Flashback: Charlemagne Child Care Services Play Group

Charlemagne's pre-school programs still has a few spots left for the Fall - I highly recommend the program .  Check out Sara's great post about all their offerings! ~Lara by Sara

Tucked away at the side of St. Peter's Catholic High School in Orleans is one of our favourite drop-in play groups.  Charlemagne Child Care Services houses Charlemagne Nursery School and the Charlemagne Preschool Resource Centre.  Located at 750 Charlemagne Blvd, the drop-in play group, which is a satellite Early Years Centre , is open 5 mornings (9 to 11:30 am) and 2 afternoons (Monday & Wednesday, 1 to 3:30 pm) a week.  Tuesday and Thursday mornings are reserved for caregivers.

The bright sunny space is one of my favourite places to take the boys.  We like it so much that we've been regular visitors since 2007, when my oldest was only a year old.  The centre is set-up much like a nursery school or kindergarten classroom.  There are well-defined activity centres throughout the large room, including an art table, two sensory play areas, a dramatic play centre (kitchen, dolls, dress-up clothes), a play dough table, fine motor activities (puzzles, blocks), an infant area, as well as a small climbing structure and ride-on toys.  There's even a separate room, with a half-door, for children over the age of three.  Within the Kinder-room there are more sophisticated arts and crafts supplies, a reading corner, as well as 'big kid' toys, like Rescue Heroes and doll houses.

Because we visit the center at least once a week, I really appreciate the variety of toys, arts and crafts, and sensory activities.  Each activity area is usually centred around a theme, for example, during the Month of May we made Mother's Day cards, created tissue paper flowers, and used spring stickers and paint markers to make colourful pictures.  The sensory areas are even theme-based: in the fall the kids searched for animals in a big tub of leaves and at Easter they hunted for eggs in Easter basket grass.

The resource centre staff, Sheryl and Catherine, are welcoming and go out of their way to make everyone feel comfortable and part of the group.  There's a good mixture of regular visitors and occasional drop-ins, which makes this play-group a great place to meet moms who have kids of all ages.

Between 9 and 10 each morning the children engage in free play and then join Sheryl for circle and story time.  Sheryl has a great repertoire of stories, songs, felt stories, and finger puppets to capture everyone's attention.  Even the busy toddlers who have trouble sitting still (ahem, monkey).   Bring a (nut-free) snack to refuel after circle time.  While the kids are all eating its a good time to talk to other moms and childcare providers or check-out toys from the toy lending library.  There are three large binders to peruse that have toys appropriate for ages 0 to 5.  We frequently borrow large ride-on toys, which are a hit with both boys but too big to keep in the house on a regular basis.  The centre also has a great resource library with hand-outs on a wide variety of health and parenting topics, books, and videos.

The centre closes for the summer on Friday June 11th and re-opens on September 13th, 2010.  Make sure to check-it out before the summer hiatus: I'll be the one following the almost 2 year old whirling dervish from activity to activity.

Sara is mom to a 4-year-old firefighter and 2-year-old monkey.  You can find her at her blog, My Points of View

April: The month of Poetry

This post was written by Margaret Kirkpatrick at the Carlingwood Branch of the Ottawa Public Library. I was raised by a mother who recited poetry to us often. Some of the poems that were such a part of my childhood life are still a part of my adult life. It is my pleasure to introduce these books to you. My favourites, as I hope they will become favourites in your family as well. And next time you are at Ottawa Public Library, why don’t you ask the Children’s Staff which poetry books are their favourites? Have fun.

Animal Crackers: A Delectable Collection of Pictures, Poems, and Lullabies for the Very Young. Jane Dyer.

Readers will find poems that invite play and participation and others that set a mood or calm a baby. The poems are illustrated with Dyer's soft, old-fashioned watercolour paintings that create a warm, comfortable world in which children are safe and loved. The illustration accompanying Christopher Morley's "Animal Crackers" gives the reader a top view of a plate of cookies and a cup of cocoa, complete with melting marshmallow, waiting for the reader to join the feast. The handsome book design, adds to the charm of Dyer's delectable volume.

