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15 Summer Activities in Nature

FAM, kids By Jill Amery July 17, 2014 Tags: activities, art, berries, biking, bugs, camera, camping, chalk, featured, forts, gardening, geocaching, hiiking, kayaking, kites, mushrooms, nature, ocean, old-fashioned, outdoor, scavenger hunt, shells, soccer, sprinkler, summer No Comments

Summer is a perfect time to facilitate learning through entertainment. Remember being a kid and looking in the encyclopedia when you found a mushroom or learned a bit about physics when your fishing rod broke? Let’s get outside this summer and see what nature will teach us!

15 Summer Activities in Nature

1. Go for a hike! It’s a great way to get some exercise and discover new species at the same time.

2. Build forts made of driftwood on the beach. The kids can learn about structures while having fun scouring the beach for the much needed piece of wood for the roof.

3. Go camping! Whether it be at a site or just the backyard, camping is a great way to get outside and learn about your surroundings.

4. Do some gardening! Get the kids involved and give them a small patch in the backyard to create their own mini garden. They can learn what different species need to survive and have fun choosing the plants for their garden at the same time.

5. Go on an outdoor scavenger hunt! Make a list of things to find, whether it be a pinecone, something yellow, or a leaf the size of your hand and get scavenging!

6. Go geocaching! Teach the kids some navigation skills as they hunt for treasure. You never know, there may be treasure waiting for you right around the corner!

7. Go for a family bike ride. On a trail or through the neighbourhood, biking is a great way to be active in nature.

8. Go berry picking! Everyone can do it and afterwards the family can learn how to make a delicious treat incorporating the berries.

9. Fly a kite! You can get crafty and make your own or you can by one at the store. Either way, kite flying is a great family activity.

10. Have a neighbourhood game of soccer! Get the whole neighbourhood involved and play this simple yet fun game in your front yard or the park. You will be teaching the kids about teamwork in a way that just seems like fun and games.

11. Decorate the sidewalk with chalk! The kids can unleash their creativity while enjoying the great outdoors.

12. Take out your camera and go outside for some outdoor photography. Get some shots of your favorite plants and animals to use in a scrapbook!

13. Scavenge the beach for shells and sea glass to use in an art project of the kid’s choosing. Their creativity will not be lost over the summer with projects like these.

14. Go kayaking or stand up paddle boarding! Get outside and breath in the ocean air! Perseverance is taught (especially if it’s your first time) and the health benefits are endless!

15. Set up the sprinkler on those particularly hot summer day’s and watch the endless hours of enjoyment begin.

Finding Summer Activities with Heart

FAM, health By Jill Amery June 24, 2014 Tags: activities, End Child Slavery, featured, NoChildForSale, slider, summer, WorldVision Canada No Comments

If you’ve cared for kids during summer break, you know how those ten weeks can stretch out! But summer is also a wonderful time to learn with your kids, in ways that might not normally have time for. Best of all: they can help someone (or something!) in need, and feel really great about it.

Here are five activities for all kinds of kids:

The entrepreneur: If your kids want to earn money, brainstorm for small business ideas. The classic lemonade stand still lures many a thirsty family en route from the park. Perhaps a portion of the proceeds can be donated to a charity. Have your children research at least three.

The environmentalist: Create a way-station for migrating monarch butterflies, whose populations are threatened due to loss of natural habitat on their routes. Visit http://monarchwatch.org/waystations/ to learn what to plant in your backyard or a nearby abandoned lot.

The fundraiser: With FIFA World Cup on this summer, many will have soccer on the brain! Perhaps your resident soccer nuts could invite friends to play ‘the world’s longest soccer game’ in the local park, to raise funds for sports equipment for underprivileged kids.

The friendly neighbor: Is there an elderly person in your neighborhood, or mom with a very small child? Summer’s a great chance to walk across the road with some baking, to ask how your son or daughter could help. It’s a great chance for your child to practice reading out loud over the summer.

The caring baker: Invest in a tin of fair trade cocoa, or bag of fair trade sugar, and learn a basic cupcake or brownie recipe. Wherever your child offers these treats (to neighbors in need or for sale at a lemonade stand) he or she could share what they’ve learned about child labour. Visit nochildforsale.ca to learn more.

Keep Your Kids Writing and Thinking this Summer

FAM, kids By Jill Amery June 16, 2014 Tags: Education, featured, Keep your kids writing, literacy, reading, slider, summer, vacation No Comments

Earlier this year, a letter sent by a child to the LEGO toy company went viral. Seven-year-old Charlotte complained about the lack of opportunities for the LEGO girls available at her local toy store. She noticed that the girl figures only visit the beach and the shops, while LEGO boys have interesting jobs and even save lives. LEGO wrote back, adding to the story’s viral appeal and confirming for Charlotte that her questions were worthy of a response.

