February: What you might have missed

We know it can be hard to check Kids in the Capital everyday. That’s why we put together these monthly recaps to give you an ideas of what you might have missed.  And you don’t want to miss a thing.  Activities for Kids

There are a million great places to take your kids in Ottawa. This month we visited an Early Years Centre and the Museum of Science and Technology. We also talked about supporting sports for kids, taking in Monkey Rock at Tuscon's restaurant, eating out at the Elgin Street Diner, hosting a birthday party at the Putting Edge and the Great Backyard Bird Hunt.

Cooking

We made some delicious blueberry crumb muffins and had fun making pancakes with toddlers.

Crafting

We decorated on a budget with felt garland and made and played with parachutes.

Parenting Tips

This month we talked about Kindness week and the National Gallery for Moms.

Social Media

We talked about some great Ottawa folks to follow on Twitter and about an upcoming Twitter workshop you can take!

Sponsors

As always we have great sponsors to thank and welcome.  This month we had a great review and giveaway from Starr Gymnastics and welcomed a new sponsor - the Soloway Jewish Community Centre.

Valentine's Day

Valentine's is a time to make loved ones feel extra special.  This month we talked about the little things you can do to make Valentine's Day special for your kids, we made valentine's cards and also sweets. We talked about love books and we talked about a valentine's meal with no babysitter required. Oh, and have we told you lately we love you? :)

Winterlude

Ottawa in February is all about Winterlude.  This month we talked about family fun at Winterlude and of course, about beavertails,.

Winter Fun

There are so many fun things to do in the winter in Ottawa. This month we had fun with a toboggan, we went on a winter wandering adventures and we embraced winter memories.

It was a busy month! Do you have any fun activities planned for you and your family in March? If you’d like to share great things to do in Ottawa with other interested parents, email us at kidsinthecapital(AT)gmail(DOT)com to blog for Kids in the Capital! 

January: what you might have missed

We know it can be hard to check Kids in the Capital everyday. That's why we put together these monthly recaps to give you an ideas of what you might have missed.  And you don't want to miss a thing.  Today, in addition to recapping a very busy January, we are launching our newsletter.  We will be publishing the monthly recap on the blog and sending it to our newsletter subscriber list.  The newsletter will also be a place we will use to publicize special events and contests. We'd love for you to sign up!

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Activities for Kids

We played with bean bags, brought sidewalk chalk inside and fed the birds.

Books

Our monthly post from the Ottawa Public Library was about Storyteller's favourites.

Cooking

We made cheese trains and pizza, kitchen sink pasta, and talked about vegetables the kids will eat. We also decorated a cake with fondant. And played with it.

Parenting Tips

We talked about first trips to the dentist and the eye doctor and about the importance of taking care of your relationship when you have young children.  We also talked about the serious issue of talking to your kids about Alzheimer's.

Services for Kids

In January we visited the breastfeeding cafe, got messy at  4Cats Arts Studio, and took a trip to the Museum of Nature.

Social Media Mondays

We learned about Stumble Upon, Flickr, Podcasting and also talked about coming out from behind the computer.

Winter activities

We went skating on a local pond with new contributor Thomas (we're thrilled to welcome a dad to our regular contributor list!), went snowshoeing, and made snowmen in a jar. Shawna talked about getting out of town during the winter in a two  part series on getting ready to go on vacation.

It was a busy month! Do you have fun activities planned for you and your family in February? If you'd like to share great things to do in Ottawa with other interested parents, email us at kidsinthecapital(AT)gmail(DOT)com to blog for Kids in the Capital! 

Kids in the Capital is conducting a survey this week to learn more about our readers and better understand what kind of information you’d like to see here.  Please take 5 minutes to answer, and you’ll be entered into a draw for a free photo from Sara McConnell Photography at the Red, White and Love event on February 12. Click here to take survey

December - what you might have missed

December almost seems like a lifetime ago to me now - the flurry of the Holidays and then trying to settle back into a normal routine.  For those of you who didn't have a chance to check Kids in the Capital regularly last month - here's what you might have missed (a lot of great ideas for next year for Christmas!!) Activities for Kids

The other day when I couldn't think of anything to do with my toddlers someone suggested I give them a box- it's almost full-proof! An easy outdoor activity with the kids is painting with snow. If you don't feel like venturing outside, try this fun snowman craft.  Joanne also took her kids to a 67s game and they loved it!

Holidays

The majority of our posts centered around the Holidays in December.  We have a great post about Holidays classics from Carly and another from the Ottawa Public Library.

We had two great posts about gift ideas for teachers, one from Shawna and another from Angela.

We talked about getting a tree, decorating the tree, stockings, giving back during the Holidays, taking a trip down Taffy Lane, getting Santa photos done, favourite holiday movies, and holiday traditions. And that's not all! We talked about the 25 days of Christmas - a great activity for kids for the entire month of December.  We baked with Krista, our contributors talked about how they celebrate,  we talked about buying gifts second hand and we visited the Cumberland Museum during their holiday festivities.

Services

LMNOP is a great little toy store in Orleans you should check out. Alicia tells us about a great Christmas craft, but Gotta Paint is fun for the kids all year round.

