Wild Kratts Birthday Party
Wild Kratts Birthday Party!
Wild Kratts is one of the kids’ favourite TV shows. They love learning about the animals. They have often made their own creature-power suits and played in the yard. I was not surprised when Daniel asked for a Wild Kratts birthday party!
Here’s what we did. We got a lot of the ideas from Pinterest, combined them together and came up with our own version of Wild Kratts.
Creature-Power Suits:
My mom made each guest a black vest from black cotton. It was a tank-top style.
We cut circles out of craft foam and glued them to the vest for the paw print.
Under that, my mom sewed one half of a piece of Velcro. This is where the creature-power discs would go.
Creature-Power Discs:
We found a set of printable discs through Pinterest.
We knew which animals we wanted to use, so printed off these discs. We changed some of the animals by finding animal silhouettes and pasting them over top of the animals in this printout.
We printed the discs off on colour paper, cut them out, and glued them to craft foam circles of the same size.
On the back, we glued a strip of Velcro (the opposite to what was sewn on the vest).
The Party!
1. Beaver Dams: When the guests arrived, we had them try out their animal skills by building a beaver dam using pretzel sticks and frosting. Every creation was completely different!
2. Observational Scavenger Hunt: Daniel can up with this activity. I took about 30 of his stuffed animals and hid them around the yard in areas as close to their natural habitat as possible (birds in trees, beaver by the stick pile, etc). I made a list of all the animals. Guests were divided into pairs and had to check off the animals once they found them.
3. Creature-Power Suits: Having completed these first two activities “proved” that they were worthy of their creature-power suits. Each guest received a vest with the “beaver” disc attached.
4. Butterfly: To become a butterfly, the kids had to get in a sleeping bag and inch their way across the lawn (like a caterpillar). Then, their team wrapped them up like a cocoon (in toilet paper) and then they could break free and flap away like a butterfly. This was not a race, but there were two lines of kids going at once. Then, they earned their “butterfly” disc. They traded in their “beavers” for the “butterflies”. I put their “beavers” immediately into their treat bags.
5. Elephant: My husband came up with this contraption where he duct taped a stick to the hose of the ShopVac. Kids had to pick up a golf ball with the vacuum and drop it in the bucket. It’s a lot harder than it looks! They earned their “elephant” discs, and once again I traded their current disc and put it in their treat bags.
6. Bat: We talked about how bats move using echolocation. Each child was blindfolded, spun around, and had to find their way to the bench. When they were going the wrong way, the kids would say “beep” slowly. When they were going the right direction and getting close, they would “beep” faster. This earned them their “bat” disc.
7. Cheetah: We actually found this game about 10 minutes before the party started! Most of the activities on the other websites were for children under the age of 5. However, these kids were all 6-9 years old.
We found a game called Cheetahs and Cheetals from India. This is the best explanation of the game.
In India, a Cheetal is a deer. Of course the Cheetahs chase the Cheetals, so this game was very appropriate. It is similar to a game called Crows and Cranes that we played as children. After a few rounds, and when the kids were tired, they earned the Cheetah badge.
It was very important to us (and especially Daniel) that none of the games were races, timed, or had a winner. These activities all worked perfectly for that!
Cake:
Daniel had done a school project on the platypus and therefore requested a platypus cake! We found instructions for “Disney’s Perry the Platypus” and used that. I baked the cake in 2 loaf pans. The second cake we just covered with chocolate frosting and put on 2 marshmallows for eggs – as the nest. As per usual, I bake the cake, and David decorates it!
Treat Bags:
I am a big fan of paper bags for treat bags! On the back, I (tried to) draw a different animal and wrote the child’s name on the bag.
Inside were three other creature-power discs. These ideas are based on some from this website.
1. Hippopotamus: Our Compliments makes a soft cookie treat called Hippo Hugs. I made a hippo creature-power disc and taped it to the Hippo Hug, along with some facts about hippos.
