Spring Break 2010 – Tween Must-Have Reads

Editor’s Note: If you missed Robin’s Spring Break craft roundup this morning, you can catch it HERE. Now, here’s a look at some must have Spring Break reads for those tweens in your life. Here’s the list:
Good Afternoon. It may be time for some quiet time around your house, making a trip to the bookstore [...]

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.

Kindermusik w/ Carol Anne

Research proves that early integration of music into your child’s daily routine means improving her ability to think, reason, create, and express. We teach children – ages newborn to 7 – music to become better learners. Come to a free preview class and see.

Child Development Assoc.

We serve children needing extra support through services including autism, occupational and physical therapy, groups and more.

Getaways – The Pacific Rim Whale Festival

There are days, this time of year, when all I can dream about is the vacation that we aren’t taking. Leaving the house is monumental sometimes, leaving town – Ha!
I suspect we are not the only family for whom jumping on a plane and wandering the world is not an option right now. But, that [...]

Nature Journal – It’s The Peak Season for Swans

Editor’s Note: Good morning. Naturalist Jocie Ingram is here with some great information on swans. Until now, I had just admired them for their beauty and grace! Here she is:
I’ve recently introduced my toddler to the story of the “Ugly Duckling” by Danish poet Hans Christian Anderson. He loves the way the ugly duckling (actually [...]

Homeschooling – A Look At Theme-based Learning

It’s been a long time since I’ve gotten a chance to talk about homeschooling here on OBE. For the last year or so, we’ve been mulling around our educational options for the tiny person and it wasn’t until this month, actually, that we solidly moved forward with our plans to home-school.
It’s not that I think [...]

Product Review – Science Kits for Young Kids

Now that the holiday craziness has wound down and we are back to normal around our house, we are also back to our regular theme action when it comes to our home learning with the tiny person. She got a challenging diagnosis at the end of December and we knew this year was going to [...]

Mom-P-Inc. – Discovering Community Literacy

When you say the word “literacy” the images of libraries and academia often come to mind. It takes you down a mental path of helping kids learn to read and guiding adults through the challenges of needing to be able to interpret for themselves written words in order to manage the day-to-day tasks.
To me, it [...]

Year In Review – Favorite Family Nature Locales for 2009

Oh my goodness 2009 has been a fantastic year for weather, exploring and general outdoor adventures. The Comox Valley and Vancouver Island are absolute perfection when it comes to hanging in the outdoors and making family time nature time.
We’ve explored a lot of cool places, taken more than 150 kids and their parents on hikes [...]

Getaways – Learning, Adventure & Airplanes Up Close at YVR

When I was a kid in the 1970s one of the things that I waited for all year was to be able to stand right at the gate, face glued to the glass, waiting for my grandparents to get off of the airplane – whether it be for Summer vacation or Christmas holiday. We would [...]

Independent Education – Beachcombers Community School

We are science geeks in our house. There’s no denying it, we dig bones and organs and bugs. If we had our way, our days would be spent exploring the tide pools any time of year.
I’ve long been concerned about what school would be like for the tiny person. We’ve been contemplating homeschooling for quite [...]

Kids Rock – Music Lessons Are Not for Every Musician

Editor’s Note: Good morning. Bobby Herron is on site today talking shop about why music lessons work for some kids and not for others. Finding creative ways to help your kids learn all kinds of things is a bit of an art in and of itself. One that is different for everyone. Here he is:
Music instruction [...]

Montessori in the Comox Valley

Editor’s Note: Today we take a peek inside the world of Montessori education in the Comox Valley with Pauline Rae and learn a bit about why this public-school program is beloved by so many parents, as well as in need of strong community support. Enjoy!
During the year before my oldest child started kindergarten, we looked [...]

Book Review – Not So Scary Monsters & Witches

Some kids love Christmas. Some love Easter. Mine, she L-O-V-E-S Halloween. I love the wawawahhhhhhhh coming from her when describing vampires and ghouls. But, really when you ask the tiny person what kind of stories she wants to read right now, the terms mildly spooky, a little mysterious and a lot funny are on the [...]

What Is Your Personal Parenting Style?

