A – Podlings Naturally Childish

We are a consignment store specializing in Modern Cloth Diapers, local, organic and eco-friendly products, clothing and toys. Newly-Opened Resource Center offers Birthing From Within Classes, Yoga and more, rental Available.

Spring Break 2010 – Craft Roundup

Good morning. You have to admit that the weather report is not looking up for the next couple of weeks. That could spell some serious trouble for getting the kids out of the house more than once or twice for an outdoor adventure.
But, that doesn’t mean that you are stuck with screaming, bored children.
We’ve got [...]

Product Review – Black Drop Designs

If there’s one thing the tiny person inherited from me, it’s a love of all things jewelry. I don’t wear a whole heck of a lot of it. But, the pieces that I have are significant.
Ken can attest – after years of wondering if I will ever change a pair of earrings or try a [...]

Watercolor Painting In the Waldorf Style

Editor’s Note: If you missed Robin’s review of Canadian author Wayson Choy’s fabulous novel All That Matters, you can read it HERE. This afternoon, we have Waldorf educator Rebecca Watkin back on site with a look at the Waldorf method of watercolor painting. Here she is:
A Painting Verse
The sunlight shines into each day
And sends the [...]

Laughing Oyster Bookshop

Courtenay’s full-service independent book seller, Laughing Oyster is your literary stop for the hottest new hardcovers and enduring classics.

Kids Food Crafts – Painting with Jello

It has been so crazy dreary around the Comox Valley the last couple of weeks that we have been super dug in at the craft table and looking for ways to combine all sorts of things like food and paper into good fun.
Jello isn’t something we regularly eat around here. But, it is super cool [...]

Product Review – Fossil Rubbing Plates

Science nerd alert: One of the favorite adventures that the tiny person and I made a regular event this last Summer was rock hunting.
An impromptu trip to the Puntledge River and the chance discovery that some rocks could be broken open to reveal crystals, more cool rocks and even – gasp – fossils changed our [...]

Foodie Crafts – Seashell Maracas

Editor’s Note: Good Morning. If you are looking for something fun to do in the local food universe today, be sure to head over to Brambles to meet the folks from Hazelmere Farms. Their unusual and tasty greens are a treat at any dinner table. The demo runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Meanwhile, as [...]

Retro Saturday – Natural Nature Journals

OK, I concede. I’m EX-HAUSTED. There’s this great delusion in my head that if I just keep going my energy won’t realize that it has been non-existant since July of 2005:)
Anyway, I logged 13 hours of sleep last night (about 3 times my normal) and the price was no e-mails answered, no posts written, no [...]

Kids In The Arts – Exploration Art Camp

Today I had a chat with my friend Heili Garcia. She’s got this fun, fantastic Summer art adventure going again this year and can’t wait to share her stories about art boot camp.
Exploration Art Camp began up on Mt. Washington in 1990 and the original facilitators were Heili, Lea Mann and Penny MacCullough (all of [...]

Earth Day Craft – Recycled Paper Bag Puppets

Editor’s Note: For the next few Tuesdays, we’ll be featuring art projects that you can come out and do with us at Earth Day events that Our Big Earth is taking part in.
Today’s project – recycled paper bag puppets – will be one of the fun projects your kids can try out when you head [...]

Book Review – Art Science & Messy Math

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived a kid who wanted to move her life to one centrally scientific and seriously fun location – Science World.
Somewhere between the dinosaurs and Lego land, her brain engaged the science universe (or at least the serious fun universe) and now there’s no turning [...]

Home Learning – Life Cycles for Preschoolers

OK, so there are a couple realities to working on “learning” projects with a preschooler:
1. Attention span that generally amounts to nanoseconds
2. The constant reminder that 37-year-old mom obviously knows far less than 3.5-year-old child
3. Permanent mess syndrome
4. Sitting at the dining room table is the LAST thing on anyone’s mind when the sun is [...]

Preschool Craft – Marble Painting

Editor’s Note: While we usually run our homeschooling column this first Tuesday of the month, we are trading Tuesdays in order to welcome our newest OBE partner – Let ‘Em Loose Play Land.
This fun family-friendly, energy releasing indoor play land in Campbell River has re-opened to the public full time and we are excited to [...]

Preschool Crafts – Salad Spinner Painting

Editor’s Note: It’s no news flash that we are big fans of art around our house. But, I have to admit that I’ve been finding myself in serious need of inspiration and a little artistic freedom that the dining room table just isn’t currently capable of offering.
So, our daughter and I have been hitting Becky [...]

Crafts for Boys – Recycled Space Robot

Need I say more? The Dad in our house is here to share. He’s all imagination, goofiness, a love of recess and the reality that Star Wars will never die.
Have fun with our first project…
…and take the Craftizmos ROBOT CHALLENGE! Make your own version of this creature from the Planet Recycle and win the Clone [...]