A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson. Pictures by Barbara McClintock.

McClintock’s illustrations will attract a whole new generation to this timeless book of poems. This book has been a favourite in our family, throughout generations. Stevenson's interest in cultivating the world of the imagination is beautifully done. If you are looking for a poem to begin with, try My Shadow, or The Swing. Favourites at our house! Lego builders will love Block City, and Bed in Summer will be a perfect poem for summer bedtimes.

Rhymes Round the World, Kay Chorao

These 40 poems and songs offer children a taste of many different cultures. Most are anonymous or traditional nursery rhymes. The tone is light and joyous. Sweet illustrations of babies and toddlers engaged in playful activities depict the universality of children everywhere. And talking about universality – I like the poem Day’s End. Try Kay Chorao’s other books as well. They are all available at Ottawa Public Library.

Sleep, Baby, Sleep: Lullabies and Night Poems. Selected and Illustrated by Michael Hague.

Keeping with our bedtime theme, here is a book full of “lullabies and night poems”. This collection of 51 bedtime rhymes is divided into lullabies, night poems, and musical arrangements for piano and guitar. Lovely illustrations, for some old-favourite poems, and some new ones too. The thought of going to sleep while being read poems, or even better, being song poems seems a kind of perfection.

Til All The Stars Have Fallen: Canadian Poems for Children. Selected by David Booth. Illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton.

This superb collection of poems is as varied as it is delightful. The illustrations, rendered in watercolour, ink, and linoleum-block printing, are so different from one another, and so right for each individual poem, that it's hard to believe they were all done by the same artist. Like the poems they illustrate, they are humorous, pensive, dreamlike and playful, soft and bold. Some of the poems demand to be read aloud as much as others need to be seen on the page. Kady MacDonald Denton is an illustrator to discover, and to enjoy.

Eric Carle’s Dragons Dragons & other creatures that never were. Compiled by Laura Whipple.

A well-chosen, gorgeously illustrated collection of poetry: not only dragons but a worldwide collection of fabulous beasts--yeti, Quetzalcoatl, okolo, Pan, kracken, and many more--. The interest level is consistently high--especially when coupled with Carle's flamboyant art. The mid-section is a four page spread of a Chinese Dragon, which will capture every readers’ attention.

The Dragons are Singing Tonight. Poems by Jack Prelutsky, Pictures by Peter Sis.

A combination of author, illustrator, and subject that is certain to have a great deal of appeal. Dragons are verbally and visually portrayed in this collection with wonder, whimsy, and a touch of wistfulness. The richness of Prelutsky’s language and the playfulness of the imagination are abundant; and Sis's illustrations are charmingly unique, sometimes deceptively simple, and certainly filled with the kind of playful wizardry that invites viewers to return again and again to these pages.

Do you read poetry with your children? What are some favourites?

Playing with shadows

by Alanna

There is nothing like a little sunshine to make uplift everyone's spirits.  You can't walk down the street without someone smiling or saying hello and smiling (or is that just the friendly nature of Ottawan's?)  The other thing you can't help but noticing one's shadow.  Polka Dot noticed first, during that burst of summer weather we had a few weeks ago.  As we are waiting for Lily's bus in the morning the shadows are amazing and then again at Noon they are even better.  He decided that it would be fun to "step" on me (my shadow) which then lead to a game of shadow tag.  From there, the shadow games exploded.

Tag turned into hiding in peoples shadows.  We made it into a fun gme where we pretend we have four arms and two heads.  It get's pretty silly, but I love the laughter first thing in the morning.

Later in the day we take out our chalk or paint brushes dipped in a puddle, and trace each others shadows.  The kids love how tall they are.  The next step is to retrace our shadows at different times of the day.  They will be amazed. While we are playing I get alot of "scientific" questions from Polkadot (he's BIG into science these days)  We have extended the learning into finding out what is needed for a shadow to appear.  It has been a great learning experience for all of us.