Editor’s Note: Good Morning, today early childhood educator Heather Magdanz is here to talk shop about parenting. She’s got some interesting insight into why we all parent the way we do… food for thought. Here she is:
Have you ever considered what kind of parent you are? Come on… who thinks about that really?
It is busy [...]

Nature Journal – Leaf Watching 101

Editor’s Note: This morning we have naturalist Jocie Ingram on site, giving us the low-down on identifying leaves. Jocie is new to the OBE team and will be sharing her knowledge with us monthly. Here she is:
My toddler son is keen to collect fallen leaves, clutching fistfuls in each hand and sorting them by shape [...]

Public Ed – The Scoop on Split Classrooms

Editor’s Note: Good afternoon! If you missed our morning post you can find book reviews on salmon learning books HERE. This afternoon we have three experienced teachers Marieke Holtkamp, Michelle Honeysett and Eileen David giving us the scoop on public school multi-grade classrooms. Here they are:
At the end of the summer, that buzz of back-to-school jitters becomes more and more [...]

Fostering a Musical Environment for Kids

Editor’s note: This morning, we here at OBE are excited to unveil the debut Kids Rock column from Comox Valley musician and music teacher Bobby Herron. He’s the creative genius behind the seriously successful School of Rock program through Courtenay Rec and has been living music just about as long as he’s been alive. He’ll [...]

Traditions for Long-Distance Grandparents

Editor’s Note: Today we have Wendy Johnstone discussing long-distance grandparenting. Here she is:
It’s been a flurry of activity and excitement for Carly around our house for the past 3 weeks.  (Actually, if any of you know me personally, there’s never a shortage of excitement and flurry in our house).  However, the charge in our house is [...]

Nature Journal – Captivated by Raptors

Editor’s Note: Good Morning. Today we have a special guest on site helping families learn about some of the coolest birds on the planet – raptors. Joanne Bentley runs Emrys Raptors in the Cowichan Valley, a fantastic spot for the whole family to learn and experience these majestic birds.
If you are headed south on [...]

Kid Science – All About Apples

Summer is starting to break a bit (gasp) and sooner rather than later it will be time to break out the turtlenecks and toques. The big sign for me that my favourite time of year is nearly upon us is the arrival of local apples at the market.
I am, thankfully, on the early end of [...]

Homeschooling – Find the Right Curriculum

Now you’ve pulled your kids from the public schools, for reasons that vary from family to family and it’s time to decide what you are going to do with them at home.  Chances are your mother and/or mother-in-law are breathing down your neck about wrecking your kids’ future because they don’t go to school.  (Not [...]

Books for Hands-On Nature Learning

Our month-long adventure in local food may have come to an end. But that doesn’t mean we’ve stopped thinking local. On our adventure out to Miracle Beach Nature House the other day, I made a very lengthy pit stop at the Nature House’s book store and picked up two fantastic nature learning books for kids [...]

Get Into Nature – Miracle Beach Nature House

Editor’s Note: Where could that second post from yesterday possibly have gone? The heat made my brain disintigrate into a pile of goo and my computer nearly melt down.
We’ll check out Saturday’s fun later this week.
Anyway, it’s time to chill out today with the Eat Real. Eat Local 30-Day Food Challenge and head over to [...]

Food Through the Generations

Editor’s Note: Bite-Sized Specialty Foods is going to be at Brambles from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. today. There is some serious yumminess going on, so I would head in the direction of downtown Courtenay and check it out.
I would also like to encourage you to take some time out at Noon today and attend [...]

Foodie Crafts – Homemade Stickers

Editor’s Note: Good morning. Today is kind of chill in the Eat Real. Eat Local 30-Day Food Challenge universe. So, if you are thinking local, make some plans for a leisurely lunch or dinner at Anderton Bistro-Pub, The Great Escape, Bisque (I think we are headed that direction) or Locals.
A lovely meal is the [...]

Learning to Make Summer’s Bounty Last

Editor’s Note: Today is a BIG day in the Eat Real. Eat Local 30-Day Food Challenge Universe.
Besides the obvious continuation of date night at one of our featured restaurants, you can go check out Island View Lavender right on the Old Island Highway in Union Bay. Kathleen will be hosting a lavender extravaganza from [...]

