Playing Dragon Soccer

by Alison With the World Cup last year it was a great time to start soccer. We registered my daughter with the Gloucester Dragons Recreational Soccer program, and I volunteered to coach (more on that later). There are house leagues for children aged 5 (by December 31st) to 18. The teams are co-ed for the first three years.

We liked the idea of soccer as it was a one night a week commitment for our age group, U5. The team practices before the game, and they are always at the same field. It gets more complicated for the U9 and older age groups, as they have a separate practice night.

The league provides the full soccer outfit (the kit)- shirt, shorts, socks and a ball. All you need to purchase are shin pads and soccer cleats. Last season, each team represented one of the World Cup countries. We were Spain! The uniforms were a big hit and many of the players wore them to school.

At the U5 level, the game is scaled down. They play 4-a-side on half a field, with mini nets and no goalies. Game scores were not recorded and there were no standings. For most of the players this was their first experience with a team sport. Team work, participation and having fun are the main objectives. The after game treat is also a big deal.

The season ended with Soccer Day at the Hornets Nest field. This tournament consisted of 2 games against teams from the other U5 Divisions, and all were awarded medals at the end.

As I mentioned, I volunteered to coach. This was my first time coaching soccer and I really enjoyed it. The league is always looking for volunteers and offers coaching clinics, as well as providing online resources on the rules of soccer and guides for practice planning. For the younger players, the coaches are also responsible for setting up the field, refereeing the game and directing the play. These means running alongside the players during the game. It’s a very active coaching position.

We’ve registered again this year and hope to see you on the pitch!

Details: Registration for the 2011 Season is underway, with early registration ending April 10. Online registration and other information is available at www.dragonsoccer.ca. To register online you need to set up a login and then register. Games begin the week of May 16th.   Alison is a mom of two energetic children, ages 5 and 1. She just started a blog, Ali's Adventures.

One year of Kids in the Capital!

Kids in the Capital is one year old! We are so happy and amazed by how Kids in the Capital has grown in the last year. Four hundred and one posts in three hundred and sixty-five days. Posts from over two dozen Ottawa area mom and dads. Hundreds of shared ideas for great family fun in and around Ottawa!

We'd like to say thanks to all our readers. Thanks for stopping by and coming along with us on our adventures. Thanks for telling your friends and family about Kids in the Capital and making us a valuable resource for Ottawa-area family.

We'd like to say thanks to all our contributors. Thanks to everyone who has written about their favorite fun family activities and ideas. Whether you've written one or thirty posts, we appreciate you sharing with us and our readers. We are always looking for guest bloggers and contributors. If you'd like to share some of your favorite family fun with other Ottawa parents, email us at kidsinthecapital(at)gmail(dot)com to start blogging with us!

We'd like to say thanks to all our sponsors over the past year. Sponsorship makes it possible for us to spend the time running, growing and improving Kids in the Capital.

In the last year Kids in the Capital has become a community for us. We have met many fabulous contributors and readers through posts, comments and meetups. We loved the family playdates last summer and the regular mom nights out we have had. We hope to have more of them in the coming months and we hope that, if you haven't yet, you'll come out and join us at one of the meetups!

To celebrate one year of Kids in the Capital we are hosting a morning party at St.Luke's Park in downtown Ottawa on May 1st! There will be games, snack and lots of fun! Watch for more more details in the next few weeks and we hope to see you there!

Here's to another great year!

Brie and Lara

March: What you might have missed

Spring is here... I think... maybe.... sort of.... some days....  yay! :) Here's what we talked about this past month.  (In case you want an email reminder, subscribe to our newsletter. We send out this recap, plus some information about upcoming events in the city!)

Activities for kids

We visited some polar bears and penguins at the Museum of Nature, went shopping at Value Village, explored Chinatown, and enjoyed the cold to do some tobogganing. We learnt how to throw a Fiesta of a birthday party, build things with marshmallows and spaghetti and about the fun to be had at A Gym Tale. We also saw the horses at the RCMP stables and conducted some science experiments.

The Ottawa Public Library also told us all about the Spring break programs.

