Playgroups are for playing, and community

by Krista We love mondays in our house. Mondays mean playgroup in the park day. Our park is Kingsmere park, in the neighbourhood of Glabar park.  It is one of the reasons why we bought our house, before we even had children.  It has all the bits you need - sand, a play structure, swings, a wading pool, lots of room to run around, big trees for shade, and benches for mom and dad when we get a minute to sit.  The community playgroup makes it all that much more perfect.

Most weeks we arrive at the park a little after 10:00 am.  There are a good number of wee ones and their moms or dads by that time, usually at the swings or in the sandy/playstructure area.  Most of the children in the group are under the age of four, but that changes in the summer and the older children come as well.  The parents tend to gather in little groups in the shade when not joining in the fun.  We talk over coffee about the week that has passed, the new things our little ones are up to, about the struggles we face, and life in general.  This was especially important when my little people were much younger and I NEEDED to talk to adults, about adult things.  Now I can offer that to the newest moms and dads in the group.

The older children tend to roam farther as the morning progresses, so the parents break up in small groups that follow. They don't often follow their own children, just the children that seem to need help at the time.  It's great that I can help out another parent and push their child on the swing, knowing that someone else pitches in with my children and plays with them on the slides.

Snack time is a free for all, with all the little monkeys dipping in to each other's snacks.  I know that it is safe for my peanut allergic son, as there are several moms who have allergies in their own homes, and we all look out for each other.  My guys love it, as they often find the snacks of others to be tastier than their own.  Even if we offer the same!! As an added bonus, it teaches them to share, and they love to do it.

Playgroup is free, and open to anyone, not just those living in our neighbourhood.  We meet as early in the spring as weather permits, and keep going until the snow flies.  We have met a local gym in previous winters, but when that is not available, we try to meet at people's houses. This isn't as successful, and makes us appreciate the times in the park all that much more.  For more information, or to get added to the mailing list, see the Community Alliance's website.

We are always sad when our friends start to drift home for lunch, but we know that we will see them the following monday, if not on one of our other visits to the park in the course of the week.

I think that the best part of the playgroup is that you get to know your neighbours, and build relationships in the community.  We are meeting the families that live in all corners of our community, regularly enough that we really know who they are. We are all building friendships that will hopefully last for a long time, as our children grow together.

Krista is married to Willy and mom to a 3 year old son, Woo, and 1.5 year old daughter Goose.  You can find her on twitter @kgraydonald

Summer of Awesome - Changing of the Guard

by Lynn Before we get into today's event, a couple of quick updates on my Summer of Awesome list:

• AMC has announced the "mystery title" for the August 10th Tuesday morning show -- it's How to Train Your Dragon. I'll be there! (editor: that's today. Last minute, but not TOO late)
• We were going to head to the Biodome in Montreal this past weekend, but when we checked the website just before leaving, we found out it's closed indefinitely due to a strike. Close call, there!
• We did make it to the Museum of Nature a couple of weeks ago and it's wonderful. Chantal already did a great job covering it for KITC but I wanted to add that the crowds have thinned out - we went on a Saturday morning and it was pleasantly quiet - and also that they have a fantastic display on right now about frogs that is super cool.

And now, to the changing of the guard. We were headed downtown for the Busker Festival (great for kids, by the way - if you missed out, book it on your calendar for next year's Civic holiday weekend), and so we thought we'd catch the changing of the guard on Parliament Hill first. I was amazed when we took the kids to the Hill last year - they actually really enjoyed it. We didn't do the tour, but the kids loved running around on the huge lawn, checking out the Centennial Flame, going up the tower (there's a separate line for that, you don't need to be on a tour to go up), checking out the cats and the view from the back of the building, and imagining all sorts of princesses and knights that live in "the castle."

So adding really cool soldiers, pipers, and marching to the mix should only make it even better, no?

Um, no.

The kids were pretty excited for about three minutes. They liked the drums and the bagpipes and the marching in formation. The entrance parade, where they march up Wellington from Elgin street, captured their attention.

But what came next was about 30 minutes of standing around. There was occasional unexplained shuffling, and the odd yelling of unintelligible orders. A few bigwigs walked up and down, inspecting the bayonets and guns. It was pretty low key, to say the least.