SPROUTS – Family Greenhouse

Editor’s Note: Good morning. Thinking local food today is all about date night. Get on the horn to grandma or the babysitter and plan for a great evening of local food at Bisque, Anderton Bistro-Pub, The Great Escape (I am so in the mood for Indian food) or Locals-Food From the Heart of the Island [...]

Kids In The Arts – Rainbow Youth Theatre

I went into theatre to be a part of a family.  Not the kind of family with the “tantruming toddler  at the dinner table”, but a group of like minded theatre folks who get together to play and tell all sorts of magical stories.
I don’t join for the limelight and I certainly don’t take accolades [...]

SPROUTS – Get the Low Down on Good Garden Bugs

Editor’s Note: I am loving all of this time in the garden this time of year. My mother-in-law might wonder “What time in the garden is she talking about? I never see her in the backyard.” It’s true. It seems that most of my time is spent out at the Comox Valley Regional District Compost [...]

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 [...]

What to Do When Kids Cook – Chill Out

At the end of a rather exhausting day, my oldest asked “what’s for dinner?”
Feeling a little cheeky I retorted with “I don’t know. What are you making?”
It’s a little game my husband and I play when we should cook but want to eat out. K didn’t catch on.
An unmistakable glint of excitement and a flare [...]

Mom-Rated Family Learning Websites

The kiddo totally decides what is cool in our house.
Yeah, I lead her in directions I would like to see her pursue. But, cripes if she thinks my coffee filter butterflies are lame and I am a dork for any number of not-so-veiled attempts and exercising my parental will in the educational universe lately.
She likes [...]

SPROUTS – Creating a Kids Garden

Another sunny day. Everyone loves it when warm days blow in. With all this good weather I can finally tackle the weeds that have been meandering in my garden beds and deadhead a few of the plants that escaped me in the Fall.

It is so refreshing to be outside for hours these days – with [...]

Nature Crafts – Building Bird Nests for Kids

Good Morning. I’m still basking in the glow of festival goodness from the weekend. I feel like the tiny person saw enough and made a few very important discoveries about taking care of the Earth this weekend that got her brain moving even more in conservationist mode.
Leave it to a nearly 4-year-old’s bluntly honest ways [...]

Kids In The Arts – Get Perspective on Competition

I had a conversation a while back with someone who asked why I did not place my students in competition.  When I conveyed my mandate of non-competition the reply was, “Oh, you mean just for fun.”

This is an interesting perspective because it is not necessarily what I have in mind when I talk [...]

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 [...]

Homeschooling – Choose The Right Books

Editor’s Note: Good Morning. Today, Royston farmer and homeschooling mom Louisa McClellan is here to talk shop on how to find the right books for your kids.
Reading is a HUGE part of our lives around here and I, seriously, pound through dozens of books a month searching for the gems out there (long live the [...]

Register – SPROUTS Children’s Gardening Series

Good morning. After such a gorgeous weekend filled with beach, trail, art, Easter events and all kinds of Spring-like fun, it seems like the perfect time this morning to open up registration for the first SPROUTS Children’s Gardening Series in partnership with the Comox Valley Regional District.
A while back, the CVRD’s  Education and Event Coordinator [...]

Books for Tom Boys & Spring

Good morning. It’s super late for me to be getting going this morning (8 a.m., yikes!). I am totally dragging my butt today in the work universe, mostly because I have plans to ditch the office long enough to spend the ENTIRE DAY outside combing beaches, roaming trails and wrapping it all up with a [...]

SPROUTS – Composting, Family-Style

Editor’s Note: Good Morning. SPROUTS gardening goddess Kendra Quince is here to kick off our Earth Month goodness with a quick lesson in composting.
While I’ve got you thinking gardening, this gives me the chance to announce some big news here at Our Big Earth.
On Monday morning (April 6), if you wake up bright and early [...]

Crafty Imagination – Easter Masks

Is anybody else dealing with some seriously crazed kiddos lately? I’m hoping there’s something in the air and our tiny person hasn’t gone completely bonkers because she’s more than a wee bit wound up these days.
Normal, relatively quiet crafting that would normally take place around our house is not even an option at the moment. [...]

