Back to School with Mabel’s Labels
Back to School with Mabel’s Labels
*This post contains affiliate links. which means I may receive a (very) small commission if you click a link and purchase something. While I wish these commissions were enough to take us to Wales, they’re really how I pay the fees to keep this site up and running. All opinions are my own. Trust me. I have a lot of them. Thanks so much for your support!*
Do you know how many times I used to spend digging through the lost and found bins at the school? I have lost count. It’s a lot.
Each week I would trot into school with a list in hand, dump the bins on the floor in the hallway and start my search. Mittens, coats, lunch boxes, one shoe (how do you lose one shoe?), and the list goes on.
Thank goodness everything was labeled with Mabel’s Labels!
Having everything labeled makes finding things a lot easier! And for kids who aren’t so distracted as mine, it helps them to keep their things together!
Before my kids started school, friends told me I had to buy Mabel’s Labels. Being a newbie at this school thing, I listened.
Mabel’s Labels are great stickers that are designed to stick to everything. They are colourful stickers with a design (you pick the colour scheme and the graphic to go on them).
They are even dishwasher safe! I personally prefer the School Combo kit as they come in all shapes and sizes – including ones to fit in shoes!
I received my newest kit in the mail and have already labeled their gear for the coming year.
My Tips:
1. Buy Mabel’s Labels
2. Stick them on everything your child takes to school
3. Just put on your last name (unless it’s a super common name!). This way, you can use the stickers for more than one child, or if you are lucky to pass it on to the next child, it will still have the correct label on it.
4. Order now so they are here before school starts.
New Back To School Designer Label Pack from Mabel’s Labels is Here!
Maud Lewis Replica House in Digby
Maud Lewis Replica House, Digby
Maud Lewis is probably one of the best known folk artists in Canada.
Maude was born in 1903 in South Ohio, Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia but she lived most of her life with her husband Everett Lewis in Marshalltown, Digby County, Nova Scotia.
Read a biography of Maud Lewis here.
On the site of where here house stood is now a replica house. It is the same size as her original house!
Everything was in one room, except for a sleeping loft above one end of the house.
The original house has been moved and is on permanent display at the Nova Scotia Art Gallery in Halifax.
At this site, there are also some beautiful gardens and several information panels telling Maud Lewis’ story.
My father grew up in Digby and met Maud Lewis many times. He would often come here to this house to buy rabbits from Maud’s husband, Everett.
Here, he tells the story of being in the original house (sorry about the wind!).
Location
The Maud Lewis replica house and memorial site is located about 3 minutes past Exit 26 on Highway 101 in Marshall Town. It is on the right side of the road, heading towards Digby.
It is open year round. There is no admission.
It takes about 15 minutes to fully visit the site and read the panels.
The next time you are going to or by Digby, take time to stop to visit the Maud Lewis memorial site. See where great art was created!
Whale Watching with Mariner Cruises
Whale Watching with Mariner Cruises
Disclosure: Our family received tickets to go whale watching in exchange for this blog post. All opinions are our own.
“This is the most amazing thing ever! I can’t believe how close we are to nature!”
“You can’t do or see anything more amazing than this!”
That’s what my kids thought about whale watching with Mariner Cruises this summer!
We have gone whale watching a few times before and try to go every couple of years, so when our family was visiting here from the UK we decided to make a big group trip.
No matter how many times you go whale watching, it is still as amazing as the first time. It never gets tiring!
Our Trip
We arrived on Brier Island at 11am (see below for specific directions on how to get there). We immediately went to check in with Mariner Cruises.
It’s easy to spot as you turn left off the ferry.
Inside, we met the friendly staff who provided us with all the details for our day’s cruise, and information about what else we could do on the island.
In fact, this was only one of many of the encounters we had with staff. Even before coming, they sent us explicit details on how to get to Brier Island, and all the information of what to wear and bring. They were so helpful and friendly! We love great customer service!
While you are checking in for your tour, the kids can play outside!
Our Cruise
We boarded the Chad & Sisters Two for a 12:30 cruise.
Immediately,we were greeted by staff. Everyone was so friendly and extremely knowledgeable about marine life. Throughout the tour, they gave us so much information on the whales, seabirds and other mammals we saw. It was fascinating!
The kids even got a tour of the control room!
