Author Archive: Our Big Earth Staff
The Our Big Earth staff drinks a whole lot of coffee and spends its days (a few nights too) coming up with fun and interesting ways to help you celebrate family, parenthood, community and more.
Ten Simple Things to do for Earth Day
It’s Earth Day and we all hear a lot about the very important details like recycling, planting trees, turning off water faucets and using less electricity. But, helping care for the Earth can extend to parts of life that are – dare we say – a bit unexpected, full of joy and changing in ways [...]
Easy Preschool Crafts – Stamping & Printing with Food
The sun is peeking out from behind the clouds and the air has a hint of warmth in it. All of those fun kid projects that you’ve been whipping up at the kitchen table have as much of an urge as you do to shake off a long Canadian winter and head outside to enjoy [...]
Inspired Action – World Autism Awareness Day
The lights in our windows are shining blue at the homes of the OBE team today. So many of us have children or family members who struggle with autism and this day of education, inspired action and celebration is especially close to our hearts. It’s World Autism Awareness Day and people across Canada are standing [...]
Food & Your Family – 6 Ways to Serve Up Hard-Boiled Eggs
Let’s face it. There’s a pile of hard-boiled eggs in our refrigerators destined for the garbage unless something really inventive comes along. Really, how many of those things can you eat before they go bad and you learn to hate them? Then divide it by nine and that’s how many the kids will eat. Unless… [...]
Easy Kids Easter Crafts – Bunny Boxes & Stained Glass Eggs
Ah, Good Friday. The kids are home from school. Hopefully, the sun is shining wherever you are and happy faces are sparkling too. If you are like us, getting around to Easter crafts with the kids has been rather, well, challenging. We’ve daydreamed about a Martha-esque scene of Spring delight. But, a quick reality check [...]
The Canadian Dinner Table – Black Bean & Artichoke Heart Chili
These early spring days make for challenging cooking in any house. Mostly, we suspect it has a lot to do with the reality that most Canadians have had their fill of root veggies and other seasonal goodies. Craving the fresh, bright flavors of the garden, we are starting to think lighter meals that have a [...]
Easy Spring-time Crafts – Tissue Paper Butterflies
For much of Canada, winter gave it one last go this week and blasted us all with wind, rain and lots of snow. But, that doesn’t mean we have to stand for it. In fact, we are totally busy making sure home looks like a giant Spring garden full of butterflies and fairies, tulips and [...]
The Canadian Dinner Table – Down East Oatmeal Bread
No matter where you sit down to dinner North of 49, there are classic Canadian foods that make us all feel at home. That cozy, warm feeling of freshly baked bread takes all of us back to snowy days of childhood. A house full of the scent of baked goods just coming out of the [...]
Inspired Action – Cleaning Up Canada This Spring
Spring is upon us this week and while many of us daydream about sunny days in the park and weekend walks, tens of thousands of Canadians will mobilize, gather together and make a deal with each other to clean up communities from Victoria to Halifax. While picking up trash and keeping our neighborhoods clean is [...]
Quick, Healthy Eats – Cheesy Roasted Broccoli Patties
We are always on the hunt for tasty, fast, healthy recipes that result in lunches that are gobbled up by our kiddos around here. Cheese and broccoli are a super delish combination. So, when we recently whipped up this vegetarian recipe for our picky kiddos and watched them eat it up and ask for more, [...]
St. Patrick’s Day Crafts from Canadian Moms
St. Patrick’s Day and its lucky sentiment is nearly upon us and the kids are just electric about plugging into that pot of gold (actually more like the leprechauns and fairies) at the end of the rainbow. We love to celebrate the creative awesomeness of Canadian moms and one of our very favorite – Rebecca [...]
Be Inspired By Because I Am A Girl on International Women’s Day
Today is International Women’s Day. Looking for ways to support girls and women and empower them to reach their full potential, you’ll find everything from signing petitions to end sex slavery to ways to help fund the education of girls and women in developing countries. One organization that has truly inspired us to invest our [...]
Celebrate Canada Outdoors | The 2013 Get To Know Contest
Calling all youth 19 and under! Get outdoors and connect with nature! Head to www.gettoknow.ca to submit art, writing, photography, video, or music inspired by your outdoor experiences and you could win some wild prizes! It may only be the beginning of March. But, you can start cracking on your outdoor awesomeness and get it ready to [...]
5 Easy Kid Lunches in 15 Minutes
In the land of the pre-schooler, lunch time can be akin to pulling teeth. Getting our kiddos to sit down at the table and chow down on healthy meals that they love and don’t take us ages to make is a modern parental priority. It’s also a monumental modern parenting accomplishment. Picky kids are par [...]