Growing Children with Song

Editor’s Note: This morning, Comox Valley Children’s Choir Director Carol Anne Parkinson has stopped by to talk about the wonderful ways song can help your children grow strong.
Music was a huge part of my childhood. It gave me the space to be that could be found no place else.
Enjoy!

From my very earliest memories, I [...]

Mom-P-Inc. – Boundaries vs. Balance

Editor’s Note: Karen McKinnon is dropping by today to offer up her insight into life as a mom in business for herself.
If anyone can lend a hand in working the kinks out, it would be Karen. With her busy house, growing business and warm sensibility, she’s mastering the art of learning how to say [...]

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 [...]

Family Eats – Kitchen Tools 4 Family Cooking Fun

My kiddos each have a preference for certain tasks in the kitchen. Wearing their aprons and standing on their designated stools, they have mastered many duties and discovered their kitchen karma.
My youngest, E, loves to peel, cut and stir literally everything.
My oldest, K, is a precise measurer and is the self-professed best recipe finder. She [...]

Crafts for Boys – Marble Mech

Just call him the gadget man. If there is one thing Ken has always loved, it’s figuring something out. He’s not a guy who gets under the hood of a car or hides out in the garage building things. But, he digs figuring the science of things out – especially when it looks a little [...]

KidSports – Our Hockey Preschooler

How could I forget that day two Octobers ago when Ken and the tiny person hit the ice for the first time.
It was love at first sight – for both of them.
The trainer skates we’d picked up for our daughter seemed the perfect way to start her off easy. But, she’d have none of this [...]

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 [...]

Sunday Morning Walk – Pt. Holmes Beach

Editor’s Note: Parents, one of the lasting legacies we can leave for our kids is the way our communities are allowed to develop today. Preserving parkland, ensuring smart, green development, making use of land in a way that nurtures nature as well as inspires a thoughtful business community is crucial.
We as parents now have an [...]

Kids In The Arts – Get Them Dancing

Dance in the Comox Valley is absolutely on fire.  Given a population of less than 70,000 people, you would assume one or two choices for your tyke would be the maximum a community of this size could sustain.
When I was approached to take over leadership of Pantuso Dance I looked at the fact that there [...]

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 [...]

Stories for you Ears with Odds Bodkin

There once was a little, orange record player. You know, the kind that had it’s own case that you could close up, tucking the electric cord inside and would play LPs or 45s if you hadn’t lost the little insert that made the tiny records fit on the turn table.
It followed me everywhere – on [...]

Family Eats – Getting Your Kids In The Kitchen

Editor’s Note: Good Morning and welcome to our first installment of Family Eats – a journey in getting kids back into the kitchen – with lovely local mama Sarah Stromquist and her family.
Sarah lets us peek inside the food-friendly evolution of her family and the family-friendly evolution of her kitchen, offering insight, tips, recipes and [...]

Magic Tales of Unicorns, Dwarves & Discovery

Our house seems to draw a huge crowd of the mystical and magical lately. Every since we discovered Forest Fairies with the help of our friend Maureen (of Strong Start fame) and The Last Unicorn showed up in the DVD player, our house transformed into a fairytale land that pretty much skips the prince and [...]

Family Craft – Your Animal Family Genealogy

As my belly gets bigger, there are TONS of questions about how families are made and our ongoing “Family Tree” project expands, I found myself a little stumped recently when working out age-appropriate ways to talk with our 3.5 year old about families and who goes where.
Traditional genealogy – packed full of research and hunts [...]

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 [...]

Book Review – Jan Brett’s Winter Fun

There are a few truly great children’s book authors – storytellers who can take a piece of imagination and bring it alive with the touch of a pen.
They’ve got that magical touch, mesmerizing children (and parents too) for generations. Jan Brett is one of those greats.
Maureen over at Brooklyn Elementary Strong Start first introduced us [...]

Homeschooling – Car School

Editor’s Note: I am sad to announce that this is Rosina’s last homeschooling column with Our Big Earth. Life is a busy, happy, complete place for her and balance is the key to anything good and true in life.
So, she is off to pursue more homeschool, family-focused goodness and we’ll all be looking forward to [...]

Guest Craft Tutorial – Stamping 101

Editor’s Note: I am taking a few days off here so we’ve got a couple of guest writers this week including energetic Stampin’ Up demonstrator Susan Spyker who is here today to give us all a lesson in how to fine tune our stamping skills.
This tutorial on how to get a perfect stamp every time [...]