2. Fish: Taped to a packet of Goldfish, I taped a fish creature-power disc along with some facts about bass.
3. Fireflies: Taped to a glowstick was a creature-power disc of a firefly and some facts.
These fact sheets are here.
Finale:
At the end of the party, after the games, presents and cake, I set the treat bags around the room. The kids could then change their creature-power discs at will, and have some time for free play. We had several kids building dams with sticks with their beaver discs, and some running around as cheetahs. The imaginative play was wonderful!
Although there was quite a bit of prep with the vests and the discs, it was an easy party to orchestrate and the kids had a lot of fun! We could have done a lot more animal games and activities, but would have been cutting out discs forever!
Overall, the kids loved the party, and it was a great success!
How to Build a Playground
How to Build a Community Playground
I have helped to build two playgrounds.
The first was in my hometown of Port Williams. Although I now live in the next town over, about 10 minutes away, when I heard my friends talking about wanting to put a park in the village where there was none, I knew I wanted to be involved.
Spearheaded by my friend Lia, I became the fundraising chair and helped raise more than $180,000 in less than two years! This included a playground, basketball court, walking trail and picnic area. That park has now become the heart of the village, and makes my heart swell every time I see it in use!
While that project was wrapping up, my friend Kathy phoned me. They were building a new school in my current town, Kentville, and the playground that came with the plans was too small and inappropriate for a school of our size. Would I come to the PTA and give some advice?
My kids were not yet in school, but would be attending that school, so I decided to go. Once again, I ended up as fundraising chair and raised $140,000 in 11 months for a state-of-the art accessible playground for the school!
Because of my experiences, people often contact me for advice for making their own community playgrounds. Most of the advice is applicable to any playground, so I thought I would record my thoughts and opinions in a blog post. Some of the thoughts have also come from my co-playground members Lia and Kathy.
These are my opinions and what worked for us.
The Pre-Work:
1. Form a committee. Building a playground is a full-time job and you will need a lot of help. I recommend 5-8 people. Otherwise, it is too hard to schedule meetings. A strong committee includes people who have different opinions and aren’t afraid to express them.
2. Get Community Support and keep them Updated: It is really important to have the support and interest of the community. They are almost an extension of the Park Committee. In Port Williams, Lia wrote a monthly Park Update and distributed it via email. When we needed volunteers to move “rocks”, an email note went out (and they came in droves!). When we needed to inform them about an upcoming fundraiser, the Update did that. This kept everyone who had invested time, money and interest in the park, in the loop!
2. Find the spot. Know where you are going to build the playground. Figure out who owns it, and who needs to be part of the process. Is it the town? School board? Private land owners? They should be at the table, too.
3. Make a wish list. Write down all the components that you would like to see in your playground. Slides? Swings? Ask kids who will be using the playground what they want.
4. Decide if you want to make your playground accessible. In our area, you do not have to make it accessible, but it is good citizenship. However, it adds a significant price to the project.
5. Do research. Go to other playgrounds. Write down what you like. What are kids playing with? What looks fun? We did this for several months before deciding our final plan. Plus, it’s a good excuse for an outing with your kids and friends!
6. Hold an open house. We did this for the community park but not the school playground. We invited residents to come to the community centre. We put up chart paper around the room where people could write their wish lists. We put out catalogues where people could circle equipment that they liked. We tried to incorporate these ideas into the final plan.
7. Get a charitable number. If you are working with an organization, use their charitable number. Municipalities/towns also count as a charitable organization. Otherwise, apply for one.
Planning Stage
In order to apply for grants, and for you to set some goals, you need to have a plan.
Invite a rep from a playground company to come and walk the land with you. This should be a free service. Show them your land, tell them your wish list, and ask them what is feasible. From here, the rep should go back and draw up a plan for you. This will include a drawing and a preliminary budget.
You are not required to use this plan or this company. However, it acts as a guideline. You will know an approximate budget. You can also show potential donors and use the plans in your grants.
For both playgrounds we used Playpower (Little Tikes) and were extremely satisfied.
You cannot go further until you have a preliminary plan and budget.
