Category: Life in Ottawa

Outdoor preschool launched in Carp

This is something new: in the little suburban Ottawa community of Carp, they’re launching an all-outdoors all-the-time preschool. According to the CBC:

Children will play outside all day, rain or shine, in warm or wintry weather at Canada’s first outdoor preschool.

The Carp Ridge Forest Pre-School promises its students few comforts like plastic toys, climate control, or electric power when it opens in about two months in Ottawa’s rural western outskirts.

Instead, it boasts a garden, trails through the woods, and a tent-like shelter called a yurt, and aims to help children aged three to six connect with nature.

They’re on a 77 acre lot, and there is a building there if the temps drop below -10C (approx 10F, I think) or if there is danger from lightning. Otherwise, the kids play outdoors.

At first, I snickered and said, “No way.” Then I thought about it a bit more, and I think the idea is growing on me. I think I might lean to something a little more moderate (maybe half the time outside?) but I love the idea and am tickled that it’s happening more or less in our neighbourhood.

What do you think?

Edited to add: completely by coincidence, I was standing in line at Tim Horton’s this morning, flipping through the neighbourhood weekly, and came across a reference to the Outdoor Education Council of Ottawa. I was curious, so I looked them up on the web:

Outdoor Education Council of Ottawa (OECO) is a council of Outdoor Education providers in the Ottawa area including the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, the National Capital Region YMCA-YWCA, Friends of Lasting Outdoor Education and the three Conservation Authorities serving the Ottawa area – the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority, Rideau Valley Conservation Authority and the South Nation Conservation Authority. The Council was established with the over-arching goal of increasing the accessibility for students and the community to outdoor environmental education programs.

OECO Outdoor Education programs: Whether it is a program that combines First Nations’ ecological knowledge with scientific information to explain forest and watershed management, a recreation-based program focused on outdoor skills for day campers, an experiential program designed to encourage a love of nature, an in-school program aimed at making links between our lifestyles and environmental degradation or a hands-on program tied to educational learning objectives in specific subjects and grades, all the members of the Council are delivering Outdoor Education programs that provide valuable knowledge and important life experiences for the children in the region.

I had no idea. Very interesting! I see that they list the public school board as partners but not the Catholic school board. Think I might have to look further into this one!

And one further coincidence on outdoor education programs: today, Tristan’s school is having an outdoor activity day. I had completely forgotten about it! Instead of all day in the classroom with two outdoor breaks, they spend all day outdoors with two indoor breaks. And the temperature this morning? A chilly zero degrees, bang on the freezing mark!

The traditions of fall: Apple-picking

This year, I’m guessing that even though we picked more apples than ever before (see previous years here and here) we might actually eat all the apples we picked!

Apple picking!

(It’s funny to look back to the old post from 2005 and see a Simon who’s barely out of babyhood on our first apple-picking expedition. Blog really is an online baby book!)

Movies on the beach

I’ve always loved drive-in movies, but sadly, the closest one to Ottawa is about a 45 minute drive. When the movie doesn’t start until my, erm, I mean, the kids’ bedtime, that’s a long drive home after the movie in the dark. So when I heard that a local radio station was sponsoring a free (free!) “movies on the beach” night I thought it would make for a fun family outing. And when I heard that the final movie of the summer would be the boys’ favourite, Pixar’s Cars, I knew it would be a great way to end a memorable summer of family adventures. Turned out to be a clear, dry and warm night — absolutely perfect movie-on-the-beach weather.

They set up a big inflatable screen on Westboro beach and the first 200 families got a free beach blanket.
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Unexpectedly and to my delight, we ran into Andrea and her daughters there.

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I wasn’t sure if her girls and my noisy (and slightly younger) boys would find any common ground, but once a frisbee made an appearance, friendships quickly formed.

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(I loved watching them run around together. It was just the kind of evening I remembered as a kid, running around freely and playing tag and hide-and-go seek in the gloaming with kids I didn’t really know but were my best friend for that night. The glee on their faces as they chased each other over the sand and through the crowd was better than any movie could have generated.)

When the movie started, they even had those old-style trailers advertising the snack bar. (I have fond teenage memories of my friends doing a Brad-and-Janet, acting out the weiner and bun dance Rocky Horror Picture Show style in front of the drive-in screen.)

