Children's Book Week

It's Children's Book Week!  From April 30th to May 7th, 2011 we'll be celebrating book week here on the blog too. Send in your suggestions of great books for kids and parents and I will post them and add them to the Amazon Store. 

Here's our first reader suggestion from Kimberly: 

"My 18 month old son loves the book Roadwork by Sally Sutton. It has tractors and big diggers... a big hit in our house :)"

Book week contest

I have decided to extend the book contest because
I would really love to see a few more entries and add a few more books to the St. John's Toddler Bookstore. The draw date will now be May 22nd, 2011. Enter often!

I need your recommendations for Children's Book week! If you send me an email with a book recommendation I will enter your name in a draw for a great children's book. You need to include the title, author, and why you or your kids love this book. Put 'Book Week' in the subject line.

You can send multiple entries (one email per book) and I will enter your name for each entry you send. In my mind there is no such thing as too many books!  All the entries will be added to the St. John's Toddler Amazon Book Store with your reviews included.  I will announce the name of the prize book shortly - too many to choose from!! Update: Here are the books you can win, two of my favourites! Our Animal Friends and In the Town All Year Round!

The waiting game(s)

I am not a patient person, so I get it when toddlers are bored in doctor's waiting rooms, grocery store check out lines, or restaurants before the meal is served. My Iphone and the toddler-friendly songs, games, and video apps have come in handy more than a few times. I also resort to keeping a small collection of new dinky cars or other items I can pull out of my purse in an emergency. When I saw this little kit I couldn't resist sharing.  What tricks do you have to keep your toddlers happy in a pinch?

Royal Wedding

I am no monarchist, but this caught my eye thanks to a Babyccino daily email and the web site and other products are beautiful too!

Great Groupon

Today's Groupon deal is a family Membership at the Rooms... for $25 (Regular $70) (Thanks to Jane for the hot tip... send your hot tips any time!)

Exercise your right...

There's an election on, in case you forgot, so I thought I would post some links relevant to Canadian parents from the various parties:

Liberal 'Family Pack Platform'

CPC Platform - See Page 25 for relevant section

NDP Platform - see sections ' Give your family a break' and improve your families health services'

Green Party Platform

Have a look and make sure you vote. Bring your kids with you too, it's never too early to start teaching them the importance of participating in our democratic process and not to take it for granted.

Banking with Elmo?

Teaching your child about the value of money can be, and arguably should be, more sophisticated than having a Piggy Bank in their room. Sesame Street has a neat little program for helping your kids understand and manage their money now and for the future:  For Me, For You, For Later. You can visit the web site for tools, tips, videos, and guides to helping educate young children about being responsible with money. It's a really well put together site and the messages about money seem sensible and practical. I wish someone had taught me about managing money when I was a kid!

Trash to Treasure at the Rooms

Wednesday, April 27, 2 – 4 pm


Earth Week Family Fun

Trash to Treasure

Take an artful approach to recycling by reclaiming trash and turning it into treasures in this environmentally friendly family fun workshop.

Luxury items

Okay - this is just awesome. I know it is expensive and you can probably make one yourself, but how cool is this custom neighbourhood play mat from Boardstiff's Etsy shop. I know my boy would love this!

Clothing Swap in May

I am moving forward with the Clothing Swap in May. About a dozen people have signed up so far, if you are interested and haven't already sent me an email, do so this week! I am still waiting to confirm a location and it will depend on the number of people that sign up.  I also want to be sure people know that you can swap, give away, or buy and sell children's clothes at this event. I myself am hoping to swap some and sell some. I am also going to have a donation bin that I will take to the Single Parents Association & Iris Kirby House after the event, so bring items for that pile too!

I have started sorting the clothes I am going to bring by size, season, and sell or swap.  I have some really nice size 2T Crewcuts (J Crew) sweaters, LL Bean sweaters and boots, a couple of MEC snow suits and 2 Lands End winter coats that I am going to sell. Hoping I can use the money to buy winter gear for next year.

