Earth Day Ideas: Mini Geenhouses

In honor of Earth day on April 22, I thought it would be interesting to highlight some craft ideas I had found online and mesh them with spring and recycling. My favourite ideas are how to create mini greenhouses using recyclable materials. Empty Rotisserie Chicken Container

Take an old rotisserie chicken container and wash it out well. Fill the container with some fresh soil and seed starting mix and add water. Punch holes in the soil, push the seeds in and cover it up with more soil. That's it. Pretty Simple.

Leave the container is a sunny spot in your house and water as needed based on the seeds. Within about a week, you should some new sprouts.

Empty Pop Bottles

Another way to go is by using a 2 or 3 liter clear pop bottle. Cut the bottom off as deep as your seedlings require. About two inches should do for most types of seeds. Leave the cap on the top and slide the top down over the bottom after the seeds are planted. If you need to let some extra moisture out, take off the cap during the daytime.

Egg Cartons

Take a large egg carton, either styrofoam or cardboard will do. Cut a hole in the lid nearly the same size as the lid and cover it with plastic wrap and secure the wrap in place with tape. Fill each egg compartment with bit of soil. Place between 2-4 seeds in each compartment and cover with soil. If you're using the cardboard variety, place on a tray to catch any water run off. 

For all the mini-greenhouses, it's important to put them in a sunny spot and give plenty of water. You can lift or remove lids as needed to let release some of the heat and humidity based on the seed's needs. Place al the greenhouses in a spot that you and your kids can watch your plants grow!

What Earth Day Ideas do you have to share?

Spring into Spring: Activities With Kids

Spring into Spring

It’s been a really long, dark winter this year, so despite the curve that Mother Nature may throw at us this week, I’m trying to be positive. I’m hoping that spring (the real spring, with flowers and trees and warm air) is just around the bend.

In keeping with my positive attitude (which has been fueled by lots of coffee), I’m thinking ahead to my to-do list for getting our household ready for the change of season and all the great outdoor activities to come. As a kid, I loved helping my mom go through our closets and exchange the bulky winter sweaters and coats with lighter spring and summer shorts and t-shirts. As a mom, I’ve always recruited my kids to do the same.

Here are some our favourite ways that you can get your kids involved with the coming of spring:

• Have a fashion show of last year’s spring/summer clothes to see what fits and what doesn’t
• Create a scavenger hunt to find different outdoor items, like balls, hats, skipping ropes.
• Get your kids to help with “donation” piles and take them with you to drop stuff off.
• Have them fill laundry baskets with wool sweaters, socks, and long-sleeved shirts to wash before it’s put away for the summer.
• Have a bicycle “car wash” to get their bikes outdoor clean and ready. You can include pumping tires and adding ribbons too.
• Inflate your soccer balls, set up outdoor nets, and buy some sidewalk chalk.
• Give your outdoor toys a bath to clean them up.
• Buy some seedlings and get ready to plant your garden.

What are your favorite change of season activities?

Welcoming Our New Sponsor: Puppets Up! International Puppet Festival

On August 10th and 11th, puppeteers from all over the world will descend on the beautiful town of Almonte, Ontario to provide world-class family entertainment both in the quaint theatres of the town and all through the streets. Puppets Up! International Puppet Festival offers a daily parade, a visitor-friendly festival site that provides plenty of activities for the little ones and, of course, the great local shops and festival vendors of Almonte.

In keeping with this year’s “Family Reunion” theme, many familiar faces will be back in Almonte for Puppets Up!  Some of the most popular shows include The Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers from Bar Harbor Maine with their hilarious “Legend of the Banana Kid,” Massachusetts’ Tanglewood Marionettes and the exquisite  “Dragon King.” Some new faces to the Puppets Up! family will be Toronto’s Heath Tarlin Entertainment’ with “Spin Cycle,”  and Metaphysical Theatre with “Pierrot and the Moon.” For a full lineup, you can visit their site here.