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We didn’t make it through the entire movie. By 10pm, around two hours past the boys’ bedtime, Simon asked to go home and Tristan offered no resistance to the idea. Truth be told, I’d had about enough by then, too. Since we’ve all seen Cars about 300 times, it all worked out for the best.

Props and thanks to Bob FM 93.9 and the Ottawa Citizen for sponsoring a great family outing. We’re already looking forward to next year!

40 (mostly) free family fun ideas

Now that summer is almost upon us, I’m compiling ideas for cheap family outings in and around Ottawa. We’re so lucky to live in a city with walking trails, waterways, parks and other inexpensive or free things to do with kids, but there are also plenty of things to do on a rainy day. Some of these things are full-day adventures, but most will occupy at least a couple of hours. I started with a list of 15 things, then aimed for 25, and finally ended up with FORTY!!

Capital ideas

Diesel dogs (street vendor hot dogs) under Maman the Spider makes for a memorable if not nutritionally sound lunch

Watch the ceremonial parade and changing of the guard on Parliament Hill every morning at 10:00

Take a tour of the Parliament Buildings and check out the view from the Peace Tower

Explore the grounds of Parliament Hill, from the statue of Sir Gallahad to the colony of feral cats

Peruse history in the collections at Library and Archives Canada

See the horses at the RCMP stables and musical ride centre

Visit the Bank of Canada’s Currency Museum

Tour the gardens at Rideau Hall

Admission to the National Gallery is free on Thursday nights

The Canadian Museum of Nature also free on Thursday nights.

The Canadian Museum of Civilization, including the absolutely stellar Children’s Museum, is free on Thursday nights after 4 pm.

Borrow a free museum pass through the Ottawa Public Library’s Museum privilege program

See a bit of local history at the always free-of-charge Nepean Museum

Admission to the Experimental Farm animal barns is free in the winter months.

Watson’s Mill in Manotick is free every day, with milling demonstrations through the summer months. (They’re closed through a lot of the winter months – check for times before you go!)

Naturally lovely

In the west end, walk the boardwalk along the Rideau River wetlands in the Chapman Mills conservation area

In the east end, walk the boardwalk through the Mer Bleu bog, an “internationally significant wetland”

There are some wonderful hiking trails in the Greenbelt. The Jack Pine Trail is about a 40 minute loop, plenty easy for little legs.

For an easy walk with a stroller, wander the paved bike path from Hogs Back Falls to Vincent Massey park. Take the high trail on the way back and visit the oft-missed stone patio overlooking the river, and bring some birdseed to hand-feed the chickadees and nuthatches

Feed the ducks and geese on the Rideau River near Billings Bridge

Take a wander around Rockcliffe Park and enjoy the gorgeous stone gazebo and the lookout onto the Ottawa River

Visit Rideau Falls and the gorgeous parkland around old city hall

On Sundays in the summer, Colonel By Drive is closed to traffic and open for bikes, blades and strollers

Retail therapy

Chapters has a great kids section, and most of them have a train table or other toys to play with while mom and dad browse

Ross’ Independent Grocer in Barrhaven has a free playzone where you can drop the kids while you shop

Drop off the kids at Ikea’s ball pit and play centre for a free hour while you browse

Take me out to the park

There’s a terrific splash pad and playground off Longfields in Barrhaven. We pack a picnic and could spend the whole day there.

The playground at Brewer Park has always been awesome, but it’s just been retrofitted to be especially accessible for those with disabilities

There are dozens of wading pools of various shapes and sizes tucked away in parks throughout the city. You can get a list of them here

Did you know the city offers free swimming lessons?

Take a Sunday morning browse at the Ottawa Farmers Market at Landsdowne Park, then stay a while and play at the lovely little park on Fifth just before the Driveway.

Plan a day of sun at the beach at Britannia Beach. Buy yourself some fries for lunch, but don’t feed the seagulls (they’re a leading cause of beach-closing e-coli.)

Visit the recently-improved Petrie Island beach and nearby trails

There’s a great list of urban parks and a bit of a history lesson on the NCC site

Consider a playground tour. New is interesting, especially to kids!

