A Company of Fools: Shakespeare for everyone

by Coreen Last summer we spent an evening in the park with four enchanted lovers, a fairy or three, a king, queen and a donkey.

A Company of Fools dropped by our neighbourhood park for a performance of Midsummer Night's Dream, and as we've come to expect it was entertaining for kids and adults alike. They certainly have a knack for 'de-stuffing' Shakespeare and appealing to everyone. The physical comedy (popping balloons anyone?) appealed to the younger children and the little things like the MC describing one of the actors as a long-form census taker (unemployed) got the adults chuckling. But back to the popping balloons:

These are all-ages shows. Our 2.5 year old was captivated by the whole thing, and we brought her the year before, and even when I was pregnant *g*. Last year she watched the audience, she watched the picnickers (note to self: Bring a snack this time. She was watching two boys behind us so intently they finally offered her one of their crackers - little mooch!), and she even watched the show. She stood on my lap and clapped every time they popped a balloon. I was amazed that she didn't lose it during the 1.5 hour show. We sat back far enough that she had room to play in front of us, and that kept her happy. She was finally moved to the point of using one of her purses as a prop for her own re-enactment:

This year between July 4th and August 20th they are putting on 'Shakespeare's funniest tragedy' Antony and Cleopatra and I cannot wait to attend a show! Chances are there's an Ottawa performance near you, their schedule is in that link above. Since we missed the show in our new neighbourhood, I'm torn between the one they're holding in our old neighbourhood, and the one in Hintonburg...maybe we'll hit both!

Here are some 'pro tips' for first timers (and the perennially disorganized (aka me)):

-This ain't your high-school Shakespeare (in case you didn't get that from the pics), they are comedic interpretations (the 'Fool's twist') and all ages are welcome. -The shows start at 7, so for many of you, be prepared to ditch bedtime, but it's totally worth it. Shows are about 1.5 hours long, but it's an open air park, so leave if you need to. -Bring lawnchairs or blankets to sit on. Also, bugspray if there's no helpful breeze. -As I mentioned bring snacks, I plan on looking like the got-it-together parent this year. -Shows are free but they do suggest a donation of $10 - well worth it. V loved bringing the money to the actors as they pass the hat at the end of the show. -Prepare to be entertained by the great acting and choreography, all forms of comedy, lightning fast costume changes and always be on the lookout for that moment where the actors amuse themselves and lose it a bit on stage - my favourite part.

Hope you can make it out to a show!

Coreen is a geriatric mother living with her husband (hubby) and 3.5 year old daughter (V). She works in IT Security but doesn’t yet know what she wants to be when she grows up. She's a contributor at Losing It In Ottawa and she blogs at One Day this Blog will have a Snazzy Name (and is open to naming suggestions because - really.)

Head out for an a-MAZE-ing time at McMaze!

by Leslie Just a short hour-long drive from Ottawa through the countryside toward Cornwall takes you to amagical farm, McMaze, with horses, donkeys, pigs, sheep, ducks, chickens, llamasand so much more. We were pleasantly surprised by the laid back atmosphere. There were only ahandful of families there when we went. At times, it felt like we had the place to ourselves.

We tried the duck races to start us off. This event consisted of some PVC pipe and old fashioned waterpumps. Primitive to say the least, but that didn’t stop us from doing it more than once!

There’s a “playhouse” with two long straight tunnel slides. When we tried the first slide, we were a littledisappointed. We travelled quite slowly and inched our way out of the black ridged tunnel. My 9 yearold son insisted on trying the second slide … Good thing he did. This one shot us out like a rocket. It’samazing how a black tube can provide so much fun.

We then attempted the tall grass mazes. They were surrounded by clover and other wild flowersyielding a pleasing, sweet and delicate aroma. Interspersed throughout the maze are some triviaquestions. Answer them all correctly and get entered in a draw. I’m not sure what the draw was forexactly, but it doesn’t really matter.

Off to the corn maze we went. We weren’t checking our watch, but I’m convinced this one took usclose to an hour. The maze is cleverly designed, it’s theme clearly Canadian … and thank goodness theygave us a map! We set off to find all of the trivia questions. We easily found 9 of the 10. The sun wasbeating down, the heat starting to drain our energy. We persevered and found the last clue in the puck… or was it the hockey stick?

Don’t forget to try the door maze. This is exactly as the name suggests – a series of doors that you haveto find your way through. You enter through one door and make your way through door after door(in the semi-dark and really dark) until you come out the “exit” door. My husband and I got stuck and needed to be rescued by a couple of toddlers … seriously!

We went for a ride in trailers pulled behind a Gator. If the adult in you is groaning right now, don’tknock it until you’ve tried it. It was a blast! We zoomed along way faster than we imagined we wouldand circled the tall grass mazes a few times.

We arrived prepared to find a Geocache on-site but we ran out of time. We were all surprised athow quickly and enjoyably time passed. Don’t be fooled by its simplicity. A visit to McMaze is an old-fashioned good time. P.S. While you are there, don’t miss out on the heavenly treat of homemade ice cream with flavours likechocolate-orange, cookie dough and apple-spice … Mmmm!

