January 2012 Island Parent

The Resource Publication for Vancouver Island Parents

Island Parent January 2012

Waste Not, Want Not Persistence in Sports

Winter Programs Guide How to Encourage Your Child to Speak French ...when (almost) no one else does

Literacy Begins at Home

Make the Ordinary Extraordinary

children’s boutique

St. Andrew’s Offers: • Pre School to Grade 7 education.

• Small class size in large newly renovated classrooms, well lit with natural light.

• Specialist teachers in French, music, and physical education.

• Convenient downtown location

ANNUAL WINTER SALE! • Shoes • Clothing • Toys

Save Up to 50% Storewide

• Reasonable tuition fees

Open House DOWNTOWN

624 Fort St 250 360 2570 BROADMEAD VILLAGE

777 Royal Oak Dr 250 360 2520

Newborn to 12 years

• Year-round, out-of-school care program.

• Commendable FSA scores.

Thursday, February 9, 2012 9am – 1pm Principal-led tours: 9, 9:30, 10, and 11am Lunch in library for guests: 11:30am – 1pm Student-led tours: 12 – 1pm Now offering full day Kindergarten for the third year.

Presently accepting registrations for Pre School to Grade 7.

www.scallywags-island.ca

1002 Pandora Avenue | 250-382-3815 | www.standrewselem.ca

TC 10K Training Clinics Want to start running? Looking for a group to run with?

Saanich Recreation has the answer for you...

Join our Times Colonist 10K training clinics. This 14 week program will prepare you to walk or run the TC 10K event in May (price includes your entry fee). Clinics are offered at all our Saanich Recreation Centres starting the 4th week of January. Register today to book your spot.

www.saanich.ca

Vote for those that care about family and children.

E VOT Y A TOD IN! &W

Good business has many rewards.

The Early Years Awards celebrates the businesses and organizations that make a difference in the lives of families with children. It’s easy. It’s free. And it’s the right thing to do.

TO VOTE VISIT:

Deadline for nominations — March 15th, 2012 |

Your Support. Their Success.

WE TAKE OUR REPORT CARD SERIOUSLY.

92.4%

of parents rate their satisfaction with our academic program as A or A+.

Find out more:

www.smus.ca/report D AY G R A D E S K -12 B O A R D I N G G R A D E S 8 -12

www.IslandParent.ca

OPEN HOUSE

Friday, February 17 9-11 am & 1-3 pm admissions@smus.ca 250-370-6170

January 2012

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Contents: January 2012 Feature Make the Ordinary Extraordinary ............................................................... 12

Articles is hosting their

2012 Second Annual Victoria

DYSLEXIA AWARENESS WORKSHOP MARCH 31, 2012 10am to 4 pm

Dyslexia Victoria Online has been featured on: “The Daily” on Shaw TV CHEK TV “Island 30” and in the Times Colonist Workshop registration and lunch fee: $85 Pre-registration includes a $10 discount!

Please pre-register early – seating is limited

This interactive workshop will benefit: Dyslexics, parents of Dyslexics, tutors, teachers, special needs support staff, service providers and anybody curious about why Dyslexics think and learn the way they do.

Some of the topics you will learn about: • Why countries like New Zealand, Australia, the UK and other parts of Europe believe Dyslexia is a “learning difference” rather than a learning disability.

• How to recognize Dyslexia in children and adults, including checklists and simple screenings.

• What teaching methods are appropriate and beneficial for Dyslexics in the classroom and home.

• Why learning styles (Visual, Auditory or Kinesthetic) are so important to Dyslexics for successful learning.

• How modern adaptive technology can assist Dyslexic students with reading, spelling, note taking and writing.

Contact us for more information and pre-registration forms at: Phone 250-715-3034

Waste Not, Want Not..................................................................................... 8 How to Encourage Your Child to Speak French ........................................... 10 Literacy Begins at Home .............................................................................. 15 Winter Programs .......................................................................................... 18 A Child in China .......................................................................................... 22 Where the Heck Were Your Parents? ............................................................ 26 Persistence in Sports ..................................................................................... 34 Fun With Composers ................................................................................... 35

Columns Editor’s Note .................................................................................................. 3 Healthy Families; Happy Families ................................................................ 36 Dadspeak ..................................................................................................... 38 Book Nook .................................................................................................. 40 Just Eat It! .................................................................................................... 42 Is There an App for This?............................................................................. 44 New Parent Pages......................................................................................... 48 Maternity & Beyond .................................................................................... 53 Nature Notes ............................................................................................... 54 Cut It Out .................................................................................................... 56

Departments IPM Notes...................................................................................................... 4 Party Directory....................................................................................... 24, 25 Family Calendar ........................................................................................... 28 Around the Island ........................................................................................ 33 Family Services Directory ....................................................................... 46, 47 Preschool & Child Care Directory ......................................................... 50, 51 Business & Professional Directory................................................................ 52 Island Parent Magazine, produced by Island Parent Group Enterprises Ltd., is a monthly publication that honours and supports parents by providing information on resources and businesses for families, and a forum for the exchange of ideas and opinions. Views expressed are not necessarily those of the publisher. Letters (max 250 words) should be emailed to the Editor at editor@islandparent.ca. No material herein may be reproduced without the permission of the Editor. Unsolicited manuscripts are welcome and should be emailed to editor@islandparent.ca.

Island Parent Magazine is distributed free in selected areas. Subscriptions can be obtained by sending $28.00 (HST included) with your name and address to the address below. Canada Post: Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement 40051398.

Island Parent Magazine Suite A-10, 830 Pembroke St, Victoria, BC V8T 1H9 Tel: 250-388-6905 Fax: 250-388-6920 Website: www.islandparent.ca

Email degraaf@dyslexiavictoria.ca

…or pre-register on our website www.dyslexiavictoriaonline.com click on the link on our home page called: “DYSLEXIA AWARENESS WORKSHOP IN VICTORIA, BC”

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Island Parent Magazine

Partner Website: www.kidsinvictoria.com On the Cover: Photo by Heather Armstrong at heatherphoto.ca or 250-507-8747

President, Publisher: Paul Abra Vice-President: Anna Abra Director, Production Manager: Mada Moilliet Editor: Sue Fast Sales & Marketing: Rod Holt Publisher’s Assistant: Linda Frear Bookkeeping: Elaine Francis Distribution: Anna Abra, Ted Dawe (Mid-Island) Founders: Jim Holland & Selinde Krayenhoff Production: Eacrett Graphic Design Printed at Island Publishers Cover printed at Hillside Printing ISSN 0838-5505

www.kidsinvictoria.com

© Cyril Ruoso (France) Tiny warm-up

Last But Not Least t’s a crisp Saturday morning and although I could still be at home in bed—warm beneath my blankets like my two teenagers still asleep beneath theirs—I am happy to be outside on this walk. The sun is shining and what little breeze is blowing brings the smell of the nearby ocean and a hint of a winter snap. Dried leaves and frost cover the ground and crunch under my feet with every step. My husband, Barry, and dog, Louie, are with me—Barry clutching a cup of hot coffee, Louie bounding forwards and back, tugging on the leash, towards the park.

We amble along its perimeter beside a thick laurel hedge, looking for an opening that will let us into the park.

Up ahead, a car pulls into a parking space and a father and young boy, maybe 10 years old, emerge. The boy is dressed in a soccer uniform and cleats. He leans into the car, grabs his soccer ball and then shuts the car door. He drops the ball onto the grass and begins kicking it along in front of him until he catches up to his dad. When he does, he picks up the ball, reaches for his father’s hand and together they walk, hand-in-hand, towards the park.

Barry and I watch the pair, walking wordlessly and holding hands.

“Remember when our kids still did that?” says Barry, a hint of nostalgia in his voice.

I nod. I remember how, when the kids were little, we would reach for each other’s hands without even thinking. How, when they got a little bigger, they would only reach for my hand when we crossed streets.

And how, when they got even bigger, they stopped reaching for my hand at all.

“When did that stop?” Barry watches the father and son.

I shrug. I can’t remember how old they were or when the last time was that we held hands.

The boy half skips, half walks alongside his dad and blows into the cold air, like a dragon breathing smoke, watching his breath disappear.

They come to a gap in the hedge, an entrance to the field, and I see the boy glance across the soccer pitch towards the group of boys gathering at the edge. Without saying a word, the father and son let go of each other’s hands. The boy drops the ball onto the grass, kicks it out in front of him, and then runs ahead.

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I remember reading a letter published in The Sun Magazine a few years ago, written by a father, Edward Warner, who wrote: “Parents usually mark their children’s firsts—first words, first steps—but lasts often slip by unnoticed. I don’t remember the last time I carried my son up the stairs in the crook of my arm. Or the last time I read him a bedtime story, closing the cover

Editor’s Note SUE FAST of Goodnight Moon when I was done. Or the last time he and I kissed on the lips or crossed the street hand in hand. Or the last time he called me ‘Daddy.’ I don’t remember because I didn’t know it was the last time.

Had I known, I would have cherished it more. I would have held on tighter.”

Here’s to holding on tight with one hand while reaching ahead with the other.

Happy New Year.

Thank you, Glenn!

It is with great affection and gratitude that we say farewell to Glenn Harbison, our Advertising Sales Rep for the past 15+ years. During that time, Glenn has been a valued member of the Island Parent team, helping the magazine to grow and prosper. Glenn’s gentle nature, diligence, intelligence and humour will be missed! We wish him all the best in his future endeavours and know that his advertising clients echo our sentiments.

DEC 16, 2011 – APR 9, 2012 The FIRST North American stop for the best international wildlife images of the year!

Exhibition co-owned by

Lead Sponsor

Picture Perfect, January 29 1 pm – 3 pm Have you ever wondered how a pin-hole camera is made?

www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca January 2012

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OPEN HOUSE January 25 4–6pm

SPACES AVAILABLE Book now for a tour!

5575 West Saanich Rd 250 592 4411 (across from imhs@telus.net Red Barn Market) www.islandmontessori.com

•

preschool to grade 2

•

before and after school care

•

small class sizes

•

supportive and caring staff

•

excellent academic foundation

•

Kodaly music program

•

lovely rural location connecting children to nature

Notary Services The Shipley Group Providing Quality Legal Services to Victoria Families for Over 15 Years • Real Estate Transfers • Mortgages • Wills & Living Wills

• Powers of Attorney • First Time Buyers • Travel Letters

250.592.4342 Tim Shipley, BA, Notary Public 1551 Pandora Avenue, Victoria

www.ShipleyGroup.net

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Island Parent Magazine

IPM Notes Victoria Royals Kids Club Package Kids aged 12 and under can take advantage of the Victoria Kids Club package which, for $25, includes one voucher to each of the following three games: Saturday January 7, 2012 Saturday February 18, 2012 Sunday March 4, 2012 Vouchers must be brought to the Select Your Tickets box office in order to be redeemed for a game ticket and can only be redeemed for seats in Section 104. The Select Your Tickets box office is located at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre near Gate 1.

Other items included in the package are a T-shirt, a Kids Club Card, (to check out the Club Card benefits, visit www.victoriaroyals.com), entry to special contests, and giveaways at the Kids Club table.

When parents buy a Kids Club Package, they can also buy the Parent’s Package. For $40, adults get the same three vouchers listed above.

If children already have a season’s pass, they are eligible for free membership to the Kids Club (does not include game vouchers).

For more information, phone 250-2207889. To purchase Kids Club Packages, phone 250-220-7777 or visit the Select Your Tickets box office.

Success by 6 Early Years Awards Success by 6 Victoria is launching its 2012 Early Years Awards Survey which will gather community members’ feedback on what they think are the most child friendly services, businesses, workplaces, parks and more. The survey and awards ceremony is intended to recognize and provide support to businesses and organizations that are child/family friendly. This event also helps gather information about how our community can foster an inclusive attitude for young children.

From January 9 until March 16, the public will be invited to cast their vote at www. earlyyearsawards.com. All respondents will be entered to win weekly prizes including a family vacation for four at the Westerly Hotel in Courtenay.

A breakfast celebration will be held on April 12 at the Lions’ Den Restaurant in the Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena to unveil the survey results, and honour and recognize the nominees and winners.

www.kidsinvictoria.com

The business community has rallied to support the Early Years Awards and Success by 6 is grateful to the many sponsors who make this event possible, in particular the event sponsor: the Queen Alexandra Foundation for Children.

Please visit www.earlyyearsawards.com and complete the online survey to cast your vote—maybe you and your family will be a winner!

1000X5: 1000 Books by Age Five Children’s Book Recycling Project In your home, how many children’s books sit on shelves, tables and under the bed?

More than 50? 100? How many times have you read the same story to your child? More than 10? 25? 50? Congratulations—you are building wonderful reading habits that will last a lifetime, leading to endless hours of entertainment and knowledge building.

A recycling project, funded by the nonprofit Success by 6, is helping make daily reading a reality for more children—one book at a time. Gently used picture books for babies and preschoolers are donated by parents at most elementary schools in Victoria and Saanich School districts. Retired teachers and administrators donate time to sort, label, and gift bag those books.

The gift bags are delivered to Strong Start Centres and Neighbourhood Places where families monthly take home three quality books for each child.

January 27 is National Literacy Day. As well as enjoying a new story with your child, please make an extra effort to contribute to this project. All children deserve a chance to be read to.

Contact Eileen Eby at eileeneby@shaw. ca in Victoria School District or Daphne Macnaughton at dlmvictoria@shaw.ca in Saanich School District for information on where to leave books or to make a financial contribution (tax receipts available).

Depuis sa création en 1995, le Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique offre des programmes et des services éducatifs valorisant le plein épanouissement et l’identité culturelle des apprenantes et apprenants francophones de la province.

Le conseil compte aujourd’hui plus de 4 600 élèves, 36 écoles publiques et dessert plus d’une centaine de communautés réparties dans l’ensemble de la province.

Inscrivez votre enfant dans une école du CSF !

NOS ÉCOLES PUBLIQUES DANS L’ÎLE DE VANCOUVER Campbell River École Mer-et-montagne École secondaire Phoenix École secondaire Carihi

250-923-3359 1102 South Alder 250-923-3359 400, 7th Ave. 250-923-3359 350 Dogwood St.

M-6 7-9 10 - 12

Comox Valley

École au Cœur-de-l'île

250-339-1848 566 Linshart Rd.

M - 12

Nanaimo

École Océane 250-714-0761 1951 Estevan Rd. M - 7 École secondaire de Nanaimo 250-714-0761 355 Wakesiah Ave. 8 - 12

Port Alberni

École des Grands-cèdres

250-723-5614 4645 Helen St.

M-6

Victoria

École Victor-Brodeur

250-220-6010 637 Head St.

M - 12

Family Game-a-thon Families in Greater Victoria have a unique opportunity to play board, card and dice games at Government House in celebration of the READ Society’s 35th anniversary and Family Literacy Day. The event, hosted

by His Honour the Lieutenant Governor Steven Point, takes place on Saturday, Jan 28 from 1-4pm.

A limited number of free passes is available by contacting the READ Society. Due to space restrictions, participants must present a pass to gain entry to the event.

www.IslandParent.ca

csf.bc.ca

January 2012

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Is Your Child Struggling at School?

January sometimes catches struggling students off guard. They thought all of their problems were behind them in the fall. What they don’t know is that’s when teachers often do a lot of review. Therefore students feel fairly competent because they are doing work that is familiar to them. This is a good thing but the new year brings different learning that can be challenging. Struggling students can feel overwhelmed.

If you find that your son or daughter is having a harder time this winter, or that they are not as happy as they were before Christmas, tutoring may help. For students who are really struggling, therapeutic tutoring may be the answer. Therapeutic tutors don’t follow the government curriculum. We don’t teach the same way the school system does, nor do we use the same materials or text books.

We discover how your son or daughter learns, and their learning pace, so we can teach them the way they learn best.

Therapeutic tutoring helps students to learn to teach themselves so that, when they are no longer being tutored, they know how to handle the curriculum.

For a free assessment, please call Karen.

IPM Notes The Game-a-thon builds on the success of last year’s event at Ruth King elementary school, which saw 160 people come out and play in support of Family Literacy Day. Once again, READ teachers and volunteers will help participants learn the rules of each game and facilitate play.

Family Literacy Day is an annual initiative developed by ABC Life Literacy Canada to encourage parents and children to spend at least 15 minutes daily enjoying a learning activity.

READ is a non-profit organization serving children, youth and adults who need help with basic literacy skills. READ fundraises with the community to provide tuition assistance to children and youth whose academic skills are below grade level and who are from low-income households.

For a free pass call 250-388-7225 or e-mail info@readsociety.bc.ca.

Family Literacy Week Family Literacy is something to celebrate every day, but especially on Canada’s annual Family Literacy Day on January 27. Greater Victoria Public Library will celebrate for a whole week from January 23-29 with special storytimes and other great programs. Make sure you take part in GVPL’s Family Literacy Activity Card contest. Complete every activity by March 10 and be entered for a draw for a $60 gift certificate to a bookstore of your choice. Every child with a completed card will also be able to choose a small grab box item. Pick up a card beginning January 23 from your local branch or download one at www.gvpl.ca/interests/parents-educators.

Completed cards may be entered into the gift certificate draw at any GVPL branch.

For young children and their families. No registration required.

Kaleidoscope Theatre’s 2012 Family Theatre Series

Karen Murdoch Therapeutic Tutor

778-430-3183 karenmurdoch.ca

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Island Parent Magazine

Experience the magic of theatre with Kaleidoscope’s Family Theatre Series’ four dynamic shows that are perfect for the whole family—Mini Masterpieces, Hansel and Gretel, The Wizard of Oz, and The Three Musketeers. All four shows are performed at the Metro Studio Theatre, select Sundays at 2pm.

Monster Theatre’s Mini Masterpieces runs on January 15. Get lost in the world of classic literature with four short adaptations of: Canadian Wonder Tales by Cyrus

Macmillan, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain, Tales from the Arabian Nights, and Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter.

Vancouver Opera’s Hansel and Gretel runs on February 19. What could be better than a fairy tale told in song? Hansel and Gretel is brought to life in an enchanting English adaptation of Englebert Humperdinck’s full-length opera. It’s a perfect introduction to opera for young audiences.

Erewhon Theatre’s The Wizard of Oz runs on March 4. Journey off to the Land of Oz with all of your favourite characters.

Adventure awaits you along the Yellow Brick Road—just as long as you don’t run into the Wicked Witch.

Dufflebag Theatre’s The Three Musketeers runs on April 15. The “nearly worldfamous” Dufflebag Theatre has wowed audiences of all ages in theatres, festivals and schools across the country. A hilarious experience for all and a perfect introduction to the classics.

Tickets are available at the McPherson Box Office by phoning 250-386-6121.

For more information, please visit www. kaleidoscope.bc.ca.

Support for Those With Learning Disabilities The Learning Disabilities Association of BC South Vancouver Island (LDA-SVI) works with students with learning disabilities to assist their learning and help them reach their potential. LDA-SVI currently offers support through academic skills programs, reading and writing programs, and social skills programs.

Some of the skills that can positively impact the lives of those with LD are: • Self awareness. An understanding of their strengths and weaknesses (we all have them!). Helping people with LD to recognize their strengths and providing accommodations for their challenges is important for their learning, self-worth and overall well-being.

• The ability to compartmentalize their disability so they see their disability as just one aspect of themselves. Think about your own strengths and weaknesses. Now imagine if your identity was largely based on what you can’t do.

• The ability to make mistakes. Successful learners are willing to try new things and problem solve. It is crucial that children are taught by example that mistakes are an opportunity to learn, not a sign of failure.

www.kidsinvictoria.com

• Tolerance for frustration. The ability to set goals and stick to it despite setbacks.

Learning can be fun and it can be challenging at times.

• Presence of a support network. Never assume a child knows who they can talk to if they need help. Talk with your child about who they can go to for help in their care facilities and schools.

• Emotional coping strategies. As with anyone who is experiencing difficulty, children with LD require knowledge and skills to cope with anxiety and frustration and reduce the impact of stress.

For more information about how LDA SVI can help your child, visit www.ldasvi. bc.ca.

WANTED: Children to see their brains in action!

Make a Stand Against Bullying on Pink Shirt Day In just five years, Pink Shirt Day, a public awareness campaign about bullying spearheaded by Boys & Girls Clubs, has grown into a national craze. Last year, over 2,500 official pink shirts were sold on Vancouver Island alone, and thousands more wore pink clothing to show their solidarity for the campaign.

Pink Shirt Day unites people in a movement to change people’s attitudes towards bullying. It teaches young people that we need to be more accepting of differences and that we cannot stand by and watch as bullying occurs around us.

This year, Pink Shirt Day is Wednesday, February 29. Schools, police departments, businesses, politicians and youth groups across Vancouver Island are using this day to raise awareness of the negative effects of bullying and show that bullying will not be tolerated in their organization.