We spent an amazing 3 hours on the water and saw puffins and porpoises.
There were dozens of white-sided dolphins playing in the waves!
We also saw about 7 humpback whales, and followed a set of 2 and another group of 3 for a long time. They came right up to the boat!
“Can we come every week?” asked my son.
I think we ordered the perfect day!
There is a balcony on the boat, and kids who are tall enough can climb up with an adult to have another perspective on the whales.
What makes whale watching so special is that you never know what you are going to get. Every day is completely different. We know that when we go again, it might not be as spectacular as this, but every tour is amazing to enjoy and appreciate these incredible creatures!
The 3 hours just flew by, and we can’t wait to go back again!
Daniel and his cousin Erin have made a great YouTube video outlining our trip and what we saw!
Tour Times and Rates
Mariner Cruises offers whale and seabird tours from early June to mid October every year. Each cruise is from 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours in duration and departs from Westport on Brier Island, the Gateway to the Bay of Fundy.
Tours Depart Daily at 8:30 am, 12:30 pm and 4:30 pm. (subject to change)
Per Person Whale Watching Tour Fees – June through October (subject to change)
Adult – $49.00
Senior – $41.00
Student – $41.00
Children (4 – 12 yrs) – $27.00
Children (3 and under) – FREE
Tips for your Trip
Dress warmly. Even though it might be warm on shore, it will be cold on the boat. You will definitely need long pants and a sweater.
Bring sunscreen. The sun off the water, even on foggy days can still burn you!
Go more than once. We have these amazing mammals right in our backyard. Don’t take it for granted, and make the effort to go more than once either for
Plan your trip. Everything on the islands revolve around the ferry schedule. You must plan ahead.
How to Get There
Mariner Cruises runs from Brier Island and you have to take 2 ferries to get there. From Kentville, it takes about 3 hours to get to Brier Island.
Great directions can be found here.
Other Things to do on the Islands
Make a mini-vacation out of your whale watching trip and stay overnight. Book an accommodation here.
Or, take some extra time to explore some other things on the island.
Things to do and see
Seal Cove: is a 20 – 30 minute hike along the rugged Atlantic coast from Brier Island Lodge or a 10 minute walk from the Coast Guard station located at Northern Light. Low tide is the best time to find a party of grey and harbour seals basking on the rocks which form a horseshoe inside the cove. Check with the staff at the lodge for tide tables and directions.
Southern Point
On the Southern tip of the island is a great place for a picnic and bird watching spot. There is one picnic table.
This is quite near the place where you board the boat, so makes a great place to hang out until time for your cruise.
There is also a monument to Joshua Slocum – He was the first man to sail solo around the world by himself!
Slocum moved to Brier Island when he was 10 and worked in his father’s boot making factory.
There is so much more to do and see on both Brier Island and Long Island, that you could definitely spend a few days here exploring the sights and sounds!
Just make sure you go!
When to Go
Whale watching runs until the end of September or early October depending on the migratory patterns of the whales.
Didn’t have time to go in the summer? Make a weekend visit in the fall. It makes a great adventure to ease out of summer and relax after the hustle and bustle of school starting up again.
Add Mariner Cruises’ whale watching tour to your family’s must-do list!
Just take it from Daniel who wrote this on our last whale-watching trip…
Port Royal National Historic Site
Port Royal National Historic Site, Annapolis Royal
Disclosure: Our family received a family pass to visit Port Royal. Just means we have more great stories to share with you. All opinions are our own.
I remember visiting Port Royal with my family when we were kids. I had great memories of being there and couldn’t wait to take the boys.
Here’s what the website says
Port-Royal National Historic Site features a reconstruction of the Habitation, where, in 1605, Samuel de Champlain helped establish one of the earliest European attempts at settlement in North America.
Costumed interpreters will help you understand the challenges faced by the French as they carved out a new settlement.
Let your imagination soar as you walk the shore of the Annapolis Basin, and gaze at the same horizon Champlain would have seen. As it was for him, it is a new horizon.
Our Visit
Daniel does the best job of talking about our visit to Port Royal in his YouTube video.
When we arrived at the Park, the first thing we did was sign up for the Xplorers Program.