Grant Writing
Grant writing is a full-time, job, too! In a previous life, I wrote grants for a psychology research centre, so luckily had experience in the field.
1. Gather a list of all the grants that you want to apply for. Create the list by talking to other people in your area who have built playgrounds, from your recreation department, or by doing Google searches.
2. Make a calendar. Every grant has a different deadline. Some can be submitted any time of the year, but many can’t. Write down every grant under the month that it is due. This way, you can keep on track of them and won’t miss out on one.
3. Print off the grant guidelines. I am old-fashioned and like pen, paper and highlighters. Go through the grant and highlight any key words. There is certain lingo that each grant will use. Make sure that when you write your application you use these words.
4. Answer each question. Make sure in your write up you are actually answering the question with detailed information. Use the key words. Provide detailed examples.
5. Edit, edit, edit. I am a terrible editor, so I always get someone else to look over my applications before sending them out.
6. Create a base line. Once you have one grant written well, you can use this for the foundation for other grants. Don’t submit the same grant application – as you need to make it fit the goals of each grant, but you can copy and paste a lot of the basic information.
For those living in Nova Scotia, check out:
– Presidents Choice Charities (for accessibility grants)
– Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness (Recreation Facility Grant)
– Enabling accessibility
– Community AccessAbility Fund
– Agri-spirit Funding
– ACOA
– Doctors Nova Scotia
– Nova Scotia Dental Association
Fundraising
1. Bang for your buck: It takes a lot of chocolate bars to make $180,000! So, try to plan bigger events that will bring in more money at one time. For both parks we had a silent auction and a pub night/dinner that raised over $15,000 on each occasion in one night.
2. Target different groups: Don’t always go after the same pots of money. Parents get bombarded constantly for money for donations. Try planning an event for seniors, or a community nature event (we did a star gazing night with local astronomers), and a house tour of various homes in the area. This spreads the money around and doesn’t over tax the same people.
3. Use pre-existing crowds: It is often difficult to get people to come out to events as everyone is so busy. Think of where there are already crowds – maybe at a local festival, shopping area, etc. Plan events or fundraising events around where people already are in attendance.
4. Get the children involved: Find ways for the kids to plan their own fundraising events and for them to take ownership and pride in their future playground. Plan events at the school, have the kids make and sell things – get them to come up with an idea to execute.
Build Day
Our playgrounds were constructed completely by volunteers under the guidance of the playground representative.
1. Gather volunteers: You will need a big group of volunteers! Here, we called upon men’s church groups, parents, grandparents, students from a specialized program in a local school, and community volunteers.
2. Feed them! We had a lot of people provide snacks and drinks throughout the day, as well as local community and church groups who donated a meal for the workers for each day.
3. Plan for bad weather. We built both playgrounds in December and were stormed out a few days! Make contingency plans!
Follow up
1. Thank your volunteers and donors: create a donor board for your playground listing the donors, and invite them to a special opening ceremony where they are thanked. Everyone likes recognition for a job well done!
2. Keep good notes because you will get lots of people asking you for advice!
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Good luck!
Our Port Williams Park was selected to be in the Little Tikes Catalogue!
The kids love the KCA Playground!
Do you have any other good tips?
Mialisia
MiaLisia – Just Two Little Hooks!
*I received a piece of jewelry to review for this blog post*
“It’s so versatile”
“I love your necklace”
“The shininess caught my eye immediately”
“Can we have a party?”
I love to wear fun jewelry. Anything with a sparkle that catches my eye is fair game. So, when Deborah Chapman asked me if I wanted to come over to check out the new line of Mialisia jewelry, I jumped at the chance!
Here’s what the website says: “Mialisia is a direct-sales jewelry company that specializes in VersaStyle™ jewelry. Our interchangeable jewelry converts into dozens of different looks and styles to provide convenient options and incredible value to today’s busy woman.”
Here’s what I say: Mialisia is a really fun and creative new style of jewellery! You aren’t just buying one piece, you are buying tons!