Family Craft – Keepsake Flower Petal Valentines

M and Ken wandered into the recovery room after my surgery nearly three Fridays ago with piles of flowers and a Tim Horton’s Boston cream doughnut.
The doughnut lasted about 30 seconds. The flowers, a fair bit longer.
When it came time to empty out the vases, I couldn’t bring myself to just ditch them. To me, [...]

Family Craft – Paper Tulip Garden

One of my major small successes during the doldrums of any dark and rainy February is to brighten up the house with signs of Spring in any way humanly possible.
If I could paint sunshine and blue skies on all of the windows and not know that if I went outside the sky would be five [...]

Family Craft – Paper Robots

Another snowy morning in the Valley means another day at the craft table for us. The cold and our daughter have no issues. As for me, I prefer a cozy blanket and a cup of tea (actually, back to coffee) right now – and she’s currently very accommodating.
When we got back from Victoria, she immediately [...]

Family Craft – Glitter Mushrooms

We are having more than a wee bit of trouble getting our rears out of bed the last few days, and this morning was no exception as all of us rolled over at about 8 a.m.
But, the one thing that seems to get us over the perpetual mist and gray is our “Family Tree” project [...]

Family Craft – Waldorf-inspired Winter Birds

I am a bit of a Christmas scrooge when it comes to taking down the decorations. The pile of pine needles on the floor and the clutter from the holidays send my brain into crazy mode and generally everything comes down within 24 hours of the big day.
This year was just the same, and we [...]

The Best of A Crafty 2008

I never really thought of myself as a crafty sort of gal. Seriously, I have long lived with the crafty curse, trying many a Martha-centric project and failing in expensive, ugly sorts of ways.
I very much admit that my mom got the short end of the stick when it came to these sorts of projects [...]

Nature Journal – Winter Tracks

Up earlier than anyone in the house this morning, the tiny person sprinted to the window, wrenched on the blinds and gasped that stunning “Oh my goodness” moment when she realized that yesterday’s snow hadn’t washed away.
Nearly impossible since we got nearly a foot – with a bit more on the way I’m told – [...]

Whooooo’s There – Paper Owl Door Decor

When I woke up this morning and realized this was the last time I’d ever post on Comox Valley Kids, I had one seriously weepy moment.
Tomorrow morning, most if not all of you will be redirected over to Ourbigearth.com and we will launch our new phase as Our Big Earth-Comox Valley.
I feel like I’m in [...]

Learning Trees With Leaf Hangings

There is a bit of a chill in the air and early last week, as I was packing us into the truck, I spotted red leaves.
Then yellow, even a couple of orange beauties stood out against the bluer than blue sky.
We’d been talking, the last couple of times out in the woods, about getting to [...]

Fingerprint Bug Parade

Editor’s Note: This short week has thrown me for a loop. And, the Filberg Festival meant I had no access to our pal Popsicle all weekend. We’ll have to check in this week to see what mischief he’s up to lately.
So, I wanted to share an older post about a favourite craft around our house [...]

Homemade Non-toxic Finger Paints

My husband has spent his life in the midst of paint, charcoals, canvas and the computer as a professional artist. He’s also always passing along his concerns about our daughter’s zeal with paint. Her willingness to paint herself from head to toe leaves Ken in pieces, concerned for the tiny person’s health.
I didn’t get it.
He’s [...]

Family Craft – Waldorf-Inspired Watercolors

The gig is up.
Our kiddo is a painting maniac.
Seriously, the older she gets the uglier public painting becomes. Just the mere mention of tempera paints and paper sends her into an uncontrollable frenzy during which she paints every inch of her body – and anyone standing within swiping distance, gets a gooey paintbrush on all [...]

Homemade Valentines for Kids

Valentines Day is such a sweet treat to burst through the lingering gray of February.
These days of intermittent rain and chill make us wonder if it’s truly time to start spending most of our days outside again – or plan another big whack of indoor fun.
I’m halfway there, plugging away at getting the back porch [...]

Helpful Hints for Art at Home

Creativity takes courage. – Matisse

Matisse couldn’t have been more dead-on.
The ways people get their creative groove on define them in huge ways.
They give people courage…
…a place to let all of their emotions spill out…
…and a voice to speak out, admire, honour or just simply reveal those things that mean the most.
Giving kiddos [...]

Family Crafts – Making Spring Scenes

I am of the mind that it is time to will the cold away.
While at least mildly unrealistic as February dawns on us, I’m all too willing to perpetuate my delusions of warm sunshine, crocus and tulips pushing their heads up through the still-frozen front garden – in the form of construction paper and cut [...]

Book Review – Kids Food & Youth Culture

Eating and art are two things that kiddos of any age cannot escape in today’s culture. Discovering the wonders of exotic foods and the beauty of art in all forms is such a great way to open families up to new ideas, cultures and adventures.
The good news is that there are plenty of ways – [...]

Art Galleries in the Comox Valley

The Comox Valley is packed full of small art galleries – in every medium – that are a uniquely British Columbian experience.
Taking a day out to see the work of the hundreds of local artists who live among us will amaze you at the talent around these parts.
Check out:
The Comox Valley Art Gallery
Denman Arts Centre
Pearl [...]