A few weeks ago I was able to go on the trip of a lifetime sponsored by Animal Jam, Visit Iceland and Wow Air. I was excited about the trip beforehand, but I had no idea how COOL it would be – it blew my expectations clear out of the water. I learned so much and I was able to go places I never would have imagined existed.

So if you are looking for an amazing place to visit and explore, put Iceland on your bucket list!! And to make things easier and way cooler than you can imagine, here is the fabulous itinerary that we experienced. We explored the whole country and we got to find out all kinds of amazing things about the Icelandic culture, people and the animals that live there.

We visited Iceland as guests of Animal Jam and Visit Iceland. Why would an online game for kids want to drag a bunch of bloggers to one of the most remote parts of Iceland? Because we are moms, and moms are role models for their children. Heard the phrase “If I can see it, I can be it”? Moms can have a huge impact when they show their kids that they can embrace adventure, that they love to get offline and outdoors, and that they are passionate and inspired by their environment and science. In short, if your kids see you take on new experiences and that YOU are constantly learning new things, they will do the same. Thus, the #AdventureStartsWithMe hashtag. Whether you are planning a trip to the zoo, a hike in the mountains, a trip overseas, or settling down with a good book, you are showing your kids the stuff that makes up an adventurous, curious life. As a matter of fact, we’d love you to join our little hashtag. Let us know what you are doing with your kids to inspire adventure and a love of the world around them by adding your photos to the #AdventureStartsWithMe hashtag on  Instagram. We’d love to see them!

If you are familiar with Animal Jam you know that they are an online game for kids. Their passion is STEM education and inspiring kids to learn within the game and offline too. I LOVE that!!  

 

• Day 1

  The first night we stayed at the Icelandair Hotel Reykjavik Marina  (It was filled with amazing rooms, like these violins hanging from the ceiling)

  Tour Whales of Iceland (I learned so much about whales and Icelandic sealife)

   Take a dip in the Blue Lagoon (AMAZING!!!! You can’t miss this. The water is so warm with a mist coming off of the warm water in the cold air)

   Have dinner at the Seafood Grill (delightful food. My dessert with melted white chocolate was to die for)

   Check out all there is to do in Reykjavik! (I wish there had been more time to explore this city. It was beautiful and full of positive energy)

  

  

  Day 2

   Head West!

   Stay at Hotel Husafell (Beautiful modern hotel. The room were incredible and the food delicious. I loved the root vegetable soup)

   Try riding Icelandic horses at Oddsstaoir (I was a little nervous about horse riding. But it turned out to be a highlight of the trip. The horses are so beautiful and being on horseback in Iceland – what an experience!)

   Visit the Icelandic Goat Center (I had no idea that Icelandic goats are almost extinct. The story of how they are being bred and the species saved is so inspiring. I also got to hold a baby goat – so fun!)

   Explore the glacier (This is a MUST. The experience of traveling to the glacier in a giant snow truck and eating dinner on the way up was so fun. The glacier itself was so cool. Being inside of it with the lights and feeling it as a living thing almost was so amazing)

  

  

  

  Day 3

   Visit the Icelandic Seal Centre (Finding out about Icelandic seals was fascinating)

   Have Lunch at Sjavaborg (this little restaurant was beautiful. I loved seeing the artifacts they reused like the post office cubbies with long-time village residents names. The fish was delicious)

   Go Seal Spotting

   Check out all there is to do in North Iceland

   Stay at Heydalur (Try to catch the Northern Lights!) (This family-run inn was fun to stay in. I loved the dinner menu and was impressed with the produce they grow in their greenhouse. They also offer river tours in the summer)

  

  

  

  Day 4
•  Drive from Heydalur to Suovik

   Visit the Arctic Fox Centre (I loved learning about Artic foxes. We also got to meet the mayor there which was fun)

   Have lunch at Braeoaraborg (this little cafe was so colorful and homey. I also loved that they had a very varied menu – from curry to pasta)