I also have a bunch of nice boys clothes and shoes that could take someone from birth to size 2T through every season and every holiday! Particularly well suited to a baby due this summer (Gap, Lands End, Old Navy, MEC, LL Bean etc...). This collection includes everything from pajamas and outerwear to T shirts and jeans and dress pants and shirts. Even socks! :)

Earth Week at the Rooms

Earth Week Family Fun

Tuesday, April 26, 2 – 4 pm

Robert Bateman Get to Know Contest
Spend some time getting to know the wild animals of our Province by visiting the galleries and creating detailed works of art which may be entered in the Robert Bateman Get to Know contest.
Wednesday, April 27, 2 – 4 pm
Trash to Treasure
Take an artful approach to recycling by reclaiming trash and turning it into treasures in this environmentally friendly family fun workshop.
Thursday, April 28, 2 – 4 pm
Recycled Time Capsules
Time capsules are special boxes to keep all your special memories. Join us as we turn recycled shoe boxes into beautifully decorated time capsules.
Friday, April 29, 2 – 4 pm
Feed the Birds
We’ll show you how to make a bird feeder from a milk carton so the birds in your backyard won’t go hungry.
Sunday, May 1, 2 – 4 pm
Meet Lief the Leatherback Turtle
Gerard Neville from Fisheries and Oceans Canada and his friend Lief – a life-sized, life-like leatherback turtle – will be here to have fun and to tell us about this species at risk and how you can help protect his habitat. Julie Huntington will also on-hand to show us how to make a turtle fridge magnet.

Happiest Mom

I have been seeing some buzz about this book and this blog so I thought I would share. Anyone read the book?

Here's a review (and contest) from Mommy Tries.

Earth Day

Given it is also Good Friday today, Earth Day celebrations seem to have gotten short shrift this year. But I'd like to take the opportunity to remind everybody that Earth Day is a great day to teach kids (and remind adults) to appreciate and not take for granted the planet they live on.

I found this web site for kids, but was disappointed that the games and activities were mostly online and there wasn't much to encourage kids to get out in the world and do something real for the earth. That being said the online resources were well done and would be useful particularly for school age children doing projects. But I would like to see a lot more hands on, out in the community ideas.

There's also this web site for Earth Day Canada.

The Rooms has a whole week of Earth Day activities planned. I'll post details shortly, but you can see for yourself here:

My toddler -friendly suggestions are:

• take a walk to appreciate what the Earth gives us
• start your backyard composter
• clean up the garden or plant some seedlings in a window sill container
• clean up the neighbourhood from the winter's trash

More play in preschools

A couple of week's ago I heard Terry O'Reilly interviewing Alison Gopnik on CBC about how their should be more play in preschools. I did some googling and found some interesting articles that I thought I would share:

Why Preschool Shouldn't Be Like School New research shows that teaching kids more and more, at ever-younger ages, may backfire.

Clovelly Easter Activities

The Clovelly Team is planning a delightful weekend of Easter festivities which will no doubt kick off a brand new golf season at the end of the month. The countdown is on!

Please join us for an egg..ceptional Easter Brunch Buffet and our First Annual Egg Hunt on the Greens on Easter Sunday. The buffet includes dessert, tea and coffee. $29/adults and $14/kids under 12. Reservations required.

And don't forget about our famous Fish & Chips on Good Friday. We are open 11-7 p.m. Two pieces/$12; one piece/$10. Please call ahead if you have a large order. Eat in or take out. 722-7170, ext. 33

Toddler chores

First off- lets not call them chores. To my mind, the every day responsibilities of keeping your house tidy and food on the table should not be made to seem like hard labour or punishment, nor should they be deemed 'mommy's job'. The effort it takes to keep a house tidy, do a bit of laundry, and cook meals really should be just part of daily routine, like hand washing and teeth brushing.

