March Break Fun!

March break is in full swing and there are many ways to have your kids enjoy a great break close to home.  Theme days are a wonderful way to take your family out of the ordinary and into an immerse them into a fantastic get away.

Have a look at this video of my March Break appearance on Rogers Daytime this week. 

Crazy Canuck

With all of the sap running an All Canadian Theme Day is perfect way to start the holiday.

Activities

Nothing is more Canadian than a springtime visit to the maple sugar bush.  With this mild weather, the sap collection is in full swing.  Many of our local sugar bushes offer a fun-filled day of activities featuring crafts, wagon rides, sports and, of course, tasting. 

If you can't make it to your local  sugarbush you can recreate the visit at your own home. Spring cleaning and collecting the branches on your property will offer a refuge for the birds. Treat the birds to a snack of a pine cone convered in peanut butter or lard and roll in bird seed.  They will love it.

Look for signs of the arrival of our Canadian spring with a springtime scavneger hunt.  Give each child a list of items to find.  For extra fun, give them a smart phone, DS or digital camera to record what they find.  Hide maple sugar candies to make the outdoor scavenger hunt a little sweeter. For the older kids integrate maps and compasses.  Face Paint is a great touch for my children and their friends.

Mealtime

Foodland Ontario  has delicious and easy recipes for the kids to make including a full list of recipes for that Maple Syrup you brought back from the sugar bush. 
Maple Butter Tarts and Maple Dressing  are a few of our favourites.
Thyme and Again  has all the local syrup you will need as well as already made tarts if you run out of time and need that true Canadian taste. Consider a true Canadian dinner of baked salmon with wild rice and mushrooms. 

Night Time Adventure

Enjoying the outdoors is the Canadian way.  Being that it is a little chilly outside, do the camping inside. Set up a fort or tent in your living room.  Get the flashlights out, tell stories and have a slumber party.
You can also play Canadian monopoly or Canadian trivial pursuit to pass the time. 

Movie Night

Enjoy one of these great Canadian-themed movies. 

• Anne of Green Gables
• Cool Runnings
• Fly Away Home

International Women's Day

As a mother of a young daughter and a former teacher, I know the importance of teaching girls how to love themselves unconditionally. Did you know that 7 out of 10 girls believe they are not good enough or do not measure up in some way, including their looks, their performance in school or their relationships with their families and friends? When I read this statistic it made me wonder just when do our girls lose their self-confidence? When do they go from little girls who do not have a care in the world filled with confidence and self-esteem to girls who are filled with self-doubt who do not love what they see when they look in the mirror?  As Mothers, Teachers and Friends, it is our job to Educate, Inspire and Empower our girls. 

On International Women’s Day, and every other day of the year, lead by example by Celebrating with them and encouraging them to reach out, learn more  and become empowered. 

Here are some great ideas for celebrating International Women’s Day:

Give her a biography of a woman who accomplished important goals in her life. if you can match the woman to the girl's interests, all the better.

Amelia Earhart 

Helen Keller

Anne Frank

J.K. Rowling

Research Organizations Promoting Girls and Women and make a donation or, better yet, sign up to volunteer.  Whether you’re designing pamphlets or helping organize events. There are so many awesome organizations out there, it will be hard to choose.

Take some time Reach Out to Important Women in Your Lives.  Think about some of the women who have had a great impact in your lives. Whether it’s your mom/ grandmother, significant other, best friend, or teacher, reach out with a card or phone call.  If you have time, drop by with flowers or a small gift.  

Celebrate each other. Go out for lunch, browse the local library, get a manicure.  Spend the day just being girls.  

Make a Leap Year Time Capsule

Open it on February 29, 2016!

Now, that is a manageable timeline for a child compared to the 25 or 50 years that you would wait to open a traditional time capsule.  Make it today and put it away until the next leap year.

This is a fun and easy project that the whole family can do together.

Start by asking a few questions to get the kids thinking about what they would like to add to the box:

• Where do you think we will live?
• What grade will you be in?
• What will you remember about 2012?
• What do you like best about your world right now?
• Are there any major events happening in your life this year?
• What do you think that world will be like in four years?

Remind them of what they themselves were like four years ago. 

Now have them collect things that they would like to save in the time capsule.