Sponsors

We welcomed three great sponsors this month: Empire Theatres, Starr Gymnastics (stay tuned for a great event and giveaway from them soon!) and 4Cats. Our sponsors help keep Kids in the Capital going - please support them by visiting them and letting them know we sent you :)

There is just as much fun stuff to do in January as there is in December! Do you have any favorite winter activities? Share them with other Kids in the Capital parents! Email us at kidsinthecapital@gmail.com to blog about your winter fun.

November : what you might have missed

November has come and gone. Here's a look back at what you might have missed in November. Activities for Kids

This month we talked about feeding our feathered friends and about introducing our kids to the symphony.

Birthday parties

There are so many great birthday party ideas in Ottawa.  This month we talked about Monkey Rock and birthday parties at the farm.

Books

This month Margaret Kirkpatrick, the Children’s Librarian at the Carlingwood Branch, told us about some of her favourite books.

Crafts and cookings

We made sushi snacks, crafted a great costume and about turned your child's art into placemats as a great gift.

Game On

We started another new monthly series on gaming for kids called Game On. This month we talked about Kinect and Dance Central.

Holidays

As we gear up for the holidays, we've talked about the Orleans parade of lights, making Christmas cards with your kids and what kinds of presents parents recommend. If you're trying to get a great holiday snap, we had part 1 and part 2 on picture perfect holiday photos. On a more serious note we also talked about ways we can make others holiday season better with some mom to mom helping.

Parenting tips

We had some great tips on taking your kids to the dentist for the first time and how to talk to your kids about Fair Trade.

Remembrance

November is a month to remember. Sara talked to us about taking our kids to the Remembrance day parade and to the War museum.

Reviews

Amy had a chance to attend a Safe Parent course and told us all about it and Sara's kids had some fun with some great craft supplies from Eko Bear.

Skates and hockey

We took our kids to a hockey games, we taught them how to skate with Canskate, and we introduced them to Timbit hockey - winter is on it's way!

Social Media Mondays

This month we talked about who to follow and what client to use on Twitter, talked about the importance of commenting on blogs,  and had a guest post on the value of Linked In.

October - what you might have missed

We blinked and it was November. Before any more time passes we thought we had better share with you some of the fun things we did in October! Did you do any of these in October too? Activities for Kids

This month we learned about scouting in the capital, taking babies to the movies, build & grow clinics at Lowe's, Miller's Farm, and a great new climbing gym. We  also spent an afternoon at the Pinto Valley Ranch, talked about musicals for kids, and the butterfly show at Carleton.

Big news and changes

This month we launched our new look, moved over to our new url and also helped launch a sister site in Calgary called Kids in Cowtown (have you told all your Calgary friends about it yet?)

Crafts, Cooking and other fun ideas

Here are some ideas to eat, play with and make! In October we shared how to bake drill cake, a great and easy noodle box for quiet time and a perfect Thanksgiving paper bag turkey craft,

Exploring the outdoors

This month we explored all kinds of great parks, trails and generally outdoorsy locations.  If you haven't already, you should make sure you check out Petrie Island in the Fall, the Mer Bleue boardwalk, a great dog park,andMcLaurin Bay before the snow is here to stay!

Great Giveaways and sponsors

We had a lot of  great giveaways in October including one for Wiggles Tickets (we hear it was amazing) and for a great show at the NAC called Trick or Treat to a Wicked Beat. We also welcomed Eko Bear as another new fabulous Kids in the Capital sponsor.

Halloween

We hope everyone had a great Halloween! To get us all ready for the fun filled (read exhausting day) we talked about all kinds of things to do for Halloween, including visiting Proulx Farm, Spooks, Spirits, & Spectacles, and forming a Halloween posse.  We also talked about some tips for Halloween including what to do with the candy , hosting a Halloween costume swap, and how to get through the day with a child who is a little bit nervous. One of our favorite posts were the helpful ideas from the Ottawa Public Library on great Halloween reads.

Meetups

We had a wonderful Halloween party at Boston Pizza Orleans on the 31st! Thanks to9 everyone who showed up and we can't wait to see the photos that Julie from Inspired Photography took. We ended up rescheduling our mom's night out to Le Nordik until November 9, so we hope that we will see lots of you there. Keep an eye out for the newest playdate schedule which will be resuming in the coming weeks. If you have any great ideas for playdate locations let us know!

Parenting Tips

With Fall and back to school comes colds and other illnesses, so9 we loved the great tips on dealing with colds and other yucky stuff.  We also talked about photo tips for Fall photos and thinking about your neighbourhood.

Social Media Mondays

We are really enjoying the Social Media Mondays we have started here. Social Media has become so important to us and so many of our readers that we like to share what we know with other parents that are just starting out in social media. This month we talked about why to blog and how to start a blog. We also talked about why twitter is a great tool for parents and how to start tweeting.  We hope these posts are helping you delve more into the world of social media!

Don't forget that we want to hear from you about the things you love to do with your kids in Ottawa. Leave us a comment or email us at kidsinthecapital(AT)gmail(DOT)com if you want to blog for Kids in the Capital!