You too can join the sea of pink! Take this opportunity to address the issue of bullying with your children or teens by wearing pink, planning an event or activity, or just having an intentional conversation. You can find tips, activity ideas and planned events by contacting your local Boys & Girls Club at www.bgcvic.org or www.bgccvi.com or by checking www.pinkshirtday.ca.

Pink shirts are available from all Boys & Girls Clubs on the island and London Drugs. All proceeds from the sale of shirts will support Boys & Girls Clubs programs that provide safe, supportive places, where every child is listened to, respected and valued in an environment of inclusion and acceptance. You can also follow our Pink Shirt Day activities at www.facebook. com/bgccvic. • www.IslandParent.ca

Dr. Holroyd and colleagues at the University of Victoria Department of Psychology are currently looking for children between the ages 8 and 13 with OR without Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder to participate in a study of ADHD. Participants will engage in game-like computer activities, paper and pencil tasks, and “brainwave” experiments where we will record the electrical activity of the brain!

The procedure is entirely safe, non-invasive, and most children enjoy being involved in a scientific experiment!

Scheduling is flexible and there is a small monetary compensation.

Thank you for your participation!

For more information, please contact Akina at 250 472 5014 or uvic.adhd@gmail.com

Beatriz Contreras

Family Lawyer Family law issues require sensitivity and flexibility.

Our experienced lawyers have the expertise to manage and resolve your family law problems in a collaborative, non-confrontational manner, using mediation and excellent communication and negotiating skills to obtain the right outcome for you, resorting to litigation (the court room) only when necessary.

*Se habla español

Please contact us at 250-385-1383

January 2012

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Rachel Dunstan Muller

Waste Not, Want Not had a privileged childhood. Not because my family was wealthy—we weren’t—but because my mother was immensely resourceful. I was two years old when my parents crossed the border into Canada from the United States. Everything we owned was crammed in with us inside a Volkswagon van. By mutual agreement it was my father’s responsibility to bring home an income. My mother’s job was to take the modest amount he earned working in a shoe store, and to work her magic. And that’s exactly what she did. Technically we lived under the poverty line for those first years, but my parents never thought of themselves as poor or deprived.

We had all the basics: safe accommodation, food, and clothing. We had regular visits to the park, and new books every week from the library. By necessity we wasted nothing.

My first dresser in Canada was a reclaimed wooden orange crate. My little brother wore clothing sewn from my father’s cut-down garments. Chicken bones became soup stock, calendar pictures were framed and hung as art, and empty thread spools were transformed into doll furniture.

My father eventually found his way into a newsroom, and his income improved. We continued to live frugally as the years went on, which allowed my parents to save for a number of things: their first house, an education account for their three children, two years of orthodontics for me, and even a month-long trip to Europe when I was in twelfth grade. My parents are both professionals now; my father is a university instructor, and my mother is a counselor.

They’re comfortable financially, but they still waste very little for environmental and social justice reasons.

How did living this way as a child make me privileged? It taught me to appreciate what I have, and it gave me skills that have been immeasurably useful as I clothe and feed my own large brood. It’s also been a great blueprint for living lightly on the planet.

My mother certainly wasn’t alone in her resourcefulness. Generations of women and men have practiced the “waste not, want not” ethic, stretching food budgets, remaking garments, and repurposing all manner of things. Indigenous cultures around the globe have lived by this principle, understanding that their very survival depended on respecting the limits of the land. When

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you respect the resources you have, you use them as efficiently as possible. The only truly sustainable culture is the one that acknowledges the limits of its environment, and uses everything it produces or buys.

Sadly, we are living in very wasteful times. When resources come cheaply, and when we can’t see the damage being done to supply us with those resources, it’s easy to take them for granted. We use what we want in the moment, and send the rest down the drain, into a landfill, or up into the atmosphere.

It doesn’t have to be this way. If we became more conscious about minimizing waste, we could still live well while reducing the strain on our water, land and air systems.

As an added bonus, we’d have healthier bank accounts. Here are some anti-waste practices I’ve collected to implement in my own home:

Food: • Shop consciously. Will my family be able to consume these grapes/heads of lettuce/dairy products before they spoil?

• Purchase family-size packages to avoid wasteful over-packaging. Repack in smaller reusable containers if desired.

• Use leftovers for lunches, combine them at the end of the week in a soup, or freeze for future “convenience” meals.

• Inventory cupboard, fridge, and freezer contents on a regular basis to ensure food is consumed before it spoils or goes past its best-before date.

• Check the internet for recipes that use over-ripe bananas, stale bread, or other still-edible foods.

• Send food waste to a compost bin or residential composting program, rather than the landfill.

Water: • Take efficient showers with a low-flow, high-pressure shower head.

• Install low-flush toilets, or convert standard toilets with low-flush kits.

• Install low-flow aerators on taps.

• Collect the water you run while waiting for hot water, and give it to plants or pets.

Gas: • Carpool or use alternate transportation (walking, cycling, bus) when possible. www.kidsinvictoria.com

• Make smart trips, combining as many tasks as possible along the most efficient route.

• Remove unnecessary items from the trunk to reduce the weight of a vehicle.

• Check tire pressure regularly, and observe speed limits for maximum fuel efficiency.

Electricity: • Unplug laptop and phone chargers, electronic devices, and anything with standby power when not in use to avoid phantom energy drain. Putting these devices on a power bar makes it easy to “disconnect” them at the flip of a switch.

• Instead of simply remembering to turn a light off when you leave a room, ask yourself if you need it on in the first place.

• Use the smallest appliance that will get the job done (e.g. a toaster oven instead of a conventional one; an electric kettle instead of the stove).

Heating: • For tips to keep your home warm with a minimum of energy waste, see the article “Keeping Cozy” in the November issue of Island Parent, available online at www. islandparent.ca under “Past Issues.”

Clothing: • Repair ripped seams, re-sew loose buttons, re-dye faded cotton garments.

• Check out refashionco-op.blogspot. com for inspiration on refashioning toosmall, too-large, or not-quite-right items.

• Swap or give away what you no longer wear.

Late French Immersion Late French Immersion students begin to study French in Grade 6.

No prior knowledge of French is expected. By Grade 8, Late French Immersion students have usually achieved a level of fluency equivalent to those in Early Immersion. By graduation, Late Immersion students can qualify for employment in French or study in French at University.

Late French Immersion is offered at: • Arbutus Middle • Cedar Hill Middle • Lansdowne Middle • Shoreline Middle

• Central Middle

Late French Immersion is open to any student entering Grade 6 in September 2011. To register your child, go to your nearest Middle School offering Late Immersion during January 30 – February 3, 2012.

Interested in Learning More About Late French Immersion?

Attend our Information Meeting:

Late French Immersion Information Meeting Monday, January 23, 2012 • 7:00 pm SJ Willis Auditorium, 923 Topaz Ave

Miscellaneous: • Go digital for books, papers, bills and other documents.

• Makeover or reupholster outdated or worn furnishings.

• Advertise what you don’t need on Craigslist. (People will take just about anything if it’s free, which is much better than sending it to a landfill).

• Borrow or rent what you’re only going to watch, read, or use once or very occasionally.

Request books and movies from the library, rent specialized tools and equipment from a rental store. Anything that’s collecting dust on a shelf or in your garage is essentially going to waste.

Happy waste-busting!

Judy Mas, Coordinator, Languages and Multiculturalism, will be pleased to provide you with additional information, 250-475-4120 or jmas@sd61.bc.ca.

Rachel Dunstan Muller is the mother of five, and a children’s author. Her previous articles can be found at www.islandparent.ca. www.IslandParent.ca

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Jeanne Petit-Humphries

How to Encourage Your Child to Speak French …when (almost) no one else does o say that trying to get my children to speak French is très difficile would be an understatement. Despite the bilingual and increasingly multi-cultural nature of Canada, chances are that in most of the country you will predominantly hear and use English. Many of us might speak other languages, or minority languages, at home or in our small communities, but trying to encourage our kids to use French, or Farsi for that matter, sometimes feels downright impossible. Even though French is one of Canada’s official languages, it is not easily transmitted to our kids, especially when living on the West Coast.

You would think that with our federal policy to have every cereal box label in both official languages, we would all become Francophones over breakfast. Statistically, however, the odds are stacked against our kids actually using French as adults. Although actual data are hard to find, many studies indicate that assimilation rates of Francophone children in Canada are close to 60 per cent. That means that only about four out of 10 Canadians who spoke French as children speak it as adults, and that the total number of Francophones in Canada is consequently decreasing rapidly.

Factor in that these stats apply to French speakers across Canada, even those living in Francophone communities, and you get a pretty clear idea of the upward battle we West Coasters face.

As a mother of three French-speaking children living in what must be one of the most Anglo-Saxon settings in Canada, our very own Victoria B.C., I encounter daily how hard it is to make my kids speak French. And really, it is no surprise—almost all my daily interactions, from going to the supermarket to getting my car fixed, happen in English. Can I blame them for thinking French is not relevant when most days my kids don’t hear or see me speak French with anyone but them? It is not surprising that at times they may be tempted to also communicate with me in English and for me to go bananas about it and bore them with

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Learn to speak, play and live in French through songs, stories, crafts, dance and rhymes • Victoria’s first and only program to offer an interactive, activitybased and fun learning environment in French!

• Weekly French classes for tots, children and adults • Toddlers get an early start speaking, understanding and playing in French • Our preschool classes are great for French Immersion kindergarten readiness!

• Ask about our classes designed specifically for students (and parents!) in French Immersion and Francophone programs • Unique French educational resources and merchandise • Tutoring, parties, camps and more

Register and pay online!

New session starts soon! www.laplacefrench.com 250.884.8485 info@laplacefrench.com

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Island Parent Magazine

yet another pep talk about the importance of being proud of our heritage. I have said it so many times that I now bore myself.

Sometimes it just seems that it would easier to speak English to my kids and put my energy into something else, like the laundry, another daunting task in my life. But I don’t.

Despite all the statistics out there, I believe in French. I believe that it is possible to live in French even in a minority setting.

To say that trying to get my children to speak French is très difficile would be an understatement.

I know I am not alone in loving all things French. Take, for example, our wonderful French Immersion and Francophone programs in Canada. Many kids registered in these programs believe that learning French is valuable. The problem is that speaking, reading and writing French at school is not enough for most of us. Despite years of study, few French Immersion graduates actually use French in their daily lives. Indeed, many graduates of French Immersion complain that they have been too sheltered from “real” French—they do not feel confident in their abilities to speak fluently and easily on current events, to pursue interests or to socialize with confidence in French.

Unless they have moved to Paris, Montréal or some other equally glamorous city where you can actually speak to your banker en français, many French Immersion graduates say they do not identify with the language or find it relevant in their daily lives. This phenomenon is due to what critics have identified as a core problem with the French Immersion school model: French learning is often limited to what happens within the classroom. Critics argue that this model is not allowing students to see French (or any other second language for that matter) as a living language. Without day-to-day applications, students often consider French to be something they need to learn in order to

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pass a grade, but not something they enjoy or plan on using in the future.

Although this might sound discouraging, there is hope if you remember that your kids’ success in school (and beyond its walls) will largely be influenced by what you do at home. At school, your kids will learn the academic side of speaking French—how to count, how to read, how to write a book report—and this knowledge is valuable.

But to really learn to speak, read, listen, write and even dream in French authentically, kids need French experiences outside of the school setting. The language cannot only be associated with academic subjects.

Children need to have the opportunity to talk with a broad range of people and have real-life conversations. They need to go beyond “Bonjour, comment ça va?” and be able to participate in a lively debate on any subject.

I know I have it relatively easy. French is my maternal language after all, and I am able to give my children healthy doses of French at home. But, whether French is confined to four classroom walls or four home walls, it makes little difference to a child’s fluency unless it also exists on the outside. So, much like any other parent with children in a French program or wanting

their offspring to speak a minority language, I too have had to become a dedicated and determined advocate of French so that my kids can grow up to live French. I try to incorporate French into my own day-to-day life because my kids need to see that I enjoy and live French, too. I listen to the radio in French in my car, I read French books and I even watch the news from France on TV. Try it, you may be surprised to see how eyeopening it is to hear a non-North-American take on world events.

Even parents who don’t speak French can make this language part of their lives and be good role models for their kids: go to French restaurants, festivals or plays. Even if you do not understand a word of what is being said, at least you are taking French out of the classroom and letting your children experience it in the real world. I found a French speaking piano teacher for my oldest daughter. I have bought my children a subscription to a French kids’ magazine.

I even, oh horrors, let them watch TV on Saturday mornings, as long as it is the Schtroumpfs, that’s Smurfs in French. Try pronouncing that one! What is important, I have found, is that my kids can laugh and play in French.

Despite it being difficult and requiring

tremendous amounts of energy, there is no doubt that learning a second language can increase our understanding and tolerance for other cultures, open doors professionally or even make us just that little bit better at expressing ourselves. Despite all the challenges I face daily, I believe speaking a minority language is worth the effort; an all-English-speaking world just does not appeal to me for some odd reason, so I will continue to encourage and foster a Francophone identity in my kids. I will also continue to recognize that French is not the only linguistic minority in Canada. In fact, come to think of it, we Francophones and Francophiles almost have it easy. At least it is possible for us to read about French raisins, secs, while sitting at our breakfast table. It makes me appreciate all the parents out there who are speaking other languages with their kids. They don’t even get help from a cereal box or an entire educational program dedicated to their cause—they just have a lot of determination.

Jeanne Petit-Humphries has a PhD in French from the University of Toronto, has taught French in schools and universities in Canada and abroad, and is the proud maman of three French-speaking children.

The Laughing Symphony with Norman Foote a concert for kids SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2:30 PM ROYAL THEATRE

Join beloved children’s performer Norman Foote on a symphonic adventure that extends from Beethoven to Old MacDonald.

Full of fun, laughter and excitement, this show is one you and your kids will love!

Arrive early for the VS Instrument Petting Zoo and other activities in the lobby.

coming soon Strike Force 4! march 4 The Music of Harry Potter april 29

Tickets are on sale now! victoriasymphony.ca or 250.385.6515 www.IslandParent.ca

January 2012

11

Janine Fernandes-Hayden

Make the Ordinary

Extraordinary here’s nothing that thrills me more than to see my children get excited—the squeals of delight, the little eyes that light up and sparkle, innocent and unadulterated exclamations of “Wow!” Their delight in the simplest of things makes me realize that it doesn’t take much to experience joyfulness. My children have re-introduced me to a “wonder full” life.

A definite “wow” experience for children growing up on Salt Spring Island—mine included—is the Fall Fair, one of those experiences likely to remain etched in their minds, with face painting, farm animals, balloons, games, rides, sitting on the ground eating lamb burgers and, most important, the Zucchini 500 Race. Unfortunately this past year, with our new baby being barely a month old, we couldn’t go. At the time, we wondered if it would be possible for us to fly under the radar this one year without my older children noticing. I could likely shelter them from the buzz and excitement over the weekend, but come Monday at school/preschool, I knew that the lingering excitement of the other children would stir up feelings of regret. Yet the idea of navigating through crowds with a baby carriage, enduring long line-ups and being “on call” for baby feedings, not to mention finding a comfortable place to nurse, was not worth

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the anxiety. Reason would win over guilt this round.

I began to ponder what makes the Fall Fair so special. Is it the zucchini or the race? I recalled the old saying, “If Mohammed won’t come to the mountain, the mountain must come to Mohammed.” My director/creator “play personality” launched into action as it dawned on me that I could bring the Fall Fair to my children, but without having to move mountains.

The week before the Fair, the children decorated zucchinis with brightly coloured paint and equipped them with super fast fins and LEGO® wheels. When the momentous weekend arrived, while my husband set up a racing ramp in our backyard with a simple plank of wood, I made popcorn and caramel apples for snacks and prepared hamburgers and hotdogs for dinner. We put up a sign over the kitchen table which read “Welcome to the Hayden Fall Fair.” I hauled out my facepaints and reviewed my repertoire. We then invited the children downstairs after their afternoon quiet time. They were absolutely delighted to find that their home had been transformed into an imaginary fair ground. The festivities began. After several heats of Zucchini 500, my husband refereed egg-and-spoon races, running events and a

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potato-toss activity. The children “fished� for a collection of little trinkets that I had collected over the week. As for the barnyard animals, our family dog was happy to play his part. Our ordinary life on an ordinary weekend had become extraordinary. As for the authenticity of our fall fair, our children were none the wiser.

There is a fine line between providing our children with a “wonder full� life and wanting to please them to the point where undue pressure impinges on our schedules, our finances and our general state of wellbeing. We can easily become controlled by the guilt and fear of disappointment that paradoxically stifles our ability to experience the joy that may have been the original intent. We’ve all been there, having made long-anticipated extravagant plans for our families only to find ourselves spending more time being anxious, grumpy and irritable, feelings that don’t lend themselves to a sense of playfulness. “How can I make any day a Fall Fair Day?� This is the question I now ask myself.

We can all create extraordinary moments within our ordinary lives and have some fun at the same time by calling on the virtues of perceptiveness and creativity. Doing so requires us to first ask the question of ourselves, “What are those ‘wow’ events or activities that my children love and why do they love them?� Birthdays, Christmas, Easter and other seasonal holidays are a few examples. The next step involves using some imagination to recreate these experiences at any time of the year.

Here are some ideas for how you can make your ordinary extraordinary: • Get some facepaints and paint your kids’ faces “just because.â€? • Kids love races, be it the Zucchini 500 or any other race, so do running races around your driveway, egg-and-spoon races, threelegged races, potato-sack races. • Have a birthday party for your child’s doll, complete with all the bells and whistles.

You can nurture initiative and thoughtfulness by letting your child be the event coordinator—let them decide what to bake, how to decorate and have them make cards and presents, remembering that it doesn’t need to all be done in one day. • Watch a child with a mound of presents and you’ll notice that they derive just as much pleasure out of the opening as they do from the actual gift inside. It is what makes the game “pass the parcelâ€? so much fun.

Wrap up items from your home for your children and let them delight in tearing off www.IslandParent.ca

+INDERGARTEN 2EGISTRATION for Fall 2012 *ANUARY TO &EBRUARY AT THE SCHOOL NEAR YOU !LL CHILDREN BORN IN ARE ELIGIBLE TO BEGIN &ULL $AY +INDERGARTEN /UR +INDERGARTEN PROGRAMS OFFER Teachers who are knowledgeable in early childhood development.

Opportunities for parent participation.

French language instruction.

Rich literacy and numeracy experiences.

Play as a way of learning. +INDERGARTEN )NFORMATION %VENING *ANUARY PM PM %VENING INCLUDES &RENCH )MMERSION /PTION + 12 Keating Elementary School Gym, 6843 Central Saanich Road, Victoria.

4O REGISTER PLEASE BRING Proof of your child’s age (birth certificate).

Proof of your address (resident driver’s licence, utility bill, etc.).

Your child’s BC Care Card.

2EGISTER *ANUARY TO &EBRUARY AT THE SCHOOL NEAR YOU Cordova Bay Elementary Lochside Elementary Prospect Lake Elementary

Keating Elementary Brentwood Elementary Sidney Elementary

KELSET Elementary Deep Cove Elementary

&RENCH )MMERSION registrations at Deep Cove Elementary (North Zone residents) and Keating School (South and Central Zone residents).

3TARTING &EBRUARY , registration continues for Kindergarten to Gr. 8 Saanich School Board 2125 Keating Cross Road 8 am to 4 pm.

%VERY SUCCESS FOR EVERY CHILD www.sd63.bc.ca

January 2012

13

Jump into the adventure and let friendship ďŹ ll each day. Experience a world of discovery, all with an amazing staff.

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Island Parent Magazine

the paper. Younger children can also practice their fine motor skills while appreciating the joy of giving by trying their hand at wrapping and taping. • Put on your bunny ears and organize a scavenger hunt in your yard or home with items of your choosing. • For the princess or prince in your life, clear the living room, dress up in your Sunday best, put on some music, dim the lights, light some candles, drape the room with scarves and “have a ball.â€? • Bring well-loved books to life and extend their understanding and meaning through related activities. A couple of years ago, my children and I were reading a book about parades. I made the assumption that my twoand three-year-old at the time knew what a parade was. Of course they didn’t and why would they, having never seen one before.

I grappled with how to explain it to them.

Within days, we rounded up some friends, got dressed up, painted our faces, clanged on musical instruments and marched up and down the street. It was a great way to make their learning fun, relevant and hands-on.

If the thought of these ideas leaves you feeling a bit foggy and overwhelmed, start small and stay small if that’s all you can manage. Perhaps simply add a little extra to your ordinary: • Have a candlelight dinner. • Take lunch outside and have a picnic. • Use cookie cutters to cut sandwiches into playful shapes. • Initiate simple theme days like “Wear Your Clothes Backwards Dayâ€? or “Red Dayâ€? (or any other colour of your choosing). • Pull out the tent and/or sleeping bags and camp out in your own backyard. • Add food colouring to the bath water.