Why are we so pleasantly surprised when a child chooses to speak out? Children have a built-in sense of what’s ‘fair’ or ‘unfair.’ E-mail, Twitter and Facebook provide endless opportunities for any child who can spell to ask questions of companies, organizations and governments.

Here are five ways to your children thinking (and writing) about fairness this summer:

1) Help them feel heard: If a child feels something they see is unfair, encourage them to share more about their feelings. It doesn’t have to be global warming. Charlotte’s concern was simple, personal and right in front of her.

2) Ask them questions: Don’t end the conversation with “Yes, that’s sad.” There are many things to wonder about together. “I wonder who made the decision for this to happen?” or “Who do you think it hurt by this?” are great ways to keep them thinking.

3) Encourage them to write: Some questions you can answer; others you can’t. Help your child figure out who would be best to write to. Is it a toy company, a company that’s polluting the lake, or your municipal government?

4) Praise them for speaking up: Writing to a group of unknown adults can take courage, and your child deserves praise for taking the leap.

5) Broaden their horizons: Share age-appropriate news stories and issues with them. They may develop an interest in helping threatened animals (www.worldwildlife.org) or children who work to make our clothes or chocolate (www.nochildforsale.ca).

You may receive more than you bargained for the next time you announce bedtime, but you’ll certainly be impressed with their arguments!

Disclosure: This article was made possible through a partnership with World Vision Canada. #NoChildForSale

Balancing Technology Use as a Parent

LIVE, rest By Jill Amery September 9, 2013 Tags: computer, croquet, Education, forresters, games, ipad, phone, slider, summer, tablet, tech timeout, tribe 1 Comment

As a writer for the Tech Timeout Challenge by life insurance provider Foresters, I made a huge commitment as summer began. I set off to up the ante and do a full week without technology with the whole family. Over the summer, how hard could it be? It was hard. And I am embarrassed to say that we did not succeed. We lasted 3 days. But in the process we did accomplish the original intent of the program. We sat as a family for a minimum of an hour a day for the whole summer, talking, playing board games and playing in the sand. The art of balancing technology use as a parent proved far more challenging than I expected.

Easy Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream

EAT, family meals By Jill Amery August 24, 2013 Tags: Easy Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream, family meals, frozen dessert, kid's activities, old-fashioned, slider, summer No Comments

What’s the end of summer without trying a few old-fashioned kid activities? Especially delicious ones. To make an easy homemade chocolate ice cream is the stuff of memories. Kids learn exactly how much sugar can fill their favourite treat and parents can control the quality of the ingredients. It also teaches patience.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3 egg yolk, lightly beaten
2 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Combine sugar, milk, salt, and cocoa powder in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly. Bring to a simmer. Place the egg yolks into a small bowl. Gradually stir in about 1/2 cup of the hot liquid and return to the saucepan. This will assist in amalgamating the egg into the hot mixture. Heat until thickened, but be careful not to boil. Remove from the heat, and stir in the chopped chocolate until melted. Pour into a chilled bowl, and refrigerate for about two hours until cold, stirring occasionally.

When chocolate mixture has completely cooled, stir in the cream and vanilla. Pour into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to manufacturer’s directions. An ice cream maker to finish the treat is easiest, but if you don’t have one you can fill a big bowl with ice and put the cold liquid into another metal or plastic bowl nestled into the ice bath. The family can take turns stirring. If nothing else the kids will learn patience!

Summer Zucchini Muffins

EAT, snacks By Jill Amery August 21, 2013 Tags: freezer, snacks, summer, zucchini muffins No Comments

The garden is thriving and the kids have been eating poorly since school got out. Well, mine have anyway. Time to hide some veggies in their favourite foods. When we made these summer zucchini muffins, we tripled the recipe, baked one pan of muffins and saved the other two batches in large ziplock bags in the freezer. A perfect start to the school year. Simply defrost the dough the night before and fill 12 tins for fresh breakfast treats or lunchbox snacks.

3 cups grated fresh zucchini (no need to take the peel off. The green adds depth.. and saves you time.)
2/3 cup melted unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons baking soda
Pinch salt
3 cups all-purpose whole wheat flour (or replace 1 cup with wheat germ)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup walnuts (optional)
1 cup raisins or dried cranberries (optional)

You don’t need a mixer for this recipe.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). In a large bowl combine the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in the grated zucchini and then the melted butter. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Stir these dry ingredients into the zucchini mixture. Stir in walnuts, raisins or cranberries if using.

2. Coat each muffin cup in your muffin pan with a little butter or vegetable oil spray. Use a spoon to distribute the muffin dough equally among the cups, filling the cups up completely. Bake on the middle rack until muffins are golden brown, and the top of the muffins bounce back when you press on them, about 25 to 30 minutes. Set on wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from the tin let cool another 20 minutes.