• A 2012 penny
• A recent photograph
• A Christmas or Valentine card they received recently or a birthday invitation

• A newspaper clipping.
• A ticket stub
• Their hand / foot print.

Take out your craft box and have the kids decorate a box to keep all of their artifacts in until 2016. 

 Have each family member write or draw a profile of themselves to seal up.  Have them include information about:

• Their age and grade
• Their teachers name
• Their best friend
• Their favourite food
• What they got for Christmas
• What they plan to do for their birthday this year.
• Their favourite place to be
• Have them draw a picture of how they think they will look in four years. 

Tuck the items and letters into your decorated box and tape it up. Hide it in a safe place.   No peeking until February 29, 2016.  

Family Day Fun Challenge

Family Day is a great day to create family traditions. It is a day set aside for your family to be together; a day to avoid the hustle and bustle of our daily routines and enjoy the people who matter most, our families.

With so many fun things to do together at home or around the city, the possibilities are vast.  You can fill the day with some interesting Science Experiments or Step outside for some outdoor fun.

With family day being so close to Valentine’s Day and while I am still celebrating Heart month, This Family Day I put together some heart healthy challenges, In fact we have turned our Family Day into the Findlay Family Fun Challenge. 

We picked six categories, some of the sports you will recognize as those that will be showcased in the upcoming summer Olympics. Under each sport we have devised challenges to complete. Having been a Physed teacher for a few years and a coach throughout out my teaching career, I did have some resources stashed away. No worries once you see a few of the challenges your memory will come back!

What you will need:

• Waste Baskets
• Pots and Pans
• Balloons
• Racquets
• Skipping Rope
• Sock

1.  Volleyball

Towel Catch

Practices getting under the ball

Each player gets a towel. Hold the towel loosely between your hands at waist height. Ask your partner to place the rolled up sock in the middle of the towel. Pull your hand apart quickly and watch your sock ball shoot through the air to the other player. 

2. Tennis

Sock Toss

Practices the throw before the serve.

Roll your sock up and try the following challenges beginning with easy.

1. Toss to yourself

2. Toss and catch after 1 clap 2 (3,4) times 3. Toss and touch the floor

4. Toss to the left and then to the right, forcing you to move to catch.

Play the game

Get two racquets. We us badminton racquets. Use a balloon and start your own tennis game. Learning to score is half the challenge.  http://mitk.squarespace.com/storage/february-2012/Tennis%20Scoring%20Made%20Easy.docx

3. Track and Field

Long Jump

Using tape, measure each family member from head to toe. Challenge each other to jump as long as the smallest to the tallest person’s body. 

Skipping

Many challenges can be created here.

Jump only on your left foot, then only on your right, click your heels, Jump side to side. How many skips can you do in min/40sec/30 sec? Challenge yourself to more. Can you skip while walking?

4. Basketball

Hit the Target

Practices passing.

The target can be ‘X’’s on t-shirts or shapes made out of your skipping rope. Throw first from 10 giant steps away then from 20 giant steps away and so on. 

Sink it in the Basket

Get as many rolled up socks as you can find.  Set up your key.  Create a three point line with a rope and practice shooting  your socks from different points beyond the three point line.

Defense

Have a game of player in the middle using your sock ball or balloon.  Remember, when you receive the ball your feet can’t move.

5. Baseball

Practices all throws

Stair Toss

Start at the bottom of each stair and throw to each stair. Award points to certain stairs. Throw underhand or overhand.

S.P.U.D. 

Place a small bouncy ball in a sock.  Have each family member group closely tothere.  The person who is it, will throw the ball up in the air and shout the name of another player.  As the ball is tossed, each family member scatters to move away from the thrower.  After the catcher catches the ball, he is allowed to take five giant steps toward another player.  If they are able to touch that player that the other, the non-ball catcher player becomes it and gets the first letter of the word S.P.U.D.  If they are not, they take the first letter of the word S.P.U.D.  The loser of the game is the one who receives all of the letters of the word. 

6 Bowling

Set up recyclables in a pin configuration.  Plastic cups or 2 litre bottles make a good set of pins.

7. Golf

Use pots and pans to create an indoor course. Par three seems to work well.

