The Great Backyard Bird Count

by Josee This is for the Birds!

The Great Backyard Bird Count is on this weekend, from Friday February 18th to Monday February 21st. This activity has captured my imagination - I just love it when learning, frugal fun, and the great outdoors collide!

The purpose of the GBBC is to create a snapshot of where birds are located across the continent. Everyone is encouraged to participate, and the GBBC's wonderful website makes it easy for children to get involved.

Here's how it works:

• Pick your bird-watching spot. It can be your back yard, a park, a forest...anywhere you're likely to spot some birds.
• Spend at least 15 minutes keeping track of the largest number of birds you spot at one time. For example, if you see three Canada Geese together at 10:00 a.m., then spot six Canada Geese together a few minutes later, you will need to record the six Canada Geese for your tally. Don't add the three and six together, since you might end up counting the same bird twice. You can spend as long as you like at your location watching for birds.
• If you decide to participate on different days or in more than one location, keep a different tally sheet for each day and each location.
• Enter your results on the GBBC website.
• Watch the on-line maps develop as more and more people enter their results.

Don't know the first thing about birds? If you're like me, the only birds you can identify off-hand are Canada Geese, Blue Jays and pigeons! No worries - that's where the GBBC's amazing website comes in. Enter your location here, and a list of bird species native to your area will come up. You can then click on each type of bird to get information and photos. You can also search birds by name here. The GBBC's kids' page also has a link to an application that will teach you and your child different bird calls, as well as numerous other fun, interactive games, colouring pages, and puzzles.

I think my four-year old daughter will love bird watching. I'm just trying to decide where we'll go to participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count. Come to think of it, we could even count the Rock Pigeons in our downtown neighbourhood - there are always plenty of those around!

Josée is mom to three-year old daughter B.G., and one-year old son Bonhomme.  She is always searching for fun and frugal Ottawa events and activities, and puts her research to good use at her website, www.frugalfunottawa.ca.

Family fun at Winterlude

by Laura This Friday marks the first day of Winterlude in Ottawa.  It is an excellent festival starring the largest outdoor skating rink (7.8 kms long!), the frozen Rideau Canal.  The Canal is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Estimates of over 700,000 visitors come to Canada’s capital to celebrate winter and unique events and activities.

 If you have never been to Winterlude, this is the year to consider visiting. The conditions are perfect. It is freezing!  Therefore, the canal is nicely frozen and we have plenty of fluffy white snow to make the city a perfect winter wonderland.

Although skating is a wonderful attraction at Winterlude, there are many other activities to enjoy , often free of charge. Some examples include Aboriginal storytelling and dance performances.  Visitors can watch ice carvers from around the world create magnificent sculptures. There are learn to skate lessons or an opportunity to visit a real arctic ice camp and meet with experts in glaciology, climatology and seismology.  A local blog called OttawaStart has an excellent guide to Winterlude for a comprehensive list of events and activities.

My family loves to visit the Snowflake Kingdom at Jacques-Cartier Park.  There are giant ice slides, a snow labyrinth, furry mascots, ice sculptures and other fun.  

It would be a gastronomic crime to neglect mentioning Winterlude food.  Skating, sliding and enjoying the outdoors make for good appetites. Last year I wrote about my weakness for BeaverTails.  If you have not experienced this sweet pastry before, I highly recommend sampling one. For those with a real sweet tooth, maple taffy poured over snow is something different to try.  My husband is partial to his once a year steaming bowl of poutine.  Either way, Winterlude  is not the time to count calories.  Trust.

This season the Dows Lake gallery, an outdoor space presents an exciting exhibit of original art from young photographers.  The theme is the environment. This eco-art exhibit sponsered by the National Capital Commission (NCC) runs from January to February 2011.   I am looking forward to checking that out.

If you are looking for a fun weekend getaway this February, consider coming to Winterlude.  I suggest calling your Ottawan friends/family and tell them about your need to spend quality time together.  Earn extra points if you own an air mattress and offer to shovel some snow. (Sorry, we have visitors already booked!)

Some of my advice for Winterlude enjoyment.