Next week we are going to do shadow puppets and maybe a shadow box.  It is amazing what can happen when you are just standing waiting for a bus. I guess it doesn't have to be boring after all.

Alanna is a mother of two beauties, Nora age 3 (aka coconut) and Avery 5 (aka polka dot). Former ECE turned mother, party planner and blogger.  Never a dull moment around this house.

Swimming Success!

by Amanda Y Well after that teaser week of summer in Ottawa, it has made me start itching for the real thing so we can go swimming regularly up at the cottage.  Since he was 3 (now almost 5) J has regularly been taking swimming lessons through the City of Ottawa.  The first round of lessons was really an adjustment period because he refused to participate for the most of the lessons.  He would get in the water but not cooperate with the instructor.  However, since then he has been quite happy about going, some of the tasks are hit or miss with him, he doesn't love having water in his face or ears, but over time, things have improved.  The spring session started last week and I swear, that was a totally different kid in the water!  He was dunking his head, happily floating on his back, front float has improved drastically, he will actually put his face in the water, tentatively, but he used to outright refuse!  He loves to play the games like "What time is it Mr. Wolf?" and "Red light green light" It's too bad the lessons are only 30 minutes long, I think he would benefit from a longer lesson, even another 15 minutes would be great!

The City of Ottawa's Learn to Swim Program offers the Red Cross swimming levels.  They include Parent and Me classes, Preschool classes, and School-Aged program (up to 12 yrs old).

Not only are swimming lessons fun, but swimming is also a very important skill for a child to have.  Many people have a fear of water and so having lessons in childhood can help to prevent this.  Fear leads to panic and if you panic in the water, the outcome is terrible.  Just knowing how to handle yourself in the water can prevent so many accidental drownings.  Of course, even the best swimmers can drown, and I highly promote the use of life jackets in boats and on inexperienced swimmers in deep water.  Simply knowing how to float and keep your head above water is a critical skill, in my opinion.  I am a strong swimmer, my parents insisted we take swimming lessons and I am doing the same for J.  It is also the kind of class that grows with the child.  They continue to build upon and learn new skills including rescue maneuvers and CPR.  Also something to think about:  teens who become lifeguards and swimming instructors are paid quite well.  They can work at city pools as well as summer camps earning their own money.  The benefits just keep adding up.

For information about how your teen could become a lifeguard visit the National Lifesaving Society's website.

Who knows if J will ever go that far, but what's important to me is that he learn to swim and be comfortable around water.

Amanda was born and raised in Ottawa where she continues to live with her husband and son “J”. Amanda is bilingual and interests include reading, blogging, socializing, and advocacy on children and teen issues.

The Castle of Nature

by Mike

What we’ve realized since the birth of our second child is that family outings are made just as much for us parents as they are for our children. In fact, when one child is only a few months old and has no chance of remembering anything of our visit in her later years, it’s possible that outings at this point are almost exclusively for our benefit.

So, needless to say, we were pretty excited when on my birthday, we decided a family outing was in order and that said family outing would take place at the Museum of Nature’s new Whales Tohora exhibit.

Now, the Museum of Nature, in my opinion, is the best museum in the city (although the Museum of Science and Technology, if for the Crazy Kitchen alone, is pretty close). And, neither me nor my wife had been since the not-so-recent-anymore renovations were completed.

So, like any parent who has a favourite, be it a hockey team, fast food joint, anything, I wanted my kids to like the museum so we'd be able to go back as often as I wanted.

As soon as we got out of the car Leah started calling the museum “the castle” and I knew the day would be won. Still, I wanted to spend the morning actually looking inside the castle as opposed to standing in the unseasonably cool outside the castle temperatures and used the massive whale hanging inside the massive glass showcase window as a temptress.

“Look at how huge that whale is Leah, we have to go inside to see it.”

“Inside the castle daddy?”

“Yes, to see all the whales.”

“Can I ride one like a horse?”

“You can ride one like a pretend horse,” I answered with my fingers crossed behind my back like I used to do when I was five (and 25).

“Let’s go.”

