My Park: Gerald Poulin Park

by Vicky Gerald Poulin Park is located in Chapel Hill, Orleans. This great 4-season park is the one I played at when I was a kid. Since my parents haven't moved, my own kids now get to enjoy the park like I did. The city updated the structures last year, so they are new and modern.

In the winter, kids can enjoy the toboggan hill, which has a steep side for older kids, and a more gradual slope for the younger ones. At the bottom of the hill, there is a skating rink which is maintained by the city. I used to have skating parties on this rink when I was younger. Someday my own kids will skate there too.

At the other end you'll find a large open space which is perfect for kite flying, soccer playing or running off energy. In the summer, younger kids play in the splash pad, teenagers gather at the beach volleyball pit, and dog-walkers stroll along the winding paths.

It really is a perfect park for every one and every season.

Vicky is the mom to 3.5 year old son named Joel and 9 month old daughter named Mieka. You can read her blog at blog Some Kind of Wondermom.

My park: Millenium park

by Joanne

Did you know Millennium Park had a facelift? Check out our new post on this amazing park by visiting: http://www.kidsinthecapital.ca/blog/2016/7/5/the-new-millennium-park

Like all kids my munchkins love to go the park. They want to play basketball, climb on the structures and swing – they love it all and enjoy every moment.   In our neighbourhood we have three parks in walking distance, the “parc bleu” (as my 4-year-old refers to it) has a blue structure and is always a favourite, especially when we take a hike on the nature trail.  The “parc d’Adrien” (again not the official name) is across the street from Adrien’s house and is a lot of fun.  But when the kids have been super good and we are want to spoil them a bit – I pack a water bottle, grab my lawn chair, some snacks and head to the Millennium Park.

Millennium Park is located in Orleans – on Trim road just a few minutes south of Innes Road.  As you drive up you can see the wonderful structures.  Now, this is not just any ordinary park. There are soccer fields and swings, but also two amazing play structures that will impress kids (and parents) of all ages.

The first one you see is a pirate ship;  it is the smaller of two but lots of fun for all ages.  My son slides, climbs and imagines he is the captain of his beautiful vessel.

The second structure is a replica of the Parliament Buildings  and has three levels to play in – a very impressive two storey slide from the top brings them down to the front of the structure.  The kids (and parents) can climb and slide to their heart's content.  I will grab a blanket or a lawn chair so I can keep an eye on them from below.

There is not a lot of shade at the park so keep that in mind if you are there during the hot hazy days of summer.

Joanne is the proud mom of Amélie (8 years old) and Mathieu (4 years).  She is new at blogging and you can find her at Our Money Pit

Never underestimate the entertainment value of Pooh Sticks

by Shawna With the days heating up (I am sticking my fingers in my ears at mention of nighttime near-freezing temperatures this coming week - lalala, I can't hear you!),  my family is itching to get outside.  Yes, there are lots of fabulous, known parks we can target, but just as appealing is going for a walk or throwing helmets on the kids' little melons and stuffing them in our usedottawa.com-purchased bike trailer to explore.  After all, playgrounds might offer the kids a chance to run around, but the most activity I usually get there is pushing swings, or helicoptering around my almost-two-year-old to make sure he doesn't plummet through a gap in the play structure rails enroute to the slide.

We're new to our Barrhaven neighbourhood (as is everyone around us: we live in a brand-new development) so so far our forays have had us exploring close to home.  We have a path that loops around the water containment pond that's almost across the street.  If we're smart, we head to the left when we get there and branch out about halfway around.  We only return to the path do the second half when we know we're done with the walk.  You see, there's a bridge on that half, and we have learned that throwing pebbles into the water is an inexhaustible source of entertainment when you're a half-pint.  And throwing sticks on the upstream side and waiting for them to appear on the other?  You cannot imagine the suspense!  Especially because the current is extremely sluggish once the spring run-off has happened.  (Where did my stick go?  Why isn't it here yet?  Did it get stuck on something?  I'll get more rocks to throw while I'm waiting... Did I miss my stick while I was getting the rocks? Where is my stick? THERE IT IS!  LOOK MUMMA, LOOK!)  This game, by the way, was "invented" by Winnie the Pooh, hence the name "Pooh Sticks" (no, it's not a scatalogical reference).