This is a great activity for kids to do as they visit any National Site in Canada. There are questions and activities to complete throughout the site, and if they complete enough of them, they will receive a prize and a certificate at the end. The program is geared towards ages 6-11 and we find it’s a great way to keep the kids engaged and focused on our visit.
We also picked up a brochure of the site that is clearly labeled and has a great map. As you go around the complex you can read about each place you are visiting. A number on the map corresponds to the information pamphlet for details about each location. It’s fabulous!
On our self-guided tour we saw a rope loft, the governor’s quarters,
a chapel, the kitchen and the wine cellar and so much more!
The key attraction here at Port Royal, though is the Common Room where the Order of Good Cheer began.
The Order of Good Cheer is a social club instituted by Champlain in the winter of 1606-07.
The Order of Good Cheer provided good food and good times for the men to improve their health and morale during the long winter. Although it lasted only one winter, the society was a great success. Every few days, supper became a feast where, on a rotating basis, everyone at the table was designated “Chief Steward.”
This person had the duty of taking care that all around the table were well and honourably provided for.
Learn more.
Overall
We had a great day visiting Port Royal.
Plan for about 1.5 to 2 hours for your visit. This will give you lots of time to explore the nooks and crannies and to go through all the buildings.
This is a great place to bring kids of all ages, and especially multiple times, because with each visit, you will be able to do and learn more!
Definitely take the time to explore one of North America’s earliest European settlements!
Hours and Admission
Port Royal is open from Victoria Day weekend in May until Thanksgiving in October from 9am to 5:30pm.
A family pass is only $9.80 (subject to change).
Daily fees can be found here.
Location
Port-Royal is located just west of Annapolis Royal and Granville Ferry. Take Exit 22 off Highway 101 and continue north on Route 8 to Annapolis Royal. At the traffic lights, turn right on Route 1, and cross the causeway. Take the first left and follow the signs indicating Port-Royal (10.5 km).
Melanson Settlement
On the road towards Port Royal, you will see a sign for the Melanson Settlement, another National Historic Site.
It is free to visit this site, and only takes less than 30 minutes to do so.
Here’s what the website says:
An archaeological survey undertaken in 1984 on quiet farmland on the banks of the Annapolis River in 1985 unlocked the key to the history of the Acadian settlers who lived here throughout the 17th and 18th centuries.
The Melanson Settlement revealed a system of dykeland farming unique among Acadians living in North America which involved families and neighbours cooperatively working the land.
Stroll the path and take in the view over the marshlands and fields.
Annapolis Royal and surrounding area is so rich with history that can be found nowhere else in Canada. Take time to explore it with your family!
Fort Anne National Historic Site
Fort Anne National Historic Site, Annapolis Royal
*Disclosure: Our family received a day pass to visit Fort Anne. All opinions are our own.*
Our family has been going to Fort Anne for years. For over 30 years, we have been going to the Natal Day sunset set ceremony by the cadets on the parade square of Fort Anne, Annapolis Royal.
It is our family tradition, and one we look forward to every year.
I have to admit though; I had never been inside the museum before! We have walked the grounds so many times and knew every inch of outdoors, but never took the time to explore inside.
Here’s what the website says
Step foot onto Canada’s oldest National Historic Site and one of the most hotly contested pieces of land on the entire continent at Fort Anne.
For centuries, a succession of Scottish, French, First Nations and English settlers clashed over this prize on the banks of Nova Scotia’s Annapolis River.
Today, visitors can walk the earthen walls, explore the 1797 Officers’ Quarters Museum and soak up centuries of Canadian history.
Our Visit
The first thing we did was to sign up for the Xplorers Program.
Youth 6-12 are given a booklet with questions to fill out while going around the park. It keeps them focused, gives them activities to do, and they get a prize and certificate when they complete so many pages!
We started inside the main building, the Officers’ Quarters to learn about the history of the area starting with the Natives up to the occupation by the English.
There is an amazing tapestry inside that displays the history of Annapolis Royal. It took 20,000 volunteer hours to make this beautiful piece.
If you look at the medallion around Queen Victoria’s neck, you can see some golden threads. Queen Elizabeth II actually stitched these!
Throughout the museum, in every room, there are lots of hands-on activities for the kids to do. This is great, because it keeps the kids busy and occupied while the parents can read the information panels.
The kids could play Native drums.
Dress up in Acadian clothes.
Or dress up in different periods of British soldiers’ uniforms!
