Kids Create! Monthly Craft Carnival {Leaves}

It's time to get crafty with the KITC Kids Create! Monthly Craft Carnival. What is it?

A carnival is a blog article that contains links to other articles covering a specific topic.  Think of it as a craft party, where everyone has to show up with a craft based on the same topic. Use this carnival to encourage your family to create crafts and memories and have fun together! Who can participate?

All KITC readers! Whether you have a blog or not, we have a way you can participate! When?

Beginning this month we will announce a craft theme. Throughout the month you are encouraged to make a craft with your children and post your finished project to share with others. Make and share as many crafts as you want according to the theme before the end of the month deadline. Crafts you have made in the past are welcome, but new crafts are encouraged.  Once the deadline has passed we will showcase the crafts and announce the following month’s theme.

Where and how do we post our crafts?

There is a link-up widget at the bottom of this post. If you are blogger, post about your craft on your blog and link below to your post. If you do not have a blog, use the KITC Flickr group to upload a picture of your craft (make sure to include your name and a written description of your craft). Read more information here on how to use Flickr and how to join the KITC Flickr Group. October 2011 Theme – Leaves

Pinterest

Autumn is here and the leaves are changing colours. How will you use this theme to welcome and celebrate the season? Will you create a leaf wreath for your front door? Or a tree made out of handprint leaves? Will you make leaf stamps? Need some help getting your creative juices flowing? Check out my “Leaves” inspiration board on Pinterest. Deadline to submit: October 28, 2011

What will your family create? Alicia is mother to E (2.5) and blogs at I Found My Feet.

Getting your kids moving with fun games at the park

by Katie

I am a stay at home mom, with two young girls, ages 3 and 5.  About a year and a half ago my husband and I joined a gym, and our family’s lifestyle changed dramatically.   We went from a sedentary lifestyle to one where we enjoy finding ways to move and breathe and play.

One of the things that I have fallen in love with in the last 4 months or so is Yoga.  I attended a class most Fridays and have also tried out a few hot yoga classes, and even an anti gravity class.  I do yoga at home as part of my stretching routine for running and my girls have been picking up on some of the moves.  They started to play around imitating me and we discovered that this is something we can do together in a playful way.  This past weekend we were at the park and I was feeling tight after a very long run and thought, “you know why don’t I take the kids up to that grass hill and we can do a bit of yoga”.  The girls thought that was a great idea, and we soon found ourselves on top of a little grassy hill doing mountain pose, downward dog, cobra and some triangle.  I am so very far from being an expert or even remotely qualified to teach living things yoga.  But as a mom, I can certainly ‘play’ yoga with the kids just as if we were playing kitchen or school.  We bend and try to hold our balance and make a game of it.  We are moving and breathing and having fun.

We have even made up a ‘yoga balance’ game that we play with their friends.

The idea is I show them a balance pose (I really don’t know the correct names) like Tree, Airplane, Star, and Pelican and if a person’s foot touches the ground they are ‘out’ and have to sit down.  The last one standing wins the game.  I love this game, and so do the kids!  Let me tell you it can get pretty giggly.

I have one more game to share that goes over really well with the kids.  Its one I like to pull out when I am tired and not feeling too limber (like after trying out anti gravity yoga LOL).  We play it in the park, where there is lots of room to run and play.  I give them tasks to perform kind of like in circuit training.  I will give them an instruction and the first person to complete it wins that round.

The tasks are things like: -find me 5 pine cones -find 2 big sticks -take a stick and draw ‘blank’ in the sand -do 2 laps around the picnic table -crab walk to the tree and back -do 3 slides etc….

I love the challenge of coming up with fun ‘tasks’ on the spot and they for some reason seem to love running about completing the tasks.   This game gets them good and tired and ready for some ‘quiet’ time when we get home.

I love taking bits and pieces of what I am learning in my own fitness training and sharing it with the kids.  Getting them moving and sweating and having fun.  Most of all, I like that I am able to run about with the kids now without feeling like I am going to fall over.  That I can be  ‘fun Mommy’ in the park.  All though truth be known I am still pretty guilty of bringing a book and indulging in a teen vampire novel. But at least I feel less guilty if I can mix in a bit of ‘game’ time too.

http://lauriekatiesowrite.blogspot.com/

Organizing for kids

by Heather I organized several day cares and junior kindergarten rooms this past summer and had lot of fun doing the spaces.

In case you haven’t been in a kindergarten room or day care lately, the area is divided into zones (see Julie Morgenstern’s Organizing from the Inside Out) or like mini department stores (as described by Janice Russell).

Each zone in the classroom can be mirrored in your child’s bedroom.

The Reading Zone is where books are stored. Make sure you have enough bookshelf space to put away all books - you might need to add a bookcase. For the younger set, put books in bins that can be placed on a bookshelf, so all the books don’t come tumbling out when just one book is pulled out or put away.

The Rest Area or bed has only what is needed for sleeping or resting.