The Green Family – Organizing Kid Chaos
The snow and cold of a hearty Canadian winter often brings on one thing – the need to get organized at home. We don’t know if it’s that the family spends so much time around the kitchen table or packed into the living room that the chaos finally goes to the next level, or the [...]
Six Weeks of Canadian Soups – Week 5, Chinese Dumpling Soup
Taking part in Chinese New Year celebrations this past weekend, the crew here at OBE wondered how to replicate the amazing spread of traditional foods that brought people throughout Canada together. The delicate combination of ingredients that make a good Chinese soup come together are a bit of tasty magic. Dumplings are a fan favorite [...]
Six Weeks of Canadian Soups – Week 4, Sweet Potato Soup
At the daily farmer’s market here in Halifax the other day there was a big discussion about what can actually be found when it comes to Canadian produce this time of year. February is the dregs of sorts. Not a whole lotta greens, last of the apples. But, there is definitely no shortage in the [...]
Valentines Day Crafts – Finger Painted Hearts
If there is one thing we have learned over the years around here, it’s that the 2-year-old crowd is seriously excited about doing just about anything that involves glue or paint or fun art – for about 15 minutes. As parents, setting up and getting everything ready to go takes just about as long. Having [...]
The Green Home – Winter Skin Care and Homemade Remedies
Canadian winters can be crazy on skin – especially the delicate skin of tiny people and the sensitive skin of busy moms. Here in Halifax, the freezing temperatures and icy winds of January have left their mark on our faces in the form of dry, dull skin as well as rough red patches and chapped [...]
Kids Crafts – Easy Vintage Valentines Cutouts
The snow is softly falling (by the bucket loads) across most of Canada today. Many of us are in the midst of an unplanned day with the kids thanks to mother nature and the local school district shuttering schools for the day. I am mildly panicked as a lack of pre-planning generally results in mild [...]
Six Weeks of Canadian Soups – Week 2: Butternut Squash Soup
When it comes to winter soups, as Canadians we all think about a lovely Alberta beef stew or a delicious Saskatoon borscht. But, no soup finds itself on dinner tables from Quebec to Kelowna more than a tasty roasted squash soup. Wherever you are, the winter farmer’s market, the local grocer, squash is a seasonal [...]
Got A Picky Eater? A Reluctant Learner? Try The Rainbow Food Tray
Toddler-hood and picky eating are practically inseparable. For many parents, their kid’s lack of interest in just about any food put in front of them ranks right up there in the frustration department with refusing to sleep and melting down unceremoniously and without cause in the middle of the grocery store. Not. Awesome. There’s also [...]
Old Skool Winter Fun For The Whole Family
Ask anyone just about anywhere – Canadians are winter. Winter is Canadian. While beaches and cottage afternoons, the smell of Spring in the forest or the sight of leaves cluttering the walk at an urban public garden in fall are lovely, there is something about the frosty chill in the air, spotting kids hauling their [...]
Six Weeks of Canadian Soups – Week 1, Maritime Seafood Chowder
It’s cold. When the chill starts inching its way down your spine, ski pants are a non-optional clothing and you spot kids skating on the local pond down the road it is time to start thinking about warming, tasty, hearty dinner options. This time of year as adults we are all trying to think about [...]
Toddler Crafts – Inexpensive Magazine Collages That Get Them Learning Too
The big kids have gone back to school and there you are, at least mostly housebound in the freezing January weather with at least one wee person under 5 in tow. It’s mildly panic-inducing, especially since the winter holidays emptied the bank account and heading out to the craft store for some things to keep [...]
Happy Holidays & Merry Christmas from Our Family to Yours!
May this season of love and cheer be filled with the warmth of family and the kindness of community for you and your families. We continue to be inspired by your wonderful hearts full of generosity and compassion for the places we live and the people we love. May 2012 bring you a year full [...]
Family Holiday Baking for The Non-Baker
We here at OBE – with Sue in her cozy home near the shores of Qualicum Beach, B.C. or Robin’s crew looking out at the Halifax skyline – love baking. Especially holiday baking. Now, that doesn’t actually mean that either of us are baking genius. We simply love, in our minds, the IDEA of baking [...]
Protect Our Kids From Toxic Chemicals – Get Kellogg’s to Remove Food Dyes
When it’s snack time for our kids, we’re always talking about fruits and veggies. But, let’s be real. That isn’t always going to happen and sometimes it’s just more fun to give kids a cool snack like those fruit snacks on the shelf at our local grocery stores. A quick label read is a bit [...]
Vancouver Islanders Are Swapping Costumes This Weekend
It’s the day after Thanksgiving, which means one thing to kids all across Canada – time to get cracking on the coolest Halloween costumes EVER! For mom and dad, it is bittersweet. We dig into those old boxes in the basement, hoping something from last year or an old tickle trunk goodie will be the [...]
