July 28, 2020

Dino Dana the Movie {Giveaway!}

July 28, 2020/ Misty Pratt

This past weekend we got a chance to check out the new Dino Dana movie and we’re excited to be offering one family a chance to win a special screening!

If you haven’t already seen it, Dino Dana is a series on TVO Kids targeted for K - 2 aged children.

Dino Dana The Movie finds 10-year-old Dana, who sees dinosaurs in the real world, completing an experiment that asks where all the kid dinosaurs are. To find the answer, Dana, her older sister Sara, and their new neighbours Mateo and Jadiel go on a dinosaur journey bigger than anything Dana has ever faced before.

There are also some fun downloadable activities to accompany the movie. You can find these activities through the Dino Dana The Movie website, under the ‘EXTRAS’ tab. There you will find a:

Downloadable Watch Kit: this includes, cut out dino masks, a dino cookie recipe and other DIY crafts for a fun movie night in!
Movie Activity Book: Crossword puzzles, connect the dots, tons of interesting dino facts and more!
Paleontologist-In-Training Certificate: Become an official paleontologist-in-training just like Dana! Just type in your name and print it out.

Movie Review from my kids

I watched this with my 7 and 10 year-old. I was wondering if the movie was too young for them, but thought the 7 year-old would enjoy it. Plus, we’re huge Odd Squad fans, and this movie comes from the makers of the Odd Squad movie (Miss O makes an appearance as a character!) However, they both liked it! Here’s what the 10 year-old had to say:

I rate Dino Dana a 5 star out of 5 because it was more about coming together than dinosaurs. My favourite part was the ending - you’ll have to watch to find out what happens!

Currently, Dino Dana The Movie is available for download to rent or download to own through the Cineplex Store. We’re giving one lucky family the chance to watch the movie free of charge! Please note: you will need to sign up for a Cineplex account, and then you will use the code at checkout. Offer valid to watch before August 31st, 2020.

TO ENTER: LEAVE A COMMENT, AND TELL US WHETHER YOUR CHILD HAS A FAVOURITE DINOSAUR AND WHAT IT IS! (when entering your comment, don’t forget to leave your email address - this is ONLY visible to us admins, and not the general public!) Winner will be chosen Monday August 3rd at 8 p.m.

July 27, 2020

Marked Ultimate Adventure Park

July 27, 2020/ Lara Wellman

Today’s post was written by 11 year old Juliette!

On July 17 we entered stage 3 of reopening. It can be pretty difficult to find activities to do with your kids during these weird times. So we’re here to give you ideas!

This weekend my family and I got the chance to visit MARKED Ultimate Family Adventure Park. We were pumped to go because we figured it would be a great way to get some exercise since we’ve been stuck inside for so long…plus, it's outside! Here's how it went…

Where is it

Marked is located on Highway 7 just past Carleton Place.

Cost

The obstacle course costs $10 for kids aged 7-14 and $15 for adults. They also have a season’s pass for the obstacle course for $200 if you want to keep coming back and mastering all the obstacles.

In non-Covid times they have day passes that give you access to many of their activities for $45 - $250 depending on age or for a whole family.

Covid-19 safety

The obstacle course was entirely outside and once we started the activity we never came close to any other people, making it feel very safe. At registration my mother wore a mask when she went inside, there were clear lanes to keep people organized, and staff remained behind a plexiglass shield. Waivers were all signed electronically before we arrived.

What I liked

What I liked about Marked were all the fun obstacles. The hardest thing was the Bowser’s castle. It was where you had to climb stairs backwards with your arms and then swing onto a ring and climb another backward set of stairs. It was soooo hard! No one in my family could do it but we laughed a lot.

One of my favourite obstacles was the rope climb. It was a diagonal wall with a rope attached at the top. You had to grab the rope and walk up the wall while pulling yourself along - it was super fun! There were even walls to climb over! Some were small and some were big.

Check out this video we made for Tiktok from our day out.