Any ordinary family can live an extraordinary life. You don’t need to be able to turn pumpkins into coaches. You don’t need a genie lamp or a flying carpet. Remember that the Wonderful Wizard of Oz was an ordinary man with an ordinary means of making people believe in magic. All it takes is the courage to be creative, the heart to play and the brains to think outside of adult boundaries, without even leaving home.

Janine Fernandes-Hayden is an educator and Salt Spring Island mum of four children, aged 1, 3, 5 and a newborn. She hosts a parent and kids radio show called “The Beanstalk� which can be heard on local Salt Spring Island airwaves at CFSI 107.9 FM or online at www.cfsi-fm.com. www.kidsinvictoria.com

Literacy Begins at Home very day, we send our kids off to school hoping they will learn something—anything—and develop into knowledgeable successful adults. And while we deal with the daily details of that thing called life, we sometimes forget to encourage learning at home.

Parents are a child’s first teacher. Even after kids have started school, there are still many opportunities for learning as a family. Kids look up to their parents and mimic many of the daily routines. Spending just 15 minutes a day engaged in a learning activity with them can go a long way to help children develop a love of learning and improve their literacy skills.

In honour of Family Literacy Day, happening across Canada on January 27, here are some fun activities for your family to do at home to make learning fun for everyone: • Establish a night to enjoy activities such as puzzles, crosswords or board games.

Switching the activity each week keeps the enjoyment level high.

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• The brain is like a muscle—if you don’t use it, you lose it. Getting active can help strengthen the mind, so play hide-and-seek, tag or catch outside with your children.

• Use your imaginations by creating stories together. You lead with the first sentence and then go back and forth building on the story. Your child uses their imagination and creativity while together you create a living story. Do this while completing chores to help time pass faster.

• Together, act out the family’s favourite book by reading a page together and then acting out what was written. If the kids have friends over, they can engage in this activity and then put a play on for their parents when they are picked up.

• Still waiting for the lasagna to cook in the oven? Read together while you wait.

Pick up a book, magazine or newspaper and open up a world of possibilities.

All of these activities can be done after dinner, outside in the backyard or before you go to bed. By the time they’re done, you’ll be surprised how short 15 minutes really is.

Spending time doing learning activities at home is crucial. Practicing these activities will help develop a love of learning for both parents and children, and help to develop important literacy skills.

While we may not think of it, most of the time spent at home can be seen as a learning activity between you and your child. Even time spent doing the dishes, eating dinner or having a bath can all have a focus on learning without you or your kids noticing.

For more information, including literacy tips and activities and event listings, please visit www.FamilyLiteracyDay.ca.

Reading Writing Math We can help.

Find out how your child is doing academically with an assessment.

New Sooke location! Tuesdays and Thursdays at Edward Milne.

Affordable fees and tuition assistance for low-income households.

Four locations: Quadra at Hillside; Colwood; Sooke; Sidney.

250-388-7225 www.readsociety.bc.ca

35th Anniversary and Family Literacy Day Game-a-thon Jan 28 at Government House.

Call for a free pass (limited numbers available).

WINTER 2012 PROGRAMS

REGISTER ONLINE NOW!

• SPORTBALL JUNIOR (16-24mos) • PARENT & CHILD/ME & MY DAD (2-4yrs) • MULTI-SPORT (4-7yrs) • SPORTBALL FITKIDS (6-12yrs) • HOLIDAY CLINICS (2-10yrs) • BIRTHDAY PARTIES (2-12yrs) • AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS (5-10yrs) • Soccer • Hockey • Football • Volleyball • Baseball • Basketball • Tennis • Golf •

van.island@sportball.ca www.IslandParent.ca

www.sportball.ca

250.590.4625 January 2012

15

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nkeys hourly While you shop, Mall Mo ins your erta drop-in fun centre ent old with rs yea 11 to 3 d children age es, gam s, the newest popular toy , size cer dan s, zle puz , dolls, trains re. mo movement activities and or just read Kids can do crafts, paint The Wii le. a book in the quiet circ and the er, rac e Pric er games, Fish sure to be trampoline bouncer are a hit with all the kids.

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Island Parent Magazine

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WOW! Explore Horne Lake

Jamie Adkins Circus Incognitus Sunday, February 12, 2012 - 7:00pm

WINTER/SPRING • New Cave Open for Self-guiders!

• 3 hr. “Wet & Wild” Cave Tour • Lakefront Camping $10/nt.

• Canoe/Kayak Rentals • Hotel & Resort Packages

1-888-285-PARK (7275) online reservations:

www.hornelake.com

GET WINTER ACTIVE!

As a featured soloist in Cirque de Soleil and Montréal’s Cirque Éloize, Jamie Adkins reminds us all why it’s great to be young at heart. Through a balance of humour, poise, and extraordinary circus skills, kids of all ages will enjoy this unforge able oneman circus comedy.

Tickets Members

$36 $31 $5

250.754 .8550 www.porttheatre.com …for programs, activities and events for everyone!

250-245-6424 www.ladysmith.ca

www.IslandParent.ca

January 2012

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Winter Programs rom art classes to wellness programs— and everything in between—our community offers an array of programs, resources and services for families. To find out what’s available, read on. (For more details on the following listings, please refer to the ads in this issue of Island Parent).

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ART 4Cats is a professional arts studio for artists ages 2-15. 4Cats kids take inspiration from the works of famous artists and create imaginative works using professionalquality art materials, including acrylics on canvas, palette knives, and pottery wheels.

Highly trained 4Cats curators are dedicated to cultivating the child’s natural ability to see and think like an artist. Curators tell captivating and inspiring stories about the life and work of the artist being introduced.

4Cats offers Artist of the Month classes, birthday parties, workshops, camps and more. www.4Cats.com.

Artistic Statement Gallery & School of Fine Art offers fun and educational courses in drawing, painting, sculpture and cartooning for children and adults. Emphasis is placed on technique and everyone works at their own level. Class size is kept to a maximum of 7 to allow for individual instruction.

Portfolio preparation is offered for college or university entrance for qualification in a variety of degree programs, with an acceptance rate of 95 per cent. Call Joan at 250-383-0566. Below the Oak Bay Bistro at 107-2250 Oak Bay Avenue. www.artisticstatementgalleryandschool.com.

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Island Parent Magazine

The Arts Centre at Cedar Hill offers art classes and drop-ins throughout the day, after school, and on weekends. Art Adventures is for children. There are home-school classes and classes for moms and babes, too.

Pottery classes for all ages, including Teen Pottery in the afternoon, starts January 20. Beginners are welcome. Adults explore acrylics, creative watercolours, Drawing for Sculpture and felt making. Call Cedar Hill Recreation Centre today for details on classes and to register, 250-475-7121.

DANCE/DRAMA/ PERFORMING ART Dansko Studio’s open house is on February 5 from 1-3pm. Bring the family for a day of fun at our dance studios. Have your child jump in on a fun preschool dance class with ribbons, scarves and crazy costumes. There will be fabulous ongoing performances by our performing Dansko dancers, class demonstrations in jazz, ballet, tap, breakdance, modern, contemporary, and musical theatre.

Face painting and refreshments will be offered in our large lobby. Let us entertain you! 4814 West Saanich Road.

Kate Rubin Theatre & Drama Studio offers quality dramatic programing for young people 5-18 years and adults. Classes, workshops and individual coaching occur throughout the year. Specialized programs for home-learners and advanced performance programs for teens. Professional, experienced, and supportive learning environment. Benefits include improved acting

skills, confidence, creative thinking, public speaking, creative collaboration, and versatility in physical, vocal and emotional expression. 250-386-8593. www.katerubintheatre.com. katerubin@telus.net.

Lighthouse Academy of Dance provides a pure, pleasing, positive experience for leisure and serious students from 2-102.

Classes in ballet, modern theatre dance, jazz and lyrical, tap, creative dance and musical theatre (song & dance) are taught by qualified and experienced professionals. Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) and ISTD exam courses are available. We also offer parties for adults and children, and private lessons. Former students are now professional performers and teachers.

Royal Roads and Blanshard Street locations. www.lighthouseacademyofdance.com.

Step into the frame at The Screen Actors Studio. Taught by working actors and filmmakers, The Young Actors Conservatory offers programs for the absolute beginner through to intermediate/advanced levels.

Students can learn on-camera acting and auditioning skills and what it means to be a working actor. It develops confidence and communication skills in the young person and allows them to explore their potential in a safe and encouraging environment. Studio programs and information can be found on our website: www.screenactors.ca.

Since 1980, STAGES Performing Arts School has offered professional instruction in jazz, ballet, lyrical, tap, musical theatre and hip hop for all ages and levels of experience, preschool to professional.

It is our goal to promote self-confidence, self-esteem and fulfillment in each student.

We believe that all students should have an equal opportunity to learn in a safe, non-competitive environment which fosters self-expression, a healthy body, confidence and encourages responsibility, discipline,

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inspiration, creativity and pride in their accomplishments. For more information, please call STAGES at 250-384-3267 or visit www.stagesdance.com.

GYMNASTICS Victoria Gymnastics continues to provide Greater Victoria with gymnastics instruction that is safe, well-structured and, most importantly, fun. Our 7,200 sq. ft. facility, which is naturally lighted and acoustically insulated, provides a learning environment that will allow children to maximize their potential as they move through our non-competitive skills development program structure.

Boys and girls ages 2-17, beginner through advanced, all benefit from the strength and flexibility that gymnastics develops. Visit www.victoriagymnastics.com.

MID-ISLAND Looking for a great Winter Adventure?

Head on up to Horne Lake Provincial Park for a day trip you won’t soon forget! Voted one of the “Top 25 Things To Do In Winter”

by Westworld Magazine, the 3 hr. “Wet & Wild” Spelunking Tour is an excellent way to shake out the holiday cobwebs. See underground rivers and waterfalls along with some amazing fossils and crystal formations!

Helmets, lights and maps are also available for those adventurous enough to try cave exploring on their own! For those that prefer adventures above ground, visitors can hike the trails or rent a canoe or kayak to paddle the crystal clear waters framed by the spectacular limestone cliffs surrounding Horne Lake. Reservations mandatory – online at www.hornelake.com or by phone at (250) 248-7829.

Be active this winter with Ladysmith Parks, Recreation & Culture. Check out the Ladysmith Winter 2012 Leisure Guide for special events, programs and activities to keep you

happy, healthy and fit. Opportunities include leisure swims and lessons, aquatic training, and a fully-staffed fitness centre suitable for all levels. Join the first and fastest special event of the year at the 23rd Annual Polar Bear Swim at Transfer Beach, 11am January 1, and watch for other activities and out-trips for all ages throughout the winter.

Registration information at 250-245-6424 or www.ladysmith.ca.

Mall Monkeys Drop-in Fun Centre is a safe, hourly drop-in child-minding service benefiting Woodgrove Centre shoppers and their children. Mall Monkeys entertains children aged 3-11 years old for 2 hours maximum with exciting age appropriate activities and the newest popular toys. Kids can do crafts, paint, read a book, watch a movie, play a Wii game, dance, or bounce on the trampoline. Check out www.mallmonkeys. ca for more information.

Preschool programs at The Society of Organized Services. “My favourite time of the week!” says one mom about the preschool programs at the Society of Organized Services. It’s a place for parents and caregivers to enjoy time with their preschoolers and connect with other caregivers in a fun, supportive environment. These free drop-in programs run Tuesday to Friday mornings, 9:15-11:15. For more information, please call 250-248-2093, drop by 245 West Hirst Avenue in Parksville, or visit www. sosd69.com.

MUSIC Guitar in Motion is a small local outfit bringing lessons right to your door. No more worries about drop-offs and pick-ups, or bringing the other kids along in tow. We show up, teach, and leave… it’s that simple!

A great service for adults wanting to learn, too. Lessons are available to all age groups, at all levels, in a wide range of styles. Call

Steve to see when we’re in your area. Special introductory rate for home-schoolers. 250217-2316. www.guitarinmotion.com.

The Tom Lee Music Learning Centre at Millstream Village offers lessons for all ages in piano, guitar, keyboard, bass, drums, voice, theory, strings, brass and woodwinds.

Learning to play music is a life-changing skill that is also great fun. From the hobbyist to the advanced student, we strive to make music education accessible and enjoyable with a sense of accomplishment at every level. Please call 250-383-5222 for more information.

Considering music lessons for yourself or your child? Start the new year off right and enrol at the Victoria Conservatory of Music.

Our students are of all ages and at every level of achievement—from pre-beginners, to teenagers, to emerging professionals, to adult amateurs. Now is a great time to register for fun group classes, individual lessons, and enriched children’s music programs with dedicated professional instructors. To learn more, call 250-386-5311 or visit vcm.bc.ca.

Viva Youth Choirs have been operating since 1988 and are under the artistic direction of Nicholas Fairbank. The organization empowers youth through music by providing excellence in choral education, exciting performance opportunities, and skilled teachers sharing their passion for singing. Viva believes every child can sing.

Membership is open to all children between the ages of 7 and 17. For more information, email viva@vivachoirs.ca, phone 250-4722655, or visit www.vivachoirs.ca.

PARENT EDUCATION/ PROGRAMS LIFE Seminar Parenting Programs offer various courses. Sidestepping the Power Struggle looks at behaviour and discipline

Want to find the perfect family home?

Check out my Parent to Parent webpage at www.BriarHillGroup.com Let me find you the home that best suits your family!

As a mother with two small children, I understand your family housing needs

Give me a call at 250-744-0775

JANE JOHNSTON, M.Ed. www.IslandParent.ca

January 2012

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children’s boutique

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Be your own boss by partnering with a well established business.

For details and information call Upane @ 778-990-6228 or email upane@scallywags-island.com

The Bay Centre, Victoria Broadmead Village, Saanich www.scallywags-island.com

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20

Island Parent Magazine

and giving responsibility over to our children. The Parent Child Connection takes a deeper look at understanding and living in families. Check out lifeseminars.com for a complete view of courses, books, individual phone coaching and many articles.

Mothering Touch Centre. Feeling blue after the excitement of December? Cold dreary weather trapping you at home with your baby? Exercise and community are two of the best ways to beat the winter blues and the baby blues, too. Our Post-natal Mommyand-Baby yoga and fitness classes, our baby groups, and our Baby Massage and Sing and Sign classes are great ways to create a new social life for your new self as a mom or dad. 975 Fort Street. 250-595-4905.

RECREATION This winter, the City of Victoria Recreation Services is offering a range of programs for just you or for your entire family. Sign up for swimming lessons, Spring Break Camp, or try outrigger canoeing. Hire a personal trainer or take an aquafit class. Arena programs are ongoing at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre with lessons for all levels as well as a range of public skating sessions.

Call 250-361-0732 for arena information.

You can find more information on program registration and schedules for all our services on our website at www.victoria.ca/recservices, or by calling 250-361-0732.

Gordon Head Recreation Centre. Facility highlights include our dance/fitness studio, weight room, multi-purpose spaces, wellness annex, dedicated preschool space and more. If you’re looking for a quality preschool experience, we still have space available in our very popular Exploring our World Preschool. Register by the day for our variety morning program or for one of our special theme programs (music, French, or sport) in the afternoon. For information, visit www.saanich.ca/parkrec.

See you soon.

GR Pearkes Recreation Centre partners with Colquitz School, Saanich Neighbourhood Place, the Centennial Public Library, Tillicum Centre and others. The facility houses a huge trade show facility, two ice rinks, classrooms, dance studio, weight room, and a teen lounge. We offer classes in dance, skating, woodworking, preschool, spin and aerobics. Come for a visit at 3100 Tillicum Road behind Tillicum Mall. Lots of free parking, or we are bus routes #21, #22, and #26. For information, visit www. saanich.ca/parkrec.

Winter fun for everyone! As the season grows chilly, bundle up and join us at Juan de Fuca Recreation Centre and Centennial Centre for fun-filled and diverse programs for all ages. West Shore Parks & Recreation offers loads of options from art classes to skating lessons, from dance programs to cooking, and great options for parents to work on those New Year’s resolutions. Visit www. westshorerecreation.ca or call 250-4788384 for more information. For up to date information, find us on Facebook at www. facebook.com/westshorerecreation.

Recreation Oak Bay. Whether you dip into pre- or post-natal aquafit or drop in to kindergym, sign up for sports classes or celebrate your birthday at Carnarvon Park, you’ll have the time of your life at Recreation Oak Bay. Find the right fit for your family at www.recreation.oakbay.ca or call 250-595-SWIM. Saanich Commonwealth Place offers parent and tot, as well as preschool programs ranging from dance, karate, music, art and soccer. There are some fantastic new preschool programs that you need to check out including: Fun with Spanish, Stepping up to Kindergarten, and Intro to ABC123’s. Mark your calendar—registration for our very popular Kiddie Capers Preschool (September-June, 2013) starts Saturday, February 18 at 8am—in person only.

Sportball helps children develop physically, mentally and socially through a curriculum designed to reinforce self-confidence, free from the pressure of competition.

Working with children aged 16 months to 12 years in a high-energy, fun-filled curriculum, Sportball provides the basic concepts and skills behind eight popular ball sports.

Programs are carefully designed to focus on the development of balance, strength, coordination, stamina and timing through professional instruction and positive encouragement, using customized equipment.

For more information, check out our website at www.sportball.ca, call 250-590-4625, or email van.island@sportball.ca.

SCIENCE & NATURE Spice up winter at your school with our fun science program! Mad ScienceÂŽ Vancouver Island offers a series of six weekly science lessons, where we immerse children in a hands-on environment of exploration, fun and learning. Children have a chance to experiment and build their own take-home science toy. Check the variety of programs with fun science content, such as our birth-

www.kidsinvictoria.com

day parities, shows and camps. Book on-line any time at www.madscience.org/vancouverisland or call 1-888-954-6237 for more information.

Family programing returns to the Maritime Museum of BC. Experience Salty Sundays, your chance to explore the museum with fun and adventure through stories, games and crafts. Free with admission, begins January 15. Discover our new exhibit What Lies Beneath: The Past, Present and Future of Underwater Exploration, opening January 12. Pro-D Day Family drop-in is on February 17. Visit www.mmbc.bc.ca or like us on Facebook for all the details on our upcoming events.

OTHER Kidproof is the #1 provider of proactive, preventative child safety education in North America. Kidproof was formed in 2000 by Samantha Wilson, a former police officer and internationally recognized expert in child and family safety. As a cop, Samantha received fantastic, informative, cutting-edge child safety information that was only being shared by law enforcement and other helping agencies. The information was not “top secret” but had no way of reaching those who needed it most - the kids. So she formed Kidproof to do just that. Vancouver Island courses are scheduled for 2012 in all communities! For more information, go to kidproofcanada.com.

Girl Guides of Canada – Guides du Canada (GGC) is a safe, accepting environment with diverse and exciting programs and activities that offer girls the chance to learn, grow and discover through age-appropriate programming. From sports, camping and science to eco-activities and community projects, Guiding’s girl-centred programming has something for everyone. For local information, contact svigirlguides@uniserve.com.

La Place French offers French learning programs for kids to enjoy exploring a new language. Classes for toddlers provide an early exposure to French through song, rhymes, crafts and stories. Classes for preschoolers offer excellent kindergarten readiness skills for children entering French Immersion. Instructors provide the accompanying parents lots of tips and activities to further develop a love for French at home. La Place French also offers after-school classes, spring and summer camps, workshops and birthday parties. For more information, visit www. laplacefrench.com, call 250-884-8485 or email info@laplacefrench.com.•

www.IslandParent.ca

Recreation Oak Bay

2012 Youth Annual Pass Give a Gift of Activity!

Give a Gift of Health!

Special! only

$

99

Regular price: $250 Buy before March 31, 2012 Ages 6 - 18 years

Oak Bay Recreation Centre 250-595-7946 Henderson Recreation Centre 250-370-7200

Winter Lessons starting. Call Today!

www.recreation.oakbay.ca

January 2012

21

Melissa Michele Phillips

West Shore Parks & Recreation

WINTER A Child in China

PROGRAMS

Spend the winter with us!

Register Today!

250-478-8384

www.westshorerecreation.ca 22

Island Parent Magazine

nce you relax, your baby will relax,” the stranger said after I asked him if he had heard my baby during the night, as his hostel room was beside ours in Beijing. We had just arrived the day before and Raphael, 15 months at the time, was having a hard time adjusting. It was our first time out of Canada with him. I nodded at the man and asked him about his trip. As he told me about his hectic journey to the Great Wall another traveler popped open her door to interrupt him with a question. I stood listening to them talk for a few minutes, feeling awkward. I knew I was not a part of the conversation any more.

I remembered what it was like being that type of traveler: visiting attractions and seeing as much as one could see. Now as a parent traveling I have learned that it’s not about collecting museum exhibit maps or stories from a strenuous trek, but it is about enjoying the moment while getting to know a different country.

