Easter chick craft

By Vicky The Spring season is so rich with learning opportunities and art ideas for children! Flowers are blooming, birds and insects are plenty, and Easter is around the corner.

Here is an easy, and very cute craft you can whip up with your kids to help decorate for Easter! You could also turn it into an Easter card. This craft is perfect for kids aged 3-6 years.

Supplies needed

-Yellow and orange construction paper -glue and scissors -markers and googly eyes if you want

On a piece of yellow construction paper, draw an egg (the chick's body) and two bird's feet (making the legs long so they dangle off the body). Let your child cut them out, or you can cut them ahead of time and let them do the glueing. Glue both the legs at the bottom of the egg. On a piece of orange construction paper, have your child trace both of his hands with fingers spread. Once cut out, these will be the chick's wings. Glue the wings on the sides of the egg.

Next cut a diamond from orange construction paper, fold it in half and glue it in the centre of the egg so that it opens like a bird's beak.

For the eyes, your child can draw his own, or use googly eyes, or even just cut out black circles from construction paper.

If you want to get even more creative, you can use brads as hinges for the wings and legs!

There you have it, an Easter chick!

Vicky is the mom to 4 year old son named Joel and 20 month old daughter named Mieka. You can read her blog at blog Some Kind of Mom.

RCMP Stables Open House

By Vicky On Saturday, March 5th, the RCMP Musical Ride Stables are having an open house from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.

This annual event raises food and funds for the Ottawa Food Bank. It's also a great opportunity for you and your children to see the  world famous Musical Ride up close! Admission is free, however, donations of canned goods for the Ottawa Food Bank are always welcome.

We first went to this event last year, and it was a learning experience for the whole family! RCMP officers were on hand to answer questions on the care and training of horses. We got to see what a typical day would be like for an Officer on tour with the Musical Ride - everything from Ride training to mucking the stalls!

We were fascinated to see that above each horse's stall there were the names of its' parents and the birth year. We had fun walking around trying to figure out which horses were related!

The Musical Ride Visitor’s Centre and stables are located on the grounds of the Canadian Police College at the end of St. Laurent Blvd. North and Sandridge Rd. The grounds can also be reached via the Aviation Parkway. On site parking is free. The stalls are quite cool, so make sure to dress warmly.

Throughout the day there are also demonstrations and displays by various RCMP services and branches, as well as the Explosives branch and the Ottawa Fire Service.

There are many photo opportunities to be had with the mounted riders, Safety Bear and the RCMP mascot! On your way out you can stop by the Mountie Shop and the Musical Ride Visitors’ Centre too.

For more information visit the RCMP web site.

Vicky is the mom to 4 year old son named Joel and 20 month old daughter named Mieka. You can read her blog at blog Some Kind of Mom.

After school blueberry crumb muffins

by Vicky When Joel gets off the school bus, he's ravenous. He walks in the front door and immediately asks 'what did you make today'. I don't always have time to bake after school snacks, but when I do I know he's a happy boy!

Recently I found this recipe for blueberry muffins with a crumb topping. I can honestly say they were the best muffins I have made, and they didn't last long! They were moist, loaded with blueberries, and the crumb topping was a nice touch! I highly recommend them:

Blueberry Crumb Topping Muffins

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Before you start, preheat oven to 400. Spray a muffin tin with Pam or use muffin liners.
2. Mix the flour, sugar salt and baking powder and set aside.  In a 1 cup measuring cup, place the vegetable oil, the egg and fill the rest of the cup to the top with milk. Stir carefully, and mix the liquids with the flour mixture.
3. Fold in blueberries, and spoon the mixture into the muffin cups.
4. Sprinkle with crumb topping. (Do not overload the muffins with the crumb topping or they will sink).

To Make Crumb Topping (optional):

1. Mix 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter (room temperature works best), and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon in a small bowl. Wisk with a fork and sprinkle on top of the muffins before baking.
2. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

When I followed this recipe, it made 8 very large muffins. I think the next time I make it, I will put a bit less in each muffin cup and stretch them out to a full dozen (since the crumb topping does add a bit more to the muffin).

I hope your kids will enjoy these as much as mine did!

Vicky is the mom to 4 year old son named Joel and 1 year old daughter named Mieka. You can read her blog at blog Some Kind of Wondermom.

Making Valentine's Day special

by Vicky A few weeks ago I put a simple note in Joel's lunch box, just saying that he was a great little boy and that I was proud of him! I got a note in his agenda that evening saying he was extremely happy and proud of the note. It made his day. So much that his teacher took the time to tell me about it!

With that in mind, I'm determined to make this Valentine's Day extra special for my kids! Valentines Day is a wonderful opportunity to help your kids learn about kindness and appreciation.  It's also a chance to remind them of just how special they are and how much they are loved! Here's are some of the things that I have planned. It's a big list, and I'm not sure if we'll get through them all!

-heart shaped pancakes for breakfast, with strawberries and whip cream (I bought a heart shaped cookie cutter from the dollar store). -send Joel to school/daycare wearing red! -make a special Valentine to give to Joel's teacher (which we've already done) -send Valentines for the kids in his class -cut his sandwich into a heart -a special note in his lunch box-bake cookies together to give to our friends (we'll do this a few days before) -put fresh cut flowers on the dinner table -put a small votive candle next to every-one's place setting at the table -serve milk in wine glasses -take a family photo! We don't do this often enough, and with the timer on my camera really there's no excuse not to!-play a game together as a family -talk about how important it is to be kind to one another, and ask the kids for examples of how they are kind. -read Valentines Day books at bed time - here are some in our collection: The Biggest Valentine Ever by Steven Kroll If you'll be my Valentine, by Cynthia Rylant Clifford's first Valentine's Day by  Norman Bridwell

What are your ideas for making Valentine's Day special for your kids?

Vicky is the mom to 4 year old son named Joel and 1 year old daughter named Mieka. You can read her blog at blog Some Kind of Mom.

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Making pizza!

by Vicky Pizza is a big favourite in our house. If the boys had it their way we'd be eating it every day. We often make our own pizza from scratch, including the dough. My husband has perfected his dough technique using a great recipe we found on A Peek Inside the Fishbowl.

Whenever we do make home made pizza, I give Joel his very own mini pizza to decorate. I put all the ingredients in small bowls and let him decide what he wants on it. It's a great activity which gets him involved in cooking without a lot of the mess. He's always eager to eat a meal he helped prepare!

Do your kids help you make pizza?

Vicky is the mom to 4 year old son named Joel and 19 month old daughter named Mieka. You can read her blog at blog Some Kind of Mom.