Leslie Foster is wife to Dave and mom to a 9 year old boy “Monkey”. She is President of FunatoriumExplorium Inc., a new event management company for family entertainment events based in Ottawa.

Exploring Montreal's Biodome

by Amanda One of your favourite places to visit as a family is the Biodome in Montreal.  We love it so much we actually purchased a family membership this year. At $60 per family for the year we have already been 3 times since January!  Truth be told the husband and I went a few times before babe as well.  Yes, we enjoy it that much.  Well, truth be told I have a thing for the penguins ;)  I could sit and watch them all day! Thankfully they have nice benches there so you can observe comfortably.

The biodome is large enough that it is worthwhile to make the trip from the Ottawa area but is not so big that it's overwhelming or takes a full day.  Montreal has a special place in our heart so many times we stay over but have made day trips as well. When we day trip we generally leave around 8 in the morning and have been home at dinner time.  We have also made quick stops on the way through Montreal as a way to get out of the car and stretch our legs.  Our last trip to the Biodome with babe was a quick one hour stop. Time for him to run, explore, point at fun animals and watch the penguins swim with his mommy

Enjoy travelling through the various ecosystems and exploring various species, insects, fish and mammals.  Get up close to the birds as some walk right up to you through the Rainforest Ecosystem.  Watch the otter swim and do tricks and then slide down the slide pretending what it would be like to be that otter!

There is a coat check available at the Biodome but do know that it is extremely busy in the winter. We always leave our coats in the car and make the short walk to the entrance with babe wrapped in a blanket in the stroller or in the Ergo.  The few times it has been extremely frigid weather outside my lovely husband has dropped us off right at the door / picked us up so we did not have to wait for the coat check.  The rain forests ecosystem is extremely warm so I highly recommend that you do not wear your coat or have a lot to carry as your travel through.  The sub - arctic is definitely chilly but not anything that is extremely uncomfortable. 

No food or drink are allowed within the ecosystems but there is a large cafeteria and a smaller deli with many tables where you can grab some food or eat any food you have packed.  Meals here can definitely add up with a small family so we tend to bring our lunch with us and then head out for a nicer family meal within Montreal later on.

Weekends are generally busier so we usually bring our Ergo, or another baby carrier, with us when we go with babe.  Navigating a stroller through the narrow pathways with lots of families is definitely a challenge.  September to June weekdays are quiet and there is a lot of room for children to roam and explore.  It is much more stroller friendly during these times for those who want to bring one.  Summer months are hit and miss as daycamps can definitely bring in a lot of children at once.  However, Monday's seem to be a good day to go as not many daycamps do an outing on their first day of camp.

So the next time you are looking for something fun to do with the family, whether for a day trip or a weekend think about heading to Montreal to explore the Biodome.  Oh and when you are there say hi to my friends the penguins please!

Amanda DeGrace is mom to a 14 month old boy who loves exploring.   As a busy entrepreneur running her companies DeGrace Energetics & Little Lotus Amanda treasures her families time together as they call Montreal a home away from home

Potty training. Cold turkey.

by Brigitte There’s lots of ways around it, there’s a lot of different methods and tools– it can be fancy, but really it’s a human necessity and I don’t try to glamourize it with fancy potty’s or themed underpants or even absorbent pull-ups that look like jeans. I take it for what it is: the human need to eliminate. I’m not saying my way is the right way, the best way or the way that’s going to work for you – but hopefully it’ll give you a perspective and maybe even a method to try for yourselves.

I’m currently in the process of potty training triplets. My trio is 20 months old and 2 of them are just about fully potty trained. The first question I always get asked is “how did you know they were ready”.

You can go ahead and Google the signs of readiness, but I don’t really believe in them. My kiddos never held their bladder for more than 2 hours ( before being potty trained), they couldn’t sit still for 5 minutes and they certainly cannot pull their own pants and underpants down – but that didn’t discourage me, I just “knew” they were ready – I guess it was an intuitive mother thing, and maybe the fact that I was tired of changing diapers lol!

Before potty training and for their entire lives we’ve always been an “open door family” I don’t think I’ve ever closed the door while going to the washroom and the kiddos come in and out freely as I explain what’s going on and what you do – so they had been introduced to the concepts from early on.

When we decided it was time to train it was cold turkey. We used the same method that the Montessori school used for our oldest son (sometimes I joke that the tuition itself made up for the ease in potty training). Initially we wanted to just use the toilet (with a child size ring inside, not a fancy Dora one with handles and padding – just a plain $4.00 one from Walmart, this is peeing and pooping here folks not a birthday party) but because we have triplets this was almost impossible because they all wanted on the toilet at the same time, so we bought them each their own potty, again from Walmart for $12.00.

First things first. Get the diapers off. Gone Garbage forget about them ( except for naps) only underpants from here on in, no “well it’s just for a car ride” no “well we just have to go to the grocery store” get them off! Once you’re ready for that commitment for the first 3 days you bring the child to the potty every 15 minutes, you sit them down you say pee pee and you wait a minute or so – if they pee you say “yes, you went pee good job” and that’s it – if they don’t pee you say “OK, you don’t need to pee now, we’ll come back soon” – this takes commitment from you as a parent – you need 3 days at home, consistency is key. After the first 3 days increase the time to every 25 minutes for 2 days, and continue gradually increasing the time between potty breaks.