Now, before all you parents of multiple children think I am downplaying the amount of work involved in keeping a busy household going I will qualify: I am talking about tidy, not perfection. I am talking about doing a little bit everyday to reduce the need for those big, all day 'clean o' rama's', not eliminate them, and I am talking about getting your kids used to pitching in when they are old enough. I won't mention husbands here because I assume that given the fact that it is the year 2011, all husbands, life partners etc... are doing their part. (Did I just hear a collective 'snort'?) ;)

We have started teaching our son a few habits we hope he'll continue as he grows older such as cleaning up his toys before bed so he can make a fresh mess in the morning! He has also taken on a few jobs of his own that we encourage, such as taking all the shoes in the porch and putting them in a basket and he feeds our dog by scooping out the dry dog food from the bin and putting it in the dogs bowl. I get him to help me with dinner sometimes by throwing scraps in the sink for me to garborate later or putting things in the garbage or recycling containers.  He is pretty proud of himself for these accomplishments.

I am really hoping to teach him how to do some weeding this summer in the garden.

Do you have ideas to share about teaching children about helping out around the house?

I was prompted to write this post by this Babyccino post.

Off-season sales

One of my favourite kid's clothes stores is Lands End. You may have heard me say this before, the quality is good, there is always a sale, the fit is right for my kid's build, and they often have free shipping. With the Canadian dollar being so good against the US dollar the US prices and duties are not that big a deal. I also try to buy everything off season, so this month I went to the overstock page and bought next winter's coat($20) and pajamas ($6 a pair). There are still some great deals to be had.
Lands End Overstocks  

Oh and here's something cool I noticed about the winter coat I bought - it has sleeves that are stitched in a way that allows you to snip the thread to give you an extra inch and a half as your child grows. They also have those little thumb holes to keep the sleeves from riding up and keep at least part of their hands warm for those kids who refuse to wear their mitts like mine!

Easter ideas

There are many ways that people celebrate Easter. Even people with no religious affiliation will often participate by sharing a good meal, eating chocolate (lots!), decorating eggs, and other family activities. Growing up I remember always having an Easter egg hunt, donning a new outfit that was usually brightly coloured, and enjoying a big family dinner. In many ways Easter is also a celebration of spring.

If you are celebrating Easter this year here are some useful web sites:

• What is Easter ?
• No holiday is complete without a Martha Stewart Guide to Everything Easter ;) - she even has an egg dyeing app!
• Epicurious Easter Recipes
• Easter Toys (an alternative to chocolate) from Ape2Zebra and Etsy Easter crafts
• Amazon Easter Books UPDATED - link fixed

We don't need no education...

Everyone who intends to put their kids in school at some point should watch this video about changing the education paradigms. It isn't boring at all, but is a little frightening.

Birthday cakes

Here's a link to a new bakery on the west end of Water Street that makes custom birthday cakes, Sweety Cakes.

Changes

In an effort to continue to improve the blog I have decided to remove the Parents Helping Parents page and just include these posts as part of the daily blog. I have added the category to the topics list so you will be able to find them there. If you are looking for advice from other parents, send a question and I will post it and readers can submit response by email or the comments section. I posted a question about transitioning to a toddler bed the other day and got lots of good tips.

I am also going to do the same with the Stuff for Grown Ups page. Since I don't add to it very often I will just put these posts in with the regular posts and create a category for them too so you can find all similar posts. You are more than welcome to submit ideas for that too... a good wine, a good date night idea, maybe a great spa treatment? Comment or send me an email.

National Volunteer Week

Geez, I almost missed national Volunteer Week! Here's a link with some ideas for involving your kids in volunteering, the ideas are very American, but might give you inspiration. Next year I'll try to be more on the ball, but there's no reason volunteerism shouldn't be a year-round family activity. Even if you just volunteer to pick up the garbage on the sidewalk in front of your house.  I know I will be doing that this weekend now that the snow has all melted!

