A few tidbits that have dribbled out of my inbox lately, worth a mention but not quite an entire post…
Remember when I blogged about the MoonJars? I just received their newsletter, and now you can enter to win a set of 25 standard MoonJars for your child’s classroom. Follow this link for details. (The contest is aimed at classrooms or community groups for Grades K-3. Entries should be submitted on behalf of classes/groups through their teachers or parents.)
I won my first-ever auction on eBay this weekend! I’ve bought stuff before, and I’ve bid and lost things, but I’ve never actually won an auction. I’m so stoked! The item was shipped from Mississauga yesterday, and I’ve been using Canada Post’s tracking feature to watch it migrate across the province. Did you know you can get e-mail tracking updates? How cool is that? I’m ridiculously excited to watch its progress across the province. It arrived in Ottawa at 6:36 this morning — with any luck, it will be waiting for me at home tonight. Yippee! (You’ll have to wait to see what I got, but it has to do with the 365. Fun!)
There’s a kids’ consignment sale happening on Sunday, October 18 called My Kid’s Funky Closet . According to the e-mail I received, ” It has been happening for 4 years now at The Glebe Community Center in Ottawa. The Ottawa Police provide their child finger printing service and Little Rays Reptiles put on a show. They collect for the food bank and snowsuit fund as well. They have consignors who make money selling their gently used children’s items and maternity wear and people at the show have an opportunity to dress their children at a fraction of the cost of buying new. There are toys, games, bikes, strollers, baby equipment, clothing, maternity wear and vendor booths to visit as well.”
Those of you with daughters might be interested in this one.
Plan Canada just released the 2009 edition of their ground breaking series of reports Because I Am A Girl (BIAAG). These reports highlight the plight of girls around the world and the unique role they play in the fight against global poverty.
Plan Canada in support of the 2009 BIAAG report is filming a documentary across Canada and will be in Ottawa from October 2nd to the 5th filming at locations across the city. This documentary is aimed at capturing the experiences of teens, tweens and their inspirations. These experiences will be captured and replayed as a documentary to be released in Spring 2010.
If you think your teen or tween might be interested in participating in the documentary, the latest filming schedule will have them at the Rideau Centre downtown on Saturday, October 3 from 12 pm to 2 pm.
If people are unable to attend the events they can still support the campaign by visiting www.becauseiamagirl.ca and find more ways to get involved. You can also follow the documentary crew as they blog about traveling across Canada and talking to girls who are helping to achieve positive social change around the world.
And finally, I’ve been chatting with one of the producers for All in a Day on CBC Radio. They’re thinking of doing a sort of parenting panel debate on when is the right time to let kids walk to school by themselves. We’ve had a lot of similar discussions here, so I said I’d ask y’all to see if anyone is interested. Even though I’m still shepherding Tristan back and forth at age seven, I think I’m pretty close to letting him walk by himself — assuming he’s ready for it.
I’m a little conflicted on the subject, but want to subscribe to the “free range kids” kind of ideals and believe that it is just as safe now as it was when I was a kid for kids to be roaming the neighbourhood. If you want to debate the issue, and especially if you’d argue a more conservative approach, let me know and I’ll pass your information along to Sarah at the CBC.
My son asks me DAILY to let him walk to school. Now I am in a different situation than you are. Our school is about a 20 minute walk from our home (far enough that he will be able to take the bus till he is in grade 6). He is 8 now and I am just not ready. I am thinking about letting him walk. There is one busy road to cross… I am such a worry wart. Once I am on mat leave and then I can walk with him. But It really is such a long trek… Plus I would want him to bus home because I am assuming that baby nap time and home time will co-incide. UGH.
I would definitely take a more conservative approach. I’ve read that children can’t properly make a decision about crossing a street until they are 10 (I’ll try to look up the reference — right now I have to dash out to pick up Gal Smiley!). My kids have to cross a pretty busy street to get to school, and there’s no cross walk, stop sign, or crossing guard there.
So I’ll be walking them over until at least grade 5.
I’m on the Active and Safe Routes to School committee at our school. The chair of the committee would be a *fantastic* person to speak to about this issue. If she’s interested, Sarah can contact me via email and I can set her up with his contact info.
I’ll be driving my boys to and from school (or my mom, mother-in-law) until they’re 16 years old. It helps, too, that our school is not really walking distance from our house. 😉
hmmmm…….i still love the lady in new york city who let her 10 year old take the subway home…so i am not sure i am the right one to argue anything;). i bused and metro’d from a small town to montreal from the time i was 11, by myself, traveling 3 hours a day to school…so I would have very little problem letting my kids walk to school. unfortunately, we live in a rural area and are out of district so i have to drive my kids to school…or they would be walking from the age the bus stops picking them up with the 1.3 km rule ( is that still the distance?). i think an 8 year old is old enough to get back and forth from school safely. to be honest, though, in my friends…i am an exception. the majority of them still drive their children the 4 blocks to school. safe blocks. small town blocks with sidewalks and speedbumps…
Nothing to do with the walking kids home… just wanted to mention that your blurb about the My Funky Kid thing says it’s happening on Oct 18th and this weekend. I think it’s just Oct 18th! Will send on to my new mother friends!
Thanks Kerry. I guess it’s your lot in life to edit my work in perpetuity!! 😉 Fixed.
I’ve always made a point to live almost next door to my daughter’s schools. Still, I walked her to and from school until Grade 5 and then she had a cell phone so she could call me when she got to school and when she was leaving school. She still calls me when she gets to school in the morning (grade 11), but it’s more about saying good morning that an arrive safe thing.
Sorry for the late comment on this, but assuming Sarah at CBC is still interested and hasn’t already been pointed at http://www.walkingschoolbus.org/ I thought it was kind of an interesting compromise.