For a few dollars more (not quite free, but mostly around $10 for the family)

On a rainy day, consider an indoor pool – or maybe even ride the surf at the Kanata wave pool

Doesn’t every preschool boy love trains? A round-trip on the O-Train is only an hour or so.

Get out of town

Tour the Hershey Factory in Smiths Falls (it’s open until December 2008) and get your free sample

Spend a day at Lac Phillip and spelunk the Lusk Caves

Enjoy an afternoon getaway to the Mackenzie King estate at Kingsmere
(you’ll have to pay a per-vehicle fee less than $10 if you drive)

Hike the Eardley Escarpment in Gatineau Park, especially lovely in the fall (you’ll have to pay a per-vehicle fee less than $10 if you drive)

Edited to add: this post is quite a few years old, but still very popular. Sadly, some of these things like the Hershey Factory have disappeared. If you’re looking for other ideas, check out these blog posts about family fun in and around Ottawa. 🙂

Your phrase of the day: “Curling parenting”

First, there were hockey moms, and then soccer moms. Some time in 2005, the term “helicopter parents” was coined to describe those parents that hover over their children. And now, a new favourite of mine, “curling parents” — those who sweep the ice in front of their children.

I only have a couple of seconds to post today, but I wanted to say something about this interesting Ottawa Citizen article about an interview with parenting writer Carl Honoré, author of In Praise of Slow, where I saw the “curling parents” phrase.

As I read the transcript Susan Allan’s interview, I found myself nodding along with Honoré’s ideas. He calls milestones “millstones” and advocates a return to a more laid back approach to raising children. He speaks out against the way we take it upon ourselves to make our children excel at any cost:

It’s amazing how many of the tools of hyperparenting people still believe in though it’s patently untrue and has been shown to be so. The pressure to do things in a mechanistic, measurable way takes away the joy of it. At the end of the day, this should be about joy. There’s nothing more joyous than having a child.

And this… I loved this one:

We need to give kids the space and time for their brains to develop rather than turning them into achievement automatons on a treadmill ticking one box after an another whether it’s academic or athletic or artistic. Children are not projects, they’re people.

He’s speaking tonight as part of the Ottawa International Writers Festival, and it’s free. It’s been ages since I’ve been out to a literary event, and I’m going to try to make it out to see him speak. I figure the audience will be skewed to the parenting crowd, so I can drag Lucas along with me.

What do you think? Is there hope for lazy parents like me? Is it possible for us to turn off the treadmill and make laid-back parenting the new trend?

Rain and reptiles on a Saturday afternoon

I vividly remember the first time I took then two-week old Tristan out of the house by myself. It was the day my mother left after a week’s visit, and I was weepy with her departure and Beloved’s return to work and unsure how I’d manage to take care of the baby all by myself. I put him in the stroller and walked, with Katie the dog, around the block. It seemed a momentous achievement. The next day, we walked all the way to the grocery store across the park. My confidence grew and I became comfortable with all manner of expeditions — until the next child arrived.

When Simon was born, he was almost a month old before I ventured out with both boys by myself. We went to WalMart, and I can still recall the barely-repressed panic I felt. What if Tristan (then 22 months old) bolted? What if Simon howled? I had toured Europe by myself for four weeks in 1995, and that trip to WalMart was the far more daunting expedition.

Already, I don’t really remember the first time I took out all three boys by myself. It was likely the grocery store, too. And we love to walk around the block together. We all had dinner at Dairy Queen about a month ago while Beloved was working late — I thought that was pretty brave of me, and we did fine. And yesterday, we left Beloved at home to catch up with some work while I took the boys out for a perfect rainy-Saturday adventure exploring the wild creatures at Little Ray’s Reptile Zoo.

I have to admit, I had backup. It was my friend Yvonne who came up with the idea for a trip to Little Ray’s, and since she is also the mother of three boys aged four to ten, she’s quite familiar with all things reptilian. About every three minutes, you could see one of us doing a mental head-count — one, two, three, four, five, and where is child number six? Oh yeah, in the stroller having a snooze. Talk to me again when Lucas gets mobile and see how confident I am to venture out in public!

Anyway, if you are looking for something a little out of the ordinary to do on a rainy day in Ottawa, I can’t say enough nice things about Little Ray’s Reptile Zoo. There are plenty of creatures in cages, terrariums and aquariums — most of whom I was quite happy to see behind glass. Tarantulas, scorpions, lizards and geckos and other little creepy-crawleys. But they also have some really impressive large animals, like the tank with two eight-foot alligators. Yowza!