Easter Break at the AC Hunter Library

Easter Break Programs

Family Storytime "At the Beach"

A.C. Hunter Children's Public LibraryWednesday, April 27th, 10:30-11:00 am

This program is suitable for children aged 0 to 6 years, accompanied by an adult.
Join us for some stories, rhymes and songs that will take us to the beach.
For more information about this event call:  737-3953
* Space is limitied so pre-registration is required.


Beach Party

A.C. Hunter Children's Public Library
Wednesday, April 27th; 2:30-3:30 PM
This program is suitable for children aged 5 and up.
Come dressed for the beach (well, a Newfoundland beach) and have fun playing beach games.
For more information about this event call: (709) 737-3953
* Space is limitied so pre-registration is required.

Spring has sprung

I couldn't resist posting these images that are decidely spring-like and un- snowy. Lets hope I didn't just curse us all. I took them in our neighbourhood park on a walk with my son on the weekend

Frozen treats for teething

My toddler seems to be going through a bout of teething, maybe those big molars are coming in finally. One thing that seems to help and that he really enjoys is frozen fruit. Mangoes, rasperries and strawberries frozen, but thawed enough to cut into safe toddler-sized bites are a favourite treat at our house. My toddler asks for this frequently and it can make a good snack or alternative to a sweet dessert.

Easter camps for toddlers

I received this email regarding Little Gym Easter Camps and thought I would pass it on. If you have products or services for toddlers send me an email with information and I will gladly share it with my readers.

Hi Erika,

I noticed on your website that there are not many camps out there for the" younger set"
The Little Gym is offering Easter Holiday Camps for 3-8 year old children. They must be bathroom independent which means they must be able to take themselves to the bathroom, do their thing and get themselves back out. We will remind them to flush the toilet and wash their hands. (good hygiene habits are important).
Each camp is themed (this age group loves to use their imagination) and we will spend about 2.5 hours in the gym and 30 minutes in the multi-purpose room for a snack (we will provide) and craft! Although we are almost sold out there are still some spaces left. To enroll, call 754 ROLL (7655). Easter Holiday camps will run from April 25th - 28th and you can choose from morning (9-12) or or afternoon (1-4). You can also enroll for 1 camp only or as many as will work for you and your child!
On a separate note, I love the website and concur with you on the need to have activities for children in one space. I also like the parent sharing and educational side. Such a special and important stage of life for parents and children as it sets the tone for the rest of their lives!
Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help promote the website or if you would like more information on The Little Gym.
I am passionate about the programs we offer! We are now in our 5th year (I can't believe it) and continue to grow! I have had the privilege of watching children from a bump in their Mom's belly to entering Funny Bugs classes all on their own! It is truly awesome!
Please contact me should you wish to discuss anything!
Stella Maguire
Owner/Gym Director
The Little Gym of St John's
www.thelittlegym.com

Egg in a nest recipe

It's a good time of year for egg recipes and I don't know if you are familiar with the 'egg in a nest',  but at our house this is not just a breakfast recipe. This is how we got our son to eat eggs.

You need two pieces of bread, an egg, and butter. Place some butter in non-stick frying pan until melted.
Cut a hole in one piece of bread and place it in hot frying pan. Crack the egg into the hole in the bread. Cook, flipping once and ensuring the yolk is soft when you are done. While the egg and bread fry, toast the other piece of bread, butter and slice into sticks. Serve together and encourage your child to dip his toast in the soft yolk.

Delicious. At our house we sometimes call this an 'egg dipper.'

Here's a picture. But mine are never that fancy looking!

Another Easter Camp - Fluvarium

This camp is not for toddlers, but I thought I would share anyway as it looks pretty fun.

Riparian Mysteries – Spring Day Camp 2011 for ages 8-12.
April 25 – 29, 2011
Registration is now open for The Suncor Energy Fluvarium spring day camp program.
This is an ideal camp for young people who want to better understand the natural world around them. With The Fluvarium and all of Long Pond for us to explore … Imagine yourself as a creature in the natural world, Explore the lives of the creatures in the riparian zone and Discover how we are all connected.