Forest trail

At the end of the obstacle course there's a beautiful trail you can walk down with some obstacles along the way. We went down it and had lots of fun, but it's a very long walk (5-6 KMs) so make sure you're up for it. Some of my favourite obstacles on the trail were the barrels, the log carry, the seesaw, and the tires. The barrels are two barrels that you have to go through on your stomach. The log carry is near the end and it's where you have to pick up one of the logs at the start and carry it around a small track. The seesaw and tires are a seesaw that you have to walk across then you have to walk through tires and walk across another seesaw.

WATER!

Make sure to bring LOTS of water cause it can get really hot out there!

Stay hydrated!

Other activities at Marked!

There are plenty other activities you can do at marked other than the obstacle course, like:

- Paintball

-Airsoft

-axe throwing

-batting cage

-laser combat

And plenty other things to do!

This is an incredible place that’s super fun for the older kids (7 and up) and is even fun for the adults. I look forward to going back!

Disclaimer: We were given passes to visit Marked and post a review on the blog. All opinions are my own.

July 22, 2020

Kids learning to cross stitch

July 22, 2020/ Lara Wellman

For the last few years a popular crafts and calming activity for my kids has been cross stitch.

It’s simple, it’s relatively inexpensive, and there are loads of patterns to be found for free and low cost online (we mostly go to Pinterest)

I thought I could share some of the basic things you need to get started, and some tips on what to do to get started. Please note: I am definitely an amateur with this craft so I’m sharing how we do it to the best of my understanding, not necessarily what the experts might advise :)

Supplies

You’ll need:

embroidery thread (you can get this at most craft stores for under $1 per colour and for even less if you buy a bundle of colours. You’re looking for the smooth stuff because you’re going to need to be able to separate the strands)
an embroidery hoop (these are only a few dollars as well if you start with a simple bamboo hoop)
Aida cloth
needles (they don’t need to be sharp - you can look for embroidery or tapestry needles in the craft shop, or just see what you have hanging around)
scissors
a pattern

How to set yourself up

The hoop

You’ll want to cut a piece of Aida cloth that is big enough to overhang your hoop by at least a couple of inches. Place the inner circle of the hoop on a table, place the aida cloth over top and then unscrew the outer ring of the hoop enough to be able to press it down over the inner hoop and the cloth, pull the aida cloth tautly and screw closed the hoop

The needle and thread

Cut a length of your embroidery threat (I usually take about 2 feet at a time). The strand is actually made up of 6 individual threads and for this we’re only going to need 2 (embroidery thread goes a LONG way!) so use your fingers to separate the strands and slowly peel 2 off, and then thread your needle with the 2 strands.

Separating the strands of embroidery floss

Needle threaded with 2 strands of embroidery floss

Makes some Xs

Now you can start to make some Xs. You pull your thread through the cloth starting from the back and leaving about 2 inches at the back. hold it with your finger as you make your first X. After that, the thread will hold itself (no need for knots.)

Look at the little holes in the aida cloth and make one diagnal stitch and then cross it from the other direction to make your X. Then start making a line of Xs. When I’m done with one colour I slip my thread through the back of one of the Xs to keep it tight and then just start with my next colour!

Patterns

So what are you going to make and where are you going to find the patterns (and how do you read the patterns?)

There are definitely kits that you can find online and in craft stores with the pattern printed on the cloth, but counted cross stitch is really common and that just means that you have a pattern in a grid that you follow an you count along with how many stitches you need to make in each colour in each row. There are many of these to be found online and a quick google or pinterest search will find you MANY. My kids like to make video game characters and have easily found all kinds of patterns online. You can also design your own with a piece of graph paper, or start with rows of rainbow colours to get some practice!

Finished cross stitch of the knight from Hollow Knight

Cross stitch of various video game characters and symbols

I’ve started a Pinterest board with some patterns to check out. Let us know if you give this a whirl and come and share your creations in our free Facebook Group!

July 20, 2020

Expert interview: Lori Howell, Occupational Therapist

July 20, 2020/ Lara Wellman

This summer we’re looking to bring your a broader range of content that really supports parents in the National Capital Region.