When I went to Deborah’s house to look at the jewellery and pick out a piece that I might like to wear, it was a bit overwhelming as there were so many choices! I wanted them all! To help you make your decision, flip through the catalogue.
When you go through the Mialisia catalogue, the jewellery is all divided by style. These styles include vibrant, chic, spirited, refined, charming, and adorable. They help to narrow down your search. If I had to make a choice, my favourite collections are adorable and refined.
To begin your jewellery collection you really need to get one longer piece and one shorter piece. They will work together to make literally hundreds of different styles. The catalogue will show you some great combinations or make your own.
I started with Spun Sugar (long) and Clearly Classic (short). I wore them every day for several weeks, and each week I put them together differently. Below is a slideshow of some of the ways that I wore them. They can be worn as a layered necklace, a choker, a bracelet, an anklet, even a headband or cute lanyard…the possibilities are endless!
To get ideas of how to wear them, I looked in the catalogue, I watched YouTube videos, Googled ideas, or came up with some on my own.
The great thing about Mialisia jewellery is that it is made with a hook on each end. So, when you are creating the styles, you just hook them together. It is that easy!
Every time I wore the Mialisia jewellery, I got so many compliments. I would take it apart and show people how it all fit together.
“It’s so easy”
“I love it”
“How fun and versatile”.
I’m sure I could have sold it on the spot!
When I travelled to England, I took Mialisia with me and was able to take only two pieces, but “tons” of styles. It made for light packing and a great compliment to all my outfits!
I only had one issue with the Spun Sugar coming apart, but it was completely under warranty! I then changed to the Simplicity longer chain and was able to make more combinations with that!
To learn more about Mialisia or to host your own party (with tons of great rewards) to earn free jewellery and amaze your friends, contact Deborah Chapman. She is based out of Kentville, NS.
902-678-9903; deborahchap@gmail.com
Check out these websites:
Measuring Animals
Just How Long is That? Measuring Animals
Our boys love to read books about animals. We read facts about their weight, height and length. However, measurements are sometimes hard to grasp and fully understand how long something actually is!
With this in mind, we often measure out animals!
We are lucky to live on a dead end road with no traffic, so the street is our playground. For everyone else, try this on the sidewalk, your driveway, or at your local playground/basketball court.
1. Gather all your books about animals. We’ve done this several times. Once with dinosaurs, once with whales, and once with animal babies.
2. Get a tape measurer.
3. Draw a base line on the ground.
4. Look in your book to determine the length of the animal. Measure it out, and mark it with chalk. Be sure to label each animal!
You will be amazed at just how long these animals actually are! And now, kids will have a frame of reference for just how big they are!
The kids love this activity and do it now with their friends!
Summer Morning Challenges
Summer Morning Challenges!
I figured, if the Elf on the Shelf can do it, than so can I!
Every morning when the kids wake up, I have an activity laid out on the kitchen table. The idea is that it gives the boys something to focus on when they get up (instead of computer games), lets us sleep in a bit, or get a bit of work done!
It’s been a lot of fun coming up with something every day! As this is our second year, the bar has been set pretty high to come up with interesting things!
We managed to do an activity most days!
Here is what we’ve done:
Day 57: Blindfolded Drawing
How good are you at giving directions? How good are you at listening? We took turns being blindfolded and gave instructions to each other (go left, go up, diagonally) to draw a picture. It worked out a lot of the time! Great teamwork!
Day 56: Video Games
What else do you do on a rainy day? Introduce the kids to new websites for their favourite things: Pokemon and Hot Wheels!
Day 55: Solar Oven
Today we made a solar oven and attempted to cook Smores. I found a fantastic video on Pinterest! It contains a step-by step process.
For some reason, our oven didn’t reach hot enough temperatures, but we had fun trying!
Day 54: Bottle Target Practice
I hung a couple of bottles tied to a rope from a tree. They had to see how far away they could be and still hit the bottles!
You may want to watch carefully, because it wasn’t long before this contraption was turned into nunchucks!
Day 53: Hot Wheels Builders’ Challenge!
