Family Tree

I don't know about you, but I have a terrible memory for family connections. I can't keep all the cousins and cousins once-removed straight, much less remember anyone back farther than two generations! So I joined Ancestry.ca and now I am working to fill in the family tree.

I am doing this as much for me as for my son so that the information about his family isn't lost. It is truly an amazing and easy way to build a family tree. My mother and I and some of my cousins are working together to fill the gaps and my husband's aunt had written a comprehensive tree for his family so I was able to input that information. It is also a wonderful way to share family pictures. The site cross references family names and dates in the databases and will give you 'hints' about people who may be part of your family that you never knew about. It is really a lot of fun. It isn't very expensive and there is a free option too, I think. Once you sign up, be careful, it can be addictive, but what a great resource for your family and generations to come.

Oh Christmas Tree

I found packs of sparkly pre-cut Christmas trees at Michael's as well as little ornament, star, and candy cane stickers for decorating them. This is the perfect craft for toddlers with a low frustration quotient and a high level of statisfaction. The trees can be cards or decoations themselves, just get a hole punch. Of course the stickers might end up everywhere but the trees, but at least they will come off easy!

Idea: Christmas books

We pack all the Christmas storybooks up with the decorations. When we take them out on December first each year we look for our favourites and are reminded about ones we forgot we had. It keeps the stories fresh and special for the holiday season.  Here are a few of our holiday favourites. See you at the parade!

Crafts for Kids Series - Guest Blogger Michelle Part IV

Here's two messier activities to do with your kids, but they sound really fun if you don't mind the clean up.

Jello Experience

 

Teach your baby about textures, make a huge mess, and have the most fun ever!

 

What you need:
2-4 different flavors or colors of Jello. You could also use gelatin with food coloring.
Make Jello according to package directions. You can follow basic jello directions or make a more firmer Jello by following Jello jigglers directions or adding more gelatin to the water measurement. You can make just one flavor or several different flavors.(If you have older children, enlist them to assist with the Jello making.) After Jello has set, you could either cut up cubes or any shapes of the Jello and drop them into a big bowl of water for baby to play with, or you could let baby go at a full bowl of jello itself. Baby will be learning about texture and building fine motor skills as she tries to grab the Jello or pick it up. Teach her how to scoop up lumps of Jello. Don't be afraid of the mess, just have a nice bath ready! This may work best as an outdoor activity.

Backyard Volcano

You'll need:

• Red food coloring
• Baking pan
• 16 or 20 oz soda bottle
• Moist soil
• 1 tbsp. baking soda
• 1 cup vinegar

 Place the soda bottle upright in the baking pan. Shape a mound of soil around the bottle to make the volcano's mountainous shape. Don't allow any soil to fall into the bottle. Add one tablespoon of baking soda into the bottle. Color one cup of vinegar with the food coloring, then pour it into the bottle. Stand back and watch what happens!!

 

Christmas list

Two of my new favourite things. I had been eyeing these on Amazon for a while and finally ordered them for gifts this year. They have gorgeous illustrations, quirky writing with lots of humour, and any one who owns cats or other pets will certainly recognize the unique animal personalities described in 'Our Animal Friends.' These are going to be treasured books in our collection for a long time. I think everyone from toddler up through elementry age and even parents will love these.  These links are from Amazon.com but Amazon.ca has them as well.

My Daddy Cooks

Check out this awesome Dad and his two year old as they cook easy and delicious meals together.
Very cute!

I tried letting my toddler help me cook this week and a very interesting thing happened. He was standing on a chair at the counter looking at all the ingredients for dinner chopped and in bowls in front of him and he proceeded to taste each one, including many things he had refused to eat at the table. He tried green and red pepper and cucumber too! So now I am going to encourage him to help me more often and see if I can encourage this curiousity.

Doctor's Advice

I have exciting news, Doctor Peter Seviour will be contributing health information and tips for parents as a regular feature on St. John's Toddler.

Doctor Seviour is a Newfoundlander who practiced family medicine in New Hamphire for 9 years and returned to St. John's four years ago to open a clinic at 20 Lakeview Avenue (the Memorial Dominion Building). He returned to Newfoundland because he wanted his three children to grow up here. Doctor Seviour's passion in medicine is treating kids. In this post Doctor Seviour gives some information and resources about flu season and vaccinations:

We all know that kids are very sociable, spending alot of time in school, daycare, and at play, so we need to ensure we get them to help us prevent the spread of all the winter colds and flus. Make them part of the solution. Of all the techniques that have been studied, hand-washing remains the most effective, teaching this and making it a habit has to start at home. Make a game of hand-washing and make sure that each time they wash their hands, you do too! They`ll notice and of course will tell you when you forget! If you don`t have hand soap available use the premoistened hand wipes.
Also remember that in our homes the most frequent sites where virus` are found are toys, bathroom taps, and doorknobs. No need to go crazy cleaning, but a little common sense goes a long way (I think I remember my mother saying that to me when I was a kid, not sure if I knew what she was talking about! :)

