Pop Life: Taking a trip to the National Gallery

by Barbara

I've been excited about the Pop Life: Art in a Material World exhibit at the National Gallery since they started advertising their search for identical twins to be part of one of the works of art. Somehow, though, the summer passed and we didn't go to the exhibit until recently. Luckily, the exhibit will be open until September 19^th and you still have time to go.

I went with my six-year-old daughter, Reid, my mom and my 30-year-old niece and we all enjoyed ourselves. I asked Reid if she thought I should recommend that other moms take their kids and she said, “Yes! I am a kid and I liked it and so will they.”

Reid's favourite parts of the exhibit were the Andy Warhol pieces. He is her favourite artist right now, thanks to the Dropping in on Andy Warhol book and video we signed out from the library. She watched a bit of the Love Boat episode starring Andy Warhol, giving me time to read a bit more of the labels.

The piece featuring the twins – two young women playing cards when we were there – was more of a fascination to me than to Reid. When you're six, I guess you have less of an expectation about what will appear in a work of art. Reid enjoyed the room depicting anime art, especially the video of Kirsten Dunst singing “Turning Japanese”. The video is on YouTube but it is marked as possibly unsuitable for children. I didn't find it to be inappropriate, though.

We both liked Keith Haring's chalk drawing-like images. You can purchase items featuring his art right in the midst of the exhibit but it's a passive offering and the kids (probably) won't notice. Ashley Bickerton's “self portrait”, in which he presents himself through the logos of products he uses, was the springboard for a surprisingly good conversation about the things we use. I think Reid and I could do something like this at home. The other artists and their works provoked conversations as well. Reid didn't have any “they call that art?!” reactions but she did have some questions about what she saw and why it was included in the exhibit.

Admission is $15 for adults, $7 for youth 12-19 and kids under 12 are free. There are a few rooms with explicit artwork but these are well-signed and easily avoided.  There is a horse with something stabbed into it that isn't signed and you might want to be ready to avoid it or explain it.

There is a sign in the foyer indicating the cameras are banned in the gallery and there are many guards in the exhibit and so I took no pictures. The exhibit is visually powerful and I agree with Reid, kids will enjoy it. You may want to explore other galleries while you're at the National Gallery but don't be too ambitious. Good behaviour is tiring and you'll want your kids to be as eager to return as you will be.

Ottawa Lumière Festival this Saturday

We wrote about the  Ottawa Lumière Festival awhile back, and all of the fun activities they had leading up to it.  But because there was a pretty long lead time we wanted to remind everyone it's happening this Saturday. Will you be there? I plan to be!

Bug hunting at Billings Estate

by Krista So when I saw that the Billings Estate was offering twice weekly afternoon sessions all about bugs and catching bugs, I figured it was perfect for the little man who loves bugs.  I played hooky from work this last Wednesday, and took Woo to catch some bugs!

We arrived at the appointed time, and I learned some valuable lessons about advance preparation.  The link that I had seen for the class (not the official site) was pretty vague on details, and I took that to mean that we should just show up.  Apparently we should have pre-registered for the class, and it was now full.  I asked if there was any way that they could squeeze us in, as we were unlikely to be able to stay for the entire session, and I was about to have a very sad three-year old if there were no bugs.  Cancellations were likely, so we were allowed to stay, but this was when I learned the second lesson about advance preparation, that the class was geared to children aged six to eight.  I felt confident that Woo would enjoy part of the class, so I assured them that we would leave if it was not appropriate.

Most of the parents left at this point, but I joined the few that stayed with the group.  We were led to a classroom where they taught about this week's bug.  The lesson was on ants, and the teacher started off by telling the children about the development from egg, larvae, pupa, to ant, fielding the many questions that were asked throughout her talk.  Woo was very keen to learn all about the ant, and remained very attentive in class.   When the lesson was finished, we were told that we would make an ant house for the ants that we catch, so that we could bring them home.  Woo was very excited by this, and eager to catch some bugs!

The children were given bug nets and led outside, where they were told to look for ants, moths, butterflies, spiders, and beetles.  The ants were located to their newly constructed homes, and there were jars to store any other bug that was caught.  The chaos that ensued was great - any time that a new bug was spotted, the group of children all converged on that spot until it was caught.  They then dispersed until a new bug was spotted.  The ants proved difficult to catch, but all of the children seemed to be pleased with the adventure.  Woo was happy to have caught several bugs, including an earwig, an ant, and several beetles.

I am glad that we stayed, despite Woo being under the recommended age.  I definitely needed to accompany him on the excursion, but he did really well, and really enjoyed himself.

The last lesson is up this week on Wednesday, August 25, from 2:00pm - 4:00pm at a cost of $6.00 per child.  I recommend you check it out if you can - it's on spiders!