   Take a sailing trip with Borea Adventures (Another highlight of the trip. The boat ride was so beautiful and going to an uninhabited island and having tea in the only house on the island was a once in a lifetime opportunity)

   Stay at Hotel Isafjordur and have dinner in their restaurant (I fell in love with this town. The colorful buildings and the welcoming people right on the ocean. LOVE)

   

  

  Day 5

   Depart for the Gauksmyri Horse Farm in North Iceland (A beautiful place to stay. The carrot soup was so good and the Inn was welcoming. They have a main room with comfy couches that look out to the horse track)

   Attend the horse show (I learned so much about Icelantic horses. Like, did you know that no other horses are allowed into Iceland? And if an Icelantic horse goes outside of the country to compete, it cannot return home?)

   Have dinner and enjoy life on the farm!

   

  

  Day 6

   Head back to Reykjavik and begin your journey home

  We did a lot of driving to get to all of these amazing (and remote) places. We traveled with Grayline and our tour guide Ingi and we cannot recommend them enough!
  Be sure to check out this FUN video from Alison of How Does She: 

Thanks to the amazing sponsors: Animal Jam,  Visit Iceland and WOW Air!!

Animal Jam is a safe and exciting online playground for kids who love animals and the outdoors. Players create and customize their own animal characters and dens, chat with friends, adopt pets, team up for adventures, and feed their curiosity about animals and the natural world around them. Created in partnership with National Geographic, Animal Jam features classic playground role playing infused with the life sciences. Players can collect fun facts in their journey books, learn about Animal Conservation in Kimbara Outback, and talk to real scientists, like herpetologist Dr. Brady Barr and marine biologist Dr. Tierney Thys. Join the fun for free at animaljam.com!

More Helpful Posts About Traveling that will help you on your trip to Iceland:

• 12 Genius Posts to Help Make Travel Easier
• Bye Bye Binder
• Printable Packing List

Have a Beautiful day!! 

xoxo

The post Iceland Dream Trip: Itinerary appeared first on Tatertots and Jello.

My oldest kids just turned 22 and 20 – I still wonder where the time went. Over all of these years of being a parent I feel I have learned a lot. One thing I have loved seeing is the wild spirit that kids have. Sometimes I think we as parents, want to take that wildness and tame it a little. That natural, curious need to explore and revel in the newness of the world is one of the greatest secrets of childhood. It makes kids adventurous and it instills in children the need to learn, to explore and discover new things. Going to Iceland with Animal Jam and Visit Iceland really opened my eyes to how exploring the world can impact kids.

Over the past few weeks that I have been home I have really been reflecting on the experience and the way my experience can help my kids see the world. So here are 5 ways I think we can all raise more adventurous kids. I would love to hear YOUR thoughts as well!