Host A Costume Swap for National Costume Swap Day 2012
The kids are back in school. Your schedule is almost all yours for at least a few hours every day. Coffees are sipped while still hot. Life is good. Then, you have visions of Halloween. Before you gulp hard thinking up ways to distract your 7-year-old long enough to keep her away from the Monster [...]
Books For Treats™ Canada – Feed Kids Imaginations This Halloween.
Find a giveaway. Host a giveaway. Learn more at www.booksfortreats.ca Books For Treats™ Canada – Beginnings: Books For Treats™ began with a simple idea from founder Rebecca Morgan – less candy, more creativity. It blossomed into an international movement to create a community of young readers through fun ways to connect to the stories of our [...]
Summer Eats – Hearty Middle Eastern Supper Salad
The blazing heat of August, all we can think about when it comes to making dinner is what will be healthy and something the kids will eat that we don’t have to turn the stove on to make. While the grill is a decent option, even that seems to hot to handle when it’s 40 [...]
Kids Crafts – Eye Dropper Painting
Summer on either coast of Canada means you are guaranteed of the need to fill more than a few rain-out days. When plans for the beach or the park or the trail get nixed thanks to Mother Nature, coming up with a project that is messy enough to keep kids interested and sane enough to [...]
Ten Ways To Help Kids Feel Grounded In A New Place
As summer moves into August and all of us start thinking about how to get our kids slowly but surely moving back into a school-year pace, lots of families across Canada have also packed up their houses and moved across town, the province or even across the country. Summer is the season of relocation. With [...]
Don’t Be The Grumpy Museum Lady This Summer
We here at OBE like to think of ourselves as pretty darn adventurous parents when it comes to the whole process of kids making art. Whether it be spinning paint, watercolors, sticky glue or paper mache, the fun of making anything is in getting all gooey in the process – right? Well, not so much [...]
The Scoop On Sun Exposure, Sunscreens & Summer
Vancouver Island may be a bit wet and chilly right now. But, as soon as the Canada Day parade is over, you know it will be 30 and sunny in less than 10 minutes.:) On the other side of the country in Nova Scotia, the heat and sun have already got us out hitting the [...]
Animal Encounters – What To Do When Nature & Family Collide
When it comes to getting outside this summer, one of the big things that most parents worry about with their kids is what to do if everyone is on the trail and along comes a large animal of the wild kind. It’s not common. But, on Vancouver Island, the opportunity to run into a cougar [...]
Eating Out With Kids – 5 Tips For Toddler Restaurant Dining
You know exactly what we’re talking about. It’s 5 p.m. and the kids are hungry. A home-cooked meal isn’t on the agenda and rolling through the drive-thru nixed off the list. You want a nice meal – whipped up by someone else, with actual silverware and a nice glass of wine to boot. But, the [...]
Happy Father’s Day From OBE
We here at Our Big Earth want to wish you the happiest of Father’s Days from our families to yours. May all of you amazing dads, step dads, grandpas and great guys have a fantastic day sleeping in, eating a great meal with your kids, cracking open a cool one, hanging out at the lake, [...]
Say What? Be Brite!
Mhari Rhiverson is back today with her latest kid-spiration, just in time for the sunshine and the warm weather. Be Brite – M Rhiverson Mhari’s creations are so popular she now even has her own store with t-shirts, buttons, mugs and other goodies with any of her inspirational illustrations. You can score Be Brite gear [...]
Happy Mother’s Day!
From all of us here at OBE to all of you amazing mommas out there. Happy Mother’s Day! Lots of love, Robin, Sue and the OBE Crew
Say What? Be Yourself
Editor’s Note: If there’s one thing we love around here, it’s creative kids. That’s why it makes us way more than a little giddy to introduce to you budding writer and illustrator Mhari Rhiverson. At nearly 7 years old, she spends a whole lot of her time crafting other worlds and a little kid-created fun. [...]
Take An Early Bird Peek at Books For Treats™ Canada
While making the leap all the way to Halloween may not seem quite possible in the middle of May for most folks, the crew here at Our Big Earth has made 2012 the year of goblins and ghouls (and Alphie The Bat, see our new pal below). In fact you can pretty well bet that [...]
Toddler-Friendly Crafts – TP Roll Painting
Crafts and the toddler crowd aren’t always a very positive combination. Add in an older sibling and the thought of putting them in the same room with things that don’t come out of the carpet is – well – daunting. Thankfully, the Comox Valley has folks like Maureen Wagner – who runs the Brooklyn Elementary [...]