We are a bit Hot Wheels obsessed in this house and have a lot of track pieces. Today, I challenged them to come up with a multiple chain reaction track.
They came up with a creative square!
Day 52: Secret Messages
The boys love this activity! Write a message on white paper using a white crayon.
Then have the kids paint over the message using water paints and the message will appear. Here, I told them where to find a special treat that I had hidden.
Day 51: Clothespin Games
We tried two funny games with clothespins. First, we had to put the clothespins between our knees and walk to the end of the deck and drop them in a bucket. The boys also experimented with other body parts!
Next, we moved the buckets a distance away and saw how far away we could throw them into the bucket.
Day 49 and 50: Ceramics
This activity took two days to complete! We had a ceramic mold kit from the dollar store. On the first day we made the molds.
On the next day, we painted them!
Day 48: Mystery Eggs
Today we were going on a special adventure! I wrote up the information on a piece of paper and cut it out like a jigsaw puzzle.
I then hid each piece of the puzzle in a plastic Easter egg and hid them around the lawn. The kids found the eggs, and put the puzzle together to read the message.
Day 47: Hot Wheels Rockets
Today we decided to turn our Hot Wheels into Rockets!
Place a straw inside a balloon and tape the whole thing to the back of a Hot Wheels car.
Blow up the balloon through the straw. Watch it fly across the room!
Day 46: Bowling for Bottles
Daniel said that this was one of the most fun activities of the summer.
Take empty cans and bottles and stack them in the driveway. It is easier if this is infront of a wall or the garage door. Then, give them a ball to bowl with!
You can make some fancy stacks, too! It’s a lot harder than you think!
Day 45: Balancing Forks on a Glass
This is an impressive trick that the kids will love!
Take two forks and intertwine them and place a toothpick up the centre. Balance the entire contraption on the edge of a glass. Then, burn the toothpick! This YouTube Video show it perfectly.
Just watch their expressions!
Day 44: Target Practice
I made a few paper bullseye targets.
Then, I pinned them to the clothesline and had them shoot them with water guns! They may have sprayed each other, too. And me.
Day 43: Bird Feeders
Today we made two different bird feeders using peanut butter.
First, we spread peanut butter on a toilet paper roll and sprinkled it with bird seed. Then we tied a string to it to hang.
We ound these wooden ornaments and drilled a hole in the top of each one and strung a piece of string through it. Then, covered it in peanut butter and bird seed.
Day 42: Hot Wheels Race with Squirters
Today we tried to race Hot Wheels down the road while squirting them with spray bottles.
Even thought it was fun, it was an EPIC FAIL and did not work. The boys had more fun squirting each other!
Day 41: Follow a Bug
We found an ant in the driveway and traced its path. It’s a lot harder than it sounds! Be careful not to run over it with the chalk!
Day 40: Rock Polishing
The boy love rock collecting and we happen to have a rock tumbler. The boys went through their collection and picked the ones they wanted to polish. Stay tuned for the results.
Day 39: Car Ride Bingo
We had a long day in the card, so I printed off these Bingo sheets that I found on Pinterest! We had a blast trying to fill in the entire card!
Day 38: Hand Shadows
I found this idea on Pinterest and printed off the sheets. We found a dark space and tried to make these animals on the wall. Some were really hard! We had a lot of fun making up our own, too!
Day 37: Pokemon Math
My boys are obsessed with Pokemon! Daniel took the “Health Number” and learned how to do basic multiplication while Thomas added the “Health” and “Damage” together to learn how to add in columns!
Day 36: 5 Senses Hunt
We spent the day hiking and decided to use our 5 senses. We recorded our favourite sights, smells, tastes, sounds and touches for the day!
Day 35: Egg Hunt
It doesn’t have to be Easter to enjoy an egg hunt! I filled the plastic eggs with #Golfish crackers and other treats for them to find.
Day 34: Follow the String
I tied a piece of yarn to their chair and told them to follow the string.