• Don’t ask where Bonhomme is – wrong winter carnival.
• Put aside all vanity and wear long underwear, snow pants, real winter boots (no heels ladies!), hats, neckwarmers and waterproof mittens.  Dressing for the elements makes it waaay more enjoyable.
• Knapsacks are an easy way to cart around skates, a camera, drinks etc.
• If the selection of Beavertails has your head spinning, go for the Killaloe Sunrise.  It is delightful.
• Try to skate on the canal after sunset.  It is a very different experience…romantic actually.
• For up-to-date skating conditions, check out this webcam. 
• If you have an iphone you can even download a free app to help plan the perfect Winterlude outing.

 Hope to see you out on the canal.

Laura is a wife and Mother to beautiful 8 and 10 year old girls.  She describes herself as an eco-advocate and moderate neat freak with a recessive frugal gene.  Laura provides light-hearted commentary for every day, practical green living on her blog the Mindful Merchant.

Kids in the Capital is conducting a survey this week to learn more about our readers and better understand what kind of information you’d like to see here.  Please take 5 minutes to answer, and you’ll be entered into a draw for a free photo from Sara McConnell Photography at the Red, White and Love event on February 12. Click here to take survey

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.

Kids in the Capital is conducting a survey this week to learn more about our readers and better understand what kind of information you’d like to see here.  Please take 5 minutes to answer, and you’ll be entered into a draw for a free photo from Sara McConnell Photography at the Red, White and Love event on February 12. Click here to take survey

Sidewalk Chalk - The Winter Edition

by Sasha Remember summer? It sure does seem a long time ago now.

Remember hopscotch? I don't know about you, but that's even longer ago. Longer than I care to admit :).

That is, until I read Brie's beanbag post. The shapes she taped to the floor reminded me of sidewalk chalk. And then of all the marvelous things you can do with sidewalk chalk.

And so I shot off to our local paint store for some coloured masking tape and voila! Basement hopscotch!

Not only did we have fun jumping around, Miss Bea also enjoyed adding a few of her own artistic flourishes:

Now I just need to find masking tape in some colour other than green!

How do you like to fill the dark, chilly hours of these winter evenings with your kids?

Sasha is mom to 2-year-old Miss Bea, and 4 month old Baby Em.  Her ramblings can also be found on her blog, The Rambling Stroller.

This Post Is For The Birds

by Sasha Many, many (many many many) years ago, I read an article in Owl magazine about a girl who had trained the chickadees in her backyard to eat from her hand. This took some patience and perseverence - going out every day with a handful of seed, working her way ever closer to the feeder, and finally taking the feeder away. I finally tried this a couple of years ago - and after a week or so I did manage to get a few brave little birds to land on my outstretched hand. It was pretty neat.

I now have a 2-year-old. "Patience" and "perseverence" aren't really in the lexicon yet. But 'bird' certainly is. And so, when I heard rumours of some really friendly chickadees at P11 in the greenbelt, I decided to check it out.

The plan was to take the girls out on Christmas Day, so just to avoid any disappointment, I swung by on Christmas Eve. And sure enough, those birds know where seed comes from. I had none with me, and yet all I had to do was step out of the parking lot and stand there, and within a minute or two the nearby bushes were a-twitter with chubby little birds, all eyeing me hopefully.

Christmas Day was a success. We went out with a big back of black sunflower seeds, which Miss Bea cheerfully scooped from the bag into piles on the ground. She liked the birds, and tried to hold some seed out for them, but then squealed and jumped away whenever one came near (and as a testament to how brave these birds are, that didn't stop them trying).  Before long they were actually tusselling for the seed on my hand (video).

If you would like to check it out, P11 is located off Hunt Club road between the 416 and Moodie. There are pathways & ski trails, but you can find the chickadees just by stepping out of the parking lot.  Note though, as we learned on a later visit, the chickadees have the sense to stay inside on the blustery days, leaving us wishing we did too.

Sasha is mom to 2-year-old Miss Bea, and 4 month old Baby Em.  Her ramblings can also be found on her blog, The Rambling Stroller.