Family Recipes to LOVE – Cheddar Zucchini Bread
We keep meaning to post this delicious recipe for pretty much the best zucchini bread EVER. But, about the time one of us has made a batch, it has disappeared before being properly photographed. This weekend, a tiny slab made it to the 24-hour mark. So, we are able to share how pretty it looks [...]
5 Earth Day Crafts That Show Mother Nature Some Love
This Earth Day getting creative is more than finding another use for that empty egg carton. There are so many ways to make some serious art goodness in honor of Mother Nature. Let’s honor some of those goodies: We totally love this globe made out of a tuna can and glitter glue from Planetpals.com These [...]
Earth Day Books – Picture A Tree by Barbara Reid
This time of year is one of our favorites around OBE HQ for so many reasons. The flowers are blooming, buds everywhere and the smells of Spring make us want to run around in shorts and flipflops 24-7. It’s also the time when we get to give it up for Mother Nature as Earth Day [...]
Our Big Earth’s Robin Rivers to Lead National Initiatives in 2012
Her love of books and creativity drove her five years ago to launch ourbigearth.com. Now, Our Big Earth’s Robin Rivers has been tapped to take that passion to the national stage as she leads two projects that will roll out across Canada this fall. Rivers has inked the papers to head up the development teams [...]
Spring Kids Books – Eggs & Rainbows
When it comes to books that celebrate certain seasons, it has to be those beauties that are all about Spring with their sweet shades of yellow, purple and green, sparkly wonderment and of course a hefty does of Easter eggs that long live on our shelves because they are so darn – well – they’re [...]
Easter Crafts – Simple No-Sew Felt Finger Puppet Bunnies
We here at OBE HQ have been in a bit of a crafty slump. As parents, we all go through those super uninspired stages where a coloring book and crayons is looking as Monet as it’s going to get. The slump here, other than being attached to a life in which time not currently a [...]
Learn More About Socially Responsible Investing This Week
You care about the world around you. You recycle, you try to drive a little less, you shop with a conscience…but what about investing? Wouldn’t it be great if your investments were making a difference too? If you’re looking for a way to ensure that your money is invested ethically, Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) is [...]
Kids & Birthday Parties, Have They Gone Too Far?
Not so long ago in a town that you live in there was a 5-year-old dressed like a Monster High character. She picked out the dancing XBox games and the make up her friends would carry home in stylish cases that day. There was a custom cake, sit-down meal and hundreds of balloons decorating the [...]
Family Breakfasts – Cranberry & Coconut Scones
Breakfast is one of those meals that, during the week, pretty much gets forgotten about. In between lunches and getting dressed, last-minute homework and the inevitable butt-dragging that constitutes the life of any school-aged kid, the prospect of spending the time to whip up a hot breakfast comes in dead last. But, the morning meal [...]
Think Spring, Think Veg Delivery, Think Faires Farms
With all of this gorgeous Spring-like sunshine here on Vancouver Island it’s no wonder that many of us have gotten our kitchen mojo back after a long Winter’s nap. The urge to whip up some new and wonderful culinary delights makes Spring so much fun. It also makes us long for a regular fresh veg [...]
Encouraging Toddlers To Get Artistic
When it comes to kids, making art is often left to the school-aged crowd. But, it’s actually toddlers who are masters of visual arts. They love to create and their imaginations are wide open. Give a tiny person a crayon and watch the world blossom. Toddler art definitely has its own unique patina and style. [...]
Healthy Bites – Caprese Salad Sandwiches
If there’s one food that most families can agree on, it’s sandwiches. There’s nothing like those two slabs of fresh bread, bagels or even a tortilla filled with deliciousness to win the heart of even the pickiest of eaters. Now salad, that’s a different story. Kids are legendarily tough sells in the veggie department. But, [...]
Sex, Teens & Porn in the Mobile Age
Your daughters, right now, right this very minute without you even knowing it, are sexual pawns. Your sons learn a majority of their sex education from the xxx world of the internet. Every time you send them off to school even the youngest of kids whom you thought would at worst be exposed to pop [...]
Valentines Crafts – Printable Valentines for Kids
Walk into any grade school classroom right now and the patina is rather striking in the pink and red department. There are little heart-shaped folders taped to desks just waiting to be filled with the anticipated cache of love notes that will come tomorrow. Most parents can see it now, four Disney princess valentines, three [...]
The Snack-O-Lantern
Halloween is gone. But, those gooey pumpkins remain. So. we decided to wow you with a super cool eco-minded idea from one of our very favourite family-friendly get-your-kiddos-outside sites Green Hour. We carved five pumpkins this year. They kept showing up around our house and, eventually, we thought we ought to get on the festive [...]