China is a fascinating place, a country that has cameras everywhere. Whenever you enter a subway station you have to put your bags through an x-ray machine with bored guards standing watch. It is a country that seems always under construction with sidewalks edged with newly planted trees propped up by posts and fed plant food intravenously. It is a country with the oil rigs haphazardly placed within Buddhist monastery grounds. It is a country with people like the Buddhist nun who offered an apple to Raphael, who then held the apple up to his Mommy with the most beautiful smile I had seen on his face for a long time.

At naptime the next day, after a sleepless night at the hostel, I was lying beside Raphael in the dark hostel room and thought about what the stranger had said: “Once you relax, your baby will relax.” I laughed to myself for it was such a simple statement—one I have had to learn over and over again. While Raphael slept, I got out of bed and began to do some yoga. I felt such peace listening to our sound machine humming and Raphael breathing. For a moment I thought that I wanted to be outside with my husband and brother-in-law as they drank 85-cent beer.

Then I asked myself, “What is the most important thing for me to be doing right now?”

The answer: “Be with my baby.” From that

O

moment on I realized I needed to ask myself that question all of the time. “What is the most important thing for me to be doing right now?” I was not on a trip to visit the sites but to enjoy the moment-to-moment life in China, to just be there with my family.

Before going on the trip I was nervous about breastfeeding in public in China so I thought I would have to stay in or near our hotel room all of the time. A few days before the trip I was downtown in Victoria with Raphael and he wanted to feed. I held him close and started to feed him when a guy I knew walked by. I tried not to make eye contact with him, but failed and he came over to say hi. As Raphael came off there was a little flash of my boob as I quickly tried to cover up. I then realized I was not embarrassed. If I could handle flashing an acquaintance, I didn’t need to worry about a whole country of strangers. So on the trip, when Raphael wanted to nurse, I let him, as quietly as I could, not wanting to make it into a big show.

I was nervous about going away with Raphael not just because of the breastfeeding. As I am normally home with him most of the time, I was concerned that I would not get to enjoy the trip as much as my husband. I thought I would have to be in charge of taking care of Raphael the whole time, with no real breaks.

The first four days Raphael was very clingy. We stayed at a quiet hostel that had a beautiful outside courtyard where he could run around. A few days later he started to feel more comfortable. On the fourth day my husband Chris said he and his brother Jason would take Raphael to the Forbidden City so I could go exploring with my sister-in-law. We ended up staying out past Raphael’s bedtime and by the time I got back, both my husband and son were

www.kidsinvictoria.com

asleep. Earlier, during my night out, I got nervous about being away so I asked myself, “What is the most important thing for me to be doing right now?” The answer: “To be out on my own.”

At that moment I knew I didn’t need to worry about the rest of the trip. I gave up control of looking after Raphael, which allowed him to spend time with his dad and his uncle.

Finding relaxation in every moment was easy if I just let go and let it happen. Best of all, I also realized I can apply what I learned while we were away to my daily life back home.

LIFE Seminars presents

The Parent Child Connection Parenting Children & Teens

This course is beyond the typical information; it will take you deeper, covering boundaries, emtional awareness, communication and the discipline of being a conscious parent.

Wednesday Evenings February 15 to April 11, 2012 March 14 off Spectrum School 7:00 to 9:30

Melissa Michele Phillips enjoys living in the moment and traveling through the adventures of life with her family.

What to take with you: • Something familiar for your baby that will help them sleep: for us that was his sound machine (we brought plug adapters).

• Baby food: it is important to have familiar food for the first while.

• More baby Tylenol or Advil than you think you need (we only took 2 bottles for 20 days, but Raphael was teething. Enough said!).

• General first aid.

• A lot of hand sanitizer (our baby was touching everything and it was important to regularly clean his hands).

• A pillow, especially if still nursing, which is also helpful during flights.

For registration or information on individual coaching go to

with Dr. Allison Rees

lifeseminars.com or call 250-595-2649

What you don’t really need to take: • Too many toys or books as baby will be fascinated by everything else.

• Diapers: they are available in all big cities.

How many bags can you take?

This depends on the airline so you will need to ask. We took 2 carry-ons, 1 pillow, 3 checked bags and a baby carrier. With our airline, the baby ticket permitted 1 baby carrier (checked), 1 luggage (checked) and 1 carry-on.

How much does it cost to take a baby on a flight?

Baby will sit on your lap up until 2 years old and the flight cost is taxes and other tariffs from airports. In the end it was about 40–50 per cent of our adult fares. www.IslandParent.ca

January 2012

23

Party Directory FUNTIME INFLATABLES 250-474-0597 Largest selection of inflatable fun on Vancouver Island ASK ABOUT OUR REFERRAL PROGRAM • 18 bouncy castles to choose from, detachable raincovers available • Obstacle courses • 10 interactive games for youth and adults • Combo bouncers • Carnival games and party packages • Fully insured Professional balloon decorating service now available

New soft serve ice cream truck available for events and ice cream socials

Paint4Splatter4Parties4and

visit our website at

much,4much4more4at44Cats.com!

www.funtimeinflatables.ca

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Birthday Parties! ::

Celebrate your birthday with us!

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Newly Renovated Birthday Party Rooms nÌ

Î s a ry r An ni v e 2 0 1 1 1973–

Our great instructors will treat you to an action packed two hours of fun and fitness in our great facility!

-

• 2 large decorated birthday rooms • Free T-shirt for birthday child, invitations for up to 10 children • The ONLY Inflatable Climbing Mountain with trampoline in town • Party Time now offered for many different groups (schools, daycare centres)

Book Early: 250-479-6424

#208 – 721 Vanalman Ave

(Broadmead & Royal Oak Area)

at Henderson Recreation Centre! /

Call 250-370-7200

Pool, Skate, or Soccer parties at Oak Bay Recreation Centre!

Call 250-595-SWIM (7946)

ÜÜÜ°v> V }Þ >ÃÌ VðV

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Gym & Bouncy Castle, themed parties: creative kids, girl power and preschool parties from Princesses to Pirates!

-

www.recreation.oakbay.ca

HORSE PLAY PARTIES

Let Us Do It For You… • Full service, themed birthday parties & company picnics • Fully insured • School fairs, festivals & events

• Indoor facilities available • Christmas parties & events; Santa visits • Follow us on Facebook

Our Cowgirl Slumber Parties Rock!

Pony Rides, Farm Animals, Facepainting, Games, Hay Rides

COWBOY CAMPOUTS COWGIRL SLUMBER PARTIES FAMILY FARM GETAWAYS A party you’ll never forget!

www.horseplayparties.ca Duncan, BC 250-701-9116 24

Island Parent Magazine

Call

Par-T-Perfect Call

(250)

386-JUMP

(5867)

www.par-t-perfect.com

ACTION-PACKED BIRTHDAY PARTIES Supervised • 2–8 Yrs IT’S ABOUT SKILLS, NOT SCORES. Go to www.sportball.ca for schedules & information Call us: 250 590 4625 Email: van.island@sportball.ca

Mr. Tubbs Ice Cream Parlor & Family Fun Zone • 30 family oriented redemption games • huge prize counter • 2 fully decorated party rooms • foot-long hot dogs • 32 flavors of Island Farms Ice Cream

10% P Off Booarty k if yo ing u in th bring is ad

Open Year Round

@ Western Speedway 2207 Millstream Road 250-590-4369 mrtubbs.com www.kidsinvictoria.com

Party Directory Bring your party of

Bring your Grubs andparty Larvaeof Grubs and Larvae for a for a Bugtastic Adventure Bugtastic Adventure at the Bug Zoo! at the Bug Zoo! Party Room available!

Call for Details: (2847) Party Room384-BUGS Available! or check the website: www.bugzoo.com www.bugzoo.bc.ca

ctoria Gymnastics Birthday Parties Your child and 9 of his or her friends will have an absolute blast at one of our action packed gymnastics parties.

What’s included?

• We supply hats, napkins, table cover, streamers and balloons • Two Certified Instructors • Invitations • Trampoline • Foam Pit Fun • Gymnastics Games • Fun Music • NEW: 40 Foot Long Trampoline!

Saturday & Sunday Afternoons

631 Courtney St. 631 Courtney St 384-BUGS (2847) (Downtown ininNootka (Downtown NootkaCourt) Court)

380-2442 Corner of Store & Pembroke www.victoriagymnastics.com

HASSLE FREE PARTIES

YOU’LL FLIP OVER OUR BIRTHDAY PARTIES * Greater Victoria’s newest, largest and cleanest facility with hassle free parking for you and your guests * * Large private party rooms * * Experienced Qualified Fun Coaches * * 3 Trampolines & 40ft Tumble Trac * * Awesome Foam Pit *

250-383-FLIP

www.lionspridegymnastics.com Located in Langford

for kids & families You provide the space and food…

We’ll provide an hour of fun with puppet shows and play

250 472 3546 www.puppetbooth.homestead.com

ON VICTORIA'S INNER HARBOUR - OPPOSITE THE PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS OPEN DAILY - CONTINUOUS SHOWS

DESCEND BENEATH THE SEA, WATCH THE LIVE DIVE SHOW.

Unforgettable theme parties, girl time packages or just some fun with your friends

ASK ABOUT OUR SPECIAL BIRTHDAY PARTY RATES.

www.pacificunderseagardens.com

3655 Shelbourne Street, Shelbourne Plaza

"%,,%6),,% 342%%4 6)#4/2)! s 0(/.%

250-590-5568 www.lizzyleeandme.com

www.IslandParent.ca

January 2012

25

Nathan Weathington

Where the Heck Were Your Parents? y twin brother Brian and I had a great childhood: our parents loved us, supported us and somehow found the strength to not beat the living mess out of us as we ran feral across rural Georgia (that’s the gravy-n-biscuit eatin’ Georgia, not the country Russia invaded). I can only hope I will be as wise as my parents if my two sons try half the crap we did. My parents gave us freedom most kids today do not have; we could go anywhere and do anything—and usually did it packing heat.

M

With my generation, parenting peer pressure is escalating as we partake in a heated race to prove who can be the most responsible and therefore the safest parent. This trend has led parents to push for playgrounds as exciting as carrots in your Halloween bag.

Where the heck is the zipline?

My parents did their own thing when it came to parenting, mostly my mom’s thing.

Her childhood was less than spectacular, to say the least, so she was determined ours would be better—and man, was it. Her goal was for us to be independent and willing to take risks, and if that meant a few extra fish

26

Island Parent Magazine

www.kidsinvictoria.com

hook accidents, tetanus shots and felonies, then so be it. This philosophy was pushed to the limit when three of the four felonies occurred while we were only 10, two of which involved fireworks.

Fireworks are illegal in the state of Georgia, forbidden fruit. About 10 minutes down the road from our place, conveniently located just over the Alabama state line, stood Firework City, the Holy Grail of gunpowder.

Not being legally able to drive did pose a small problem, but we quickly learned the art of hitchhiking. It is surprising and somehow heartening to me to recall a time when people willingly and unquestioningly picked up 10-year-old boys off the side of the highway and dropped them off at an explosives emporium. Brian and I did clean up pretty well when we wanted something.

We were just two cute, innocent, identical twin boys trying to get across the state line to the legal dynamite store. Our thumbs never broke a sweat and we were never gone long enough for our parents to miss us.

This might seem crazy to kids today who carry Purell in their back pocket. Yes, you read correctly: We hitchhiked to the WalMart of fireworks, shopped unsupervised, spent our own hard-earned money on ex-

plosive devices, and as loyal customers, even received free bricks of Thunderbombs (mini sticks of dynamite) with our purchase.

Maybe I’m too nostalgic, but looking back on my childhood, I love that some safety features weren’t in place yet. For example, sun block had not been invented

yet, or at least my parents had not heard of it. Compare this to today when my two sons are wearing sombreros with mud flaps in the back while having their entire bodies dipped in glue—this despite living in one of the rainiest places on earth. We treat the poor boys like vampires which, contrary to Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight saga, is not all it is cracked up to be.

Were my parents successful in their handsoff approach to parenting? I think so, but the neighbours who were fleeced as part of the Raccoon Removal Scam of 1987 might disagree. I’ve got a couple of degrees and have run some respectable companies, and my brother makes boy-band type money selling medical equipment in the U.S. The one thing I do know is that the combination of smothering parents, the Internet, video games, and reality television guarantees this next crop of kids will be the dullest our planet has ever seen. What are we trying to raise here, veal?

Nathan Weathington is the author of Where the Hell Were Your Parents?, a coming of age true story about what happens when you let your kids run feral. Visit www. nathanweathington.com.

The City of Victoria offers a full slate of learn-to-skate lessons at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre.

Our popular Passport to Skating program gives you options throughout the week to bring your children to skating lessons, ensuring that your child does not miss out on valuable classes and instruction as a result of the busy day-to-day lives of families and the event calendar at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre.

Visit www.victoria.ca/arena for information on skating levels, fees and schedules.

www.IslandParent.ca

January 2012

27

January 2012

Generously Sponsored by

and

Family Calendar For calendar updates throughout the month visit www.kidsinvictoria.com WED 4 Children’s Fun Hour at Hillside Centre. 10am at the Food Court. Free. With special entertainment for preschoolers.

SAT 7 Owl Prowl at Mill Hill Regional Park. Owls are amazing birds! Join CRD Regional Parks guest naturalist David Allinson for this exciting adventure into the dark woods to look for and call in owls. 7-9pm. 8+ years. $7/person + HST. Pre-registration required before January 6. Space is limited. BC Transit #50 or #53.

250-478-3344. www.crd.bc.ca/parks.

SUN 8 Thetis Lake Loop at Thetis Lake Regional Park. Start your New Year off with a hike around the lakes at Thetis while exploring the park’s natural history with a CRD Regional Parks naturalist. Bring a snack or lunch and wear sturdy footwear. Meet at the main Thetis Lake parking lot at 11am. 8+ years. BC Transit #50. 250-478-3344. www.crd.bc.ca/parks.

WED 11 Children’s Fun Hour at Hillside Centre. 10am at the Food Court. Free. With special entertainment for preschoolers.

SAT 14 Manga and Anime Club at Nellie McClung Branch Library. Calling all fans of manga

One great fit

and anime. Join us for a club and connect and share related interests with other fans. Read and discuss manga and anime and participate in activities such as manga-style drawing, Japanese-style crafts, cosplay discussion, the sharing of tips, trivia challenges and more.

For ages 10-18. 2-3:30pm. Register online at www.gvpl.ca or call 250-477-7111.

SUN 15 Family Sunday at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria. Join us in the Gallery for an afternoon of hands-on art making, storytelling and lantern workshops inspired by The Enduring Arts of China. 2-4pm. 250-384-4171 ext. 0.

1040 Moss St.

MON 16 Victoria Children’s Literature Roundtable at Nellie McClung Branch Library. Karen Rivers, who writes for young adults, will tell us about how she found her “dream job” as a writer.

Her most recent novels are What is Real, the XYZ Trilogy, and Barely Hanging On. Doors open at 7pm. Browse the Tall Tales Books table before the meeting at 7:30pm. Everyone welcome. Members free; $5/drop-in; $4/students.

For more information, 250-598-3694.

Stories at Fern. Children’s stories featured in the first hour. All welcome. 7:30-9:30pm.

1831 Fern St. $5; $3/student (includes tea and goodies). 250-477-7044. www.victoriastorytellers.org.

WED 18 Children’s Fun Hour at Hillside Centre. 10am at the Food Court. Free. With special entertainment for preschoolers.

SAT 21 Who’s Hooting at Mill Hill Regional Park.

The owls are hooting. Join a CRD Regional Parks naturalist to learn some owl calls, find out about these excellent night hunters, and get to know our B.C. owls. Meet at the information kiosk in the parking lot off Atkins Ave at 10:30am. All ages. BC Transit #50 or #53.

250-478-3344. www.crd.bc.ca/parks.

SUN 22 Winter Birds of Island View Beach at Island View Beach Regional Park. This is one of the premiere winter birding locations in the region. Join a CRD Regional Parks naturalist to look for hawks, owls, sea ducks, loons and more. Wear warm clothes and bring binoculars if you have them. Meet at the picnic shelter on Homathko Rd, off Island View Rd at 9:30am. 12+ years. 250-478-3344. www. crd.bc.ca/parks.

MON 23 Year of the Dragon at Central Branch Library.

Gung Hay Fat Choy! The beginning of the Chinese New Year takes place on January 23 this year. Welcome in the Year of the Dragon at the library with stories and crafts about dragons. The colour red is associated with

after another Made right, right here.

28

Island Parent Magazine

www.kidsinvictoria.com

happiness and good fortune at Chinese New Year, so find something red to wear for the day. For ages 5-12. 3:30-4:30pm. Register online at www.gvpl.ca or call 250-413-0365 for more information.

TUES 24 Celebrate Family Literacy Week: Baby Signs with Layla at Central Saanich Branch Library.

Program participants will learn the basics of using nonverbal signs with children aged 0-24 months. Benefits of signing with your baby or toddler may include fewer tantrums, greater cognitive and language development, and improved communication. For parents, educators and children ages 0-24 months. 10:3011:30am. Register online at www.gvpl.ca or call 250-652-2013 for more information.

Year of the Dragon at Esquimalt Branch Library. See MON 24 for details. For ages 5-12.

3:30-4:30pm. Register online at www.gvpl.ca or call 250-414-7198 for more information.

WED 25 Children’s Fun Hour at Hillside Centre. 10am at the Food Court. Free. With special entertainment for preschoolers.

Celebrate Family Literacy Week: Baby Signs with Layla at Emily Carr Branch Library. See TUES 24 for details. For parents, educators and children ages 0-24 months. 10:30-11:30am.

Register online at www.gvpl.ca or call 250652-2013 for more information.

Chess in the Library at Juan de Fuca Branch Library. Do you enjoy playing chess but have nobody to play against? Then come on down to the library. Members will gather each week to play casual chess. Many people know the rules of chess but have never had the opportunity to play a real game. This program intends to encourage and enhance the opportunities available for these players. Players of all strengths are welcome to come and play; chess sets are provided. For ages 8-18. 6:30-7:45pm.

Register online at www.gvpl.ca or call 250391-0653 for more information.

FRI 27 Story Club at Central Branch Library. Listen to stories, talk about your favourite books, and enjoy fun activities. Snacks included. This club is for kids who love stories, regardless of reading ability. Ages 5-8. 3:30-4:30pm. Register online at www.gvpl.ca or call 250-413-0365.

Lego at the Library at Bruce Hutchison Branch Library. If you like stories and building with Lego, join us for a storytime that’s sure to put a smile on your face. We’ll supply the Lego, and you can use your imagination to construct your own creation that we’ll display. For a project that you can take home, please bring your own Lego. Ages 6-10. 3:30-4:30pm. Register online at www.gvpl.ca or call 250-727-0104.

Fourth Friday Book Club at Juan de Fuca Branch Library. Join Devon to discuss great books, make new friends, and enjoy snacks.

Club members should read the book The Nine Lives of Travis Keating by Jill McLean for the first meeting. We will vote on what to read next at the January meeting. For ages 9-12. 3:304:30pm. Register online at www.gvpl.ca or call 250-391-0653 for more information.

SAT 28 Durrance Lake Loop at Mount Work Regional Park. Join a CRD Regional Parks naturalist for a hike around this picturesque lake to explore its many inhabitants. Meet in the Durrance Lake parking lot off Durrance Close, off Willis Point Rd at 1pm. 8+ years. 250-478-3344. www.crd.bc.ca/parks.

Tween Lego Competition at Juan de Fuca Branch Library. Bring your Lego sets for an all out Lego building competition at the library.

You will have one hour to build your craziest, coolest and most creative construction.

At the end of the hour, the constructions will be judged by library staff. Not interested in competing? Bring your Lego to build, use our Lego, or play Lego Wii games. For ages 10-12.

2-3:30pm. Register online at www.gvpl.ca or call 250-391-0653 for more information.

Celebrate Family Literacy Week: Family Tabletop Games Afternoon at Central Branch

Library. Playing tabletop games is a great way to connect with your family—and it’s a lot of fun, too. Bring your family to the library for an afternoon of board- and card-game play with other families. New and old favourites will be on hand, including Harry Potter Clue, Tsuro, Frog Juice, and Traverse. We’ll supply the games, but you’re welcome to bring your own, too. For ages 5-12 and their parent or caregiver.

2-4pm. Register online at www.gvpl.ca or call 250-413-0365 for more information.

Manga and Anime Club at Nellie McClung Branch Library. See SAT 14 for details. For ages 10-18. 2-3:30pm. Register online at www. gvpl.ca or call 250-477-7111.

SUN 29 Ha-bat-itat at Francis/King Regional Park.

This guided walk with a CRD Regional Parks naturalist will help dispel fear and misinformation about these fascinating flying mammals.

Meet at Francis/King Nature Centre off Munn Rd at 1pm. All ages. 250-478-3344. www. crd.bc.ca/parks.