Nature Journal – Winter Bird Feeding Walks

I saw the light in her face the first time our daughter and a chickadee made eye contact – and it was pure magic.
We’d walked the Lazo Marsh loop what seemed like a thousand times before then – through a Summer of sunshine and a mild Fall. But, the birds hadn’t made their debut until [...]

Establishing A Homeschool Co-Op

Homeschooling parents are the primary educators of their children and with this comes the responsibility and challenge of making learning fun while covering all academic subjects.
It can be overwhelming at times to say the least! That’s where co-ops come in.
They are groups of like-minded moms coming together with one common goal of creating great learning [...]

Nature Journal – Trumpeter Swans

When I was a kiddo, nature and I had an odd relationship. Growing up at the base of the mountains, the grandeur of nature’s “big-ness” struck me every time I walked outside. I wanted to explore, just to be left alone to check out the world.
On the other end of the deal, a mild [...]

Nature Journal – Mushroom Magic

It’s a story up for hot debate in our house right now, “Do fairies ACTUALLY live under mushrooms in the forest?”
Our daughter is adamantly against the whole theory. They may use these cool weather blooms to escape from the rain, stay out of the sun or hide from odd creatures (like humans, according to her). [...]

Story Boxes for Kid Storytelling

Storytelling is big around our house. The tiny person is totally into making up her own universe filled with adventures, conversations, friends and a bit of drama to keep it interesting.
I’ve always been excited about her penchant for telling tales. But, there are definitely times when the stories veer off into the “We’ve obviously been [...]

The Home School – Lapbook Learning

Editor’s note: Whether you are a homeschooler or a parent looking for ways to extend your kiddo’s school learning experience, there is nothing like discovering tools that are inventive, easy and great ways to plug kids into their own way of learning.
That’s what makes it so fantastic to introduce Rosina Huber. Her enthusiasm for home [...]

Discover Fall at the Puntledge River Fish Hatchery

When I think about crisp, Fall morning walks, a trip to the fish hatchery isn’t the image that instantly comes up in my slide show of ideal family moments. Or at least it hadn’t resonated as a place with a bit of magic. That was until last week when – on a dreary day when [...]

Salmon Journals

Editor’s note: Most of my memories from childhood – at least the ones that truly stick – live outside. The explorations, the learning, the absolutely amazing discoveries made in the woods or even just the park down the street shaped me, made me want to do one thing – get back outside for more.
Giving your [...]

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 [...]

Wax Paper Pressed Leaves

The other day, I was clicking through blogs, pawing through craft books and staring blankly at a bowl full of Fall leaves we’d collected on a recent Filberg adventure when I thought (uhoh) – wax paper.
Who knows what triggered this childhood memory. But, I was trying to figure out a way to press leaves that [...]

Beakers KidScience – Alternative Energy

I’m a science geek…and I’m good with that.
So, as we wrap up with Jeanne DuPrau’s blog book tour for the fourth Books of Ember Diamond of Darkhold it was pretty much required that I geek out in the kid learning department.
I don’t suspect that our 3-year-old is going to be picking up DuPrau’s novels for [...]

Family Card Games, BC Wildlife Style

I don’t mean to be a grouch about this, but what about Canada?
It is so amazingly tough to find cool learning tools and games for kids that are based on all of the amazing sites and experiences this great nation holds.
Canadians are a modest bunch. We figure the beauty speaks for itself.
But, I totally want [...]

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 [...]

The TumbleBooks Library

So, there I was snacking down on rice crispie treats, watching the tiny person soak herself in the only bit of water available at low tide at The Filberg when it was revealed to me.
The kiddo, she was soaked…and cold…and would eventually fall hands-first into a big, red jellyfish.
But, at least I knew that when [...]

Top Local Back-to-School Must-Haves

Some days, I prefer living in my pretend world where life has nothing to do with what is cool, hip or just plain old gotta-have-because-everyone-else-does.
But, really, who am I kidding?
I dig the feeling I get putting on that great pair of jeans I saw in a magazine or getting that excellent, trendy hair cut that [...]

