The Annual Biology Butterfly Show

It's that time of year again! I'm not talking about the start of football season, or Thanksgiving, or even Fall. I'm talking about the butterfly show! The Annual Biology Butterfly Show at Carleton University is here and is open until October 14th. This is a free event open to the public and is pretty amazing. You get to walk around a greenhouse and admire all the colourful butterflies flitting about. Pick up a piece of fruit and hold it up and you just may have a little guy land on it.

The colours are just incredible.. from dull grey to bright blue and red and green, but the most impressive, in my opinion, is the Owl Butterfly from Costa Rica. When it closes its wings it looks like there's a big eye peering at you.

So grab the kids and your camera and head over to Carleton to catch the show before it's gone. And don't forget to take your picture in front of the huge picture of a Canadian Tiger Swallowtail butterfly. It's a tradition!

Tips:

• Don't bring a stroller. It's pretty cramped in the greenhouse.
• Don't wear a sweater because it's muggy and, if your kids are anything like mine, you might end up carrying one.
• Wear bright colours to increases your chances of having a butterfly land on you.

By the numbers:

• 10 - Days the butterfly show is open (October 5th - October 14)
• 9am - 4pm - Time you can go
• 1300 - Number of butterflies
• 41 - Species from around the world
• $0 - Cost of admission!

Have you been to check out the butterflies? What was your favourite?

Welcoming the NAC French Youth Theatre

Giveaway Closed It’s pretty cool that we live in the Ottawa Capital area, home to the National Arts Centre and some amazing children’s theatre. As Ottawa is a fully bilingual city and many of our Kids in the Capital readers are French or have kids in French immersion or French language school, we are particularly pleased to be able to introduce our new sponsor - the NAC French Youth Theatre. What a great way to get your kids to fall in love with both the theatre experience and to be able to practice using their French in an everyday situation. And since it’s French theatre, this post will be in both French and English - a first for Kids in the Capital.

The French Youth Theatre season has a pretty awesome lineup this season. The first French theatre event this month is Pomme, a delectable tale brilliantly told solely in French by Isabelle Payant in a performance that brings to mind the popular children’s television character Fanfreluche, who liked to retell stories and legends—in her own unique way!

In rhymes and images, through the interplay of shapes and objects in an ingenious set made of giant boxes that captivates young audiences ages 3 and up, the show unfolds an evocative fable about the great adventure of life. Through the magic of puppetry, Isabelle skillfully guides her engaging protagonist through a host of exciting adventures.

Un délice de spectacle à savourer en famille

Une délicieuse épopée menée brillamment par Isabelle Payant. L’interprète a un petit quelque chose de Fanfreluche : À l’aide de poèmes et d’images, de jeux d’objets et de formes, surgissant au milieu d’une ingénieuse architecture de cubes qui émerveille les enfants, le spectacle compose une fable évocatrice sur la grande aventure de la vie. Pomme a de beaux et grands rêves. Elle voudrait bien défier les lois de la nature et devenir un homme… À travers mille et une péripéties, l’épopée de ce sympathique personnage compose une fable évocatrice sur la grande aventure de la vie. À croquer!

As a kid, I loved the idea of getting dressed up and going to the NAC and I’m so excited to be able to share it with my children as they get older. Each month, the NAC French Theatre will host a spectacular presentation of poems, puppetry and fun for kids of all ages. The lineup includes Cendrillion, Le Grand Mechant Loup and Gretel et Hansel and your kids will have a blast and get to hear French at it’s finest. Take a look at the full lineup here.

And to get our readers involved, we’re giving away tickets for one play in the lineup. To win, just tell us in the comments why you’d like to see Pomme, or any other of the the awesome plays in the Youth French Theatre Lineup. We will pick one winner at random on October 15th.

Where There's a Will, There's a Way

By Brittany Fish, Barrister, Solicitor & Notary Public As a new lawyer, I decided what a better way to begin my career then to open my own practice in the community of Orleans. A beautiful area to live and a lot of young families. A great place for a young professional to launch a new career.

When deciding what area of law to offer my clients, it was surprisingly an easy decision. From the moment I became a lawyer I had emails and phone calls from friends and family asking to prepare their Wills.  I knew from there, Wills it is.

I am amazed by the amount of parents who feel they do not need a Will because they believe they have very little or no assets. Others put getting a Will off for another day, they seem to think I can get it done tomorrow.

You may not have an abundance of assets or own property, but if you have children they are one of the biggest reasons not to wait to get a Will done. If anything were to happen to you and/or your partner, you need to have a plan for your children, since you likely consider them your most important asset to protect.

Information regarding parents and the necessity of Wills is not discussed enough. Unfortunately, because of this parents are unaware of the consequences of not having a properly drafted Will to no fault of their own.

In short, here are the top three reasons to prepare a Will as a parent.

No Will equals no guardian

A guardian is someone you appoint in your Will to look after your children should something happen to you.  When a lawyer drafts your Will we assure the individual you want to look after your children is properly identified.  Your wishes in regard to how your children are raised can also be included.  If you do not have a Will the courts decide who becomes the guardian of your kids.  Unfortunately, it may not be the person you would have chosen.  Having a Will grants you this decision.

Happy 18th Birthday!

If you prepare a Will, you decide what age your children will receive their inheritance.   I am not sure about you, but I know when I was eighteen it is quite possible I would have fainted if someone handed me thousands of dollars. I would have proceeded to purchase a car that even now I couldn’t afford.  If you die without a Will the law states your child will receive his/her inheritance at eighteen.  You should decide what age is appropriate.