MON 30 Who Gives a Hoot at Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary. Who glides silently, can turn their head almost completely around, and can cough up a wicked hairball—who-whowho? Drop-in any time between noon-3pm as we explore a wonderful world of owls through games, stories, crafts and hands-on exploration. Admission by donation. Owl pel-

Fresh air, exercise & good nutrition Steak Salad with Marinated Mushrooms

Vancouver Island was made for those leading a healthy, active lifestyle.

Make good nutrition easy - visit thriftyfoods.com for delicious & healthy recipes like this!

www.IslandParent.ca

January 2012

29

let dissection activity $5. 3873 Swan Lake Rd. 250-479-0211. www.swanlake.bc.ca.

ONGOING BABIES, TODDLERS & PRESCHOOL Parent/Tot Drop-in at Gordon Head United Church. A safe place where young children can play while parents in the community connect with each other. Lots of space and toys. Tea or coffee is available for caregivers, and a healthy snack for the children. Parents are responsible for the care of their own children. Mondays 10am-noon. For more information, call the church office at 250-477-4142 or Maisie at 250-477-0388.

Kindergym at Burnside Campus Gym. Halfhour of free play using child sized sports equipment, balls, hoops, climbers and slides.

Following free play is 15 minutes of organized game or physical activity based on LEAP/HOP and then 15 minutes of circle time. For toddlers (walking) to 5 years, their parents and caregivers. Drop-in program; parents do not need to register to attend. Tuesdays 9:30-10:30am.

250-388-5251. www.burnsidegorge.ca.

Parent Tot Drop-in at the Burnside Gorge Family Centre. Come and enjoy a nutritious snack (coffee and tea for the parents) and free play and time to socialize in the family centre. We have lots of toys, books, dress-up

clothes, puzzles and more. For infants birth to 5 years and their parent/caregivers. Parent participation required. Free. Tuesdays & Wednesdays, 10:30am-noon and Thursdays 6-7pm. 471 Cecelia Rd. 250-388-5251. www. burnsidegorge.ca.

Toddler Art at the Burnside Gorge Family Centre. Come and get creative in the family centre. Crafts are designed specifically for toddlers and preschoolers. We provide the supplies, smocks and lots of soapâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;your child provides the creativity. Parent participation is required. Wednesdays 9:30-10:30am. For toddlers up to age 5 and their parents/caregivers. $2/family. 471 Cecelia Rd. 250-388-5251. www.burnsidegorge.ca.

Good Morning Rhyme Time at Sidney Branch Library. Bring your littlest ones to the library on Thursday mornings for songs, rhymes and stories. We meet in the Nell Horth Room. Stay for refreshments and some social time afterwards.

Ages 0-5. 10:15-10:45am, January 19-February 23. To register, call 250-656-0944.

CHILDREN Family Literacy Week at the Greater Victoria Public Library. At GVPL, we will celebrate family literacy for a whole week from January 23-29 with special storytimes and other great programs. For more information, check out the IPM Note in this issue. www.gvplc. a/interests/parents-educators.

Sea-Shirt Sundays at the Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre. On the first Sunday of each month, create your own fish fashion. Be sure to bring a pillow case, cloth bag or t-shirt (or purchase a t-shirt from the centre) and your creativity. $2 donation for fabric paint. 1-4pm.

250-665-7511.

YOUTH Advance Reading Copy (ARC) Club at the Greater Victoria Public Library. Be the first to get all the new books. Get an exclusive copy of a book before it comes out in stores or hits the library shelves. Review it online and you get to keep the free book. For ages 13-18. For information contact teens@gvpl.ca.

Stellar Book Review Contest at the Greater Victoria Public Library. We want your Stellar nominee book reviews. Review a book from the 2011/2012 Stellar Book Award nominee list and you could win a prize. Submit your reviews

by April 30 and let us know about it using our online review form. See gvpl.ca/interests/teens for the list of books to consider and all the nitty gritty details. To learn more about the Stellar Book Award, see www.stellaraward.ca. For ages 13-18. For more information, contact teens@gvpl.ca.

Youth Advisory Council (YAC) at the Saanich Centennial Branch Library. Have your voice heard! Teens looking for an interesting volunteer opportunity are invited to join the GVPL

Open House Friday, February 17, 2012 9am-12pm and 1pm-3pm 1080 Lucas Avenue St. Margaretâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s School provides an exceptional education for girls from preschool to Grade 12.

Come experience our school and discover everything we have to offer.

Her journey starts here. w w w.st m a r g.c a | (250) 479-7171 30

Island Parent Magazine

www.kidsinvictoria.com

YAC. Work on special library projects, meet other teens, have fun, boost your resume, and earn volunteer hours. Oh, and eat snacks, too.

Please complete the YAC Referral Form. For ages 13-18. Begins January 7 and continues on the first Saturday of each month until May, 4-5pm. Register online at www.gvpl.ca or call 250-477-9030 for more information.

Toastmasters Youth Leadership at Saanich Centennial Branch Library. Think of successful leaders you know. They have one trait in commonâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the ability to communicate effectively. Sponsored and conducted by Toastmasters International and its local clubs, Youth Leadership helps young people build their communication and leadership skills so they may become tomorrowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leaders. The programâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unique 8-session workshop enables participants to develop this potential through practical experience. For ages 12-17. January 21-March 10, 2-4pm. Register online at www.gvpl.ca or call 250-477-9030 for more information.

Friday Night Drop-In Night at â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Sceneâ&#x20AC;?

Youth Centre. Come and register for a planned activity with old and new friends. Bring your ideas, and we will help you carry them out.

6:30-9pm. Free. For more info email youthrecbgca@shaw.ca or call 250-388-5251 ext. 254.

471 Cecelia Rd.

2EADY 3ET ,EARN

/PEN (OUSE

INTRODUCE

YOURSELF 0ARENTS AND PRESCHOOLERS YEARS AND UP ARE INVITED TO VISIT THEIR NEIGHBOURHOOD SCHOOL Tour the school.

Participate in fun, hands-on learning activities.

Learn ways to help your child get a great start for kindergarten.

*OIN US AT THE SCHOOL NEAR YOU 7E CAN T WAIT TO MEET YOU 4UESDAY *ANUARY PM Cordova Bay Elementary â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 250.658.5315 Lochside Elementary â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 250.658.5238 Prospect Lake Elementary â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 250.727.3314

7EDNESDAY *ANUARY PM Sidney Elementary â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 250.656.3958 KELSET Elementary â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 250.655.4648 Deep Cove Elementary â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 250.656.7254 Keating Elementary â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 250.652.9261 Brentwood Elementary â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 250.652.3996

FAMILIES Festival of Eagles at the Goldstream Nature House. Amazing eagle viewing, scavenger hunts, eagle crafts and more. Open daily 9am-4pm.

Geocaching Adventures with the Geocaching Families of Victoria. Join us at www.meetup. com for details of our upcoming meetups and to RSVP. There is a small annual membership fee to help cover costs.

Winter Session of Parenting Programs @ Boys & Girls Club Services of Greater Victoria.

Parenting Without Power Struggles (PWPS) for parents/stepparents/grandparents/foster parents/caregivers of pre-teens, age 8-12. Parents Together (PT) for parents/stepparents/grand-

%VERY SUCCESS FOR EVERY CHILD www.sd63.bc.ca We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia through the Ministry of Education.

Enter Our Online Contests Every month at Island Parent and Kids In Victoria you can enter to win some great prizes!

Prizes include:

â&#x20AC;˘ Family Getaways

â&#x20AC;˘ Gift Certificates

â&#x20AC;˘ IMAX Passes

â&#x20AC;˘ Books, CDs and More

Enter at www.IslandParent.ca or www.kidsinvictoria.com www.IslandParent.ca

January 2012

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Open Doors by enrolling your child in Full Day English as a Second Language Kindergarten ESL Kindergarten is taught by specialists in primary ESL. To apply to attend, students must be 5 years of age on or before December 31, 2012. They must also be eligible for English as a Second Language assistance.

English as a Second Language Kindergarten is offered subject to minimum enrolment at: Torquay Elementary School 4413 Torquay Drive, 250-477-9511 To inquire about registration, or for more information, contact Treacy Roberts-Johnson, Principal, Torquay or Judy Mas, Coordinator, Languages and Multiculturalism, 250-475-4120, jmas@sd61.bc.ca.

Or attend the OPEN HOUSE Torquay Elementary Thursday, January 19, 2012 • 6:00 – 7:30 pm

parents/foster parents/caregivers of teens, age 13-19. These are education and group support parenting programs that provide a relationship building and strengths-based focus, offered in a respectful, confidential smaller group environment for all participants. Subsidies are available. Possible participants are asked to pre-register as class sizes are limited. Classes start the third week of January. 250-384-9133 ext. 222 or www.bgcvic.org.

Ready to Rent BC offers a free course to help find and keep a rental home. Six-week courses run at different times, days and locations. We help renters identify and deal with any barriers they may have to housing. Includes bus tickets, childminding and a healthy snack. To sign up, call 250-388-7171. readytorentbc.net.

Harmonious Family Singers & Choir. A multi-cultural, inter-generational singing community that welcomes both individuals and family groups. All voices and ages welcome.

First-timers are invited to try a no-audition session any Monday afternoon or evening. For details, www.harmoniousfamilychoir.com or 250-385-SING (7464).

Parent Sports Drop-in at James Bay Community School Centre. Parents need time to have fun and get back in touch with their inner child.

Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursday, 7-9pm. $3.50/person. www.jamesbaycentre.ca.

The Victoria Good News Choir, directed by Louise Rose, welcomes new and returning members to the start of its 2011/12 season.

No auditions and no age requirements. For more information, please phone 250-6581946 or visit www.victoriagoodnewschoir. com. Come sing with us. You’ll have the time of your life!

RODERICK GLANVILLE artistic director

January 15 - MINI MASTERPIECES March 4 - THE WIZARD OF OZ

ALL FOR ONE GREAT PRICE For Tickets & Subscriptions Contact The McPherson Box Office

250.386.6121

February 19 - HANSEL & GRETEL

April 15 - THE THREE MUSKETEERS

Weekly Bird Walk at Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary (meet in the parking lot). Every Wednesday and Sunday noon-3pm.

Metchosin School Museum is open Saturdays 1:30-4:30pm and Sundays 11am-4:30pm.

An original, one-room school house built in 1871, it is set up as a classroom with old wooden desks. Families can enjoy perusing the hundreds of artifacts on display. Free. 4475 Happy Valley Rd. Hillside Partners with Women in Need. Pick up a complimentary Women in Need (WIN) clothing bag at Customer Service and fill it with your gently worn clothing or fashion accessories. At your convenience, return your WIN bag to Hillside Customer Service. As a proud supporter of WIN, Hillside offers this donation service 365 days of the year.

Genealogy in the Classroom is a web-based resource filled with student activities, teacher notes, charts and forms that can be used online or downloaded and printed. Free. www. victoriags.org/school.•

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Island Parent Magazine

www.kidsinvictoria.com

Around the Island Visit www.IslandParent.ca for these and other events and resources for families from Cowichan Valley north to Campbell River and west to Tofino TUES 3 Glow in the Dark Skate at Frank Crane Arena.

Skate in our atmosphere of dimmed lighting and special effects. 6:30-8pm. Regular admission rates. Glow necklaces $2. 250-756-5200.

SUN 15 Winnie the Pooh Family Fun Swim at Ravensong Aquatic Centre. Bring your preschoolers for games and fun centered on everyone’s favourite, Winnie the Pooh. 10am-noon. Regular family swim admission. 250-752-5014.

Welcome Wagon Baby Shower at Beban Park Recreation Centre. Special nursery displays and demonstrations on nursing tips. A comfortable and inspiring environment for parents-tobe. Noon-2pm. Free. Registration preferred.

Contact Maryanna at 250-751-1956 or at www.welcomewagon.ca.

TUES 17 Glow in the Dark Skate at Frank Crane Arena.

Skate in our atmosphere of dimmed lighting and special effects. 6:30-8pm. Regular admission rates. Glow necklaces $2. 250-756-5200.

Benny’s Buddies Drop-in & Play Group at Woodgrove Centre, Nanaimo. For children under five. Tuesdays near the food court. 9:3010:30am. www.woodgrovecentre.com.

Family Frolics at Frank Jameson Community Centre in Ladysmith. Bring your parent or caregiver for open gym fun during this drop-in family fun hour. Soft toys, mini-trampoline, ride-on toys, hula hoops and more. For children 1-6. Tuesdays 5:45-6:45pm until the end of March. $1/child. 250-245-6424.

CHILDREN Parent & Child Hockey at Cliff McNabb Arena, Nanaimo. A fun, non-competitive hockey time for children where their parents can play too. Please bring your own gloves, stick and helmet with face cage. Pre-registration required.

Sun 2:15-3pm. $4. 250-756-5200.

YOUTH Spare Blox Youth Drop-in in Nanaimo is the ultimate place to be. This is a supervised space

to hang out and chill. Open to those 12-17, it offers gym activities, video games, movies, foosball, air hockey and much more. Free, but you must register. 7-9pm. Mondays, Nanaimo District Secondary School; Tuesdays, Oliver Woods Community Centre; Wednesdays, John Barsby Community School. 250-756-5200.

Rec Room at Frank Jameson Community Centre. Play pool, ping-pong, air hockey, foosball, surf the net, watch TV or listen to music. Tuesdays 3-6pm feature interactive events and Fridays 6-10pm are drop-in with different activities planned. For 13-18 year olds. 250-245-6424.

FAMILY Free Sewing Classes at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Nanaimo. All skill levels welcome, from beginner to expert. Experienced volunteers are invited to come along to help newbies or just sew in a fun, friendly group. Lots of materials and ideas. For more information, email Val at vfroom@shaw.ca or search Facebook for Nanaimo Sewing Mamas.

6-9pm. 4235 Departure Bay Rd. Free Family Skate at Oceanside Place. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Pond hockey is not available during Family Skate sessions. Free admission and skate rentals.

12:15-1:45pm on Sundays. 250-248-3252.•

MON 23 Girls Nite at Oliver Woods Community Centre. Want to hang out and talk girl stuff? We will cover topics from healthy lifestyles, girls’ fashions and everything else you are into. Come and meet new friends. 9-14 years. 7:30-9pm. $6/person. 250-756-5200.

SAT 28 Winter Carnival on Ice at Oceanside Place.

Carnival games, food and décor, all at the arena. This is definitely skating with an added twist. Try the games and win prizes. Fun for all. Everyone welcome 2-3:30pm. Regular admission. 250-248-3252.

ONGOING PRESCHOOL LaFF at the Aggie is a drop-in family and friends program for children ages 0-6 and their parents, grandparents or caregivers. Play area, free clothing exchange, food programs, free coffee and tea. Monday to Friday, 9:30am-noon. $2 suggested donation (punch cards available).

250-210-0870, laffcoordinator@shaw.ca, www.familyandfriends.ca.

www.IslandParent.ca

January 2012

33

Lighthouse Academy of

Lee Richardson

DANCE

Persistence in Sports he first few times I took my two-yearold son skating he spent about 60 per cent of the time crying. I was always thankful when the hour was over—I’d be tired and running out of ideas on how to make this skate—well, walk—on the ice fun for my crying toddler. At times I wanted to scoop him up in my arms, carry him off the ice and tell him not to worry, that he didn’t have to learn how to skate anyway. The truth is, if he didn’t skate it would break my heart.

I love hockey and I play as often as I can.

My son seemed to like hockey, too, but the skates and cold ice made learning to skate a negative experience.

To make things worse, one day as we were standing by the Zamboni door, the buzzer went, startling my toddler. Then BANG! The metal door opened, making a terrible sound.

My son burst into tears and started shrieking.

That day was the beginning of an uphill battle for my son to put on skates, a battle that lasted about four months. We would go to the rink and wrestle the skates on, and then he would cry either on the ice or looking at the ice during public skate.

At about month two, the crying began to weaken, but he was still reluctant to skate.

At month three, he didn’t cry much, but his reluctance to skate lingered on. At month four, he managed a stride here and there, and then at the beginning of month five, he started to chase me and have fun on the ice. We had many conversations about trying things and being scared and not liking things at first. You can imagine talking about these things with a two-year-old. We also talked about what type of behaviour was inappropriate in public, all life lessons that set the expectations for many activities down the road. Two years later, he was one of the best players on his team and hadn’t stopped playing hockey. Now he plays at home, school and even tries to bring his mini sticks and nets on our vacations.

By telling this story, I am not trying to teach you how to make hockey players out of your children, but there is an important parenting lesson to be learned here. I could have given up on my son learning to skate

Photo: Andrei Fedorov

T

Pure, pleasing, positive.

Beginner – Professional • Boys & Girls • Age 2 – Adult Ballet • Tap • Jazz • Modern • Contemporary • Creative Musical Theatre • RAD & ISTD Exam & Leisure Courses Studio 1: Royal Roads Studio 2: Victoria Blanshard New extra classes added due to popular demand!

REGISTER NOW!

250.595.8705 lighthouseballet@gmail.com www.lighthouseacademyofdance.com

READY, SET, LEARN!!!

All McKenzie families with 3 or 4 year old children are invited to attend an

OPEN HOUSE

at McKenzie Elementary School 4005 Raymond Street N.

Wed, January 25, 2012 10am – Noon

“Kenzie”

Get to know your local school: · School Tour · Meet School Staff · Receive information kit

For more information and to register please call 250-479-1691 WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU!

34

Island Parent Magazine

and taken the path of least resistance, but I believed my son would eventually start to enjoy it. I just needed to get him over that hump; it was hard work on his part and mine, but we persevered and now he has a passion for a healthy activity.

The lesson for me is that children may not understand why they should do something they don’t want to do. Sometimes it is a parent’s job to take them by the hand and guide them, even if it feels more like you are dragging them. In my career working with children and parents, I see parents that give up on their children so easily. I hear “Well, it just isn’t her thing” or “I will let him do it when he is ready” much too often. Parents let their children make choices that should be the parents’ decision. Often it pays off if parents persevere through the struggles they think will lead their children down the right path. This leads to the child being able to start making good decisions for themselves.

If they have witnessed their parents helping them make wise decisions, they will be better equipped to make good decisions for themselves. This eventually leads to a gradual and successful release of responsibility from the parent to the child.

Being active and healthy can be hard work.

If we start our children off on the right path, we will help them make the choices necessary to enjoy an active lifestyle. Be aware that a gradual release of responsibility should occur as children become more aware of how to manage their lives. We as parents have to understand that this process isn’t easy and that we have to help our children learn how to make choices and develop a passion for activities that make them healthy.

To this day, the sound of the Zamboni door opening still makes my son cringe, but he now loves to skate. So the four months of perseverance were worth it—for both of us.

Lee Richardson is a parent and Sportball franchise owner with a BEd from York University and a BSc from Royal Roads.

He can be contacted at leer@sportball.ca or 250-590-4625.

www.kidsinvictoria.com

Jerri Carson

Fun With Composers hildren have a natural love for music.

As parents, we need to provide them with a rich and varied music selection, including classical music. Children have much to gain from listening to the music masters such as Bach and Mozart. Research suggests that listening to classical music can enhance mental activity, boost creativity and increase concentration skills. As well, it can encourage movement, which is important for young children’s motor skills.

There is a collection of classical music that is specifically written for children. One of the most popular pieces is “Peter and the Wolf” by Sergei Prokofiev, a delightful story spoken by a narrator and accompanied by an orchestra. Each character in the story is represented by a different instrument of the orchestra. Peter is a mischievous boy who goes into the woods to find the wolf. On his journey he meets a bird (flute), duck (oboe), cat (clarinet) and the wolf (French horns).

While listening to this piece, encourage your child to draw and colour pictures of the animals as the story and music unfold.

“Carnival of the Animals” by Saint-Saens is another arrangement of orchestral music for children. It is a suite of 14 movements, with each movement representing an animal.

For example, there is the “Royal March of the Lion,” “Hens and Roosters,” “The Elephant” and “Tortoises.” The most famous movement is “The Swan” represented by the cello. Children love to move and dance to the music, pretending to be the animals.

Introduce classical music at any time of the day. In the morning while getting dressed or eating breakfast, play happy music such as Mozart’s “Eine Kleine Nacht Musik.” During a play date with friends, play Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” in the background. At bedtime, play soft, calming melodies such as Schumann’s Kinderszenen No. 7 for piano or Handel’s “Water Music Suite No. 1.”

The soothing music will help prepare your child for the transition from play activities to sleep and rest.

There are many classical selections about toys and other interesting things that

C

children enjoy. If your child likes insects and bugs, they might enjoy “Flight of the Bumblebee” by Rimsky-Korsakov and “The Wasps Overture” by Vaughan Williams. If your child is a toy train enthusiast, Copland’s “Steam Railway Galop” would be a good choice as the music sounds like a train. Children can form a train procession with an engine and caboose. Lots of fun at a birthday party! Another fun piece is Leopold Mozart’s “The Toy Symphony.” It is a cheerful, humourous piece with cuckoo clocks, bird sounds and whistles.