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They have a couple of mammals (possums and skunks) and some gorgeous birds like this parrot

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What’s really cool, though, is the fact that every 20 minutes or so, they have an interactive show of some kind. Here the boys had a chance to pet an albino something-or-other snake.

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Simon and I passed on the tarantula, but Tristan was fascinated!

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Speaking of fascinating, it was weirdly chilling but very cool to watch this constrictor (not the same one we were petting above) make a tasty lunch out of a dead rat.

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The boys got a kick out of feeding kale to these three tortoises.

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And of course, the evidence that a good afternoon was had by all! (Look closely, you can even see Lucas napping in the baby mirror!)

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The patter of the “wildlife educators” is priceless and alone worth the price of admission. I could write a whole post full of the fun and trivial stuff I learned, so we’ll definitely be going back for another visit, or maybe enrolling the boys in one of Little Ray’s day camps this summer. Of course, I should have seen this one coming: ever since our visit Tristan has been campaigning hard for a snake as a pet. However, since Beloved shares Indiana Jones’s sentiment on the subject, we won’t be getting one any time soon. I’d let him have a snake before I let him have a tarantula or a scorpion. Maybe just not one quite this big!

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I wish I could remember what kind of constrictor this one was. Lookit the size of him — he’s easily thicker around the middle than my thigh, and that says a lot these days!! (As I was framing this photo, I couldn’t get that old line from Seinfeld out of my head: “The dingo constrictor ate your baby!”)

If I don’t blog soon, I’ll burst

So! Many! Bloggable! Moments!! And no time to blog them all. Oh, it’s like bloggy constipation, and if I don’t get it out soon, I’m quite sure my head will explode.

Here are things that I’d dearly love to blog about if only I had the time. And trust me, in my head, they’re all most excellent posts.

  1. Last Friday, Tristan turned six. SIX! My beautiful baby boy, my first-born son, is six. And I will write him a proper birthday post one of these days, I swear I will.
  2. On Saturday morning, we woke up to the sounds of Simon barfing. Of course. Stomach bugs and birthday parties just seem to go together, don’t they?
  3. Also on Saturday, the snow came fast and furious. Oh my sweet lord, the snow. We’ve had 86 cm of snow (that’s somewhere around 20 inches, I think) in the past week, including a spectacular dump of 56 cm on the weekend. I’ve never seen so much snow at one time. And to make it even more spectacular, we’ve added it to a near-record four METRES of snow that’s already fallen this winter. That’s more than 13 feet of snow, people.

    This was my house on Sunday morning:

    Way too much snow

    Those snow banks on the side of the driveway are about as tall as me. I had to use the shovel as a catapult to heave the snow up higher than my head with every. single. shovelful. Oh, my aching shoulders! Really, I’ve never seen anything remotely like it.

  4. And what else was Sunday? After two hours of shovelling (after Beloved had shovelled for an hour the night before, and I had shovelled for an hour the day before), you might ask? Why, it was Tristan’s sixth birthday party!

    Tristan is SIX!

    Even though half the guests couldn’t make it because of the storm (the sidestreets were impassable until late in the day Sunday and even the parking lot of the party place — Starr Gymnastics, and I can’t say enough nice things about them — wasn’t plowed until half way through the party) Tristan still had a wonderful time, which is good enough for me.

  5. Unfortunately, my brother and his family were trying to make the trek up from Toronto on the weekend, in the midst of the blizzard of the decade. They wisely waited an extra day until the snow stopped falling, but it still took them more than eight hours to make what’s normally a five hour drive on Sunday…. missing the party entirely, unfortunately.

    The good part is that we had all day together on Monday to enjoy Ottawa’s gorgeous Children’s Museum which also deserves a post of its own, but this photo of cousins Brooke (age 14 months) and Simon will have to surmise a fun afternoon.

    Brooke and Simon

    You have to be just a little bit crazy to visit the children’s museum on the first day of March Break, I think, but it was surprisingly easy to get around and have fun despite the crowds.