As flu season approaches I spend a fair bit of time in my office discussing not only the benefits on flu vaccination, but vaccinations in general. This is often prompted as I run a travel clinic and parents seek advice on vaccinations for specific destinations. Many families have concerns/questions , and beyond an in-office discussion I refer parents to two outside resources that I have found to be very good- thought I`d share:
Flu vaccine in pregnancy

Your Child's Best Shot : A Parent's Guide to Vaccination Ronald Gold MD, ISBN 0-9781458-0-1

Although Doctor Seviour can't address individual cases through emails, if there is a specific issue or topic you'd be interested in hearing a Doctor's opinion on, send me an email and I will pass the information on to him for consideration for future posts.

By the way, if you are looking for a family physician, Doctor Seviour's office is accepting new patients, especially kids!

Crafts for Kids Series - Guest Blogger Michelle Part III

Bird Feeders
Paper Tube Bird Feeder
 ages 2-6

Supplies:
Empty toilet paper roll, peanut butter, utensil to spread the peanut butter, bird seed, and yarn.

Take an empty toilet paper tube and spread peanut butter all round the outside edge of the tube. Roll the peanut butter tube in bird seed. Cut a piece of yarn that is about 12 inches long. Attach it to each end of the tube to make a way to hang the tube onto a tree.

(This one I tried and was a big hit). My 3/5 year old and I also made a bird feed from a milk carton that we painted. We hung it from the clothes line. That was two months ago and the birds are still enjoying it. It even withstood hurricane Igor!)

Bread Bird Feeder

Instructions:
Use cookie cutters (can be holiday themes for Christmas )and cut day old bread with into shapes. You can coat the bread with an egg white and dip in seeds if you like. Poke a hole in the center and thread yarn or heavy string through. Tie it all up and hang it up for the birds to enjoy.

Gluten Free Bakery Opens

Here's the web site for Nourish!

Botanical Garden: Winter Woods Walk With Christmas Crafts

WINTER WOODS WALK & CHRISTMAS CRAFTS FAMILY PROGRAM

November 21, 10 am – 3 pm
Late fall is a beautiful time of year to stroll along the woodland trails, spot wildlife and enjoy the fresh air. Join us for a walk and along the way, we’ll point out some ‘natural’ decorations that we can take indoors to create some beautiful Christmas crafts. After the hike, warm up and relax with some hot chocolate and story time. An enjoyable time will be had by all.

Please contact the Garden to confirm. Telephone: 709-864-8590 / Email: bgprograms[at]mun.ca

Counting the days

It will soon be time to dig out the Advent Calendar. This is one of my favourite holiday traditions. I bought an Advent Calendar that is a big wooden train and each day is a drawer that can be filled with a chocolate, coin, small decoration or other surprise. I thought I would post this now so if you wanted to try to get yourself on Advent Calendar before December first it wouldn't be too late to order one.
If you don't have an advent calendar you can make one, there are plenty of ideas and instructions on the internet. I liked this one that had activities instead of treats in the pockets.

Or if you aren't so crafty you can buy one. Here are some of the nice ones I found in a range of prices for every budget:
LLBean Woodland Calendar and Ski Lodge Calendar
Lands End Needlepoint Advent Calendar
Advent Calendar Sticker Book
Eric Carle's Pop Up Advent Calendar

Locally I saw a goregous Elf Advent Calendar at Home on Water Street. It was a large elf doll with pockets on his hat and jacket. If I didn't already have one I would have bought this guy. he was too cute!

UPDATE: Dominion has an advent calendar full of wooden drawers and Chapters has a Playmobil advent calendar.

Useful or ridiculous?

Have you seen these toddler helmut things? I found this one called the Thudguard... which made me laugh.
Have you had to resort to a helmut? Send a comment or email.

Let me know of other children's products that you find ridiculous or useful and I'll share them with readers.

Crafts for Kids Series - Guest Blogger Michelle Part II

Backyard Mural
Get your children out for some fresh air. And let them create this backyard mural. Make sure your child is wearing an old t-shirt while doing this project.
Here is what you'll need:

• Old bedsheet
• Tempera paints
• Paint brushes
• Sponges
• Squirt bottles

Get out various tempera paints and applicators -- sponges, paintbrushes, squirt bottles -- and go at it, creating pictures and colorful designs. They can create a mural of masterpieces. Afterwards the sheet can be used for anything your imagination can imagine (teepee, tent, toga, etc).

 

If it is too cold out for this one, try this one instead:

Apple Print Card


What you need:

• Apple
• plastic knife
• red craft paint
• black marker or black paint
• paint brush
• cardstock.

With the help of an adult, slice an apple in half. Using a paint brush generously paint the cut side of the apple with the red paint. Place the painted side down on a piece of cardstock. Make sure the apple is centered on the paper. Press hard and then carefully lift the apple. See the shape the apple created. Let dry and add a stem with black paint or a magic marker. Use as a card or decorate your room with the print.