With access to the beautiful ecosystems of Pippy Park, and the spectacular underwater view of Nagle’s Hill Brook, The Suncor Energy Fluvarium offers a spring day camp like no other!

$135 and only 10 spaces available. Register today!

For more information contact
Denise: 754-3474

dhennebury@fluvarium.ca

Letters & Art at the Rooms

Sunday, April 10, 2 – 4 pm


Family Fun


In celebration of the 59th annual Arts & Letters Competition, come create with words, paint, paper and poems in this family fun program that will inspire everyone.

Doctor's Advice: Traveling with Kids

A new article from Dr. Seviour:

Well, it`s the season of travel, so the Avalon Travel Clinic has been in full swing. The most popular destinations this year are the Dominican Republic and Mexico, but Cuba has gained a lot of ground in popularity over last year. Health Canada has changed some of its travel recommendations for 2011, particularly given the disaster in Haiti, which as we all know, shares island space with the Dominican.

Beyond the standard fun stuff to bring along to keep the kiddies entertained, there are a few vaccinations worth considering, and a few products worth taking along in order to insure a safe and healthy vacation. With respect to vaccines, Hepatitis A is paramount, as it provides protection against a nasty food borne illness. It`s not part of the standard Canadian vaccine program, but important for travel. Malaria remains one of the most talked about illnesses for developing areas, and Malarone, a prescription taken orally, is used to prevent this illness. Use really depends on your destination, accommodations, and activities planned. Consultation with a travel clinic is advised.
On the medical side, I tell all my patients to bring the following: IBUPROPHEN ( Advil or Motrin) for fever or joint sprains, IMMODIUM for diarrhea, and GRAVOL for nausea (best to take suppositories -I know everyone hates the idea, but if you are ill and can`t stomach a pill you`ll be glad you brought theses along for you and the kids). All these can save the day if you`re unlucky enough to pick up a bug and they are not readily available away from home- best to be prepared!

Ideally practice safe food and water precautions. Don`t forget SUNSCREEN minimum 45 SPF, and if travelling to an area with mosquitoes, use fly repellent with DEET ( maximum 20% for kids) If both are required, apply the sunscreen first.

Hope this helps. Have a safe and healthy vacation season. As always, should you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

Dr. Peter Seviour

Fluvarium Kids Club - April 2011

The Fluvarium Kids Club offers weekend educational and fun activities of various themes that run for a month at a time. (Ages 5-10).

The April theme is  "Going Green!”

Here's some information from the web site:

Did you know that frogs can tell us if the stream is clean? April 22 is Earth Day, how can we make a difference? Learn how we can help our freshwater friends by Going Green ourselves!

Saturdays & Sundays at 1:30pm April 2 – May 1, 2011

• Program runs approx. 45-60 minutes
• Preregistration is recommended

 For more information contact: Denise Hennebury - 754-3474 - dhennebury@fluvarium.ca
This Fluvarium Kids program is Family Fun and includes an outdoor component, game, story and craft!

Clothing Swap continued...

I am still planning a clothing swap event, likely in May. So send along an email if you wish to be invited. Check out the link for details on the format I might use or at least a variation of this. Start tucking away the clothes you are ready to give away and / or swap. In the next couple of weeks I will send a registration form out and details about a location.

MUN Easter Camps

Memorial University Easter Camps are now open for registration - ages 5-8. Hope they are not all filled up!

Big Boy Bed

We are contemplating transitioning our toddler from his crib to a bed. I say 'contemplating' because at this point he is not climbing out of his crib or protesting his crib in any way. I think we are pretty lucky since he is almost three. My friends all say ‘keep him in his crib as long as you can!’
I am pretty sure we’ll do a twin bed because of the size of his room, and the trundle bed appeals to me for those nights when you end up sleeping beside a sick kid or need a place for a friend to sleepover.