You could also get outside for a game of frisbee golf.

Twist. The least scoring family or team members are in charge of the Heart Healthy Snack or Dinner. 

It’s amazing how easily you can add on to the challenge and create new challenges under each sport. For example;  you can manipulate sock golf into hit the target by collecting your mixing bowls from the kitchen and making them the basket. You can now go for the slam dunk or cross court dunk.

You can challenge your family members or you can invite other families for the challenge.

Give it a try and I would love to hear your feedback and suggestions. A special thanks to Heart Healthy Kids and the Heart and Stroke Foundation. 

If the day is too nice to stay inside. Have your bag packed for the day ready for the adventure. A thermos with a hot beverage will keep the family going.

Here is a list of places that are taking part in Family Day

Fultons Pancake House- Opening weekend (link)

Museums - most museums are open

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2010/02/15/ottawa-family-day.html

Dovercourt Recreation Centre  offers a $20.00 Family Pass for a day of fun. They will give you a glimpse of their variety of fitness classes offering a workout for the whole family. You can go the artsy way and join in on the crafts. There will be face painting and a chance to meet Dovercat. Skating, swimming and tobogganing will be all day long as well as great snacks from Adam’s Apple Cafe. 

HAVE A ‘L♥VE’LY DAY

 Here are all of my L♥vely Ideas for this Valentine’s Day.  You can group all of them together and have a Valentine’s party or pick and choose a few.  Either way, have a perfectly L♥VE’ly day!

Cards and Invites

Get out your creative craft box out (have a look at my craft box page for ideas), and let the kids creativity flow. Here are a few ideas I liked over on the Kaboose site. 

Magnetic Valentine – Glue a favourite photo to a piece of magnetic paper (found at the photo store or the dollar store).  Trace a heart shape around the two layers – photo and magnetic paper. Cut the shape out and voila.  You have a beautiful Valentine. 

Delicious Delectables

Take one or more of these ideas and make your loved ones breakfast, lunch or supper l♥ve’ly!

Crustless Quiche - Made in a heart shape pan.  This is my recipe

Get out your cookie cutters and create heart shaped fruit and sandwiches. 

Build your fruit tray in the shape of a heart with a heart shaped bowl and your favourite dip.

Make pink lemonade.

Heart ice cubes are so cute.

Chocolate fondue is always a hit. Here is a great recipe. 

Decorate your Home.

Make a garland out of hearts or Xs and Os.

Cut out big hearts with little notes on them such as “Be Mine” or “You’re sweet”. Post them up for now, but plan to use them later for a game of Musical Hearts.

Make heart hands using acrylic paint. Paint the side of your pinky finger down to the end of your hand. Do the same to the other hand. Make a shape of a heart with your hands and press down on paper.  This makes a beautiful keepsake. 

Set a L♥vely Table. 

Colour your own flowers

All you need:

1. White flowers, like white carnations or Queen Anne's Lace
2. Food coloring
3. Water
4. A plastic container

Add the dye and watch your flower drink up the beautiful colours. This a great experiment for all ages. 

Fill champagne glasses with valentine candies.  |Scatter valentine confetti around them for a nice centerpiece

Salt Candles (below)

Set out an individual bowl of candy at each placesetting.

Don’t Forget the Party Favours.

Individual box of chocolates.

Heart shaped activity book with pencils.

Heart crayons.  This is such a fun craft. Take all of your old crayons and bake them in a heart shaped silicone tray.

Valentine Games with Heart

Pass the heart (like hot potato)

Conversation Heart Bingo.  Printable cards and instructions here.  

Musical Hearts.  Just like musical chairs, but with love.  cut out big hearts on the floor and place them in a circle on the floor.  Play some fun music like Disney’s kiss the girl or Jason Mraz’s I’m Yours.  Have fun!

Have a dance party- get your play list together.

L♥ve the Outdoors

Play capture the heart - (like capture the flag).

Use red food dye with water in a spray bottle to decorate the snow outside with hearts.

 When it’s over.

Wind down with a group craft like painting a keepsake box for your Valentine cards. You could also watch heart themed movie like.  Lady and the Tramp. See my facebook page for a great list of books and movies. 

 Wishing you and yours a LOVELY Valentine's Day. 

MITK