1. Learn Together. In the past when we planned family trips it seems that we were so involved in the details of the trip and getting ready to go that we didn’t sit down and talk to the kids about the places we were visiting. During the Iceland trip we explored the country, the culture, the animals of the country as well as the people. I wish I had talked to my kids about the places that we visited before so that during the trip we could explore the destination together. I think this would be awesome no matter where we were visiting – whether it was a far-off country like Iceland, or the next state over. Each place is different and has a fascinating history to explore.
2. Explore. This can be hard. I know with my first I was so afraid of him getting hurt or being afraid. But over the years I have discovered that letting kids learn things for themselves is so important. So if one of your kids wants to try a new sport or take a class that you think might be difficult, let them try. This also applies when you go on trips. Instead of staying at the pool or the hotel room, see what local animals there are and see if you can find a local way to explore those animals. When we were in Iceland we explored all kinds of animals by visiting the Whale Museum, the Seal Center and the Icelantic Goat Museum as well as riding horses. That was a little scary – but everyone loved doing it!
3. Use Positive Affirmations. This was a hard one for me for some reason with my kids. I found myself focusing on the behaviours they were doing that were wrong and meting out punishment instead of focusing on the good things and rewarding them for their good behaviour. It is something that I think is very important. Focus on the positive and use positive words like “You can do it” when you child is unsure about trying something new. Also point out your past failures to your kids. I think sometimes kids get used to being able to do things easily, so when something is hard they get discouraged. For example, I tried out for many teams in junior high and high school and didn’t make the teams. It could have made me stop trying, but I kept trying until I found something I enjoyed and excelled at. I think kids need to see that we aren’t good at everything and that’s ok.
4. Try New Things Together. When you are exploring a new place, try things together. On the Iceland trip there were several women who had never rode a horse before. I had only rode one horse in my life – and that was when I was 12 years old. And when I heard we were going to be riding horses in Oddsstadir, I thought – no big deal. But the day we got to the stables and I saw those horses and tried getting up on the saddle by myself, I got a little scared. And when we all started galloping down the dirt road, I thought – what if I fall off and break something in the middle of Iceland??? And showing your kids that you haven’t tried something, that you are a little frightened, makes you vulnerable and human to them. You can try things together and that gives you the bond of a shared experience. That is a powerful memory to share and something they will remember always. And it doesn’t have to be something as big as riding a horse. It can be something as small as trying a slip-in-slide or a trick on the trampoline for the first time with them. The point is – get out and DO it with your kids!!
5. Focus on Questions. I know I find myself with the backup phrase of “good job” or “way to go” when my kids share something with me. But instead of these basic phrases, think about asking them questions. If they are showing you a trick on the swingset, ask them – how did you feel when you did that? or – did that take many tries before you got it right? This shows your kids you are paying attention and it helps your kids think about how that experience felt. Why did they enjoy it? What did it feel like? Thinking of reflecting on life moments with questions makes kids look at the world in a more meaningful way that connects them more fully. That’s just my opinion.

We want to encourage everyone to inspire their kids to be adventurous. If your kids see you take on new experiences and that YOU are constantly learning new things, they will do the same. Thus, the #AdventureStartsWithMe hashtag.

As a matter of fact, we’d love you to join our little hashtag. Let us know what you are doing with your kids to inspire adventure and a love of the world around them by adding your photos to the #AdventureStartsWithMe hashtag on Instagram. We’d love to see them!

I loved partnering with Animal Jam for my Iceland adventure because I know their passion is inspiring kids to learn about the natural world around them. They have interactive gameplay and offline activities that really spark kids curiosity about the science and adventure. They are the world’s largest online social network for kids and I love what they stand for.  Kids love playing and they learn about the world while they do.

Use Animal Jam to encourage your child to love science and adventure. Awesome! Here are some ways you can start:

• Animal Jam Academy – a free resource center full of science based crafts and experiments. Set screen-time privileges as a reward for completing fun science activities!
• Check out Animal Jam’s YouTube channel to catch up on their Wild Explorers series featuring fun crafts, science experiments, and animal facts.
• Animal Jam has an in-game Journey Book where kids find and collect cool facts about animals and environment in Jamaa (the world where everything in Animal Jam takes place). Help find fun critters in Kimbara Outback or in the Coral Reef!

There’s still time to WIN!

Enter to WIN an Icelandic Adventure!

One lucky winner can win:

• 2 Round Trip Tickets From WOW Air
• 1 Gregory Moonrise Backpack For Your Adventures
• $2000 From Animal Jam to use towards your accommodations and other travel expenses

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post 5 Ways to Raise Adventurous Kids appeared first on Tatertots and Jello.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had so many adventures in Iceland. I will be sharing our mind-blowing itinerary in a post next week. It was an AMAZING trip. And it is a destination that you really need to put on YOUR bucket list!! So don’t miss out on entering to win a FREE trip for 2 to ICELAND!!

All of the details on where we went and what we did are coming up next week!!

Here’s how to enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I am SO excited!!!!!!

I can’t wait to see who wins!!

This contest runs April 13th – 27th

Have a Fabulous Day!

This post is sponsored my Animal Jam, Visit Iceland and WOW Air. All opinions are my own. 

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