Theatre & Drama Classes • Specialized classes for children 4–12 years • Teen Classes and Performance Programs • Home Learner Drama Program • Private coaching and custom workshops available • Adult classes and coaching • Small class size • Professional teaching staff • Fun, supportive environment • Central location Registering now for Winter/Spring 2012 programs Classes begin Jan 3rd. Gift certificates available.

250-386-8593

845 Fisgard St.

katerubin@telus.net www.katerubintheatre.com

TRANSITION SERVICES FOR FAMILIES

In “The Waltzing Cat,” Leroy Anderson provides light orchestral sounds with the violin sounding like a “meow.” He also composed the “Chicken Reel,” “Hens and Chickens,” and “The Cowboy and his Horse.” All these selections can be found at the public library.

Listening to classical music is an enjoyable and wonderful way to spend time with your child. As you introduce your children to the music masters, they will be listening to composers throughout history. By taking the time to explore classical music, you will be expanding your child’s imagination and inner sense of creativity. Happy listening!

Jerri Carson is a primary music teacher for SD #61. She is a member of the CRD Arts Advisory Council. Jerri plays the cello in the Victoria Conservatory Cello Orchestra.

Looking for a way to ease the stress of being Separated or Divorced with Children?

We help families avoid unnecessary conflict and tension while family members adapt to new family structures.

Professional Services: • arranging the visits • Supervised Access Visits • flexible hours (including weekends) • Member of the Supervised Visitation Network (SVN) Worldwide • Registered Member of the Child and Youth Care (CYC) Association Phone 250-590-4114 Email info@tsconsultingvictoria.ca or find us online at

www.tsconsultingvictoria.ca

www.IslandParent.ca

January 2012

35

Going Smoke Free s I look back to my childhood, I can’t help but think about my own experiences regarding smoking. I am in my mid 40s and like to think that those days weren’t really that long ago.

I grew up in a family that did not smoke, but many of my friends’ parents did. I recall visiting friends’ homes or carpooling to my sporting activities and how the air inside their homes and cars was filled with smoke.

I was breathing in second-hand smoke (SHS) without knowing it was harmful to me. I remember how the smoke made me feel nauseous and gave me a headache. I also remember that I would come home with my hair and clothes smelling like smoke.

I also grew up in a time when the convenience store that I worked in displayed tobacco products in plain view for children to see, right above the candy counter. There were large tobacco company posters advertising their brands in the storefront windows.

I remember getting phone calls from parents who informed me that they were sending their children to the store to buy cigarettes for them. This was all considered a societal norm back when I was a teenager.

Today, societal pressure has made the use of tobacco products less socially acceptable, and has influenced laws that restrict access to products and designates where people are allowed to smoke. The increase in research regarding the harmful effects of SHS cannot be ignored. HealthLink BC calls second-hand smoke poisonous as it has over 4,000 chemicals, including 50 that can cause cancer. Breathing second-hand smoke can be more dangerous than inhaling smoke through a cigarette. It has twice as much nicotine and tar as the smoke that people smoking inhale and five times more carbon monoxide, a deadly gas that starves your body of oxygen. The site goes on to note that infants and children who are exposed to SHS are at a greater risk of getting sick because their lungs are still developing and are more easily damaged by second-hand smoke. Infants also inhale more of the smoke because they breathe faster than adults. SHS increases an infant’s chances of dying from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Studies show that children who are regularly exposed to second-hand smoke score lower on tests in reading, math, logic and reasoning skills, and have double the risk of getting bronchitis and pneumonia.

A Child, Youth & Family Community Health South Island Health Units Esquimalt Gulf Islands

250-519-5311 250-539-3099

(toll-free number for office in Saanichton)

Peninsula Saanich Saltspring Island Sooke Victoria West Shore

250-544-2400 250-519-5100 250-538-4880 250-642-5464 250-388-2200 250-519-3490

Central Island Health Units Duncan Ladysmith Lake Cowichan Nanaimo Nanaimo Princess Royal Parksville/Qualicum Port Alberni Tofino

250-709-3050 250-755-3342 250-749-6878 250-755-3342 250-755-7855 250-947-8222 250-731-1315 250-725-2172

North Island Health Units Campbell River Courtenay Kyuquot Health Ctr ‘Namgis Health Ctr Port Hardy

250-850-2110 250-331-8520 250-332-5289 250-974-5522 250-949-3100

www.viha.ca/prevention_services/

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Island Parent Magazine

They also get more ear infections and suffer more from chronic coughing, wheezing and breathlessness. A recent study of teenagers

by New York University’s Langone Medical Center revealed that teens who are exposed to SHS on a regular basis are twice as likely to suffer hearing loss as those teenagers who grow up in a smoke-free environment.

Healthy Families; Happy Families C HILD Y OU TH & FA MILY C OMMU NITY HEALTH

GLYNNIS SCHWAN

Reducing your exposure to the harmful effects of smoking and your child’s exposure to the harmful effects of SHS will only bring positive change to your family. As soon as you stop smoking, your body will begin to heal and this is the best gift you can give yourself and your child. If you are a smoker consider making changes in your life that will support your child being tobacco free: • Join the BC Smoking Cessation Program which launched in September 2011. This free program is available to any B.C. resident who smokes or uses tobacco products and has active BC Medical Services Plan coverage. The program covers both prescription (Zyban® and Champix®) and non-prescription (gum or patch) Nicotine Replacement Therapies (NRT).

To access the Smoking Cessation Program, call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1, visit www. health.gov.bc.ca/pharmacare/stop-smoking/, speak to your doctor or pharmacist, or visit QuitNow at www.quitnow.ca for free 24-hour counseling to help you quit smoking.

• Consider joining Quitters Unite, an online community for young adults aged 19 to 29 at www.quittersunite.com.

• Ensure a smoke-free environment.

Smoke outdoors at least three metres from any doors, windows or air intakes.

• Talk openly to your children about the harmful effects of tobacco and how highly addictive tobacco products are.

Glynnis Schwan, ECE, is a Tobacco Reduction Coordinator with the Tobacco Prevention and Control Program of the Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA), 250-755-6285.

www.kidsinvictoria.com

Dr. Ellen Laine Doctor of Chiropractic

Care for Babies, Children, Women During Pregnancy and Families • • • • •

Headache, jaw pain Neck, shoulder and arm pain Upper back, mid back and low back pain Hip, leg, knee and foot pain May help with Colic, Asthmatic Conditions and Ear Infections • Posture and Spinal Checkups

202 – 1770 Fort St

595-3989

www.IslandParent.ca

January 2012

37

&ORMERLY 'OOSEY 'ANDER +INDERGARTEN

JANUARY OPENINGS !RBUTUS 'ROVE #HILDREN S #ENTRE A PART OF THE COMMUNITY FOR OVER lFTY YEARS IS â&#x20AC;˘ Half day and full day preschool programs HAVING AN OPEN HOUSE 3EPTEMBER ST FROM TO P M

â&#x20AC;˘ Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s learning is nurtured and guided through

7E OFFER FULL AND HALF TIME 0RESCHOOL IN A SPECIAL AND PROFESSIONAL ENVIRONMENT exploration, discovery, play and creative expression ,IMITED 0OSITIONS STILL AVAILABLE FOR 3EPT

â&#x20AC;˘ With large, natural playground in the Cadboro Bay â&#x20AC;&#x201C; UVic area (ARO 2OAD 6ICTORIA " #

Arbutus Grove Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Centre 6 . !

3905 Haro Road, Victoria BC 250 477 3731 www.arbutusgrove.ca

Book Launch for Dadspeak Columnist Daniel Griffin 7pm January 19th Dales Gallery, 537 Fisgard Street All are welcome Advance praise for Stopping for Strangers, a collection of short stories about family life: â&#x20AC;&#x153;This fine fine collection evokes echoes of the plain and piercing voice of Raymond Carver. These stories upended me: they are strong, surprising and full of heart. The size of the soul looms large in Daniel Griffinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s writing.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; David Bergen, Giller Prize winning author of The Time in Between â&#x20AC;&#x153;Griffinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s at his best when he explores the intricacies and heartaches of family relationship and crisis. Here, in Stopping for Strangers, I believe weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re witnessing the emergence of a future master. â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Gail Anderson-Dargatz, best-selling author of The Cure for Death by Lightning

STEP INTO THE FRAME AT

The Screen Actorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Studio Young Actors Conservatory: Winter/Spring 2012

Term One: JANUARY 7th â&#x20AC;&#x201C; MARCH 10th (10 Sessions) Programs for Beginner, Continuing Studies and Advanced levels

Saturdays: Ages 8â&#x20AC;&#x201C;11 (10amâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;12:30pm) Saturdays: Ages 12â&#x20AC;&#x201C;15 & Advanced (1:30â&#x20AC;&#x201C;4pm) Cost: 300 + 36 HST = $336.00 Maximum 12 students per class Payment plan available: 4 x p.s. cheques 84.00 / Visa accepted

The Screen Actorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Studio 845 Fisgard Street, Victoria â&#x20AC;˘ 250 595 1339 Website: www.screenactors.ca â&#x20AC;˘ Email: screenact@shaw.ca

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Island Parent Magazine

Est. 1980

At School in India ur childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s class photos arrived this week. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re living in India at the moment and our kids are all going to a local school so the pictures were a little different from the ones we get at home. For starters, the kids all wear uniforms. In the photos, the boys look sharp in crisp white shirts, the girls pretty in gingham check dresses, and of course, the teachers all wear colourful saris.

In all three class photos, our children look like giantsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;inches taller than all their peers. And theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re the only white faces, the only foreigners in the school.

We knew before arriving here that school would present some challenges for our kids.

The first challenge was just getting them into one. Chennaiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a massive, densely populated Indian city, and thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not enough of anything to go around, including spots in good schools.

On arriving, we visited several schools with 50 students in a class: two kids to a desk in rooms physically incapable of taking more. Here in Chennai, parents who want a good school always register their kids early, sometimes when theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re still toddlers.

Our Indian friends all warned us that schools here are academically ahead of their North American counterparts. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more homework, more tests, more emphasis on the basics, the three Rs. And it starts early. In India, even kindergarten is an academic grade.

My memories of kindergarten are nap time and colouring pages, and all three of our kids had pretty relaxed kindergarten experiences in Canada. Here, the five-year-olds all sit in desks while the teacher stands at the front of the classroom, chalk in hand. Vivianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in upper kindergarten and she has notebooks and textbooks, she has homework every night, she has tests.

Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re learning cursive letters. In Canada Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not sure cursive is even taught anymore.

Vivianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s is the only classroom Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve actually visited. Parental participation isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really encouraged hereâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;or at least, the dads arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t expected to get involved. Back in June, I went to the first parent-teacher meeting which was held in the prayer hall. The principal and all the teachers stood at the front and each had a chance to speak to the parents who sat dutifully lined up on benches. There was no back and forth. The teachers spoke, the parents listened.

Looking around, I noted I was the only man in the audience.

O

www.kidsinvictoria.com

Tessa is seven years old and in First Standard here where she’s learning Hindi and Tamil among other things. When I first discovered how much Hindi Tess knew, I started asking her to name the parts of the face when we were with Indian friends. It was a sort of party trick. Unfortunately, after a few times

Dadspeak DANIEL GRIFFIN the novelty wore off. Now when I open my mouth and say, “Tessa’s learning Hindi,” she runs screaming from the room.

Evelyn’s in Fifth Standard and has a homework burden about as heavy as I had when in Grade Nine. She finds the math and English easy enough but the social studies and science involves a lot of memorization. She’s been learning about the body, about nutrition and disease and plant life. She arrives home with passages marked in a book which she needs to learn by heart. Understanding the difference between voluntary and involuntary muscles isn’t as important as being able to recite the examples listed in the book. And so she spends the week memorizing passages; at the end of the week, she has a test. Once the tests are marked, the teacher reads the kids’ scores out to the class.

Stop outside our children’s solidly middle class school and it’s easy to understand the emphasis on academic achievement. There’s no social safety net in India. A few paces from the school you’ll find emaciated men sleeping on the sidewalk, old women picking through garbage, children in little more than rags.

All three of our kids have been asked what they’re going to do when they grow up. At this age, it’s a question all middle class Indian children seem able to answer. Sometimes their parents even decide what their careers will be. While at first that struck me as odd, parents also choose marriage partners for their children, and choice of job hardly seems as important as that.

I asked our kids what they wanted to be when they grew up. Vivian, our five-year-old, was the only one with an answer. She said, “Rich.”

Daniel Griffin is the father of three children.

Stopping for Strangers, his collection of short stories about parents, children, brothers and sisters is due out from Vehicule Press this month.

www.IslandParent.ca

Why choose Cordova Bay Preschool?

• Open House Feb 4, 2012: 10am–1pm • free parent educational speakers or workshops every month for registered parents • 2 ECEs and parent helper in every class • class hours are 9:15am–12:15pm for 3 year olds and 9:15am–1:15pm for 4 year olds • non-duty option • a warm, inviting facility with a safe, enclosed playground

5182 Cordova Bay Road (behind St. David’s by the Sea Anglican Church)

250-658-3441 www.cordovabaypreschool.org A member of the Vancouver Island Cooperative Preschool Association (VICPA)

January 2012

39

Grimm & Glorious h, January. The days are growing longer and lighter, the air is slowly getting warmer, and the world is gradually coming back to life. It’s at this time of the year that the balance between dark and light is at its most delicate, the border between fantasy and reality at its most blurred. It’s the perfect time to delve into some of the oldest and most mysterious myths and legends in history: fairy tales. And where better to start than a guided tour of some of the darkest, grimmest, bloodiest and best of them all? Adam Gidwitz’s A Tale Dark and Grimm (Puffin, 2011) does that and more in a wickedly funny debut novel that will delight children and terrify their grown-ups. “Once upon a time,” the narrator informs us, “fairy tales were awesome.” Back before the fun parts were taken out, fairy tales were about a lot more than just little children having nice frolicking adventures in the woods. These stories were about darkness and light, justice and vengeance, about good and evil, magic and sorcery—and they were about courage and love, and the power such things possess.

A Tale Dark and Grimm combines the classic fairytale of Hansel and Gretel with seven older, darker, and lesser known Grimm Brothers’ tales—the stories that weren’t always meant for children—bringing these antique stories to life with a clever, engaging narrative which weaves them together to form the one true story in Grimm’s Fairy Tales: a beguiling, moving, chilling and delightful tapestry of a tale that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Meet Hansel and Gretel, your heroes, living what they believe to be a charmed life with their parents in a beautiful castle.

But when an old family secret comes back to haunt them, they must find their own way through a frightening and complicated world filled with perils of all shapes and sizes, from cannibalistic kidnappers, dragons and monsters to the very devil himself, to the safe haven that must, surely, exist somewhere. At first glance it seems like the last thing you should want your children to read: a terrifying book about two children who are constantly under threat from everyone they meet and who decapitate more people that you ever thought possible—why on earth would you let your children know this existed, let alone give it to them? Quite simply: because they should read it. Children get frightened—some more than others—and gradually they learn

A

40

Island Parent Magazine

to conquer their fears. They learn ways of dealing with fear and threats, and they come to realize that they are stronger than the things that scare them. They learn this not only by watching movies and TV shows about animated characters who get over being scared of the dark, or by listening to a teacher explain methods of dealing with fear—those are good ways to learn, and lots of kids learn

Book Nook MADDY SMITH from them—but they learn too by reading about people who are scared and who rise above it, or crush it down, or keep it at bay because there is something more important going on and, most importantly, because they control their fear. Kids read about whistling away fear, in books like George MacDonald’s magical novel, The Princess and the Goblin; about identifying your fears and controlling your story, in books such as Emily Gravett’s wonderful picture books Wolves and Little Mouse’s Big Book of Fears; they live out their most terrifying nightmares and learn to overcome them, such as in Neil Gaiman’s spine-chilling Coraline. Children’s stories are filled with evil, but the best books are the ones that allow children the strength to defeat that evil and recognise their power and their courage: the stories that allow children to find the strength they need to become adults.

Gidwitz has tapped into this notion with his novel: the threats Hansel and Gretel face are truly wicked and quite frightening, and the sacrifices they must make both for each other and those they meet are extreme. However, in the end, it is children who outsmart each trickster, undo each wicked enchantment, and who chop off the requisite head; children who are wise, compassionate, strong, honest, loving, and courageous. The one true story in the collected works of the Brothers Grimm is dark indeed—but it is in the darkest places that we find the brightest light. 10+ Maddy Smith is a children’s bookseller and an Islander born and bred; she reads, writes, and believes in the magic of a great book.

www.kidsinvictoria.com

ALL DAY KINDERGARTEN? We’ve been doing it for 30 years at Selkirk Montessori!

We also offer outstanding Montessori half-day kindergarten, preschool, elementary and middle school programs.

Come to our Open House and see what makes us special:

For information, or to arrange a tour of our facility, call Penny Barner at 250-384-3414 or email office@selkirkmontessori.ca

WHEN :

Thursday, January 19 th

TIME :

5:30-8:30 pm

WHERE :

Selkirk Montessori School, 2970 Jutland Road (at the Selkirk Waterfront Development)

With an enriched program incorporating French, Japanese, Mandarin and Spanish language instruction, music, skating, swimming and rowing, Selkirk Montessori is an exceptional, affordable alternative in a diverse, caring school community.

MUSIC

X

LANGUAGES

X

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Proclaiming Jesus Christ as Life!

THETIS ISLAND - BRITISH COLUMBIA - CANADA

Training for Full Time Christian Service Regardless of Occupation!

Leadership Through Servanthood by Christ’s Indwelling, Resurrection Life.

Practical Bible Teaching Genesis to Revelation: Christ Revealed in the Written Word.

www.IslandParent.ca

January 2012

41

all ready, at hand. Preheat large skillet over medium-high heat. Melt butter, and cook eggs to desired consistency—easy-over, sunny-side up, hard, medium, or runny. In

Break Your Fast tart the way that you mean to finish: by taking good care of yourself and the wonderful physical machine that you inhabit. We need energy to run, and logic dictates that better quality fuel will produce better, longer-lasting results. Parents, family doctors, and medical reports seem unanimous in their assertion that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Time—slippery, elusive and inexorable—is often the reason that we don’t eat as well as we should first thing in the morning.

When we are barely awake, bustling to find homework and assemble lunches, making sure that teeth are brushed and clothing straight, it’s difficult to rally the forces and sit down together to a balanced meal. Everyone is wonderfully unique, and so it follows that everyone’s appetites are the same way.

Some people hop out of bed and are ready to eat a big fry-up right away. Others (and I number myself among this group) need time to adjust to the world first, and prefer to eat a bit of fruit first, then something more hearty mid-morning. We all get breaks in our days, whether at preschool, school or

S

work. We can prepare and pack food to go, if we don’t have the time or inclination to eat at home. It does take a bit of time and preparation, but it will save money spent on purchased snacks. And, hey, it’s January, the natural time to re-assess and build new habits. Break the year in with some delicious breakfast habits!

Huevos Rancheros Recipe is for four servings. Multiply or divide as necessary.

4 eggs 1 Tbsp butter 4 whole wheat flour tortillas 1 cup refried beans, seasoned to taste with cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper 1 avocado, sliced 1 cup grated Cheddar cheese salsa, as desired sour cream for serving This recipe is done all at once, and benefits from a production-line approach to assemble. Heat tortillas slightly until pliable and place on the plates you plan to serve on. Have beans, avocado, cheddar and salsa

Just Eat It! KATHY HUMPHREY the meantime, preheat the broiler of your oven. Spread each tortilla with an equal amount of the bean mixture. Slide egg on top of this, and cover with scoop of salsa and one-quarter of the avocado. Sprinkle cheddar cheese over top. Broil until cheese has melted, and serve with sour cream and additional salsa, if desired. These can be done as a roll, too: don’t broil at the end, scramble the eggs, and roll the whole thing up, to-go style, in a bit of tinfoil.

Peanut Butter Balls 1 cup large-flaked rolled oats 1⁄4 cup unsalted sunflower seeds 1⁄4 cup chopped unsalted peanuts 2 Tbsp wheat germ

“Mum, let’s go to Woodgrove.”

MALL MONKEYS

While you shop, Mall Monkeys hourly drop-in fun centre can entertain your children (ages 3 to 11) with Wii games, books, crafts, dolls, dancersize, trains, puzzles, a trampoline bouncer, and more.

Check in on your child anytime using a secure, downloadable smart phone app linked to a video monitoring system.

Just $9/hr. 2 children: $8/hr. 3 children: $7/hr. Group rates available. ½ price Tuesdays start January 10.

woodgrovecentre.com Become a fan.

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Island Parent Magazine

Island living. Island style.

www.kidsinvictoria.com

3â &#x201E;4

cup peanut butter cup currants (or raisins) 1â &#x201E;4 cup corn syrup 3 Tbsp water 1 cup shredded coconut In ungreased cake pan, spread oats, sunflowers seeds, peanuts and wheat germ.