Girly Lemonade Stands

EAT, entertain, LIVE, nourish By Jill Amery July 3, 2013 Tags: activity, because I am a girl, charity, lemonade stand, Lemonaid, philanthropy, slider, sliderplan canada, summer No Comments

What kid doesn’t want to set up on the front lawn with ice-cold lemonade and a cash box? Not only to pass the time and teach them some math skills, you can up the ante a bit by encouraging them to donate the proceeds to a charitable organization. Make a day of it with girly lemonade stands that help fellow women attain their basic rights in third world countries.

Small actions can drive big change. Plan Canada’s ‘Because I am a Girl’ initiative is helping to inspire youth to turn lemons into Pink LemonAid by hosting LemonAid fundraisers in their communities.

The girl issue is real, and it’s affecting girls and women around the world – but what is it? Girls in the poorest regions of the world are among the most disadvantaged people on the planet. They are more likely to live in poverty, more likely to be denied access to education, and more likely to be malnourished, simply because they are young and female.

And yet, studies show that when you invest in girls, the whole world benefits. If a girl has enough to eat, a safe environment, and an education, she’ll work to raise the standard of living for herself, her family and her community. And in time, she can even strengthen the economy of her entire country.

Did you know?

70% of the one billion people living in extreme poverty are women and girls.
Girls are 3x more likely to be malnourished than boys.
Globally, 66 million girls do not attend primary or secondary school.

There is an urgent need to stand up for the rights of millions of girls. In the poorest regions of the world, girls face double discrimination and unique barriers to survival and development, simply because they are young and female.

But when girls attain their basic human rights, they will:

Be 6x less likely to be married as children
Have 2.2 fewer yet healthier children
Increase their contributions to household income by 18%

Pink LemonAid Kits full of helpful tips, educational materials and instructions on hosting can be downloaded online here. Moms can review the materials with their children and educate them on the importance of helping out girls from around the world who are less fortunate.

My Summer Tech Timeout

LIVE, rest By Jill Amery June 18, 2013 Tags: forresters, gadgets, games, playtime, slider, summer, tech 4 Comments

“Beep. Ding! Ring!!” Twitter is chirping, the kids just finished a dance-off with the Wii and my facebook feed is buzzing on the Blackberry. As summer approaches, Canadians have a growing social concern about the impact that digital devices and technology are having on family togetherness. Remember those long cottage days as kids when we spent hours playing Battleship, catching fireflies and beating the parents at Monopoly? (I think they let me).

Our 20 Favourite Beauty Products for the Summer

beauty, GEAR By Jill Amery June 5, 2013 Tags: beauty, Cover Girl Lip Perfection, Crabtree & Evelyn Gardener's Hand Scrub, Dove Refresh+Care dry shampoo, Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap in Lavendar, Febreze candles, Gilette Fusion ProGlide, Guinot Tient Hydratant, H2O Plus Face Oasis Hydrating Treatment, Healthy HooHoo, Lancome Hypnose Drama Mascara, Make Up Forever Aqua Rouge Lip Colour, Mama Mio Zap Skin Tight, Minute Clinic, Noodle & Boo Glowology Afterglow Gel, Oral-B ProfessionalCare SmartSeries 5000 toothbrush, Philosophy Miracle Worker Eye Repair serum, ROC Max, Secret 'Mean Stinks' Clinical Strength deodorant, slider, summer, Vidal Sasoon Pro Series Hair Colour, vitamix 1 Comment

We get a ton of products shipped to the office for testing and we try as many as we can. So we owe it to our readers to share our favs. Some are a tad racy, so watch out… Presenting Our 20 Favourite Beauty Products for the Summer! Enjoy and be sure to add your own in the comments section.

Inspired Summer Picnic Tips

EAT, entertain, lunches By Jill Amery May 16, 2013 Tags: environment, ideas, old-fashioned, picnic, Safety, slider, summer 1 Comment

We love lazy summer picnics filled with giggles, soft blankets and sandwiches with crusts cut off. SO we’ve come up with a few inspired summer picnic tips to enchant your family as you lead them into the lazy days of summer.

1. Head to a fabric store and use pinking shears to make cloth napkins so the edges won’t fray. It’s great for the environment and you can design themed, beautiful picnics at a low cost.
2. Use individual jars for salad and dressings so you can shake and serve.
3. Don’t forget baby wipes and hand sanitizer.
4. We have lots of printables on our pinterest pages so you can do nature walks and scavenger hunts.
5. Bamboo plates always look stunning and are earth friendly.
6. Ditch the tech and opt for old-fashioned entertainment like cards, etch-a-sketch and throwing a ball.
7. Make a picnic playlist for every summer and your kids will have years of happy memories associated with the songs.
8. If you have little ones, include a few favourite dolls or stuffies with tiny dishes. Enchanted.
9. To help teach responsibility and respect, throw a garbage bag and some plastic gloves in the basket and do a mini garbage cleanup of the site when you are done. Picking up litter of others will instill many lessinons in your children.
10. Opt for tealights in mason jars for twilight picnics. It will be both safe and beautiful!

Enjoy – and don’t forget the bug spray! Add your ideas below!

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