Cooking

We had lots of great recipes this month for food kids love, like oatmeal and waffles and cupcakes! We also had a great post on how to cook (and keep safe) with kids in the kitchen.

Crafts

We had more crafts than usual this month (because it was too gross to go outside I imagine ;))

We talked about what to keep in your rainy day survival kit, we turned books in art, made murals, and streamer paper mache.

Out of town ideas

This one isn't too far out of town, just near Montebello.  Parc Omega is open year round and a great place to visit in the winter!

Parents in the Capital

We introduced a new bi-weekly series of posts introducing you to bloggers, who are also parents, in Ottawa.  This month we met Yumi and Ezmy and we look forward to meeting many more!

Parenting Tips

We heard about the Multiple Birth Association sale and talked about the importance of checking for change tables and highchairs at your favorite restaurants.

Social Media Monday

Blog syndication - how and with what do you do it?

Sponsors

We welcomed three new sponsors this month - The Ottawa School of Speech and Drama, the Canada Agriculture Museum and the Cow Guys.

Please remember to visit our sponsors.  They're great Ottawa businesses and they help us continue to provide Kids in the Capital to you. :)

Sugar Bushes

It's Sugar Bush season and this month we heard about Proulx Farm andStanley's Olde Maple Farm. (Have you been somewhere else? We'd love to hear about it!)

Have a great April everyone! And don't forget, if you want to share an activity, event, service or attraction for kids you love in Ottawa email us at kidsinthecapital(at)gmail(dot)com to blog for Kids in the Capital.

Everyone have a great April!

Question of the month: Spring fun

Kids in the Capital is all about parents in Ottawa helping each other out by sharing tips and advice. Each month we ask a parenting question and we want to hear all the gems of advice you have to share. Just leave your answers in the comments! And if you have a question you’d like to see be a future question, leave it in the comments too! Question of the month #5: Spring fun

Apparently it is spring but it sure doesn't feel like it here in Ottawa. It's hard to even pretend it is spring when there is still snow on the ground and snowpants on kids. But it's coming!

What are you most looking forward to doing in and around Ottawa with your kids once the spring weather arrives? Will you be hitting the park? Heading for a bike ride or rollerblading? Planting a garden?

Tell us what your family loves to do in Ottawa in spring!

Little Scientists

This post is from our friends at the Calgary based blog Kids in Cowtown. by Danielle

With the cold weather we’ve had to find endless indoor activities to fill the days.  I pulled out the old science experiments for kids books I had lying around.  I found them at book sales and from my mother (who likely found them at book sales).  They never out date themselves so it’s the best kind of book to scout out at sales.  I consider this to be a free activity since it was with supplies found around our house.

We decided to be scientists for the day and picked out 3 experiments to run.

Experiment 1 – environment

supplies: clear bowl, water, oil, washing soda

Fill clear bowl with water.  Have your child add the oil and ask them to observe whether it floats or sinks.  Birds feather have some oil on them which help them from sinking.

Have them add the washing soda and observe what happens to the oil.  Adding detergents to the rivers etc keeps birds from being able to float properly.

Experiment 2 – magnets

supplies: cardstock, paperclip, cardboard, strong magnet

Fold cardstock and cut out paper dolls using a tutorial such as this one.  Tape dolls together to form a circle.  Tape a paperclip to one doll’s foot and sit circle on the cardboard.  Hang the cardboard over the edge of a table and place magnet underneath moving it from side to side.  Watch the dolls dance.

Experiment 3 - forensics

supplies: graphite pencil, paper, clear tape

Rub the graphite pencil on a piece of paper.  Firmly press a finger onto the rubbing.  Take a piece of clear tape and place on fingertip.  Remove and stick onto paper.  Have the child look closely at their fingerprints and compare others.

(my daughter loved this one and did her brother’s prints. We then labeled the fingers above the prints.  This is also a great way to have a record of your child’s fingerprints!)

For some more ideas here’s a great site that will help you start science at home.

Danielle is mom to a 4 year old daughter and 2 year old son and always looking for fun things to do with the kids.  She blogs over at fourdayshome.