At the end of the string was a bag full of treats. I filled it with “road trip essentials” for our car trip, but any prize would do!
Day 33: Paint a Picture
Bring out their inner Picasos by putting out paint and a blank canvas!
Sometimes things might get a bit creatively messy!
Day 32: Paper Airplanes
What kid doesn’t love making paper airplanes? Get out your paper, Google some designs and see whose can fly the farthest!
Day 31: Stacking Cups and Knocking them Over
We gathered all the plastic cups in the house and took turns building pyramids. Then, we had fun knocking them down with a water gun! We tried to see what elaborate cup designs we could build!
Day 30: Bake Cookies
Besides the joy of baking, it helps kids to learn about math and teaches them a great life-long skill. The end result didn’t last long enough to get a picture!
Day 29: Make a Card
We had two cards to make today: a birthday card and a get well card for a friend. But, you can make a card for anyone. A “thank you” or “glad you’re my friend/neighbour” card always brightens someone’s day!
I laid out the craft supplies and let the kids do whatever they wanted!
Day 28: Let’s Make a Collage
An easy craft/activity! I just put the flyers out on the table and had the kids pick a theme to collage about. Daniel picked “things found in a house” and Thomas did “red things.” We’ve also done collages of the 4 food groups which is a great learning activity, too!
Day 27: Orienteering
It’s great for kids to learn basic compass skills! I set up a list of directions for the boys to follow. We talked about how to find North and about the degrees around the rim.
At the end of the walk, there was a treat for both of them!
Day 26: Cook Supper on a Coffee Can
We used to do this at Girl Guide camp. Read the full blog post about this activity. Basically, you make a bunson burner out of a tuna can and cardboard and use it to heat a coffee can to cook your supper!
Day 25: Lighting Fires with a Magnifying Glass
What little boy doesn’t like to light things on fire? We stressed the importance of only doing this with an adult present!
Stand in the direct sun and tilt the magnifying glass until it casts a circle of light on the object.
Day 24: Planting Seeds
We happened to have some of that paper with seeds embedded in it, so we decided to plant it! Stay tuned to see if it grows!
If you don’t have this type of paper, try planting regular seeds and watch them sprout!
Day 23: Rock Candy
I’ve grown salt crystals before but never sugar ones! This is a great scientific and yummy experiment.
I found easy instructions online.
Basically, you boil water and dissolve sugar in it creating a super-saturated solution.
Then, you pour it into jars
And put a string across the top, tied to a pencil, and wait for them to grow. Report back in to see our progress!
After 2 weeks, the candy is ready! YUMM!
Day 22: Puzzlemaker
Puzzlemaker is a great website where you make all sorts of puzzles from word searches to crossword puzzles. Enter your own list of words and clues and then print them off. And, it’s free! I made a puzzle with clues about each boy’s life. Great for a rainy day.
Day 21: Sponge Fight!
I got this great idea from my neighbour Sue! This turned out to be one of their favourites!
Hang an old shower curtain or bedsheet from the clothesline. Place a bowl of water at each side.
Give each child a pile of sponges. The object is to hit each other with the wet sponges, but you have to stay behind the curtain! It’s pretty hard and a lot of fun!
Day 20: Solar Kits
I bought a solar kit for the boys from Dollarama. Remeber, you get what you pay for! This kit was really tricky to put together (thank goodness my husband did it!) but it really worked. The kids enjoyed helping to assemble it and learning about solar power.
Day 19: Stalking Game
We had a camping sleepover with our friends so played this group game in the morning. Start by teaching the kids how to stalk in the woods and walk quietly toe to heel. Once they have practiced that and have it downpat, you can play the game.
Blindfold a child and put them in the centre of the circle. Give him a water gun. In front of him place a bag of candy.
The leader points to another child who then tries to stalk up and steal candy from the bag. If the blindfolded child hears something, he shoots the water gun. If the stalker get hits, he goes back and tries again.
Make sure that the blindfolded child is not shooting willy-nilly or someone else gets a chance!