There is a great touch-screen video explaining how and why the fort was built in the star-shaped formation.
Visiting the museum gave us a whole new appreciation for the grounds with which we were so familiar!
The Grounds
Walk the boardwalk around the museum grounds. This is an incredible walk that could take up to 20 minutes with stops to view and read.
You can explore the cannons.
Go down into the magazine building where they stored gun powder.
Or, try staying in the black hole dungeon to see what it would have felt like to be held in there!
Croquet is also set up on the lawn. Or roll down the hills if you dare!
It’s a way to spend a day!
Our Visit
We spent about one hour at the museum at Fort Anne. You can easily spend a ½ day walking the grounds and visiting the museum, and it’s well worthwhile!
Candlelight Tour
Another great way to learn more is to take the candlelight tour in the evening that leaves from Fort Anne. We have done this tour twice and love it every time! We have not taken the children yet, but kids 8+ would definitely enjoy it, as it is not scary, and Alan Melanson tells some very interesting stories!
You will learn so much history and hear some really interesting stories about people from the area.
We highly recommend it!
Hours and Admission
The museum is open from June 1 to September 30. Check the hours before you go.
The grounds are open year round.
There are no fees to tour the grounds.
There are fees for the museum.
How to get there
The site is in the town of Annapolis Royal. Take Highway 101 to Exit 22 and continue north on Route 8. Proceed through the traffic lights on Saint George Street in Annapolis Royal, then take the second left into Fort Anne.
The Fort is located on the main road through Annapolis Royal. You cannot miss it.
Next time you are in Annapolis, take the time to discover the beauty and history of Fort Anne National Historic Site!
Mount Hanley Schoolhouse Museum
Mount Hanley School House Museum
Tucked away in a tiny village on the North Mountain is the Mount Hanley Schoolhouse Museum.
It is definitely worth a Sunday afternoon drive to go and see it.
The Story of the Schoolhouse
The schoolhouse was built in 1850 and operated as a one-room schoolhouse for the next 110 years, when in the 1960s, students were sent to high school down the mountain.
When the school closed, our friend’s parents, who lived next door, purchased the property. They kept it in tact, virtually as it was on the last day of school. Later the building was turned over to a community group who opened the schoolhouse as a museum for the public.
A great history of the schoolhouse can be found here.
Famous Pupils
Over the 110 years of operation, many students went through its doors, but two stand out.
Joshua Slocum
Joshua Slocum was the first man to sail solo around the world. He wrote about his epic journey in a book in 1899 called Sailing Alone Around the World.
Joshua lived in Mount Hanley and attended this school until he was about 8 years old, after which he moved to Brier Island.
You can learn more about Joshua when you go to the Hall’s Harbour Ghost walk!
In the museum, there is a section dedicated to Joshua Slocum where you can learn more about his ventures on the schooner the Spray.
Clara Belle Marshall
Clara Belle Marshall went to Mount Hanley schoolhouse in the 1880s and later went on to become the first woman to graduate from Acadia University in 1884.
There is also a display about Clara Belle Marshall at the Schoolhouse museum.
The Exhibits
The main room of the schoolhouse is still set up like a classroom. You can sit in the desks, look at the text books the students used, see the woodstove that kept them warm, and imagine life in a one-room schoolhouse!
In the back room, which used to be where the wood was stored for the schoolhouse stove, there are so many interesting historical artifacts.
Each is labeled with explanations. It is all so well organized, and there is an interesting variety of things to see!
Hours and Admission
Admission to the museum is by free-will donation. Please be generous. This is how museums like this can remain open.
The Mount Hanley Museum is open on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays during the summer months and by appointment at other times.
Directions
To get to the Mount Hanley Schoolhouse Museum take exit 18 at Middleton off the 101. Follow the signs to the right towards Mount Hanley towards the North Mountain.
The schoolhouse is located in Mount Hanley, on the North Mountain of Nova Scotia about nine kilometers northwest of Middleton. It sits on the corner of the Mount Hanley road, (which first came up the mountain from the valley in 1784) and the Brown Road.
Take a Sunday drive along the Fundy Shore, stopping to see some lighthouses, walk on the beach. Take a few minutes to stop in to the Mount Hanley Schoolhouse museum. Your kids won’t believe it!