I’d love to blog it all in detail, but I have another weigh-in this morning with the midwife (Lucas is doing well, gaining slowly but steadily) and Tristan now has the barfy virus. Thank you, supreme ruler of the universe, for heeding my “Please, just not on Sunday!” plea on that one.

Thanks to all for your comments and e-mails wondering how we’re doing. The answer is crazy, but in a good way. If you could find someone to either do my endless piles of laundry, or blog what’s in my head, or both, I’d be most grateful!!

A new waterpark for Ottawa

How cool is this? It may be minus 15C and snowy outside, but by 2009 there will be a new 100-acre water park (that’s six times the size of Mont Cascades) just a five-minute drive from here! And this is in addition to the as-yet unnamed new amusement park and water park they’re opening in Smiths Falls in 2010.

I love water parks. We make the trek out to Mont Cascades at least once a summer, and I love the idea of one being so close. And in 2009, Tristan and Simon will be just the right age to start enjoying the bigger waterslides.

The weather outside may be frightful, but suddenly I’m dreaming of streaming cold water and hot summer days!

Edited to add: see this post for new details on both new water parks.

Christmas in the Capital

Edited to add: Click this link for the 2017 Santa Claus and holiday parade info!

I love Christmas. I love parades. I *really* love pink-cheeked children wrapped in snowsuits lining the streets for the Santa Claus parade. I look forward to it every year, and am just happy now that at least I have a good excuse to go every year… maybe to more than one!

Just as I did at this time last year, I’ve compiled a list of local Santa Claus parades. If I’ve missed one in the greater Ottawa neighbourhood, drop me a note and let me know!

38th Annual Ottawa Help Santa Toy Parade
Saturday November 17, 2007, starting at 11 am. The parade will start at Elgin and Laurier, City Hall. (Edited to add: note the revised parade route! Parade will now travel from Elgin Street down Laurier Ave to O’Connor, and follow O’Connor – instead of Bank Street – as far as Gladstone. The route will then follow Gladstone to Bank, and follow Bank Street to Landsdowne Park.) Bring toys for collection and distribution to Ottawa’s less fortunate families.

Barrhaven Lions 11th Annual Santa Parade
Saturday November 17, 2007, starting at 6 pm. Follows Strandherd Drive from Beatrice to Greenbank.

Kanata Santa Claus Parade
Saturday November 17, 2007, starting at 10 am. Parade runs from Castlefrank to Abbeyhill Drive to Hazeldean Mall.

Gananoque Santa Claus Parade
Sunday November 18, 2007, starting at 1 pm. Come and visit Santa and all his reindeer at the annual Santa Clause Parade down King Street.

Gatineau Santa Claus Parade
Friday November 23, 2007, starting at 7 pm. A tradition that goes back several years, this light-filled parade in the Aylmer Sector attracts crowds from the entire region. Departure from the marina at 7pm.

Santa’s Parade of Lights, Orleans
Saturday November 24, 2007, starting at 6 pm. Once again the Ottawa Professional Firefighters Association will be hosting Santa’s Parade of Lights on St-Joseph Blvd. in Orleans.

Carleton Place Santa Claus Parade
Saturday November 24, 2007, starting at 5 pm. Sponsored by the Carleton Place BIA, departing from the Carambeck School/Pool location.

Stittsville Parade of Lights
Saturday November 24, 2007, starting at 7:30 pm. The floats will line-up at the Ottawa School Board parking lot across from Brown’s Independent Grocers, beginning at 6:00 pm. The parade is set to begin at 7:30 pm. and will travel along Stittsville Main St. to Carleton Cathcart St.

Smiths Falls Rideau 175 Santa Clause Parade
Sunday November 25, 2007, starting at 1:30 pm. Annual parade featuring marching bands and floats celebrating the Rideau 175 theme as well as the local arrival of “Jolly Old St. Nick.” Location: Community Centre.

Rockland Parade of Lights
Sunday November 25, 2007, starting at 4:00 pm. The Clarence-Rockland Chamber of Commerce is proud to invite businesses and community groups of the City of Clarence-Rockland to participate in the 2007 edition of the Parade of lights, departing from Héritage Avenue. Children are invited to the Knights of Colombus Hall after the Parade to meet and take pictures with Santa Claus.