Where there’s a Will, there’s a way……...to distribute!

The law limits what a guardian can accept in terms of money when you die without a Will.  When you create a Will a lawyer sits with you and listens to your wishes and concerns.  We can draft a Will so that the distribution of your estate is done in a way you desire.  You can decide how much your child receives up until his/her age of inheritance.  This means, you can allocate money to the guardian for school and child rearing costs.  You may also decide on compensation for the guardian of your children.

There you have it, three of the most important reasons to prepare a Will if you are a parent.  Preparing for the unexpected is not exactly a topic of conversation parents or anyone in general want to discuss.  But the reality is, waiting until tomorrow may be too late. Every parent needs a Will.

If you have questions regarding the preparation of Wills, please email me at bfish@bflegalservices.com. If you would like to know more about Wills, please feel free to “LIKE” your lawyer at facebook.com/bfishlaw.

Great Listens for your Summer Road Trip

Kristal Craig from the Centennial Branch of the Ottawa Public Library shares some great audio selections for your summer road trips. 

Skippyjon Jones

An overactive imagination is what Skippyjon Jones has. He is a Siamese cat who takes you on all types of silly adventures and you never know where you will end up. Fun  for the whole family.

 Jamie Lee Curtis Collection

Relive days gone by with your little ones while listening to these stories by Jamie Lee Curtis.  You will laugh and giggle and want to hear them again and again.

Puff the Dragon

We all remember the song of this magical dragon. Puff will have you and your children inspired to travel to the land of Honah Lee or any land of their choice. This lovely illustrated book will have your children mesmerized and humming right along. Delightful!

Jillian Jiggs

Jillian Jiggs has boundless energy and imagination, one minute she is putting on plays, the next minute she's a tree. How could it be possible for Jillian to make time to clean up her room when, there are so many wonderful things to make and do? What will she think of next!

 The Uglified Ducky

Think you know the story of the Ugly Duckling?  Think again!  When this “Uglified Ducky”, a young moose,”blunders away” from home, he is mistaken for a baby duck and he tries to learn to waddle, quack, swim and fly.  In the end, he finds his true “family”, who help him appreciate his own beauty.  Wonderful storytelling by Willy Claflin.

Audiobooks for older children 8 and up

Because of Winn Dixie

New to the town of Naomi, Florida,  ten-year-old Opal  tells us about her first summer and how new and exciting things happen to her because she gets herself a dog named Winn-Dixie.

The Night Fairy

A night fairy is shocked to find herself wingless after a terrible encounter with a bat. Grounded and living in a garden, Flory works at becoming a day fairy. Finding a way to make friends and a new life, she discovers that there's more to life than flight.

Savvy

At the age of thirteen, all of the children in the Beaumont family receive a “savvy” or unworldly power.  One brother can create hurricanes, the other makes electricity…. and now it’s Mibs' big day.  But something happens to her Poppa, and her mother and her big brother have to leave Mibs to adjust to her “savvy”, all on her own...

The Ulysses Moore

Jason, Julia, and Rick have discovered one of the secrets of Argo Manor -- the Door to Time. A mysterious land of labyrinths, riddles, and secrets. Hidden somewhere in the past, Jason and Rick have to find the map to Kilmore Cove, but where?

Gregor The Overlander

Gregor, an 11 year old boy, falls down a grate in his laundry room into a strange new world called the Underland. There he becomes an unwilling warrior and leads an alliance of Underlanders on a quest to rescue a fellow Overlander.  Gregor’s adventure will change everything for himself, the Underlanders, and may solve the biggest mystery of his life.

The Unwanteds

Wanted or Unwanted - 13-year-old twins Aaron and Alex ponder their fate.  What will society decide for them...  Aaron is sent to University, “Wanted” and Alex to be eliminated, “Unwanted”.   But being “eliminated” holds unknown surprises for Alex, who finds himself in a remarkable world where he can show his abilities and learn magic.

 Join the TD Summer Reading Club at any branch this summer - pick up your reading kit and join some fun programs!

Earth Day Ideas: Mini Geenhouses

In honor of Earth day on April 22, I thought it would be interesting to highlight some craft ideas I had found online and mesh them with spring and recycling. My favourite ideas are how to create mini greenhouses using recyclable materials. Empty Rotisserie Chicken Container

Take an old rotisserie chicken container and wash it out well. Fill the container with some fresh soil and seed starting mix and add water. Punch holes in the soil, push the seeds in and cover it up with more soil. That's it. Pretty Simple.

Leave the container is a sunny spot in your house and water as needed based on the seeds. Within about a week, you should some new sprouts.

Empty Pop Bottles

Another way to go is by using a 2 or 3 liter clear pop bottle. Cut the bottom off as deep as your seedlings require. About two inches should do for most types of seeds. Leave the cap on the top and slide the top down over the bottom after the seeds are planted. If you need to let some extra moisture out, take off the cap during the daytime.

Egg Cartons

Take a large egg carton, either styrofoam or cardboard will do. Cut a hole in the lid nearly the same size as the lid and cover it with plastic wrap and secure the wrap in place with tape. Fill each egg compartment with bit of soil. Place between 2-4 seeds in each compartment and cover with soil. If you're using the cardboard variety, place on a tray to catch any water run off. 

For all the mini-greenhouses, it's important to put them in a sunny spot and give plenty of water. You can lift or remove lids as needed to let release some of the heat and humidity based on the seed's needs. Place al the greenhouses in a spot that you and your kids can watch your plants grow!

What Earth Day Ideas do you have to share?