Krista is married to Willy and mom to a 3 year old son, Woo, and 1.5 year old daughter Goose. You can find her on twitter @kgraydonald

Summer of Awesome - Carp Farmer's Market

by Lynn I grew up in the Kitchener-Waterloo area of Ontario, and there are a couple of farmers' markets there that are legend in my mind. We'd go several times a summer and it was always so cool -- looking at all the produce, getting fresh meat and to-die-for cheeses, scamming the odd baked treat out of my mother. Going to market was a lot of fun for me and ever since we've had kids of our own, I've been looking for a market to call home.

This summer we gave the Carp Farmers' Market a spin, and it was pretty good. There's no question the food was plentiful and varied and amazing. We bought some of these multi-coloured carrots, which I think are kind of a scam, but still got the kids excited about vegetables, so can't argue with that.

It's not a huge place but there are dozens of stalls selling all kinds of goods. Even though there's not a lot of walking, it's very stroller friendly, so feel free to bring one along - to hold your kid or your purchases. It's free to get in and parking is free, but you'll need lots of money on hand as this is a cash-only kind of place, and also, it's not the Superstore. Things are on the pricey side - bunches of carrots were going for around $4, the last strawberries of the season for $5, giant zucchini were around $2. Much more than you'd pay at the supermarket, but I can promise you that the food is a) fresh, b) local, and c) delicious.

Also, there are lots of really different fruits and vegetables here, and that makes it fun and interesting. Almost everything was organic, as well.

I don't know how to shop at a farmers' market. I'm not usually there to get groceries, I'm there to explore and pick up anything that looks really tasty or unique. So as a result, we filled a whole bag with veggies and it did cost a pretty penny. But oh, SO GOOD.

We happened to be there the weekend of the Garlic Festival, which meant there were at least five times as many people as usual, and SCADS of garlic.

There's lots of other things to buy there, too, like chocolates, cakes, fresh baked bread, flowers, elk or buffalo meat, pies (I bought a sausage roll, I LOVE sausage rolls), fudge, and crafts.

I bought my girls a fun cookie on a stick and YUM.

You can also buy ready-to-eat food there, like pulled pork on a bun, freshly cut french fries, and gelato.

So, was it fun? I loved it, but the market got mixed reviews from the kids. My five-year-old daughter, Gal Smiley, is a bit of a foodie and was really excited to see all the different foods. It's pretty hard not to feel like the trip was worth it when one of your kids is standing there saying, "Mommy, can we PLEASE get the beets? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE?" So, there's that.

My three-year-old really loved the band that was playing there and wanted to stay and dance all day; she also liked looking at all the food and she sure did love her cookie on a stick. She likes crowds and shopping in general so she was happy and REALLY didn't want to go home. So there's that.

My seven-year-old son was uber-cranky and begged to go home the entire time. He sulked and frowned and was a general killjoy. It didn't help that due to his food allergies, he couldn't eat any of the ready-made food there, and couldn't have a cookie on a stick. He did ask for some carrots and a cabbage, though. So, there's that.

Overall, I think the market is good for the kids - it's good for them to see different foods, to talk about buying local, and to learn about what it means to be a farmer. It's not exactly a Big Fun kind of place, but it's interesting in a field-trip kind of way. It's certainly way better than a trip to the Superstore.

And for lunch on market day, we had sweet little baby grapes that taste like candy, purple carrots, unbelievably fresh strawberries, and rosemary bread with flavoured oil for dipping. So, there's THAT.

So I think I'll give the Carp Farmers' Market a Summer of Awesome Should Do - and know that I'll personally be going back for more. The market is open Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., and you can get directions from their website.

Lynn is mom to three tombliboos aged 7, 5, and 3, and blogs over at Turtlehead.

Going to the fair

by Lara For years I have noticed the small fairs that pop up around the city in the summers...  the traveling fairs with the midway rides. And I admit, I wondered who went to them.  I'm sure it stems from the fact that rides nauseate me so I have no personal interest in them.

Last year, when Kiernan was almost 3 we decided to check one out though - and he loved it! He didn't stop talking about it for months in fact! So this year, when one popped up near our house we headed out again, and at almost 4 it was a blast!

We bought him the $20 bracelet that gave him unlimited access to the rides, something that never would have occurred to me if my friend hadn't done it first.  After that, the kids were off.  Round and round the mirror/glass house and the climbing slide house (those are the technical terms, I'm sure! :)

The operators of the rides were really nice about letting parents go in to help the kids if things were difficult without any extra cost (even getting to ride the bumper cars!) - although I'm not sure that's true of every fair.

I don't have a schedule of traveling fairs of course, but if you were like me and weren't sure whether they were worth taking young kids to - they are!  Keep your eyes open, or hit the bigger fairs (Navan, Gloucester, the Ex, Victoria day, etc)  Maybe I'll see you there!

Lara is mom to 3.5 year old Kiernan and 1 year old twins Quinn and Juliette. You can read her blog at Gliding Through Motherhood.