I have been planning a birthday party for the past two weeks. I am not sure I would call it planning as such, I had a list in my mind of things to do and what to buy. I can organise large corporate events but organising a kids party fills me with fear, it is not necessarily the planning it is the idea of having to entertain ten kids.
I asked my friends what they do and I have been given various ideas. There are parents who hire venues and let the organisers sort it all out, buy the pizza and cake in. Go for a picnic at a park but have a plan for wet conditions. The home party, I am doing this, where you make your own food or buy it in and organise your own entertainment.
My home based party will have homemade cake, banners, sandwiches, crisps (UK term crisps, N.A term is chips), fruit and popcorn. This is a very British thing to do. I am keeping to what I know. I have planned this party around hot weather and because of the strikes the kids could not have sports day so I have my own version of it. There is a badminton set for four players, a trampoline for four at a time, a large paddling pool, water guns, skipping, hula hoops and a few other things. We have tried out the badminton set as a family and it is tonnes of fun. Key thing is to give them an activity or two to do have some food and cake and a party bag to take home.
Other than keeping the kids safe and doing my best to entertain them generally the best thing to do is to go with the flow but have at least an idea of activities to keep them entertained. I have a few back-up plans like musical chairs and pass the parcel and regardless of the weather the kids are going outside!
I will post the party event and let you know how it went.
Party hats and paper straws
Birthday Banner for decoration
Party bags
Shop bought cupcakes to go around my homemade cake
Our local library is running a summer reading program where children have to read for 20mins everyday and write down in their little booklet the books they have read. After seven days of reading they go back to the library and receive a sticker. The program runs for seven weeks and if they read everyday and complete their booklet each child receives a reading medal.
I think this is a wonderful thing to get kids using libraries and keeps them reading while not at school. My kids are super excited about it all too. Since we have signed up they have read three books per day. One short so they can read to me, a book where I read to them that is a little longer and a book where they sit quietly on their own. My eldest reads just fine but my youngest needs more help with reading but she is picking it up fast. If I read a bigger book with my youngest she will help me read it and she shouts out the words she knows. My eldest will read out loud too, it is nice to listen to them read and it gets them used to reading fluently infront of an audience.
We are working on week one and I will post books and reviews as we go each week.
Have you heard of schools that teach outdoors? Have your kids ever attended such a school? I have done a little research into this area and found that there are a number of countries that teach outdoors and have seen the benefits of this unconventional method.
I discovered via a shared post on Facebook an Environmental School in Maple Ridge. It is an outdoor school for grades K - 7. Yes you heard me right, outdoors, there are no class rooms, they build fortes and learn in a natural environment no matter the weather conditions. Unfortunately I am outside the school district and the area I live in seems to be one of a few that does not have such a program but I am hoping this project will prove a success so that it expands. I believe there are other schools similar in North Vancouver and Richmond.
This video below is a Forest School in the UK.
Having had one of my kids in a Forest School in the UK I have an understanding what these schools provide. They love to be outdoors as much as possible, learning to sit quiet on a log or patch of grass, near a stream etc, learn to listen to the sounds, what is around them, observe their surroundings. You will be surprised how hard kids find it to be still and quiet. Reading stories, learning about nature, how to work with nature. Build hotels for bugs, create art from nature, climb trees, build fortes, working as a team. Kids work differently outside too and another side of their personalities come out, even the quiet and timid seem to blossom when they have space. You may be pleased to know Forest Schools have now been bought to Canada.
As I have mentioned in an earlier post I went to a one day training program for helpers who wish to participate at the school. It was a wet, cold, grey English day but we dressed for the weather and we had a fabulous time. I felt fresh and alive and I had energy, I also slept like a baby that night too. I have also met Jon Cree the Chair of the UK Forest School Association. He can climb trees better than anyone I have ever seen.
To get an idea of what it is all about and see some of the videos visit their site here.
Today we went on a nature walk at Colony Farm. The kids thought we were going on an actual farm to pet animals but when I explained what it was this is what they said. "What are we going for? What is there? But there is nothing to see". I had to sell it to them by saying there will be birds to see, flowers to smell and we can play Pooh sticks too. They were suspicious and not totally convinced. I told them they could take pictures and collect things along the way. They started to brighten up to this idea.
I packed our bag with a camera for the kids, my own camera and snacks and a small bag to collect found things. Once I gave the camera to them and the collection bag they really got into it, they started to observe what was around them. It was lovely.
We sang songs, skipped, took pictures, played Pooh sticks, had a break and a snack, climbed and I had to bribe them with hot chocolate on the way back home.
Colony farm is a lovely place to visit and a great place to take a bike which is what we will do next time.
BC school teachers are striking, I don't blame them but it is frustrating and not fair on the kids. Here is a letter from a teacher, it will give you a teachers point of view. I do not want to get started on this so I will focus on my kids.
The kids have an extra long summer vacation. What is a family to do when the kids are off? I am lucky that I can work from home but I can't always justify paying a few hundred dollars here and there not since I have spent a small fortune on summer camps plus all the day trips we will have together.
Today I decided they needed an activity to keep them occupied where they do not need to rely on my input or help. I got them Lego. They have been busy building for a few hours now and they are playing with the characters. Phew! Today I have managed to keep their minds active. But what about tomorrow and the next day, I need to build a lesson plan, a calendar, a routine of sorts. Each morning they help with chores. They have to read each day, that is a given. We either read to them or they read to us or both. They of course get to play, imaginative play is the best, afterall they are only little once.
They like to play in the carport where they make mud pies and play on their bikes and scooters, they can do this in all weather and often do. I plan to take them on forest walks with bear spray in hand. They love to be outdoors and there are plenty of free activities to do, hiking, spray parks, outdoor pools, cycling and scooter-ing. I also have the support of family who can take them off my hands on odd days.
I have a birthday party to plan which is particularly challenging because I can't pick up any surprises while the kids are with me.
Hopefully the next few weeks will not be too bad for all.
During professional days (pro d days) when the school is closed I sometimes book my kids into the local art center Port Moody Art Center. They are super organised, friendly, experienced and they are very reasonably priced and the kids love it. The kids can choose from creating puppets and a theatre, painting or clay. They make the most amazing pieces. Here are some of the boxes they made recently.
We had an amazing day at Timberline Ranch in Maple Ridge, BC. There were so many activities, archery, horse riding, campfire marshmallows, games, tractor ride, petting zoo and more. It was a fantastic family day out. We were there for the remaining two hours but we could have easily have spend another two.
Timberline Ranch is set in beautiful lush surroundings with miles of trails, indoor riding school plenty of space to play. Kids get to experience life outdoors in nature with plenty of fresh air and around animals. Timberline Ranch hold summer camps, either day or camp over. The area is safe, enclosed and not open to the public unless their is an event.
When my kids are a bit older and I feel comfortable leaving them for a night or more I think this would be a fantastic break for them.
