Kayaking down the river

We've been taking Jacob kayaking since he was about 20 months old. I highly recommend the activity if you ever get the chance.

When he was younger, he wouldn't say too much, but he'd just take it all in. The dragonflies, rocks, trees, water, the floating leaves, the brackish water. We would sing, we would explain what everything was around him, but we'd also just enjoy the quiet river.

As he's gotten older, he's become a lot more talkative on these rides. He'll ask about the leaves, he'll flow his hands through the water, and from time to time, he'll use his kid paddle and help out.

Mostly though, he plays imagination games. He'll pretend that little floating buds are "people" who need to be rescued. So we'll grab leaves and other debris to rescue the "people".

Then, he's got to find that perfect rock to bring back home to give to Wall-E for his collection. So we'll stop on the bank and look for a rock. He's very picky though, and not just any rock will do, it has to be the perfect rock.

Sometimes we get really lucky and get to see some wildlife. On this most recent kayak trip we saw a beaver, ducks, geese, a water snake, a turtle and some fish.

I think these little river trips are really important for Jacob. It's dirty, it's a little dangerous, he has to be careful, but it's fun and adventure filled. He gets to learn about safety, about animals and about working together. He will see that while I create the power at the back of the Kayak, mom is the steering. And we'll give him the job of navigation. (Though it's straight up and back)

Back on the shore, we attempted fishing, but since I'm a novice, we didn't do so well. He was content to just use water sprayers and build barkey boats. Shoutout to Bluey for barkey boat idea.