Bake in 375Ë&#x161;F oven for 10 minutes, or until lightly golden. In large bowl, stir together peanut butter and currants; add corn syrup.

Add oat mixture alternately with water, making three additions of dry mixture and two of water. Roll heaping teaspoonsful of dough into small balls; roll in coconut to coat. Can be stored in refrigerator for up to one week.

1â &#x201E;4

Applesauce Snacking Cake 3â &#x201E;4

cup all-purpose flour cup whole wheat flour 3â &#x201E;4 tsp baking soda 1 tsp cinnamon 1â &#x201E;2 tsp ginger pinch each cloves and salt 1 cup applesauce 1â &#x201E;4 cup packed brown sugar 1â &#x201E;4 cup molasses 1â &#x201E;4 cup vegetable oil 2 eggs 1 cup raisins Preheat oven to 350Ë&#x161;F. In bowl, stir together flours, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt. Whisk applesauce, sugar, molasses, oil and eggs; stir into flour mixture along with raisins, just until combined. Transfer to lightly greased 9" square cake pan. Bake 20â&#x20AC;&#x201C;25 minutes, or until cake tester inserted into centre comes out clean. Cool on rack.

2â &#x201E;3

Yogurt Parfait 3â &#x201E;4

cup yogurt cup granola (or use plain rolled oats) 1â &#x201E;2 cup frozen blueberries or raspberries 2 Tbsp flaked almonds, or sunflower seeds sprinkle of cinnamon Scoop half of the yogurt into a portable container. Sprinkle half of the berries over, then half of the granola over that. Repeat layers, adding cinnamon and nuts to the very top. The berries will thaw as the morning progresses, resulting in a trifle-like confection by break time. Experiment with quantities and ingredients: try raisins or other dried fruits as well.

1â &#x201E;2

Kathy Humphrey lives in Victoria with her husband and two children. She tries to see cooking for a family not as a chore but as a creative outlet. www.IslandParent.ca

1841

You are invited to join us for a Grade 1 Information Night.

Thursday, January 12th at 6:30pm Come and discover the benefits Montessori Education can offer your child.

Please call for reservations.

1841 Fairburn Drive, Victoria, BC www.montessori.bc.ca â&#x201D;&#x201A; 250-479-4746

inspiring.

Take individual lessons, join a fun group class, become a member of a choir or orchestra, and enjoy unique performance opportunities.

The VCM advantage is our engaging learning environment with world class faculty and the most complete calendar of musical programs for all abilities and all ages.

Our creative musical community welcomes you!

*OHNSON s s WWW VCM BC CA January 2012

43

Boys Will Be Boys had what I like to call an “Evolutionary Parenting Moment” the other day—one of those rare and brilliant flashes in which I see myself as merely a speck in the millennia of parents before me who have stood, scratching their heads, wondering how to deal with their offspring. Sort of like one of those posters with the Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons lined up beside modern man, only with toddlers and teenagers attached. There have always been parents; there have always been children.

And there has always been parental angst as we muddle our way through raising the next generation.

My latest “EPM” came via my son Levi, who is three years old. I was in the kitchen, washing dishes, as I do. He came galloping in and over-handed his ball against the cabinetry. In that moment, besides taking note of his impressive arm—should I be embarrassed that my preschooler can out-throw me?—I felt myself lifted from my mundane 21st century existence to take my place in the march of humanity. I pictured mothers throughout the ages, standing at their kitchen sinks, wash basins, or rock counter tops, all shouting the words coming out of my mouth: “Hey! Stop throwing that ball in the house!”

It is humbling to realize that everything I deal with on a daily basis is old news—nothing that another parent hasn’t already faced. In fact, I’d best be grateful for my place in this lineup; after all, in cave times, moms were probably ducking rocks, not balls. I wonder, did they feel as surprised as I do to have a little boy joyfully terrorizing their homes?

The fact is, I am constantly baffled by my son.

He is a BOY—a stinky, dirty, noisy little boy.

Though I adore him, he is fundamentally different from me and I will never fully understand him. Why must he wrestle? What causes him to attract dirt like a magnet? And just what is so very funny about being able to pee on things?

Be assured, I have tried to bridge the gap. In my mission to avoid gender stereotyping my son, I purposefully did not buy him trucks.

Levi cleverly subverted my attempts to thwart biology by driving Kleenex boxes around the house, making the classic “vroom-vroom” sounds that males somehow know how to make. Three years later, I find myself kneedeep in Hot Wheels cars, bulldozer books, and plastic hammers.

Yes, Levi is a boy, and boys are different.

My daughter read to and nursed her stuffies; Levi uses them to build ramps for his cars.

I

Victoria & Vancouver Island 1-866-518-7287 Nanaimo 250-756-9794 Or online at: www.welcomewagon.ca

ART CLASSES • DRAWING • PAINTING • SCULPTURE • CARTOONING • PORTFOLIO PREPARATION

• Children & Adults • Day & Evening Classes • Fabulous Results • Original Art for Sale

Artistic Statement Gallery & School of Fine Art Call Joan in the Oak Bay Monterey Mews, #107–2250 Oak Bay Ave

250-383-0566 www.artisticstatementgalleryandschool.com

Now taking registration for the next semester.

44

Island Parent Magazine

My daughter can be boisterous, but she can also be quiet. Levi has only one volume: extra-loud. He is obsessed with garbage trucks, dump trucks, cherry pickers and the like. He has burping contests with himself, and laughs uproariously about any bodily function. And, well, to put it plainly, I have never before—until he came along—had to utter the phrase: “Stop playing with your penis while we’re at the dinner table!”

Is There an App for This?

SARAH MILLIGAN Recently, when meeting their newborn sister, my children exhibited their innate biological leanings to perfection. My daughter cooed, sighed, and demanded to cuddle the baby. My son announced, and I quote: “I hate babies, yey’re dis-GUS-ting!” and resumed driving his train across the couch, farting loudly and knocking over a stack of laundry as he went.

Could he be a more classic male?

As if to illustrate this point, he informed me the other day—as we drove to the library to get more books about bulldozers—that when he grows up, he plans to live alone in a house with no furniture, except for a big-screen TV—so he can watch hockey, of course. He explained that, without furniture, he will have more room to throw his ball in the house. (I know what you’re thinking, but Dad doesn’t have a big-screen TV, and until this month we didn’t even have cable. Trust me, this is built in.) He plans to live on sandwiches. He says I will be able to come visit his bachelor pad, but only for a little while and then I’ll have to leave again, probably because he anticipates my need to clean his fridge and buy him toilet paper.

Huh. Come to think of it, it’s not so bad having a small boy throw a ball in my kitchen. Will the dishes be any more enjoyable without his laughter ringing in my ears? Perhaps I just need to practice ducking.

Sarah Milligan lives in Sooke. She is grateful to her children for the joy they inspire, not to mention the endless writing material they provide.

www.kidsinvictoria.com

VICTORIA

MONTESSORI EDUCATION Nurtures a Lifelong Love of Learning Independence Self-Discipline

Concentra on Social Skills

Self-mo va on Higher level thinking skills

OPEN HOUSE Thursday, January 19th 5:30 pm-8:30 pm

GRADE ONE Information evening Thursday, January 12th 6:30 pm

2970 Jutland

1841 Fairburn Drive

www.montessori.bc.ca

www.selkirkmontessori.ca

West-Mont Montessori School 4075 Metchosin Rd • Victoria • Tel 250-474-2626 • www.west-mont.ca

ST. CHRISTOPHER'S MONTESSORI SCHOOL

Open House & Art Show Tours Entertainment Refreshments

Established 1978

Please call for a visit & tour!

Offering Half-day Preschool & Half-day or Full-day Kindergarten

February 11, 2012 10am–3pm

2619 Currie Road Victoria, B.C. V8S 3B9 250-595-3213

All are welcome!

www.stcmsoakbaybc.com

Parents choose Montessori because it teaches:

Freedom and Responsibility Community and Teamwork And guarantees future success!

The Google Creators: Larry Page and Sergey Brin, talk about their Montessori educa on, “I think it was part of that training of not following rules and orders, being self-mo vated, ques oning what’s going on in the world, and doing things a li le bit different that contributed to our success.”

Visit a Montessori school today. www.IslandParent.ca

January 2012

45

parenting education and pre and post-natal services.

Our Counselling Services are free to adults and youth (12-18 years); adult and short term clinical counselling is offered for acute mental health problems. For more information call 250-385-2635 or visit 511 Constance Ave. in Esquimalt.

Family Services Directory Association of Family Serving Agencies (AFSA) is a network of organizations, groups and individuals serving families. All agencies listed are members of AFSA. This directory is sponsored by BC Families in Transition (formerly the Separation and Divorce Resource Centre) is one of three nonprofit agencies in North America that offers professional counselling, legal support and education for people who are having problems in their relationships. Each year we help 10,000 adults, children and youth through family changes, separations and divorces, remarriages, and complex family situations. Whether you wish to separate or remain together, call us at 250-386-4331 or visit www.bcfit.org to see how we can help. Some evening and weekend appointments available.

Beacon Community Services, a community-based, non-profit social, employment and health services agency, serving Greater Victoria, Saanich Peninsula and the Southern Gulf Islands. Providing these services: child, youth and family services; a drop-in family resource centre; counselling; employment services for adults, youth and people with disabilities; home support; volunteer services and opportunities; community events; affordable, assisted living for seniors; referrals, information and resources; thrift shops. For Home Support information call 250-658-6407, for all other inquiries call 250-656-0134 or visit www. beaconcs.ca.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Victoria provides mentoring programs to children in schools and communities. Adult â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Bigsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, and child â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Littlesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, build a friendship based on shared interests, respect, trust, and the magic of everyday moments shared with a friend. Everyone needs someone to laugh with, to share a dream with, and just to hang out. No special skills, money, or experience are needed to be a mentor to a child, just a willingness to spend time together, to listen, and to be a friend and advocateâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;in as little as one hour a week! The positive impact of mentorship lasts for a lifetime. Contact us at 250-475-1117, email main@bbbsvictoria.com, or at our website www. bbbsvictoria.com

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46

Island Parent Magazine

Boys & Girls Club Services offer after-school and evening social, educational and recreational programming for youth at four locations. We also offer support to parents of teens (Parents Together) and run Adventure Based Learning programs at our Camp in Metchosin. For more information on all our programs visit our website at www.bgcvic.org. For general information on after-school and evening programs at our 4 Community Clubs please call 250-384-9133.

The Child Abuse Prevention & Counselling Society/Mary Manning Centre is the primary provider of therapy and victim support services for children and youth in Greater Victoria who experience sexual abuse, physical abuse, and other serious trauma, or who may be at risk for sexual abuse. Therapy services include individual and group sessions for children and youth and group sessions for parents. Victim services include intake and referral, accompaniment and support for children and youth being interviewed by police, and court preparation and support for those testifying as victims or witnesses in criminal cases. No charge for clients. Contact: 250-385-6111 or admin@ marymanning.com.

Community Living Victoria supports people with developmental disabilities and their families by providing residential services, day and community supports (supported employment, parent support and independent living). Our Host agency provides direct supports for those with Individualized Funding and Home Share service. Our family support program offers advocacy, conflict resolution, education, newsletters, workshops, support groups and a resource library. Please call 250477-7231 ext 233.

Esquimalt Neighbourhood House Society. Our Family Services offer family resource programs with a focus on early childhood development and learning,

-RXUQH\ ZLWK XV LQWR WKH XQNQRZQ DQG YDVWO\ XQH[SORUHG GHSWKV RI WKH GHHS RFHDQ <RX DUH LQYLWHG WR WKH RSHQLQJ RI WKLV WKULOOLQJ QHZ H[KLELW -DQ WK IURP SP &RVW LV JHQHUDO DGPLVVLRQ :H DOVR LQYLWH \RX WR HQMR\ RXU Speaker Series UXQQLQJ LQ WDQGHP ZLWK What Lies Beneath

Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria (ICA) Is an immigrant and multicultural service agency. Programs offered include cross-cultural counselling, parenting programs (child care available), family violence services, interpretation and translation, diversity workshops and training, ESL instruction, volunteering, BETWEEN youth program and youth tutoring. ICA presents the Luminara Victoria Lantern Celebration. 930 Balmoral Rd, 250388-4728, info@icavictoria.org, www.icavictoria.org.

Learning Disabilities Association of BC, SVI Chapter, educates, supports and advocates for children and youth with learning disabilities and related conditions.

Services include a public lending library, individual/group support for parents and children, professional/educational workshops for parents and professionals. Child and youth programs include: reading/writing, academic skills, social/emotional skill development and Fast ForWord.

1524 Fort St. 250-370-9513. www.ldasvi.bc.ca.

Military Family Resource Centre (MFRC) provides programs and services to the military family community.

Services include: 24 Hour Information Line, Deployment Information and Workshops, Short Term Intervention/ Crisis Support, Welcome/Relocation Services, services for families with special needs and responsabilities and childcare services and support to parents. Exciting Volunteer opportunities available! Call the MFRC: 250363-2640 (1-800-353-3329) for information. www. esquimaltmfrc.com.

NEED2 Suicide Prevention Education & Support provides www.youthspace.ca. A multi-portal website which offers youth support through live-chats, forums and/or from a professional counselor via e-counselling.

This service is delivered by youth and adult volunteers and staff. It is an alternative to phone based service for youth and young adults who are seeking emotional support and information for a variety of issues including mental health and addictions. www.youthspace.ca.

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www.kidsinvictoria.com

Parent Support Ser vices Society (www. parentsupportbc.ca) provides support circles, parenting resources and referrals to all in a parenting role including grandparents raising grandchildren. Our training in peer group facilitation is open to the community. Support circles are free with child minding and transportation assistance available. Volunteers are always needed. Call 250-384-8042; email parent-support@shaw.ca.

Girl Greatness

Rainbows is a nonprofit society providing support groups for children who have suffered a significant loss in their lives by death, divorce or any other painful life transition.

Rainbows is not counselling, we offer peer support with trained facilitators to help children work through a 24-week program. Rainbows is offered without cost to participants and is community funded. For info see www.rainbows. ca or email Rita Henderson at nicrit@shaw.ca or Sharon Tyler at waynetyler@shaw.ca.

The Single Parent Resource Centre (www.singleparentvictoria.ca) provides support, education and resources for parents in the Greater Victoria area through free counselling, volunteer training for reception and peer helper positions, a mentoring program for single moms, and a support group for dads. The Centre also offers over 20 integrated life skills and parenting courses which are open to the whole community (fees are bydonation). Child care assistance is available based on financial need. The Centre provides a bread pantry and free clothing for single parents. Donations of gently-used clothing, small household items, books, and toys are very welcome every Monday and Wednesday. Centre hours are 9–4 weekdays. 602 Gorge Rd. East; call 250-3851114 or info@singleparentvictoria.ca.

South Island Centre for Counselling & Training is an affordable, non-profit, counselling agency serving individuals and families from all social, ethnic, and financial backgrounds. We help people with a wide range of issues including low self-esteem, depression, grief, marital and family conflict, abuse and spiritual direction. We also offer helpful “life” courses. For more information contact us at 250-472-2851; info@southislandcentre.ca.

South Island Dispute Resolution Centre: www.dispute resolution.bc.ca 250-383-4412 Affordable/accessible Family Mediation/Coaching services. Create effective parenting plans, improve communication and understand healthy co-parenting options. Subsidies available. We also offer workshops for all ages on effective communication, anger awareness & conflict management skills.

Victoria Epilepsy & Parkinson’s Centre supports families living with epilepsy by providing tutoring and one on one professional consultations to help your child to live up to their full potential. We offer epilepsy education workshops in private and public schools, and keep you up to date on the latest research about medications, lifestyle and safety for your child. Visit us at www.vepc.bc.ca to find out more, and to explore our bursaries for Camosun College. Calls are also welcome at 250-475-6677.

Starts Here!

1-800-565-8111 girlguides.ca

MEG HICKLING

Sexual Health Education for Families Workshop THURSDAY, JANUARY 12

FirstMet United Church at Quadra & Balmoral Children & Youth (ages 3–17) • Parents & Guardians Meg Hickling is a well known sexual health educator, member of the Order of Canada, and has the ability to convey difficult material with sensitivity, gentle humour and warmth. Cost $12/family. Books and DVD available.

1) 4:30–5:10pm • Children (ages 3–7) & Guardians 2) 5:40–6:20pm • Children (ages 3–7) & Guardians 3) 7:00–8:00pm • Youth (ages 8–12) & Guardians 4) 7:00–9:00pm • Youth (ages 13–17)

Registration online: www.firstmetvictoria.com Contact call 250-388-5188 ext 235

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January 2012

47

Pregnant?

Pregnancy is a state of health.

Midwives recognize what an extraordinary time this is in your life and we are available to support you through your childbearing year.

COVERED BY YOUR BC HEALTH CARE BC’s Medical Services Plan pays for midwifery care, including in-home check-ups in labour and after you’ve had your baby.

You can self-refer to a midwife.

QUALITY CARE Studies show that midwifery clients have lower rates of episiotomies, infection, Caesarean sections, forceps and vacuum deliveries and newborns that require resuscitation.

CHOICE OF HOSPITAL OR HOME BIRTH CONTINUITY OF CARE COMPREHENSIVE CARE BREASTFEEDING EDUCATION & SUPPORT

Registered Midwives in Victoria: Ashley Kruse 250-386-4116 Deborah Little 250-381-1977 Luba Lyons Richardson 250-381-1977 Lorna J. McRae 250-380-6329 Jody Medernach 250-590-7605 Kim Millar Lewis 250-384-5940 Heather Nelson 250-380-6329 Jill Pearman 250-590-7605 Colleen Rode 250-386-4116 Angela Schaerer 250-384-9062 Valerie Simmons 250-589-3417 Beth Smit 250-384-5940 Ilana Stanger-Ross 250-590-7605 Julia Stolk 250-590-7605 Misty Wasyluk 250-380-6329 Deanna Wildeman 250-592-5407 Heather Wood 250-380-6329 Amy Brownhill 250-386-4116 Michele Buchmann 250-590-7770 Chloe Dayman 250-380-6329 Uta Herold (Sooke) 778-425-0780 We would be pleased to schedule an appointment to answer your questions about midwifery care.

48

Island Parent Magazine

Family New Year Themes appy New Year! This is the month in which many of us are busy making (and quickly breaking) our New Year’s Resolutions. It’s a natural time to start afresh and anew with positive things we want for our lives. You may have joined a weight-loss program or purchased a gym membership, vowed to save money or get out of debt, or promised to finally de-clutter your house. As a busy parent, you likely do not need one more item on your to-do list.

But if you’re thinking about making some changes or doing things a bit differently, try some of the following ideas this year.

H

Focus on a theme for your year.

It can be something exciting, something to look forward to, something to make your life lighter, happier and more fulfilled. Make a list of your resolutions and choose a theme word or group of words that capture your intentions for the year. For example, my words for 2011 were “simple” and “enjoy” which helped govern my decisions throughout the year. Post your words in a place you will see every day. To inspire you, add pictures that depict your theme words.

Take care of yourself.

As parents, we tend to put ourselves at the bottom of the priority list. And yet it is so important for parents to make sure we relax and renew on a regular basis so we can be our best for all the other people who count on us. Make a list of things you enjoy and try to do at least one of them every day. They may be small things such as calling a friend, flipping through a favourite magazine, or taking a bubble bath. Maybe you would like to try a yoga class or take Spanish lessons. Whatever it is, make sure it is an activity that recharges rather than drains you. Remember the life you had before children. Likely it was complete with activities, friends and interests.

Plan adult time.

To be good parents, moms and dads sometimes need to get away for a little adult time. Plan to regularly get together with

friends. This is particularly important for women, who have the feel-good hormone oxytocin that makes us want to “tend and befriend.” Guys also need to have time with their friends for camaraderie and to blow off steam. Routinely scheduled date nights and romantic getaways can help a husband and wife maintain connection, and in doing so, make them a better team as parents. Although very easy to neglect, your marriage is important and needs to be nurtured.

Give up the guilt.

That means give up the super-parent syndrome. Learn to be OK with less-thangourmet dinners and a messier house than you might like. Ask for help if you need it and don’t feel guilty. Remember, what is really important is your children and your family.

Kids don’t expect perfection, and attempting it would not be good modeling to them.

Remind yourself that doing a good job—the best you can do—is good enough.

Anchor the day with a bedtime routine.

Spend a few extra minutes snuggling with your little ones every night. This will set the stage for a special time and encourage open dialogue as your children get older. Read to your kids every night. Twenty minutes of reading is recommended but even 10 to 15 minutes of reading can make a difference in a child’s language development skills.

Reading is something you can do even before children can understand the words.

Focus on the positive.

Resolve to catch your toddler behaving well. Pay attention to the good behaviour every day, and you’ll probably see less of the bad. Instead of saying “Don’t run,” try “Thanks for walking!” And be specific with your praise. “Thanks for putting your books away” is a lot more effective than “Good boy.” Sometimes young children are told “no” so frequently that they can become ‘parent deaf.’

www.kidsinvictoria.com

Add some boredom.