But I am seeking advice from those of you with kids in beds… did you go with a toddler bed, trundle twin, captain, double? What are the pros and cons?

And further, how did the transition go? Did you have middle of the night visits from your now free roaming toddler?

Real Food for Real Kids

I wish we had this here! A great business idea for anyone who loves kids and loves to cook! This orgainzation caters healthy food for child care centres in Toronto.

Salmonier Nature Park 2011 Season

Events 2011


January – May

Outreach Program - Invite park interpreters to your school or organization! Schools and other interested groups are encouraged to call the park to arrange a fun, informative presentation on one of the following: Habitat, Diversity, Bears, Species at Risk, Exotic Species or arrange a visit by Perry, a live Peregrine Falcon. To arrange a presentation, call Mike or Jeff at 229-7888 or 229-7189.

April 10-16

National Wildlife Week - Wildlife Division staff are preparing to celebrate National Wildlife Week during the week of April 10-16, 2011. This year the focus will be on “forests.” Special events, contests, and activities are being planned

June 1 – June 23

Spring School Program – Bring your class to the park for a full-day interpretive program/nature walk. Call 229-7888 to make a reservation.



June 1 – September 5

Summer Visitation Program June 1 – The park opens to the public 10:00 to 6:00 p.m daily (entrance gates close at 5:00 p.m.) until Labour Day, September 5. June 18 – Family Fun Day July 1 – Canada Day Festivities July 16 – Family Fun Day August 20 – Family Fun Day



September 6 - October 10

Fall Visitation Program – Fall schedule begins. The park is open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily (entrance gates close at 3:00 p.m.) until October 10.



September 19 - October 21

Fall School Program – Bring your class for a guided tour of Salmonier Nature Park or arrange a self-guided tour with an interpretive presentation. Call 229-7888 to make a reservation.

Children's Book Contest

Andrea Beck, author of children's books such as Pierre Le Poof and Elliot's Fire Truck is coming to Newfoundland and she has a contest. Check it out here.

Book week is the first week of May. If you are interested in particpating here is the Book Week Guide, maybe you can find a way to celebrate at home with your kids or encourage their school or preschool to take part. This year's theme is Changing the World, One Child at a Time.

I am going to do a series of book related posts that week, if you have books to recommend send me an email and I will add them to the St. John's Toddler Amazon Store and highlight them during book week.

Toddler Fitness

Here are a few places around town that offer fitness programming for kids under 5 years.

Max  - This website is very complicated, but if you dig around you'll discover that there are dance classes and karate classes for kids under five. I hope they fix the website up so you can search for classes by age.

Little Gym  - registration for winter/spring was in January, but I include it here for the camps and future registration potential.

YMCA - Have member programs for kids from 0-5 - check the link for schedule and details.

Cygnus Gymnastics - They have programs and also have drop- in classes and camps.

And don't forget the free gym time at MUN (this link needs serious updating!) and at the Sports Centre .

Jolly Jelly Fish at the Rooms

Sunday, April 3, 2 – 4 pm

You’ll have a barrel of fun when you put coffee cups, filters and bits of string together to make an amazing and sometimes deadly sea creature - then visit the Fantastic Sea Monsters exhibition and take the Movie Monster Quiz.

To give or to recieve

I saw an interesting discussion on Facebook recently. A mother was trying to figure out a way to incorporate some charity into her child's birthday. She was considering proposing that people bring donations to a charity in lieu of gifts and wondering whether this was fair to her child. There were a lot of comments and ideas, including one I particularly liked that involved guests being asked to bring two loonies each, for every one the child got to keep the other was donated to a charity of her choice.  There were also suggestions that the charity should involve a visit to the organization so that the child could see where the money was going and learn from that experience.

Have you got ideas about this? Are birthday's sacred or is there room to learn a little about the joy of giving?