Day 18: Gummy Experiment
We received packages of Dare Candy Co. REALFRUIT gummies to sample, so we turned it into a science experiment to learn about gelatin. For a full description of how to run the experiment, click on the blog post.
Day 17: Volcanoes
I gave the boys their own bottle of vinegar and box of baking soda to make all the volcanoes they wanted! What a mess! What fun!
Day 16: Scavenger Hunt
Happy 8th birthday, Daniel! To celebrate, we had a scavenger hunt. At the end, wa sone of Daniel’s birthday presents, and a small treat for Thomas.
The boys love doing scavenger hunts. I started a few years ago as a means of getting Thomas to practice reading. We do them so often that I just keep all the clues and mix them up. At the end is sometimes a small present, or an afternoon snack.
Day 15: Magnetic Sand
A few years ago we took a family vacation to Grand Manan off the coast of New Brunswick. At Red Point Beach you can find magnetic sand! We brought back a vial. Because the kids don’t remember the trip, we got it out for them to play with.
Don’t have any of your own? Try making some by following this video!
Day 14: Ball Collection – Teamwork Style!
This was one of my favourite activities that I did last year. I took 10 balls and taped a piece of paper to it numbered 1 through 10. I then hid the balls around the yard.
I tied the boys together and told them that they had to collect the balls in order, while working together. It tested their teamwork and their memory skills!
Day 13: Math Challenges
Math is so much more fun when you do it with sidewalk chalk! I wrote a set of equations for both boys in the drive way for them to solve.
Day 12: Rescue in Ice Land
This by far was the favourite activity from last year – I even did it twice! Take a baggie and fill it with random toys. I used balls, rocks, Lego figures, plastic animals (making sure that the back for each boy was the same!) I froze it in the deep freezer for a few days. Then, I left a note out for the kids, and when they were ready, got the bags from the freezer, cut off the bags, and let them shoot the ice with water guns until they melted!
Day 11: Measuring Water
This is an activity that Daniel came up with and really wanted to try! How many different ways can you make 1 Cup of water? It got a bit messy, but was a lot of fun. He figured out that there were 7 Tbsp in 1/2 a cup, therefore, there would be 14 in a cup!
Day 10: Let’s Learn about Japan
I used to live in Japan so every once in awhile, as a special treat, I get out some of my toys and treasures for the kids to play with and to help them learn about Japanese culture. There also happened to be a Japanese display on at our local museum, so we went there today as well!
Everyone else – maybe pick a country to learn about and find it on the map!
This is a traditional lantern. They would catch fireflies to put inside.
Day 9: Breakfast Treat
Sometimes we just need a break and a special treat to start the day!
Day 8: Measuring using Hot Wheels
Capitalizing on Thomas’ love of Hot Wheels, we had a morning of measuring things!
We talked about estimating and then actually calculating the length.
Thomas was 17 Hot Wheels long.
Daniel was 20 Hot Wheels long.
I was 23 Hot Wheels long.
And, Jelly Bean the degu was 2 Hot Wheels long.
Day 7: How Old is the Tree?
During hurricane Arthur we lost a huge linden tree in our back yard. Never wanting a good learning opportunity to go to waste, we created a morning challenge!
It turns out that the tree was approximately 48 years old, so we guess it was planted the year the house was built.
It was a great chance to talk about how weather patterns affect the tree ring growth, too!
Day 6: Electronics
When we were young, my dad would give us an old typewriter and a pile of screwdrivers and let us go to twon taking it apart. There is nothing more fun than to figure out how electronics work, by taking apart these old broken bits!
Day 5: Turn on your Light Switch
I read in an article about the 6 life skills that kids need. It had some great suggestions for activities inluding getting kids to turn on their light switch without touching it or without being in the room. The boys were up for the challenge and figured it out rather quickly!
Day 4: Little Passports
We received a kit in the mail from Little Passports (see full blog post). This is a series of activities that teaches kids about geography. We decorated the suitcase and talked about what countries my husband and I have visited and what countries they would like to visit. Then, we found them on the map!