So, we did get into the castle and I swear forevermore that I will visit the museum on school-year, weekday mornings for the rest of my life. The lines were non-existent, the elevators easy to call and the staff were eager to cater to the needs of anyone who even had the appearance of having a question.

In no time, we were on the fourth floor, one child resting neatly in a carrier with mommy and the other running on the spot like the Road Runner, ready to explore the whales.

When you have the run of the exhibit and all the time in the world to play with the interactive features, Whales Tohora is outstanding. The half of the fourth floor of the castle is filled with whales big and small, baleen and toothed and skeletal and skinned.

The first thing we spotted was a massive whale replica used in the movie Whale Rider, which Leah has never seen. No matter though, her observations on the whale had nothing to do with the movie.

“The whale is soft daddy?”

“How do you know? You haven't touched it.” And I swear museum staff that she didn’t.

“The whale has no bum.”

She was right, the replica only covered the front portion of the whale. Still, that in no way explained why the whale was soft.And judging by the way she had moved onto the next stop in the exhibit, she had no intentions of explaining any further.

Next we played a little game that allowed us to, through use of a 1980s style joystick, navigate a whale, or dolphin, through the ocean without killing it. In five tries, we managed to get the dolphin eight feet from its launching spot, killing it twice on plastic bags, twice in a tuna net and once on a bottom of the ocean floor with no water for hours excursion.

Sadly, Leah didn’t seem too put off by the dolphin murders and moved on to pictures of non-dead looking whales and continued to do so until we found another interactive game---a design your own dolphin and see if they’d live game.

Not too worried that this trip was turning into a “create your own dolphin and whale demise adventure” we let Leah pick the size of the dolphin, the size of the whale’s tale and the positioning of the dorsal fin.

“Do you think it’s going to be able to swim to the top of the water Leah?” I asked, quite certain it would not seeing how the fin and the tail were placed almost side by side and the dolphin was the size of a cruiseliner in the middle.

“I think he'll swim to the bottom and eat there.”

And so she pressed the green button to loose the dolphin and watched as it, as predicted, fell quickly to the bottom of the ocean floor “to eat.”

“See daddy, it’s eating on the bottom. And it’s upside down.”

Next, my wife took a turn, making modifications to every setting. Her dolphin at least reached the surface before attempting to, and failing, jump out a la Free Willy. It bobbed on the surface for a moment before making its way down to eat with Leah’s dolphin.

Saving the day, I stepped up to the drawing board and used my ample marine intelligence to put everything exactly where it should be. My dolphin almost jumped out of the screen to kiss me it was so happy to have survived where his friends had not.

With a still good humoured family in tow, we moved to the next portion of the display---a massive model of a whale’s heart that was just big enough for a child to climb into and just small enough for an adult to not be able to climb into.

Leah spent minutes in there, crawling from one side to the next, always just out of reach. So, we took a peek at the rest of the exhibit while she educated herself on the inner workings of a whale heart.

Without a shred of doubt, my favourite part was the baleen display which looked like waves upon waves of wigs that had been left outside for too long. While she didn’t buy the idea, I suggested to my wife that I might try eating that way for a while. Kind of just taking the hair from one of my daughter’s dolls and gluing it to the roof of my mouth to filter my food. I was genuinely that impressed with it.

But, like all good things, our time at the castle had to come to an end, our knell sounding an awful lot like a hungry two-month old. But our time there was well spent and we’re likely to be back some other weekday morning.

Upon leaving, I asked Leah what her favourite part was.

“Just getting to spend time with you daddy,” was exactly what she didn’t say.

What she did say was:

“I liked feeding my dolphin at the bottom of the ocean.”

So at least she knows that dolphins live in the ocean.

Mike Reynolds (blog/Twitter) is an Ottawa born-and-raised husband and father to two beautiful girls. He’s obsessed with making sure his daughter says ‘daddy and mommy’ and not ‘mommy and daddy’ and with finding junk he thinks will one day be considered an antique. He also blogs about his admitted cluelessness when it comes to raising children.