was gifted a garden membership through 2013 so that we could explore the garden often and share our experiences. As gardeners and stewards of the land, the CBG is extremely close to our hearts, and we share out of a deep love for the work done there; as always, all opinions are mine. 

Share the Love: Chicago Botanic Garden

A normal winter in Chicago leaves me desperate for reprieve from the cold, snow and wicked winds that sweep across the plains.

This year, thus far, we've been blessed to have many mild days to get outside, run around and expend some energy.

Of course, this still is Chicago, so it's not been perfect, and I wouldn't be surprised if we have an entire month's worth of snowstorms before spring actually arrives. At any rate, normally, I am desperate to find fun indoor activities our entire family can enjoy {and we can only spend so many days watching the boys bouncing their crazies out at the local bounce house}.

During one of the colder stretches in December when we couldn't pay the boys to go outside and run around, we found a place that fit the bill: the Chicago Botanic Garden. Yes, we've frequented the garden as a couple, but we rarely gave thought to taking two rambunctious little hooligans to its indoor space where there are, um, things that can be broken or dug up.

But we were really glad we made the 30 minute trek to Chicago Botanic Garden and spent the entire morning enjoying the great indoors infused with the great outdoors.

The Botanic Garden welcomed us to begin our tour by participating in a hands-on project with the children who were attending the Camp Chicago Botanic Garden.

G was sold on the activity -- planting a bulb during the winter -- when they handed him a {plastic} knife and told him to cut apart the bulb to see what was inside. It was, like, his dream come true.

I was sold on it when Amy, our guide and one of Camp CBG's directors, actually began engaging the kiddos in a discussion about the parts of the bulb and then step by step led all of the little ones at our table {ages 2-6} in planting the bulbs in their very own jars.

After we planted our bulbs and learned how to care for them, we went off to one of the tropical indoor gardens. E enjoyed running around, while G actually liked looking at the plants and the lady bugs we found.  {And no one dug up any rare plants, squashed any exotic bugs or ate any dirt! Success!}


{Also, success: tropical with greenery and blooming flowers in Chicago during the winter.}

We bookended our tour by exploring the Wonderland Express, the holiday themed train exibit, in the other indoor atriums.

E was absolutely enamored by the trains chugging around the tracks of the mini Windy City and spent most of our time there chasing the trains around.



John and I couldn't get over the absolute intricacy of the Chicago landmark replicas, and G thought it was really fun identify some of the major Chicago landmarks as we made our way through the display. {Because I'm a eco-dork, I marveled at how all of the buildings were constructed out of natural materials like bark, leaves and moss. Stunning, really.}



A morning at the indoor exhibits and gardens at the CBG was an absolutely fabulous way to spend time together as a family while enjoying the beauty of the flora as the kids took in the sights and sounds and ran excitedly around the exhibits {which no one even batted an eye about -- other guests and staff alike. It was totally kid-friendly}.

We'll definitely be heading back for another trip to enjoy the indoor gardens {and temperatures of those tropical gardens -- woo!} before winter's end; and G has been trying to talk us into enrolling him in an entire week of day camp {so long as he gets another {plastic!} knife!}, during one of the gardens other day camps. {They host camps during spring, summer and winter school breaks.}

Generously, the Chicago Botanic Garden offered my friends here a $10 off coupon for any of the day camps offered this year. Simply use MBF12 to redeem the coupon at registration. Summer camp registration is live now. 




Disclosure: The Chicago Botanic Garden invited my family to experience the garden and Camp Chicago Botanic Garden. I was gifted with a gift certificate good toward Camp CBG and with lunch the day of our tour. All opinions expressed are my own. Simply, the garden is a Chicago area gem, and I wanted to share our awesome experience with my friends here. All pictures are compliments of the Chicago Botanic Garden.