It will work. But you cannot go back. You cannot use pull-ups. Keep the diapers off for good ( except naps and nighttime when they are not conscious that they’re peeing…for now) Potty training I think is 80% adult commitment and 20% child readiness. You need to learn your child’s cues, you need to take the time to bring your child to the potty and you need to be consistent! It will work – and when it doesn’t you just need to say “oh dear, that pee-pee was supposed to go on the potty” sit them on the potty and say “Is there anymore pee” and finish off like that. During the first week I leave the potty somewhere visible and the babes naked so they can go and use it as they wish – and it works!

The hardest thing for me has just been preparing – keeping lots of back up clothing, change of underwear, pants - even shoes for any “on the go accidents” I’ve found that my wetbag from Spoiled Sugar has come in even more handy now than when I was doing cloth diapers!

What’s you’re biggest fear about potty training? Mine is bringing the trio into the bathroom while one pees and the others are touching everything in sight in the bathroom –ohhh that just makes my skin crawl! Whatever your obstacles are share it here – maybe we can come up with some awesome recommendations and help each other say bye bye to diapers!

Thanks for reading!

Brigitte is a stay at home mom to 20 month old triplets and a 5 year old boy and owner of www.spoiledsugar.ca

Splash! Make waves this summer with the Ottawa Public Library TD Summer Reading Club

Well, it’s everyone’s favourite time of the year again...Summer! School’s out, warm weather is in and the TD Summer Reading Club (SRC) is on!  For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about here’s a short version: The SRC is short for Summer Reading Club and it’s the library’s way of getting you and your kids reading this summer. Sponsored by TD Canada, kids receive a free kit that includes a poster, activity book and stickers when they sign up at any branch of the Ottawa Public Library (OPL) or Bookmobile stop across the city. What’s more, libraries from across Canada participate in this program and every year is a different theme. In case you hadn’t guessed it yet, the theme this year is Splash! Splouff!

Lots of time and care went in to making a fantastic kit that kids would want to hang on to and hang up (the poster that is). Every year the poster, stickers and booklet are illustrated by a well-known and talented Canadian illustrator. This year the artwork is courtesy of award-winning British Columbia artist Kim LaFave. You can see some of his beautiful illustrations in books such as Amos’ Sweater, Big Ben and Shin-Chi’s Canoe-this one won the Governor General’s Literary Award for Children’s Illustrations in 2009. You can check out some of his work here: The kit is just one of the reasons why we love the SRC. Another reason is that it helps combat summer reading loss. Never heard of it? Basically, it means that kids lose an average of one month of reading progress during the summer if they’re not reading over the holidays. Honestly. That’s one of the main reasons why we’re so passionate about the SRC.

They’re not into reading you say? Well, I say they just haven’t found the right book yet. Seriously. Books now come in all shapes and sizes, and cover a wide range of topics and interests. Whether they’re into sports, dance, history or fashion we’ve got it covered.

Not sure where to start? Here are just a couple of places where you can find a range of great booklists for your kids: Library and Archives Canada Toronto Public Library Ottawa Public Library (of course!) Going away this summer? That’s perfect. Just make sure to pick up the kit before you leave. There are crossword puzzles, trivia, dot-to-dots and even a place for them to record what they’ve read in the activity book. Oh yeah, don’t forget the stickers. Who doesn’t like stickers-right?

Not only do we at the OPL love the TD SRC but so too does the CNIB (holy acronyms!). As a matter of fact, the CNIB library decided to align their summer reading themes with TD’s in 2010. That means that children with print disabilities can now read some of the same books as their friends. Pretty cool, huh? As always, we’re also offering free and fantastic programs, many of which are based on our Splash theme. Think mermaids, Vikings, pirates, sea creatures and more.  Essentially, we’re working hard to ensure your kids have a great summer filled with awesome books and fun things to do. Speaking of fun things to do, OPL has once again partnered with some incredible outside organizations to provide you with a wide-range of programs across the city. Check us out and register online here.

Summer isn’t only for kids and tweens. It’s also about teens. If you know any teens who like to read and are looking to score some free stuff, have them check out our online teen summer reading club. They’ll be eligible for weekly draws just for posting reviews of their favourite books. Not only that, there are some great booklists on the site, just in case they’re not sure what to read next. They can check it out here.

And finally, if your kids should find themselves looking for more Splashy-goodness, have them hop on over to the Toronto Public Library’s (TPL) website. They’ve got a great site devoted to Splash! Here they’ll find games, activities, booklists, interactive stories and so much more. Check them out here. One more thing, don’t wait to register for programs. Program space is sometimes limited. That said, don’t worry if the program you want is full. Just call your branch to find out about waiting lists. Better yet, find out what other branches are doing and try somewhere new. Whatever you decide to do this summer, we hope you take the kids to the library and make a Splash! You won’t be sorry you did! Happy summer reading!