My daughter and I went to Puppets Up! two years ago and it was an experience not to be missed. There was fun, food, friendly faces and of course puppets all over the streets of Almonte. There was an awesome puppet-theme parade during the event, featuring many costumed performers and some puppeteers helping their favourite marionettes walk along the route. The festival grounds held something for everyone including a kids puppet-making station, crafts, food and lots of fun. Last year, after the kids went to bed, there was be a special gala for adults on Saturday night held at the town hall with a pretty cool "puppet cabaret" show.

All the theatre venues are wheelchair and stroller accessible. Theatres are located within an easy stroll of each other, and there are plenty of shady places to sit for lunch and to let the children run in the grass.  Children's single passes, adult single passes and weekend passes to the festival are available through online outlets and on-site at the festival gates. A day pass for Saturday or Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. for an adult is $20, children three-to-12 $10 and children under-three are free. For a weekend pass for both days, for adults it is $30, children three-to-12, $15 and children under-three are free.

Puppets Up! is an amazing experience for kids and adults of all ages. It’s definitely something not to be missed so get out your inner puppet and we’ll see you August 11th and 12th in beautiful Almonte!

Welcome to Our New Sponsor: Laura Daub - Artist

I’m so happy to have the chance to welcome our new sponsor. After several years of teaching out of her basement studio, Laura Daub has just recently moved to a big, bright art space in the beautiful Britannia Beach area. Even though the studio is new, Laura has been on the Ottawa Art Scene for many years. In fact, the reason we met was that my two daughter’s have had the pleasure of taking art lessons with her for the past few years.

Formally trained in Art and Design, teaching others to love and appreciate art and creativity has always been one of Laura’s passions. She truly believes that exposing children to the arts promotes creative thinking, problem-solving and aids in mastering fine motor skills. As well, she feels that nurturing a love for fine arts in all children allows them to explore their imaginations, express their creativity in all aspects of life and aids in them becoming more well-rounded young adults.

In her new studio, located at 2728 Howe Street, Laura is able to offer so many different ways for both children and adults to connect to their inner artist. She has drop-in Saturdays, where you can take some time out for some creative play and learn the art of doodling and there is also a whole list of classes for both children and adults to choose from.

Between the classes, drop-in art times and workshops, Laura still finds time to offer private classes to children who have a passion for art and are looking to further explore their talents. From personal experience, I know that she takes a very nurturing, hands-on approach with kids of all ages to help guide them in their exploration of many different art mediums. Laura’s dedication, gentleness and passion are infectious and she can truly help those budding artists reach their full potential.

If you interested in perusing through her gallery, or want to find out more about the classes she offers, please check out her website and connect with her on Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter. Welcome to the neighbourhood, Laura. It’s nice to see you here.

High Tea at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier

***We updated this post! You can view it by clicking here!**

I’ve been hearing a great deal about the Prince and Princess Tea at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier for a while but never really gave it much thought. As the mom of two pre-teens, I have quickly learned that anything with the word “Princess” in it is taboo. However, since a friend had recently brought her older daughter there (just calling it High Tea) and had rave reviews, I omitted the word princess and brought my two girls there for High Tea.

Every afternoon, High Tea is served in Zoe’s Lounge. The decor in both the Chateau Laurier and Zoe’s is beautiful and posh. Just walking into the lobby of the hotel made my girls stand up a bit straighter and carry themselves a bit more grown up. In Zoe’s Lounge, all the staff were extremely attentive, and everything they served was presented so elegantly. Both my girls were amazed.  There were three different High Tea menus to choose from both my girls actually stuck to the Princess Tea menu since if offered more of what they would actually eat.   The scones, sandwiches, fruit salad and desserts served to us were delicious. We watched as the “tea expert” made her way around the room pushing a cart filled with so many varieties to choose from. Both my girls chose hot chocolate instead of tea but they did get to drink it from fancy china. The treats were endless. When our plates or cups were empty, they were quickly refilled and both girls were amazed at each and every new pastry and cookie offered to us.

Although my daughters aren’t strangers to eating in fancy restaurants, this experience probably topped the list. They both sat so quietly and politely, just watching everything that was going on around them. It was a treat to just be able to sit with them and hear about their day, school, friends and to speak with them as young women instead of just rushing them around from activity to activity. It’s something that I hope to do again very soon.

How old do you think your children should be before bringing them to a fancy restaurant where manners and decorum are important?