Pakenham Santa Claus Parade
Saturday, December 8, 2007 starting at 2 pm. Join Santa and the Pakenham community for the annual parade followed by free hot dogs, hot chocolate, free skating and a visit with Santa.

Perth Santa Claus Parade
Saturday December 1, 2007, starting at 5 pm. (Sorry, no location details on this one, but I’m assuming if you know Perth, you know where to go!) (Edited to add: thanks to Hugh Chatfield, who provided a wealth of information about the parade and other events in Perth, including a Facebook site and a Flickr Photo stream. Detail from the Facebook site: “The Perth & District Children’s Santa Claus Parade will wind its way through the streets of Perth on Saturday, December 1, leaving Sunset Blvd. at 5pm. The theme this year is “A Nursery Rhyme Christmas.” Join the hundreds of people on Foster and Gore streets watching this classic parade.”)

Almonte Santa Claus Parade
Sunday, December 09, 2007, starting at 2:00 pm. Join everyone on Bridge/Martin/Ottawa Streets in Almonte for an afternoon of Christmas excitement as Santa Claus pays a visit.

In addition to the parades, here are some other ideas for Christmas fun in the national capital region:

Upper Canada Village – Alight at Night
November 29, 2007 to January 5, 2008
5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. (except Christmas Eve and Christmas Day)
Bundle up for an evening stroll around the this gorgeous 1860s-era village, and see heritage buildings all magically lit, with over 200,000 lights – a true winter wonderland! For an additional fee, take a horse-drawn carriage ride, skate outdoors under the stars or ride on an illuminated toy train!

Christmas Lights Across Canada
December 6, 2007 to January 6, 2008
Launched in 1985 by the National Capital Commission (NCC), Christmas Lights Across Canada is one of a host of unique programs which was created to liven up the winter months. Originally only Parliament Hill was illuminated, but the program has grown to include 16 NCC sites and over 51 other sites along Confederation Boulevard.

Canadian Pacific Rail Holiday Train
See the Holiday Train as it stops in Smiths Falls and Perth, Sunday December 2, 2007.

Got any other tips or ideas to share? Leave a comment or e-mail me at danicanada (at) gmail (dot) com and I’d be happy to add them to this post.

An afternoon at Cannamore Orchard

It seemed like a great idea. A couple of friends from work with boys the same age, getting together for an afternoon of apple-picking. We found a date that worked for everyone, the weather forecast called for sunshine and mild temperatures. The only problem? No apples. Thank goodness somebody thought to call ahead the day before we went! I guess with the gorgeous weather we’ve been having, all the pick-yer-own orchards have been picked clean. After checking with a handful of places, we decided to try Cannamore Orchards because not only did they have some pre-picked apples available, but they advertised a bunch of fun activities for families.

And that’s how we discovered another of Ottawa’s hidden treasures: Cannamore Orchard.

Cannamore pumpkins

It’s about a 40 minute drive south-east of the city. Personally, I’d never heard of it, but then, we’d always done our picking at Kilmarnock Orchards. While Kilmarnock is gorgeous, Cannamore offers some great stuff for kids to do other than just picking apples: a play area with a brightly-painted wooden train to climb on, a rope maze, a goldfish pond, several “finger mazes” and the “dark maze”, an enclosed and pitch-black maze that made me very, very happy I allowed the kids to choose running shoes with flashing lights on them! (Tristan led a group of kids AND parents fearlessly through the surprisingly long and surprisingly dark maze.)

There are a few animals on site, and a sheltered picnic area with a snack bar. There’s also a gift shop with fudge and fresh pies (I forgot to ask if they were baked on site, but the one I bought was still warm on the bottom!) and inexpensive hallowe’en decorations and pumpkins and… what else? Oh yes, APPLES!

And what better way to end a day of fun like this? A wagon ride, of course. The “Spooky” wagon rides don’t start until next weekend, but the 20 minute loop through the forest and orchard and around the aviary featured a preview of the spooky bits to come, and was plenty of fun for our gaggle of boys.

Who would’ve guessed you could have so much at the orchard when all the apples have been picked? If you’re looking for an inexpensive and entertaining way to spend a few hours enjoying a gorgeous autumn day – not to mention the freshly picked apples and pumpkins – I’d recommend checking out Cannamore Orchards. (There are, of course, more pix on Flickr.)