Making Bookmarks to Track Our Tales

Our daughter loves stories.
From the second she pops her head up in the morning until she falls asleep to them at night, yarns about everything from how monsters make nutty butter to the vacations her collection of puppets are on float through the air non-stop.
She is ALWAYS making something up, building imaginary cities, talking with [...]

The Farm – Rocking the Barnyard

When we popped in at the Hands-On Farm over at the Filberg on Sunday, Popsicle was giving us the evil eye.
Maybe it was the “Please save me from these crazy pigs” eye. Nonetheless, his new “buddies” Penelope and Veruca are scaring the spots off of him.
P & V may only be six weeks old. But, [...]

Time to Cool Off with Peppermint Tea

Editor’s Note:
I know, I know. Wednesday is food day.
But, in honour of the birth of Sprouts writer Kendra Quince’s baby boy, and the fact that some cool minty tea sounds perfect during this very steamy week, we bring you Sprouts, the foodie version.
Congratulations Kendra and family.
Time for some leisurely back porch sitting with a glass [...]

Mommy Talk – Keeping Kids Safe

This week marked a grim time when the first Amber Alert ever to be issued on Vancouver Island came out of the Comox Valley.
Although the details haven’t been released about a 10-year-old who was allegedly abducted by a 32-year-old local man, it has sparked more than a bit of fear in the hearts of parents [...]

Summer NeighbourWood Walk No. 1 – MacDonald Wood

It’s about 8:45 a.m. as I sit down to write this post.
As a general rule, I write the night before. Mornings are nuts around here and throwing blogging into that mix is generally a stress of the unnecessary kind. But, today, it’s entirely beautiful.
That’s totally because I got out of bed about five minutes ago [...]

The Farm – Cow Lips

Happy Canada Day.
While you are soaking up all of the family good times in the Valley that is celebrating the nation’s birthday, we are busting out our maple leaves and saluting the cow in Canada – in honour of our Hands-On Farm Friend Popsicle.
First, a few facts:
- Popsicle is a Holstein, the breed of [...]

Summer Reading Together

Editor’s Note:
Mom and CV teacher Helen Oliphant has dropped by today to lend us a hand getting into the learning that happens away from the classroom this Summer.
She kicks it all off with tips on how to help your kiddos get reading, with a little help from mom and dad.

“Thurs. June 2, 1977.
I want to [...]

Books that Make Home Life Inspirational

I have a crush.
Not really on a person, but a lifestyle – a way of being that is both simple and magical. It pulls together all of the homemade goodness of our childhoods with the purposeful parenting partnerships of today’s generation of moms and dads.
It’s one of those things that I’ve been in denial about [...]

A Home Museum with Shadow Boxes

Zoology, Botany and Forestry aren’t exactly in the vocabulary of the under-5 set.
Yet, every time we hit the beach, the garden or the trail, science is following us around.
Each pine cone or shell tucked in a tiny pocket reveals something significant about a place we’ve explored. (Yes, OK, I am total science nerd.)
And I’m pretty [...]

The Science of Beans

As the tiny person gets older, her curiosity in the checking-out-how-it-works realm grows exponentially.
Catch her out on the trail and she’ll be the one digging through the dirt, picking up creatures to examine and – in yesterday’s case – experimenting with the whole theory of velocity when pitching her boots into the marsh.
At home she’s [...]

Book Review – Learning to Lend A Hand

For late-night or early-morning readers, I apologize for our technological glitch with the Rainy-Day Book Club this morning. Apparently, I shouldn’t start working when half asleep. The results are, as you saw, half:)
Back to the business of great books.
In the middle of the first of what surely will be many rounds of defiant testing of [...]

Do-It-Yourself Snail Shells

Tis’ the season of gooey creatures.
Spring rains are heaven in the universe of snails, slugs and other varieties of slimy forest friends. We are personally working on attaining “groupie” status in terms of L-O-V-I-N-G banana slugs and our daughter’s newest discovery – the forest snail.
She totally digs beach snails. A day on the tidal flats [...]

Nature Crafts – Make Your Own Nature Journal

I cannot even begin to count the number of science, language and history lessons that went in one ear and out the other for me in my life.
Book learning has never been my forte.
I appreciate having a book in hand – field guides take up some prominent real estate in our day pack – but [...]