I have had the pleasure of getting to know many people in our region who support parents and am going to run a series of interviews with them sharing some of the knowledge I’ve learned from them that has helped me with my parenting, or some that I wish I’d known when my kids were younger.

This first interview is with Lori Howell who is a pediatric occupational therapist. (Check out her web site and give her Facebook page a like!)

We talked about :

The importance of crawling (and what to do to help your kid without stopping them from walking)
Starting babies on solids, not confusing gagging with choking and how your baby putting all their toys in their mouth is a GOOD thing
Pencil grip - why it matters, how it impacts use of other tools (like scissors) and how some adjustments can really help eliminate hand fatigue when writing
Sensory issues with masks - if your child isn’t wanting to wear a mask, do they just need to get used to the idea, are they needing to practice, are there specific areas that are bothering them the most (ears or blocked vision for example)?

Check out the interview and let us know if you have any questions. If you want more support or an assessment on any of these topics, reach out to Lori and she or her team can help!

July 18, 2020

Parc Omega (COVID style)

July 18, 2020/ Misty Pratt

As we enter Phase 3 of reopening during the pandemic it can be difficult to assess which activities are worth doing with the kids, and which ones should be avoided. Of course this largely depends on your own personal risk assessment, but we’re on a mission here at Kids in the Capital to give you a heads up on what’s reopening and provide more detail on COVID-19 policies and procedures.

Last week my family got a chance to visit Parc Omega. I was excited to see their reopening announcement, as I figured a zoo visit that’s largely spent in your car has got to be pretty safe, right? Here’s how it went!

Don’t forget to book online

As with most attractions these days, tickets need to be purchased in advance so that they control the number of people in the park. The exception to this is if you have booked one of their accommodations, have a gift card or are a low season ticket holder (which are valid at any time right now until December 31. 2020.)

Getting there

Our favourite part about traveling to Parc Omega is taking the ferry across the river. You’re looking at $10 each way, but it’s worth it because it’s fun, and also because it cuts off a big chunk of driving. FYI, some work is being done on Hwy 50 in QC, so make sure to consult Google Maps and avoid the crazy detour they try to take you on (I’d suggest 148 to Thurso, and then up to the 50)

Print your map!

Parc Omega won’t be handing out any maps, so don’t forget to print yours so that you can plan your route - driving through the park is very simple (you can’t backtrack) but you may want to loop around again in case you miss a certain area.

Can I get out of my car?

Absolutely! In fact, you will WANT to get out, especially after the one hour drive from Ottawa. The …. trail is located just to the left after you drive through the main entrance, so you can park there and do the walk. There’s also a longer trail you can walk at the very back of the property, which takes you to the farm, with adorable farm animals to see. You can rent golf carts to get there, but stretching our legs was much nicer (it was 2.2km, which is not a challenge for older kids.)

The place you can’t get out of your car is on the main car trail, for obvious reasons, given that animals are crowding around your car demanding snacks.

Social distancing

We went during the week, so I didn’t find the park overly busy. The place where you’ll encounter the most people is at the far end, where there are big picnic table areas and places to get take-out. However, we never felt like social distancing was hard, and we snagged a picnic table far away from people. Similarly along the trails it was easy to keep our distance, especially since they are now one-way.

What’s open, what’s closed

The indoor eating areas are closed, as are the outdoor children’s play areas, Birds of Prey show and several other things. Check their COVID-19 policies page for the latest info. New outdoor toilets are now available for use, and we saw them being cleaned very frequently. There are hand washing stations as well as ample hand sanitizer available. Yes, your kids will complain that they smell, but they were nice and clean!

You can still purchase bags of carrots at the main entrance, but we brought our own. Staff ask that you do not feed anything other than carrots.

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Overall we had a fantastic day and felt very safe. It’s been about 3 years since we last visited Parc Omega, and my kids are a bit older now, so they were super excited about feeding the animals. They also loved getting out on the walking trails and visiting the farm animals.