Note: I wonder if you tried this with food colouring could you still eat the apple?

 

Newfoundland has reptiles!

We heard the news this summer - snakes have made their way to Newfoundland. Well now, according to a CBC public service announcement this morning,  you can count a few other reptiles among our residents. At least temporarily...

All things slithering and scaly this weekend at the St. John's Convention Centre ! Little Ray's Reptile Zoo is in town. November 13 and 14, 2010 from 9 am to 6 pm
Tickets available at the door
$10 + tx

Internet Safety for Toddlers

Check out these facts and tips for guiding and protecting your toddler when it comes to the internet and see more at the Be Web Aware site:

2-4-Year-Olds:


•will accept media content at face value

•don't have the critical thinking skills to be online alone

•may be frightened by media images, both real and fictional



Safety tips

•Always sit with your kids at this age when they're online.

•Create a personalized online environment for your kids by "bookmarking" a list of acceptable sites.

•Choose good quality non-commercial Web sites for your children (thus avoiding the “nag factor” that marketers cultivate on these sites).

Donate Diapers!

Last Saturday's Telegram had an article about people suffering from financial hardship and their struggle to keep their babies in clean diapers. It is a compelling story. Some people resort to re-using diapers that they try to dry out or keep their babies in wet diapers longer than they should. Others resorted to cutting back on food or other purchases to save money for diapers. The article came about from a study Commissioned by Kimberly-Clark (the Huggies diaper company). The company has started a campaign to help increase the diapers available to people in need called the Every Little Bottom campaign.

At the end of the Telegram article was this advice about how to help here in St. John's, the local Food Sharing Network will take donations of diapers and you can do so by visiting them at 21 Mews Pl. in St. John’s, or by calling 722-0130.

By the way, cloth diapers were mentioned in the article, but it was suggested that there were obstacles to using them for people already struggling financially such as limited access to laundry services and laundromat and daycare policies against cloth diapers. Given the study was conducted by a disposable diaper company this is not surprising, however if you'd like to know if the local food bank is interested in cloth diaper donations it is probably best to call and ask them.

MUN Christmas Camps - Coming Soon!

Watch this space for Memorial University's Christmas Camps for kids... they should be listed any day now.

Fluvarium Kids Club - November 2010

“Fish Nests”

Saturdays & Sundays at 1:30pm
November 6 - 28, 2010
Program runs approx. 45-60 minutes

Fish make nests? It is spawning season at the Fluvarium! Join us to discover how a trout builds a nest to lay her eggs in and find out how important the riffle area is to the baby trout! You may even be lucky enough a real brown trout making a nest for her eggs.
This Fluvarium Kids program is Family Fun and includes:
An outdoor component, game, story and craft!

Fluvarium Kids programs are complimentary with admission.
For more information contact:
Denise Hennebury - 754-3474 - dhennebury@fluvarium.ca

Crafts for Kids Series - Guest Blogger Michelle Part I

Each Saturday of November I am handing over the blogging duties to Michelle, she's submitted some excellent crafts for kids that she discovered. here's the first one:

 
Fall Tree

Items you will need:

• Fall color paints
• Construction Paper
• Baby wipes or a tub of water to clean up in.

Create a Fall tree by painting each child's hand and arm brown and print on paper to create a tree trunk. The hand part is the top of the tree and the arm part is the tree trunk. When dry have children make red, brown, green, yellow, and orange fingerprints all over the "hand" part of the tree.

Tree Bark Rubbings

Craft a cool book cover with the bark of a favorite tree, a piece of construction paper and a colored crayon.

Find a tree with rough bark. Gently tape a piece of paper to the bark. Remove crayon's outer paper. Begin rubbing across the paper. See the pattern revealed. Gently remove tape and paper from tree. To make a book cover, place the book on the center of the paper. Fold in top and bottom edges. Place book the center. Fold ends in on back and front covers. Insert book ends into the flaps.

Recipe: Cinnamon tortilla chips with blackberry yogurt dip

Here's a great recipe submitted by a reader who says this went over big with her kids:

Cinnamon tortilla chips with blackberry yogurt dip

2 10 inch (25 cm) whole-grain soft tortillas
1 tsp (5 mL) canola oil
1 tsp (5 mL) sugar
1/2 tsp (2 mL) cinnamon

Dip
1/2 cup (125 mL) plain, fat-free yogurt
1/2 cup (125 mL) blackberries or raspberries
1 tsp (5 mL) raspberry jam

Preheat the oven to 400º F (200º C). Brush one side of the tortillas with oil. Set aside. In a small bowl combine the sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over the tortilla. Cut each tortilla into eight wedges. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool. Meanwhile, combine the dip ingredients. Using a fork, mash the berries and mix into the yogurt. Serve the chips and dip.

PS - Sent this as a snack for my child's preschool today and heard that it went over BIG! One change though, I used preprepared blackberry yogurt.