Easter Weekend Roundup

I've been hearing about several great events coming up for both Easter and Earth Day, so I thought I'd share them here! Easter and Earth Day go together quite well, don't you think? Spring is here, the bunnies are multiplying, and the Earth is....well...a bit muddy. Place D'Orleans Easter activities - photo spots with the Easter bunny are all booked up, but there will be free face painting and crafts! Thursday April 17th, 10am - 2pm

Proulx Sugar Bush and Berry Farm: Good Friday and Easter Sunday, 11am - 2pm. An egg hunt, face painting and clue hunt!

Earth Day at Terra20: Saturday April 19th, 12 - 4pm. Lots of kid-friendly activities!

The Canada Agriculture Museum is open every single day this weekend!

The Cumberland Heritage Village Museum has an Easter egg hunt with Curious Cottontail!

Fulton's Pancake House and Sugar Bush - maple syrup...pancakes....say no more!

Stay tuned later this week for some super yummy craft/snack ideas for Easter!

DIY Toys: Fun for Hours!

I got this idea (well kinda definitely copied the idea) from my sister in-law when babysitting her boys a few weeks ago. It’s so simple and so easy to do....and it will entertain your little one(s) for hours!

Why wouldn’t it be fun? It clangs, you can shoot the discs across the room on the floor, put the disks in...pull them out, drop them in, shake it about. So.Much.Fun.

Fin agrees.

And I had fun watching him explore and do all the actions listed above, over and over again.

My sister in-law used a Pringles can for hers, and has a TON of the metal disks. She swears her boys, now 3 and 6, have had hours of fun playing with this game. And she has had it around for a few years now...so it’s great for such a wide age range.

Fin is 10 months old, and he had a blast with it all morning (and then later in the afternoon, in case anyone was noticing the wardrobe change). It’s a little early for Fin right now, but I’ve started labeling the disks with numbers and shapes to increase the learning factor.

So, what do you need to put this simple game together?

- 1 container with a Plastic lid (I used a 32oz. Plastic container from Kardish...they’re nice thick and sturdy)

- Tops (and bottoms if you can detach them) from frozen juice concentrates – I have 4 to start but plan on collecting them as I go through juice...it’s a slow process in my house

- Exacto knife

- Cutting board and/or cardboard

- Permanent Marker or stickers (optional)

Putting it all together:

1)Lay the lid for the plastic container on your cutting board or mat and use the exacto knife to cut out a rectangle measuring 3” x 1/2” (just big enough for your juice lids, aka ‘disks’).

2)Separate your metal tops and bottoms from the cardboard juice containers. Use permanent maker (or stickers!) to draw on numbers, shapes, mathematical signs, words, etc.

3)Put the lid on the plastic container.

4)Let your little one play the day away!

Eryn is a mom to a cheerful and energetic little 10 month old boy. She is a Registered Holisitic Nutritionist & accepting new clients . When she's not chasing around a baby or talking nutrition, she enjoys quilting, crafting, cooking & everything in between and blogs about those and other adventures at Bringing Back Handmade.

WE DAY: Sneak Peek!

It's been a long day. I have so many thoughts floating around my head, and can't wait to write them all down. But for tonight, a few pictures from National We Day today!

Earth Day in the Capital

Every day should be Earth Day, no? I really enjoyed this recent opinion piece in The Globe and Mail, in which Margaret Wente argues that the way we talk about climate change is unhelpful. "I no longer think climate change is a hopeless problem. I just think the way we currently talk about it is hopeless." We're relying on people to change their behaviour by giving them doomsday scenarios, as opposed to finding ways to truly motivate and empower individuals. Although I strongly feel that governments need to take a much greater role in dealing with climate change, I also realize that change can be small. We can start with our own children and families, and work our way out from there. I heard a quote recently, and it really resonated:

"If you can't do great things, do small things in a great way" - Napoleon Hill

So I compiled a little list of ideas for you and your family this coming Earth Day:

1) Tim Hortons' Cleaning the Capital- choose a local park and register with the City of Ottawa for all the cleaning supplies you'll need!

2) Adopt an animal- every time my husband turns on a nature show, I have to leave the room. Inevitably, there will be a shot of a polar bear swimming and swimming (and drowning) because he can not find any ice. Why not consider donating money to "adopt" an animal and support conservation work?

3) 24 hour Earth Hour - I'm not an Earth Hour participant. I totally understand the event and its significance. I just try to conserve energy every day, by turning off lights when I don't need them, shutting down my computer, and unplugging unused appliances. But why not try a day-long electronics cleanse? Shut off your TV, Iphones/pads, and computer for one whole day and see what happens (no, the world will not collapse in on itself ;) )

4) Foraging - ok, let's pray that the snow has melted by Earth Day. If it has, you may see lots of edible plants popping up from the muddy ground. You may have to wait a few more weeks before you can actually collect and eat them, but educate yourself on how to spot yummy spring edibles such as watercress, ramps, dandelion, clover and wild strawberries. This YouTube video is a great start!

5) How about a visit to the museum? We're so lucky here in Ottawa to have the Agriculture Museum! What better way to teach our children about animals and habitats? And of course, spring baby lambs have got to be the cutest things in the world!!

baby lamb

How will you be celebrating Earth Day?

For Next Winter

Alright Old Man Winter, we are done and done. I've been patient. I was patient all through January, when post-Christmas blahs were at their worst. I was patient in February, apparently the most depressing month of the year. And I was patient at the beginning of March, as I eagerly anticipated warmer temperatures. But now? My patience has been swept away by the icy winds and blowing snow. My kids no longer fight their snowsuits - they just play dead when it's time to get dressed. It's like they've lost the will to live.

But alas, I know you can not haunt us forever, and slowly but surely, the sun is gaining strength. Yesterday I was actually sweating on my walk to work!

So this is the time of year that I begin assessing how to make winter better for the whole family. We're finally past the newborn stage, and both my kids will be ready for fun activities next year. And what's more fun than skiing? So I put the word out to some friends, asking for advice on the best age to begin skiing.

Apparently there IS no best age! My friends reported cross-country skiing with their 18-month olds (they must be athletically endowed - our family does not carry those genes). As for downhill, it seems that 3-5 years old is the best time to begin lessons. Parents suggest trying one lesson first before signing up for a package - let your kids decide whether they want to continue!

This gives me hope for next winter - that my family may embrace the snow pants and get out on our skis. I just hope my kids are slightly more athletic than I am, as pictured here several winters ago ;)

Do you ski with your children?