The Clothing Area would be organized similar to your mudroom or front hall, where children hang their coats on hooks and put their outdoor shoes and backpacks in a bin. Easy-to-reach hooks, bins, and baskets make it easy for your child to put away clothing so it doesn’t end up on the floor. When children share a room, label each bin with the child’s name or photo so each child knows where to put their belongings.

Label toy bins with photos for non-readers, and when the child begins to read, use photos and names (in two or three languages if you wish). This helps associate visual cues with words and letters.

Or, as one of my nine-year-old clients did all on her own:

The easier it is for a child to use an organizing system, the more likely they are to use it and learn to apply organizing skills later in life.

Heather Burke Smarts Spaces Organizing follow me on twitter @Smart_Spaces find me on facebook www.facebook.com/smartspaceorganizing

Christmas Shopping at the North Gower Farmers' Market

When you start thinking about Christmas shopping, I'm sure the first place you think to go is the farmers' market, right? Well, perhaps it should be on your list! This year is the first time I've gone out to the farmers' markets around Ottawa on a regular basis and I can tell you I'll be out even more next year than I was this year. Recently, I took my husband (Matt) and son (Brandon) out to the North Gower Farmers' Market in the southwest rural part of Ottawa. As we walked through, I realized that I was in the perfect spot to find some unique and interesting Christmas gifts for family and friends.

Sure, you find the usual treats and delicacies at every market - like fresh vegetables and fruits, as well as a plethora of baked goods that will make you hungry just looking at them.

There is another fabulous side to hitting the farmers' markets every week: Artisans!

The first table we stopped at was a huge reason I wanted to make this return trip to North Gower (Brandon and I were out earlier in the summer). Simply Whimsy Greetings & Gifts' owner, Tara, has a beautiful lineup of products - necklaces, bracelets and earrings as well as greeting cards. And while I was truly looking for ideas for others, I must admit I was adding a couple items to my own wish list. :)

Right next to Tara was Jack Wright of Rideau Lakes Cutting Boards. I must tell you, these cutting boards are absolutely gorgeous. (They're also probably far more durable than my old IKEA butcher block that split in two a few years back.) Actually, they're so pretty, I almost can't even imagine cutting anything on them, but I'm sure that would add character to them and make them even more interesting to look at. I love any piece that is both functional and easy on the eyes. Jack's cutting boards qualify without a doubt.

As we walked further in, we got to Kids' Earth Designs and the owner, Christine - a table I purchased a doll from on our last trip because Brandon wanted it quite badly. I couldn't resist it when I saw that Christine had given the doll red hair, with a mix of purple, green and a couple other colours in the back underneath. It reminded me of how many are dying their hair that way. Brandon enjoyed looking at Christine's table and I was only able to get him away by distracting him with some baked goods out for sampling nearby. His doll might need a friend by the looks of it!

I never had a Raggedy Anne or Andy doll, but I've always liked them. The woman who was selling them amongst her other products - runners, napkins, placemats, Christmas decor - didn't have a business card, but she's there at the farmers' market every week and her work is beautiful.

That was pretty much the end of my window shopping. I didn't bring any cash with me and only a couple of the artisans/vendors will take credit. So, make sure you come prepared by making a stop at a bank machine first if you head out to any of the local markets!

We did some exploring outside where there was some vintage farm equipment on display for the annual Heritage Day that was going on.

Brandon was particularly enthralled with the tractor - he even tried climbing on at one point. Eeek!

It was hard leaving, but I know we'll be back out again before the market's last day of the season on October 8th. Until then, every Saturday you can head out to North Gower Saturdays from 8:30 to 1:00 and take advantage of all the best that our local rural communities have to offer!

Karen Wilson is a wife to Matt and mom to Brandon (3), who blogs about her life at Karen's Chronicles. She also explores one of her favourite topics - social media - at her blog, The Media Mesh. You can follow Karen on twitter and find her in other places here.

Kids in the Capital: some changes

Brie and I started Kids in the Capital a year and a half ago to talk about the things we love to do in the city with our kids. And we've loved doing it! As parents with a million things on the go however, it isn't always possible to keep doing all of the things that we love to do, not well anyways.

Due to this lack of time to do everything, I'm sad to announce that Brie is stepping back from Kids in the Capital, though hopefully we will still hear from her and about all the amazing things she does with her kids!  She is still blogging at Capital Mom - a blog about her journey through parenting that is not to be missed.

Karen has agreed to step up and help with the running of the blog and we're thrilled to have her! Karen's personal blog, Karen's Chronicles, is a place where she documents everything from her thoughts about life in general to her adventures in living with the two men in her life - her husband, Matt, and son, Brandon. She recently started a blog about social media called The Media Mesh that allows her to explore one of her favourite subjects on a regular basis. You can expect to get to know her better in this space soon as a contributor as well.

But we can't keep this place hopping without you guys.  If you are interested in writing regularly, or just sharing something great you've done now and then, we'd love to have you send us a post at kidsinthecapital(at)gmail(dot)com.

Please join me in thanking Brie for all the hard work, sweat and tears she put into building this blog.  It wouldn't be what it is without her, and it certainly won't be the same without her.