Voting and your kids

by Amy

I grew up in a house where we talked about current events and politics. My uncle worked for a political party – the same one I currently work for – and I always knew that my mom voted, my grandparents voted. My father has donated money to any candidate that asked him, whether he supported them or not, because he believes in their right to run.

I firmly believe that people should be engaged in politics, should talk about the issues they feel passionately about, and everyone – everyone – should vote.

This engagement and passion starts with education. Since my daughter was born 15 months ago, I have taken her while I voted in a provincial by-election, a municipal election and to the advance polls for the federal election. As she grows up and understands more, I will explain the process to her – presenting your voter card, taking your ballot behind the ballot station, marking an ‘x’ next to your choice.

I firmly believe it’s incredibly important that Canadian citizens understand the way Canada’s parliament works. When you take your son or daughter to vote, explain that you’re voting for your Member of Parliament. Currently 308 Members of Parliament make up the House of Commons, and the party with the most seats in the House of Commons is invited to form the government. The leader of that party becomes our Prime Minister, and the leader of the second party becomes the leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition – because we are a Commonwealth country and the Queen is still our head of state.

Explain why you chose who you did, what they say that you believe in, what they will do for your neighbourhood – the constituency. Kids always want to understand what’s important to their parents. They are naturally curious and whatever you can do to help them understand how important voting can be will make them better citizens in the future.

As kids get older, you can take them to all-candidates debates or to campaign events. Since you are lucky enough to live in the capital, you can take them to visit Parliament and even take in some of the debate in the House. One of my favourite things to do as a kid was to visit the Hill and have my grandfather tell us who all the statues were.

Another great things that parents and teachers can do, something that we did at my elementary school that I still remember, is put together a mock election. Tell your kids about the candidates, maybe even get the candidates in to talk to the class, and let the kids vote.

Anything you do to help your kids understand what their voice can mean in our democracy will make this country a better place.

Amy is mom to  one year old Maggie and a 4 year old schnauzer named Henry. You can read her blog at amyboughner.ca where she writes about motherhood and anything else that’s on her mind.

Time to party!

Tomorrow is the Kids in the Capital anniversary party! We are getting excited about celebrating and seeing all of you there. When: May 1st from 10-12pm Where: St.Luke’s Parkat Elgin and Frank Who: All of our readers and contributors are invited! That means you!

Drop by anytime from 10am to 12pm. If you can, try to make it for 11am when Amanda from Little Lotus Yoga is going to be leading a 15 minute kids’ yoga session.

We also have some great prizes to giveaway from Shop Haven, Eko Bear, Jen and Jodi’s Friendly Kitchen , Sara McConnell Photography and Spoiled Sugar!

If the weather is rainy tomorrow we'll postpone the party until Sunday, May 8th. Follow us on Twitter to find out if there are any last minute weather changes!

See you tomorrow!

Making Easter Eggs

A favorite Easter tradition growing up was making pysanka. Although we aren't Ukrainian, we were exposed to pysanka living in Winnipeg and because it is so much fun, and so beautiful to make, we adopted the tradition as our own.

I hadn't made pysanka in years, but after taking a local workshop with some friends I decided to try it with my kids. I was nervous at first because I wasn't sure about letting my four year old and two year old handle the tool used to draw on the eggs with hot wax. In the end it turned out fine. I offered them the tool to draw with, after heating it over the candle flame myself, but they passed. They much preferred to just tell me what to draw while they watched.  (Kids that are six and older could probably use the tool themselves, with supervision of course.)

We spent a really enjoyable few hours talking about what to draw on the eggs, me drawing it and them watching the eggs in the various jars of dye. We used six colours of dye: yellow, orange, pink, red, blue and black. In other words every colour of dye I had!

After each colour of dye the kids made sure to pat off their egg with a paper-towel. After the black dye I used the candle flame to melt off all the wax and reveal the art underneath!

I won't even pretend that what they made is pysanka because the designs are in no way reflective of traditional Ukrainian folk designs. (Although it is possible to make faux-pysanka with kids!) But it was a good chance to introduce them to the idea and show them pictures of pysanky. I am pretty sure that this will be a now yearly Easter tradition!

Before making pysanka I did some other crafts with the kids to get them familiar with the idea of decorating eggs. I started by drawing egg shapes on paper and asking the kids to decorate them with their own designs. Then the kids painted the designs.

Next I let the kids paint on eggs. They had a great time doing this. I even showed the kids how to blow out the egg by poking two holes in either end of the eggs and then blowing out the egg yolk and whites. I think this was a highlight for both of them! (Tip: make sure both holes are a good size or you'll be blowing in vain). The only problem with a blown out egg is that the shell is easier to break, as my two year old found out.   

Does your family decorate eggs at Easter? Have you ever made pysanka?

Brie is the mom of a 4 year old daughter “the girl” and 2 old son “the boy”. You can read her blog at Capital Mom.

Kids in the Capital Anniversary Party!

We were pretty excited when Kids in the Capital turned one. So excited that we decided to have a party! When: May 1st from 10-12pm Where: St.Luke's Park at Elgin and Frank Who: All of our readers and contributors are invited! That means you!

We hope that we will see you there. The plan is to play, visit and meet new friends.

Amanda from Little Lotus Yoga is going to be doing a 15 minute kids' yoga session with the kids at 11.

Shop Haven, Eko Bear, Jen and Jodi's Friendly Kitchen , Sara McConnell Photography and Spoiled Sugar have all donated prizes!

We can't wait to see you! (Let us know if you think you can make it so we can plan for appropriate numbers :))

Brie and Lara

Going on an Easter egg hunt

by Brie I have fond memories of hunting for eggs on Easter morning. I was pretty sure my kids would like it too. One year I decided that instead of hiding little chocolate eggs or presents around the house, I would take the hunt outside and make a party of it!

I invited friends and neighbours to join us at our local park the Saturday morning before Easter. We had snacks and treats, but the real highlight was sending the kids on a hunt for plastic eggs hidden throughout the park. The eggs were filled with stickers that the kids could then sit down and use to decorate construction paper, along with some crayons we brought.

The Easter egg hunt can be made as easy or as hard as you'd like. The eggs can be hidden low to the ground for younger kids or tucked up high into branches or play structures for the older kids.

We had a great time with our Easter egg hunt. It was a fun way to get everyone together and kick off park season. If you have a big enough backyard you could try an outside Easter egg hunt there too!

Does your family have an egg hunt at Easter?

Brie is the mom of a 4 year old daughter “the girl” and 2 old son “the boy”. You can read her blog at Capital Mom.