After about 10 minutes, our kids were either asking for a snack, asking to leave, or poking the kid next to them.

After about 20 minutes, they were all begging to go home.

By the end, seven-year-old was swearing up and down that he was NEVER coming to this event again. It sure does make for pretty pretty pictures, though.

So overall, although Parliament Hill itself is a big hit with the kiddies, the changing of the guard was a flop. Not only were the kids bored witless, I had to deal with my husband telling me, "I told you so!" about 50 times. Gah.

The changing of the guard takes place on Parliament Hill every day in the summer at 10 a.m., up until August 27. My kids are young and fidgety, but you might be able to sell this event to kids that are more 10 to 12 years old, and more interested in Canadian history. If you do have older kids and decide to give this a go, be sure to arrive at least 15 minutes early, as two guides will give an English and French description of what the changing of the guard means, and what is going to happen. The best spots to view are along the Wellington Street side, closer to the East Block - so you can watch the entrance parade as it comes up the street - or up right in front of the Centre Block, where you can be close to the band and see the entire formation laid out in front of you.

Whatever the age of your kids, make sure you leave room for the tower, and the cats, and the running, and the princesses. Now that part of Parliament Hill, I can give a Summer of Awesome Should Do.

Lynn is mom to three tombliboos aged 7, 5, and 3, and blogs over at Turtlehead.

The fun of learning a language

by Brie My three-year old girl has had a great time so far this summer. A big part of that was due to the international language classes she took through the Ottawa-Carleton school board during the month of July. Every weekday morning for four weeks she joined some new friends and had a chance to speak Japanese.

What? You didn't know we spoke Japanese? We don't. Does the girl? Well, kind of. Or as she would say arigato.

Another mom told me about the international language classes being offered at a school near our house. I reviewed the options, none of which we or the girl speak, and decided on Japanese. I mean, why not! She loves sushi. How could it go wrong?

It didn't. She loved the Japanese class. The teacher was very patient with her. The fact that she wasn't the only non-Japanese speaker in the class helped. It was great to see a mix of kids who spoke Japanese at home and other kids just eager to learn.

I would recommend the summer langauge programs to any parent looking for something different for their elementary school-age kids to do next summer. You also can't beat the cost. Have I mentioned the only class cost was a $10 registration fee?

The Ottawa-Carleton school board has come out with the Fall schedule of language classes for elementary and secondary school-age children. If you speak a language other than English or French at home and think your child would benefit from learning the language in a classroom setting, you should definitely investigate the langauge programs on offer. Maybe you want your child to better communicate with their grandparents or extended family? Maybe your child wants to explore a new language? Whatever the reason, this is a great, low-cost learning opportunity for your kids.

The only hard part? For me, it's deciding which language to pick.

Brie is the mom of a 3.5 year old daughter “the girl” and eighteen month old son “the boy”. You can read her blog at Capital Mom.

Summer of Awesome - OPL Centennial

by Lynn Our Summer of Awesome was a little less awesome these past two weeks, because we did daily swim lessons in the middle of the day. And while that's fun too, and good progress was made, it doesn't really make for spectacular blog posts.

The floating! The gliding! The blowing of bubbles! See what I mean?

Since our ability to take splendid day trips was dampened, we did a lot of going to the park and having playdates and baking at home.

But the best thing we did is go to the library.

Our closest library is the Hazeldean branch, and quite frankly, it sucks for kids. The kids' section is smack in the middle of one big room, and while your kids are yelling and running around and grabbing books from shelves and shouting, "MOMMY! READ THIS ONE! AND THIS ONE! AND THIS ONE!", you're fielding a ton of dirty looks from librarians and over-the-top shushing from people in Adult Education at Algonquin who are trying to get something done.

(Or, your kids are sitting quietly at a table reading to themselves, in which case, we can no longer be friends. Be well in life.)

Anyway, recently we discovered the Centennial branch, which is in Bell's Corners. It's not too much farther away and such a huge improvement. This is a library designed with kids in mind.