Bee-Free Backyard BBQ

* Fact: Most flowering plants require pollination in order to reproduce.
* Fact: The relationship between plants and their pollinators dates back 140 million years. Dinosaurs, bees and butterflies once lived together.
* Fact: Pollinators bring the pollen from one plant to another and in return get food in the form of nectar that the plants [...]

The Birds and the Bees Pollinate Please

The rather frigid nature of our Spring this year may have you thinking twice about the season (although the shot above from local mom Krista gives me hope). But, even as we continue to scrape the occasional frost off of our windshields in the mornings, Mother Nature is waking her kiddos up from their long [...]

Product Review – Kumon Preschool Skill Builders

Our daughter couldn’t be bothered.
Crayons were so not in her repertoire. Colouring – no thank you!
As you know, she would paint until the cows come home. But, crayons, pens, anything that involved lines – not so much.
The omnipotent “they” tell us that our kiddo should be thinking hard about the whole line-making thing. I get [...]

Hit North Vancouver Island Museums

So, the tiny person and I hit the opening day of the Spring Break Hands-On Farm yesterday. It’s most definitely a scaled-down version of the Summer farm. But, it was totally great to see our daughter getting into hanging out with the bunnies and guinea pigs inside, and getting the chance to feed the donkey [...]

The Preschool Garden Replant

Today’s comment challenge: What were your favourite childhood family projects? Do you build those into your family life today?
Reesh, you definitely score in the comment department. A Log’s Life is yours! Today, I’ve got a cool dinosaur puzzle for one random commenter. So, jump in and win!

There’s nothing like digging in the dirt.
Kiddos know that [...]

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 [...]

Nature Crafts – Bagel Bird Feeder

OK, I’m over all of this serious cold outside.
Brrrrrr…
In honour of coaxing Spring along, and making sure the local birds (who I think are as stunned as we are by this frosty snap) have enough to snack on, I went looking for some cool ideas for making backyard bird feeders today.
There are always pine cone [...]

Felt Boards to Spark Imagination

I have to be honest, I’d never even seen a felt board until we were shopping for the tiny person’s second birthday last summer and discovered some AMAZING ones at Kool & Child in Nanaimo.
We hooked her up with a huge ocean scene that now lives on a wall in our hallway thinking she’d love [...]

Marine Habitats: A Natural Classroom

While I know that a January beach run may not be way up on your list when the skies are gray the temps are hovering around 0, this is the time of year (low tides) when a spectacular, mild, sunny day is the perfect time for exploring local shorelines. Getting out onto the beach with [...]

Resources for Special Needs Children in the Comox Valley

Resources for children with special needs are often tricky to find.
Here is a compilation of support groups, organizations and other resources for families:
Valley Resident Susan Millette runs an activity-based social communication program for children with special needs. Her program is designed to promote social communication,
self-esteem and empathy through various motivating activities and techniques
in a fun [...]

Book Review – The Magic Forest

I am in love with the forest.
Growing up in – and living most of my life surrounded by mountains and wilderness – something deep inside always resonated profoundly with me.
Strangely I didn’t really begin to understand why until I started plugging into nature from a kiddo’s perspective.
Getting on your hands and knees to look up [...]

Arctic Tales

I don’t want to be a part of the generation who has to some day explain why Canada’s amazing north vanished in our lifetime. How the mighty creatures of the Arctic and the intensely rugged Inuit culture literally melted away.
Never in our history have we as a society been more aware of our direct impact [...]

Winter Break Projects for the Whole Family

With the Santa countdown about to officially begin, family and friends about to gather and joy to commence there is a rather un-joyful reality that families often get at least a wee bit agitated when piled in the same general vicinity for long periods of time.
I’m no Scrooge, and I totally love getting the whole [...]

Geography Awareness Week

What is the capital of Nepal? (Kathmandu)
Where are the Farallon Islands? (just off the coast California near San Francisco)
What is the tallest waterfall in the world? (Angel Falls in Venezuela)
If you are like me, it’s a good thing the Internet exists. Otherwise, world geography – as fascinated as I am by it – would be [...]