Announcements that it is time to go home - or even just move on - are usually greeted with shrill screeches of displeasure, so it's often better to a) hit the bridge on the way home and mentally budget some time for lingering there, and b) have an activity at home which they want to do to lure them away.  My kids, for example, are big fans of the bath, so that's often how I transform their anger to eager acceptance of leaving.

When the decision has been made to go for a bike ride, my husband and I tow our wee mites around (okay, he tows, I just bike along unencumbered with him) until we've been going for a while and see a likely little spot, then we hop out and release our mini-Krakens.  Any small play structure or inviting path to explore will do.   Then the kids get free rein until it's time to pop them back in the trailer and head home.  Since they're usually getting cranky at this point, we quickly learned to proffer a supply of liquids and finger-food snacks to placate them on the way home.

Man, does it feel good to be doing something active for entertainment again.  For the kids, it's about the destination; for the adults it's about the journey, and this sort of activity covers both bases.  Win!

Shawna is mom to 4-year-old Sage and almost-2-year-old Harris.  She has  been writing online since 2003, and her latest project is a fledgling photography blog.  As a delicate hothouse flower, she is not winter's biggest fan and is expansively happy that spring is here!

Gardening with children at the Children's Garden

by Brie Last summer the kids and I started attending a weekly playgroup at the Children's Garden in Old Ottawa East. Located at the corner of Main Street and Clegg, the Children's Garden has transformed Robert Legget Park from an unused green space to a wonder of plants and vegetables.

For a black thumb like me it was the perfect chance to expose the kids to gardening without actually having to do it myself. This is what I call a win-win situation.

Now that the weather is warming up, the boy and I have started attending the playgroup again. Every Thursday morning from 10am to 11am parents and kids gather at the garden to play, do crafts, take part in a circle time, eat snacks and, well, garden.

The playgroup is free, but the volunteer coordinator does as for a small donation to cover the cost of the craft supplies and the snack that is provided.

So far the only plants growing are the garlic, but that should change soon. The Children's Garden has a team of volunteers that plant and weed throughout the spring, summer and fall.

Last summer there was an impressive number of vegetables growing. My then three-year old girl would always head straight for the tomato plants as soon as we arrived and would happily sit and eat them off the vine. Luckily, that was exactly what they are there for.

The Children's Garden is open to everyone, just like any other public park. It would be the perfect place for a family picnic or even a birthday party. Besides the weekly Thursday playgroups, the Children's Garden often hosts special parties, like the fairy party the girl attended last August. You can subscribe to their email updates to be informed of any upcoming activities.

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.

The Canadian Tulip Festival - the plan

by Shawna With the early warmth this spring, we may be in danger of having an almost tulip-less Canadian Tulip Festival (which runs from May 7th - 24th). While this may put a crimp in my role as one of the "Artists in the Tulips" (this will be my second year my images can be found in the Tulip Art gallery in Commissioner's Park by Dow's lake), it in no way means I won't go to the festival with my kids.  Sure, it's nice for me to see the tulips and use them as a colourful backdrop for pictures of my nearest-and-dearest, but let's not lose sight of the main reason to go: to let the kids exhaust themselves by hopping them up on sugar at the Fudge Shack and tear around like mad things, all the better to sleep that night!

I kid.

Sort of.

In truth, there are tons of kid-friendly activities at the Tulip Festival and they almost all come with the bonus of getting out in the fresh air and maybe even learning a little history along the way.  To kick off the festival, there's an open air Liberation Street Party planned this year on Sparks St., which is being held in celebration of the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands and Canada's role in it.  Throughout the festival there will be children's activities at Major's Hill Park, and a lot of the area's museums are planning programming that links in with the festival.  The tulip festival website has details on all of this and more.

The fact is, there's a dizzying variety of programming and there's no way it would be fun to dash from activity to activity, trying to cram it all in; what we do is take a look at the schedule and try to earmark just a couple of things that sound fun on a day or two I'm not officially scheduled to be there.  We keep things loose and watch the weather, and if we can go at those times, so much the better.  And if things don't align so that we hit all our "planned" events, we try to keep in mind that what the kids really like best is the chance to ride the tulip shuttle bus (a novelty for my suburban children), see the ducks on Dow's Lake, and yes, eat fudge and Beavertails and tear around like mad things.

The better sleep that night is just a fringe benefit.

Shawna is mom to 4 year old Sage and almost-2-year-old Harris.  She has  been writing online since 2003, and her latest project is a fledgling photography blog.  She feels a defensive need to let you know that she herself rides the bus almost every day.