When you enter, the adult books, and a separate quiet study room, are to your right. The kids' area is completely separate, off to your left. It's a huge round room full of books just for kids, their own computers, and an adorable little circle for sitting and reading. Plus, with a massive skylight and kid-centered displays and decor, it's bright and inviting and FUN.

I don't feel the same need to keep a close rein on my kids here, and that is awesome. The kids' room usually has its own librarian on staff and she's friendly and helpful and above all, tolerant. The kids are free to explore the shelves and curl up on a miniature couch with their choices. They can ask me questions without me constantly telling them to be quiet, and if we want to have a little impromptu storytime, we can just go for it.

Not a bad way to spend an hour or so, with enough take-home goodies to cover the pre-dinner rush for the rest of the week.

All of the Ottawa Public Libraries have kids' programs, but Centennial has more than most. They have Lego building events and craft series and storytime ALL the time and family puppet shows. It's like they actually WANT you to bring your kids there. Really! Let them touch stuff! Let them explore! Let them be kids!

Amazing.

And the very best part about the library? It's free. I usually tell the kids they can each take out three books. While the Captain limits himself strictly to this limit (because more than that would be breaking the rules, NO NO NO), and Gal Smiley is always delighted with whatever three titles I pick out for her, Gal Smiley can never limit herself to less than 10. And that's okay! Take them all! Because it's FREE.

And now, excuse me while we go do some serious reading.

Lynn is mom to 7-year-old Captain Jelly Belly, 5.5-year-old Gal Smiley, and 2.5-year-old Little Miss Sunshine. She blogs over at Turtlehead.

Planning a Fairy Party

by Brie Do you have any little fairies living in your garden? Perhaps some gnomes hiding behind a tree stump? Elves frolicking in your bird bath?

Then I think it is time to invite them all to a party!

Recently the girl and I went to a wonderful fairy garden party at the Children's Garden located at Main Street and Clegg in Old Ottawa East. In amongst the trees and tomato plants roamed every colour of fairy, gnomes and elf you could possibly imagine. It was an explosion of gold, pink and blue. And fun!

I was completely blown away by the attention to detail at the party. The organizers did a great job in creating a non-commercial environment that stayed true to the spirit of a fairy party. They also said I could share their secrets with you.

So here is some great ideas and tips if you are interested in planning a fairy garden party:

1. Face painting. The girl headed straight for the face painting as soon as we got there. She was delighted with the simple pink and purple design that was painted on her forehead.

2. Magic wands. The first of the two crafts the girl made was a magic wand. The wands were already cut out of a firm cardboard. The kids were able to decorate them with peel-off stickers, little jewels, glitter glue and ribbon.

With #1 and #2 done the girl was ready to party!

3. Little fairy friends. The second craft on hand, which I had to help her with but would have been great for older kids to do one their own, was to make fairy friends. The fairies had pipe cleaner arms, legs and bodies and little wood bead heads with faces already painted on. Kids could add fake flower petal wings and skirts.

4. A troll pinata. What kid doesn't like whacking a troll. especially if he has goodies inside! This troll was handmade and painted a vibrant green. He really wasn't that scary though. The girl was about third in line, so eager was she to take a stick to him.

5. Magic beans. What could possibly be inside the troll's head? Why magic beans of course! Inside a blue velvet bag that the girl rushed quickly to grab from the ground once his head burst open, she found a little clear plastic bag. Inside that bag was a dozen or so magic beans mixed in with glitter and sparkles. As soon as I told her they were magic beans she headed straight for the bean tent to plant them.

6. Cupcakes and iced tea. No party is complete without cupcakes and on this day all the little woodland creatures were offered mini cupcakes topped with candies pansies. The girl ate her's right away. None was left for me. She even drank a full cup of chilled tea. And then she asked for more tea please.

7. Storytime. With so many great fairy tales out there it isn't hard to pick one to share with the kids. I found myself smiling as I watch about twenty little girls sit on the ground and listen eagerly to the story of Cinderella. In this case, a non-trademarked version. It was a great way to end a fabulous party.

Brie is the mom of a 3.5 year old daughter “the girl” and eighteen month old son “the boy”. You can read her blog at Capital Mom.