Fall Leaf Rubbings

The last couple days of spectacular Fall weather have inspired us to spend as much time as possible outside soaking in all of the goodness of cool, sunny afternoons.
We also ended up collecting a whole slew of cool pieces of the outside – from seed pods and acorns to ALL KINDS of leaves to [...]

Making Bats for Spooky Learning

When I sent away for the Canadian Wildlife Federation’s free Wild About Bats package a few months ago, I sincerely wondered what I would ever do with it.
The tiny person was not in any way interested in flying spooky creatures at that point and, much like the snake one I also sent away for, the [...]

Teaching Kids Financial Literacy

After a few weeks on the island, my parents are heading back East today and we’re hitting the road to Victoria pretty quick this morning.
We’ve all had such a great time just hanging out and soaking up being a family, it’s a bit of a blue day around here.
So, I thought I’d pull out an [...]

Returning to the Real World with Family Vacation Tips

I apologize for being MIA yesterday. A snail-paced internet connection and gorgeous, jacket-free last day in Tofino meant radio silence.
Anyway, back in the Valley and back to business, our week in Tofino has inspired me to begin putting together family-friendly vacation guides for hot spots around the island – with Tofino being the first.
Look for [...]

Salmon Viewing on North Vancouver Island

Chances to get outside and check out the amazing creatures living among us, or to find a place that teaches us all about the environment, natural resources and caring for animals on the island are plentiful. Here are a few spots to watch salmon as they make their way to their spawning grounds each year:
* [...]

Top 10 North Vancouver Island Family Movie Adventures

Gray and me have a cozy relationship. When it’s really gray out, like this weekend, I want to wrap up in a big fuzzy blanket, get all warm and cozy, and throw in a great family movie.
Family TV watching is one of those things that has become a bit of a taboo topic in parenting [...]

Eco-Friendly Green School Supplies

Did I say it?
Is it possible?
Could it be that back to school is back on the brain?
OK, so getting your kiddos ready to hit the books hasn’t reached an emergency pitch right yet. But, if you are thinking about “greening” their school gear this year (a lot of this can apply to pre-schoolers and toddlers [...]

Miracle Beach Provincial Park

There’s a reason this beach got its name.
If you drive up and down the east coast of Vancouver Island, a beach of this ilk is hard to find.
From the facilities right down to the seemingly endless stretch of barefoot-loving sand, Miracle Beach Provincial Park lives up to its moniker.
Right off the Old Island Highway, in [...]

Worth the Drive – Kool & Child

My husband and I almost set up camp there – particularly happy that the tiny person and grandma decided to hang out at home instead of come with us. Otherwise, she would have insisted we move in forever.
I’d been told by more than one intrepid parent that Kool & Child in Nanaimo was one of [...]

Get Away – Butterfly World

Butterflies hold an honoured place in our house.
As the story goes, my grandfather who passed away more than 20 years ago, returns to everyone in the family from time to time in the form of a beautiful butterfly.
I’m a firm believer in his visitation policy as on my wedding day, just moments before my dad [...]

Summer School – Apparently, Museums Rule

I am, indeed, so incredibly shocked to learn over the last two weeks what a 2-, 5- and 7-year old mutually love.
Not much, let me tell you…except for, believe it or not, museums.
One of the greatest challenges of keeping divergent age groups plugged in is how to manage everybody when the at-home standards like books, [...]

Tide Pooling on Comox Valley Beaches

With crystal clear skies, temps pushing 20 and the whole family itching for a serious weekend of surf and sun, one of the most relaxing, educational and absolutely fascinating family adventures around these parts has got to be hitting our rocky beaches as the tide heads out to sea.

The receding waters along our coastline are [...]

Weekend Adventures – Salmon for Kids in Campbell River

Big people looking for a little people learning adventure that pulls together everything from environmental awareness and natural resources to learning life skills on easy-going family afternoons can look no farther than a day in Campbell River.
Start off with a trip to the Quinsam River Salmon Hatchery for a self-guided tour that involves checking out [...]

Spring Break – The Courtenay Museum

I know, I know.
Every parent really wonders if taking their kids to a museum is worth the pile of gift store goo at the end of what generally lasts a whopping hour.
But, if your kids are into dinosaurs at any level – and you are even mildly interested in old-skool photography, The Courtenay Museum, is [...]