Day 3: Summer Bucket List
We made up a list of all the things we wanted to do this summer. Swimming, bowling, the drive-in, waterslides all made it to the list!
Day 2: Parachute Jumpers!
These jumpers can be found in the dollar store. I took the screen out of Thomas’ bedroom and let them throw the men out the window. They also attached a bucket to a piece of rope so that the men could be quickly pulled back up.
Day 1: Happy Canada Day!
I hid the pieces for our giant floor puzzle around the house. The kids found the pieces and then put the puzzle together and had to write down the names of the provinces and territories.
3 Sons Steakhouse Restaurant
3 Sons Steakhouse in New Minas:
Great Family Dining!
3 Sons Steakhouse is located in New Minas off Highway 101 at Exit 12, across from the Irving gas station. For those who like “Valley directions,” it is where Smitty’s used to be!
I had been to 3 Sons a couple of times before with friends, but never with the kids. It wasn’t that I wouldn’t take the kids there, it’s just – who doesn’t enjoy a meal out without the kids?
So, when I started to coupon give-aways for 3 Sons Steakhouse, people would ask me if it was good for kids. I didn’t know yet! So, the owner Rob Graves and worked out a deal so that our family would come in for a meal so that I could tell you about our experiences!
The first thing you need to know is that although the name is 3 Sons Steakhouse, they serve food other than steak!
We’ve had a hard time convincing family members about this – even after they’ve been there! Some people have preconceived notions, but don’t!
They have fish and chips, fish, pork, chicken, vegetarian and gluten-free options, a kids’ menu and more! Check out their menu!
When we went to 3 Sons we had our two boys and their little cousins (aged1 and 4) who were visiting from England. This would certainly put the restaurant to the kid test!
When we arrived, we were immediately greeted and well-taken care of by the extremely friendly staff.
The atmosphere is kid-friendly. There are booster seats, high chairs, and have no carpet. This was always a must when our kids were little for the amount of food they threw on the floor!
Best of all, there was brown paper on the tables and the kids could draw on it until the food came. There were also activity sheets for them to do to keep them waiting patiently.
3 Sons Steakhouse has a great salad bar. Depending on the type of meal you order, you can add the salad bar to your meal for a certain amount. The salad bar comes with salad, of course, but a homemade soup, and warm bread sticks!
I have ordered the salad bar a couple of times, and each time I am so full and keep telling myself to just get the salad bar the next time. But, I always forget because everything looks so good!
Our meals came quickly. The presentation was beautiful. The best part, I think, is how the French fries come in these individual wicker baskets.
The food was great and the portion size was perfect – especially for the kids’ meals.
The kids’ meals came with a drink, main course and then a choice of dessert. Thomas went for the ice cream sundae while his cousin went for the oranges.
For the adults on the list, they have a perfect bite-sized dessert called the 99cent Brownie. For only 99cents you get brownies, icecream and sauce. It’s the perfect way to cap off a meal!
3 Sons Steakhouse in New Minas is a definite family-friendly restaurant. The prices are reasonable, the food is great, and the atmosphere is great for kids!
But, you don’t have to take my word for it!
Here’s what Daniel (7) said: It was really fun. I really liked the food. I ate fish and chips. Mom got too much food! Most of the food came in little baskets. The food was great. They were very nice. I watched the World Cup most of the time. I would like to go back there again. And 50 more times again.
And 10 more times again.
Then 3 more.
I think other kids would like to go there because you can colour on the table and the food is great!
I think it was really awesome because the food was,
GREAT! 
Here’s what Thomas (6) said: It was really fun because you got to colour on the table. I liked the food a lot. I ordered a cheese pizza. I coloured on the table while I waited for the food to come. I loved colouring on the worksheets.
I liked my mom’s breadsticks. I liked the ice cream sundae for dessert.
Keep watching Social Media for your chance to win a coupon from me!
Hope to see you at 3 Sons Steakhouse soon!
*I was not compensated for this post, but our family did receive a meal so that I could tell you all about it*