Brain research shows that when people are in a daydream-like state, they do their most creative thinking. But today’s children rarely have a chance to entertain themselves. As a parent, I am all too familiar with the urge to follow the crowd and enroll my children in several different classes, even before the age of six months. Resist the pressure to

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DIANA HURSCHLER, BScN become your child’s day planner, social secretary and entertainment organizer. Allow for days where nothing is planned and notice what happens, see what is discovered, and watch what develops. Day after day of adult-organized activities and events limits the possibility of creativity or self-discovery.

For older children, set up activities that allow them to relax (for example, knitting, puzzles, yoga, even meditation) and spend time in nature.

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Laugh.

The logic for this resolution is simple: laughter is fun. Research on laughter confirms that it releases endorphins and other hormones that make us feel a sense of connection. Babies and young children love physical comedy—goofy sounds, silly games or doing something unexpected like wearing your pajamas on your head. Silliness goes a long way if your kids are having a meltdown and you can make them laugh.

Wouldn’t it be nice for your child to grow up with the happy memory of lots of laughter in the house?

If you only remember one thing from this article, remember this: you are the ultimate role model for your children. Imagine the life you want for your children when they are your age. Then live it.

All the best for a vibrant, guilt-free and laughter-filled 2012!

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Diana Hurschler RN BScN is a perinatal educator and certified breastfeeding counselor and has worked with pre- and post-natal families since 1998. She has just welcomed a third child into her family.

Please send comments, questions and story ideas to diana@hurschler.com.

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January 2012

49

Preschool & Child Care Directory CENTRAL SAANICH

ESQUIMALT

Chrysalis Child Care .........................250-652-0815 A nurturing and stimulating environment for a small group of 3–5 year olds. Qualified ECE promotes learning through play.

CIARA Early Childhood Centre ........250-386-7369 Education and fun hand in hand. Exceptional care for little ones ages 12 month-5yrs in an inclusive centre with Christian values.

COLWOOD/LANGFORD Almosthome Childcare/Preschool ..250-391-7698 Quality childcare with a preschool curriculum/ kindergarten readiness program. Early Childhood Educators, spacious, natural setting. www.almosthomecare.com Goldstream Co-op Preschool..........250-474-3011 Parent participation preschool for 3 and 4 year olds.

Qualified, experienced ECE. Mornings, afternoons and Tuesday drop-in program available. www.goldstreampreschool.org.

HI5 Early Learning Centre................250-474-7324 We have spaces available for September, 2010. http://hi5earlylearning.com.com Jenn’s Little Bears ECE Centre .......250-478-8999 Jenn’s Little Bears provides a safe nurturing environment for children from infancy to kindergarten. We enrich children’s learning and development through a wide variety of activities.

Miles of Smiles Licensed Child Care .........................250-298-7374 Dedicated to offering quality care where caring, learning, diversity, guidance and fun are the priority. www. milesofsmileschildcare.com Music Makers Child Care Centre ....250-294-3916 Offering an innovative environment that develops musical abilities and encourages a love of music. Our centre offers group care for children 2–6 as well as infant/toddler care for ages 12 to 36 months.

Pussywillow Preschool ....................250-474-0656 Kindergarten Readiness Program. Ages 3 to 5. ECE staff. Enrichment activities. Est. 1995. www.Pussywillow-Preschool.com

CORDOVA BAY Carrot Seed Preschool .....................250-658-2331 Where children can wonder, discover, imagine, construct and learn through play. Spacious natural playground. www.carrotseedpreschool.com.

Cordova Bay Preschool ...................250-658-3441 A bright and cheerful parent-participation preschool with a philosophy of “learning through play.” www. cordovabaypreschool.org.

Lakeview Christian Preschool .........250-658-5082 Nurturing environment for 30 month to 5 year olds in a rural setting. Christian values emphasized. Licensed Cordova Bay facility with ECE teacher.

La Pre-Maternelle Appletree Preschool .........................250-479-0292 French immersion preschool program. Small groups 30 months to school age. Licensed Christian centre/ ECE. 500 Admirals Rd. Simply Fun Childcare Centre ...........250-881-3958 A warm, loving, fun and nurturing place for children to grow and learn. We have spaces available for registration ages 2.5 to 12 in our Licensed Group Facility. We offer extraordinary childcare, before and after school programs and a preschool. Our teachers are extremely qualified with ECE training and have lots of experience.

Call Brenda to set up a tour. Let your child’s light shine bright with us!

Gonzales Co-op Preschool ..............250-727-1003 Children explore their imaginations through our varied learning through play environments and large natural playground. Our Reggio-Emilia inspired program focuses on art, nature and music. Join us! www.gonzalespreschool.com.

Kindred Spirits Children’s House .......250-590-6966 Now accepting registration for a small group of 2.5–5 year olds in a purpose built Montessori classroom.

The prepared environment stimulates and engages the children at their own pace with hands on, size, age and developmentally appropriate materials. www.kindredspiritschildrenshouse.com Oak Bay Co-op Preschool .................250-592-1922 Children Learn Through Play in this parent participation school. Our bright facility is allergy-free with a large outdoor playground. www.oakbaypreschool.com.

Recreation Oak Bay .........................250-370-7200 Fully licensed, qualified ECE Daycare and Preschool with play based learning. After school care also available.

HIGHLANDS Lexie’s Little Bears’ Child Care Inc. ..................................250-590-3603 Located only minutes past Costco and Bear Mountain we are a Full day care center with a Learning Naturally Interpretation. 2 centers, 2 acres to play! www. lexieslittlebears.com

METCHOSIN A Growing Place ...............................250-391-1133 Half day program (AM or PM) for 2.5-5 yrs. ECE educator, small class size. Our own petting farm. Summer program for July.

Metchosin Co-op Preschool............250-478-9241 Great balance of play, structured time, experimentation, art, outside play and more. Exceptional enriching program for 3-5 year olds. Fully inclusive. Flexible participation model. Reg. begins April 1, 8am.

NORTH SAANICH In the Garden Childcare Centre ......250-654-0306 New preschool as well as all day childcare and before and after school care. Amazing staff. A GREAT PLACE TO GROW.

OAK BAY Emmanuel Preschool .......................250-598-0573 Children learn through play in our non-denominational Christian preschool near UVic. Bright attractive setting. www.emmanuelpreschool.ca.

SAANICH Arbutus Grove Children’s Centre ....250-477-3731 (Formerly known as Goosey Gander Kindergarten) Playbased, creative, active-learning programs: half/full day Preschool. www.arbutusgrove.ca.

Cloverdale Child Care ......................... 250-995-1766 Come learn and grow with us in our preschool, 3-5 year old group daycare and before and afterschool care programs. www.cloverdalechildcare.com cloverdalechildare@shawbiz.ca.

Island Montessori House .................250-592-4411 Inclusive, integrated and nurturing preschool/ full-day kindergarten. Extended day available. www. islandmontessori.com The Kid’s House ................................250-727-9671 Licensed family childcare in safe, nurturing environment with caring, experienced ECE. Full or part-time.

Lakehill Preschool ............................250-477-4141 Nurturing, warm environment for children to learn through play, with qualified, experienced ECEs. Different levels of participation available. www.lakehillpreschool.org.

Lambrick Park Preschool & Childcare ...........................................250-477-8131 Gordon Head’s only parent-participation preschool and childcare centre celebrating 40 years. Offering morning, afternoon and all-day preschool options, flexible participation model, and allergy protocol. www. lambrickparkpreschool.ca Monkey Tree Daycare ......................250-383-0347 10 mos to 6 yrs. Quality learning environment. Lots of outings. Excellent references. Over 20 years as a licensed family daycare.

Looking for child care? Taking care of children?

Call your local Child Care Resource & Referral for free referrals and resources.

Your community’s best source of child care information and resources. www.islandfamilyinfo.ca www.ccrr.bc.ca 50

Island Parent Magazine

Victoria & Gulf Islands: 250-382-7000 or 1-800-750-1868 Sooke/Westshore: 250-642-5152 • Cowichan Valley: 250-746-4135 local 231 PacificCare (Ladysmith north): 250-756-2022 or 1-888-480-2273 Funded by the Province of BC

www.kidsinvictoria.com

Preschool & Child Care Directory Montessori Educare .........................250-881-8666 Beautiful learning environments in Broadmead and Saanichton. 30 months – 5 years. Summer program available. www.montessorieducare.com.

Downtown Y Child Care Centre ......250-413-8869 Enriched program, for children ages 3-5 years, supporting healthy child development and future school success. www.victoriay.com.

Neighbourhood Junior Kindergarten .250-479-4410 A morning reading readiness, language development pre-Kindergarten program for 4 year olds in Lakehill School.

Footprints Academy ............................ 250-590-5540 Licensed group daycare for 2.5 to 6 year olds. Open 6:30am–5:30pm. Weekly music and movement classes. www.footprintsacademy.ca.

Oakcrest Preschool ..........................250-472-0668 • Two fully qualified teachers, AM classes • No duty days, wide variety of parent jobs • www.oakcrestpreschool.org

Lansdowne Preschool .....................250-595-5223 A warm, caring and supportive atmosphere for children to play and discover. Parent participation. See our website for more information: www.lansdownepreschool.com.

Playtime Preschool ..........................250-383-3101 AM or PM preschool classes up to 20 hrs/ wk. Tillicum. Spacious facility, qualified ECEs. Let’s Talk About Touching Program. www. playtimepreschool.com.

Puddles & Paints Playschool ...........250-658-6573 “Leading the Way through Play!” ECEs. Near Lochside Elem. Licensed, curriculum/themes. wwwpuddlesandpaintsplayschool.com.

Ready Set Grow Preschool ..............250-472-1530 A warm, caring, quality Learning Through Play environment. Gordon Head area with a highly qualified ECE. heosc@pacificcoast.net.

Rogers Preschool .............................250-744-2643 Our preschool program supports your child's intellectual and emotional development through a learning through play philosophy. preschool.rcc@shaw.ca.

St. Joseph’s Catholic Preschool .............................250-479-1232 ext 120 • A Christian child centre for 3–5 year olds.

• A warm nurturing and challenging program • Offered by St. Joseph’s Catholic School.

St. Margaret’s Preschool & Junior Kindergarten .........................250-479-7171 Our programme for 3 and 4 year old girls offers a nurturing and educationally stimulating curriculum provided by experienced ECE staff and specialist teachers. Our state of the art facility is located in beautiful environmental surroundings. www.stmarg.ca.

VICTORIA

Nightingale Preschool and Junior Kindergarten ..................250-595-7544 – Taking children’s learning forward – One of Victoria’s leading preschools and Junior Kindergartens. Balanced approach to play and education.

Programme supports literacy, numeracy. Visit www. nightingalepreschool.com. Fernwood.

Parkdale Early Childhood Centre ....250-382-0512 We offer quality care and positive experiences for children in our diverse daycare and preschool programs. Our rich curriculum includes music classes from the Victoria Conservatory of Music. parkdalechildcare@shaw.ca.

Rainbow Express Daycare ...............250-382-2314 Enriched preschool style program in a daycare setting.

Visit our website at www.rainbow-express.bc.ca.

Parkside Academy Early Learning Centre ........................250-746-1711 Offering quality, literacy focused childcare for children aged 6 mos – 12 yrs; infant/toddler; 3–5, preschool, and after school programs at Alexander, Bench, Khowhemun and Tansor Elementary schools.

Queen Margaret’s Preschool/ Junior Kindergarten .........................250-746-4185 Offering a co-ed enriched curriculum in a friendly atmosphere. Morning preschool/afternoon daycare. www.qms.bc.ca.

CHEMAINUS

The Sir James Douglas Preschool ..250-389-0500 Fun and creative licensed ECE program offering 3-5 year olds an opportunity to grow and develop life long skills in our supportive and structured environment. Arts and crafts, numbers and letters, snacks and hygiene, play time inside and out, dance, music and much more. Come grow with us in our bright and modern centre in Fairfield.

VIEW ROYAL

www.IslandParent.ca

Maple Tree Play House Licensed Family Childcare ..............250-746-5060 A daycare program that provides enriched outdoor play time and activities that build on a child’s intrinsic love of nature. Healthy meals and snacks are provided. mapletreekids@telus.net..

St. Andrew’s Catholic Preschool .....250-382-3815 A place where children learn to love and love to learn.

A warm and nurturing environment. A stimulating curriculum.

Butterfly Corner ................................... 250-381-4845 Licensed family day care in James Bay. Since 1998.

ECE. Ages 1–5. Full time. Fun & Educational. http://ButterflyCornerCreativeLearningCentre.com

Christ Church Cathedral Childcare.250-383-5132 ECE and specialist teachers provide an outstanding all day licensed junior kindergarten program in our spacious and welcoming facility, where children begin to learn for the adventure of life.

Angel Care Christian Preschool ........250-746-5919 A quality, enriched program for preschool children.

Located in Queen of Angels Catholic School.

Sunrise Waldorf School, Kindercottage Preschool Nursery .....250-743-7253 A morning program for 3 and 4 yr olds in a warm natural atmosphere where wonder is nurtured and outdoor play is abundant. Details at www.sunrisewaldorfschool.org.

Parent & Child programs also available!

Victoria Montessori ..........................250-380-0534 Unique, innovative learning environment combining the best of Montessori and Learning Through Play.

Open yr. round. 30mths–grade 1.

Centennial Daycare ..........................250-386-6832 Providing quality childcare in the Burnside/ Gorge area for 30+ years. Snacks, lunches, Sportball and Music programs included. www. centennialdaycare.ca.

DUNCAN

Ross Bay Preschool .........................250-383-7445 Positive/supportive program motivating children to learn and discover. Curriculum builds on interests of the children. www.rossbaypreschool.com

ArtsCalibre Academy .......................250-382-3533 Comprehensive programs for Preschool through Grade 5, delivering academic excellence through music, dance, drama and visual arts. Outstanding educators, locations and facilities. www.ArtsCalibre.ca

Castleview Child Care ......................250-595-5355 Learning Through Play & Experience. Licensed nonprofit, qual. ECE staff. Since 1958. Preschool and full-time care. www.castleview.ca

Whale Spirit Early Enrichment Ctr ..250-590-3653 Providing high quality childcare with a preschool component. Learning through play in a supportive, nurturing and respectful environment. VIHA licensed; beautiful facility; incredible outdoor play area!

A Secret Garden Preschool .............250-380-8293 Program built on Christian values. Monthly themes, weekly topics and daily activities. asecretgardenpre school@shaw.ca Little Wonders Preschool (VROSCS) ..........................................250-744-2718 A creative and suuportive program that will prepare your child for a lifetime of learning! OSC also available. www.viewroyalosc.com.

View Royal Preschool.......................250-479-8067 An exciting inclusive program in an exceptional care environment. Licensed 3–5 year olds. Outside play and themes enrich this program. viewroyalps@uniserve. com.

Cherry Tree Child Care Centre ........250-246-9195 Preschool program nurturing creative play and engaging learning activity. 30 months to age five. Qualified and experienced Early Childhood Educator.

St. Joseph’s Preschool ....................250-246-3191 A Christian learning environment for 3–5 year olds.

Active participation in the life of the school. Parental involvement.

QUALICUM BEACH Children’s Discovery Centre ............250-752-4343 Our program recognizes the uniqueness of each child and provides a nurturing, safe and creative learning environment. Preschool, Groupcare, Out of School care. ECE qualified staff. childrensdiscoverycentre @hotmail.com.

Little Star Children’s Centre ............250-752-4554 Earth friendly academic early education inspired by nature. Preschool curriculum. Licensed group care.

ECE instructors. littlestar@shaw.ca.

NANAIMO Nanaimo Parent Participation Preschool ..........................................250-753-1939 Experienced, caring and energetic ECE using learning through play in an enriched environment. www.nanaimopreschool.com.

January 2012

51

Business & Professional Directory Ad Directory

ART CLASSES • DRAWING • PAINTING • SCULPTURE • CARTOONING • PORTFOLIO PREPARATION Children & Adults • Day & Evening Classes Fabulous Results • Original Art for Sale Christmas Gift Certificates

Artistic Statement Gallery & School of Fine Art Call Joan in the Oak Bay Monterey Mews, #107–2250 Oak Bay Ave, 250-383-0566 www.artisticstatementgalleryandschool.com Now taking registering for the next semester.

Guitar Lessons Acoustic, Classical, Electric Now accepting new students • Lessons for all ages, from children to seniors • Beginners welcome • Private and small group instruction offered • Afternoon and evening lesson times available Call Scott for more info:

250.382.6500 scottandrewsbrown.com

Social/Emotional Issues?

Behavioural Problems?

Developmental Delays?

• Dyslexia Assessments with Teaching Solutions • Dyslexia Awareness Workshops for Parents and Care Givers • Telephone Support Service • Tutoring Children, Language Arts For more information please call, email or visit our website.

Phone: Office and Evening 250-715-3034 or Cell 250-815-0950 E-mail: thi.sales@dyslexiavictoria.ca www.dyslexiavictoria.ca

52

Island Parent Magazine

Through The Window Pane offers one-on-one use of expressive play techniques for children 3–8 years in a safe, developmentally appropriate, holistic intervention program.

Sliding scale dependent on need.

Quadra & Hillside area.

R. Waddington, BSW, RSW 25 years experience 250-216-3794 or messages at 250-629-6292

1Up: Single Parent Resource Centre..... 55 Arbutus Grove............ 38 Artistic Statement ...... 44 Camp Qwanoes ......... 14 Capernwray Harbour .. 41 Chatterblock .............. 53 Children’s Education Fund ...................... 56 Cinecenta .................. 47 Conseil Scolaire ........... 5 Cordova Bay Preschool............... 39 Dansko...................... 21 Discovery School ......... 4 Dyslexia Victoria ........... 2 Evergreen School ....... 39 Family Literacy Day .... 20 First Metropolitan Church .................. 47 Daniel Griffin.............. 38 Girl Guides ................ 47 Guitar in Motion ......... 37 Horne Lake ................ 17 Island Farms .............. 28 Island Montessori ......... 4 JamTots .................... 54 Juan de Fuca Recreation ............. 22 Jump Up Inflatables Kaleidoscope Theatre . 32 Kate Rubin Drama & Theatre ............... 35 Kidproof .................... 26 KIV ............................ 37 KUMON .................... IBC La Place French ......... 10 Ladysmith Parks ........ 17 Dr. Ellen Laine............ 37 LIFE Seminars............ 23 Lighthouse Academy of Dance ................ 34 Little Steps ................ 23 Mad Science ............. 54 Mall Monkeys ............ 16 Maria Montessori ....... 43 Maritime Museum ...... 46 McBOP Law................. 7 McKenzie School ....... 34 Montessori Schools .... 45 Mothering Touch ........ 49 Karen Murdoch ............ 6

North Island Distance Education......... 16, 39 Pemberton Holmes .... 19 Pizzeria Prima Strada . 26 Port Theatre............... 17 Rainbow Express.......... 9 READ Society ............. 15 Recreation Oak Bay.... 21 Red Balloon .............. IBC Restart Computers ..... 37 Julie-Anne Richards ... 17 Barry Robinson ............ 8 Royal BC Museum ....... 3 Saanich Recreation ... IBC Scallywags ......... IFC, 20 School District #61 ................... 9, 32 School District #63 ................. 13, 31 School for Ideal Education............... 55 Screen Actors ............ 38 Selkirk Montessori ..... 41 Serious Coffee ........... 33 Society Of Services .... 16 Sportball.................... 15 St. Andrew’s Elementary............ IFC St. Margaret’s School ................... 30 St. Michaels University School ...... 1 Stages ..................... IBC Success by 6 ............... 1 The Shipley Group........ 4 TheatreOne ............... 17 Thrifty Foods.............. 29 TJs ........................... 49 Tom Lee Music .......... 55 TS Consulting ............ 35 UVic Dept of Psychology............... 7 Victoria Conservatory of Music .......... 14, 43 Victoria Gymnastics ....BC Victoria Midwives ....... 48 Victoria Recreation ..... 27 Victoria Symphony ..... 11 VIHA.......................... 36 Vitamin Shop ............. 18 Viva Choirs ................ 13 Welcome Wagon ........ 44 Woodgrove Centre ..... 42

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Chaos & Calm in the Cold Season t started with a rough night. Angus has his share of them, but this one was particularly heinous. The wake-ups were hourly.

He didn’t want to eat, and wasn’t all that interested in being held. But he sure didn’t want to be put back into his crib.

“Maybe he’s sick,” Mike said. It was our go-to explanation. It was helpful for warding off the frustration that seems to go hand in hand with exhaustion.

“Maybe he’s sick,” I repeated. Except, he couldn’t be. Since we’d started his threenap routine we hadn’t been to any momand-babe activities; we’d barely ventured anywhere germy at all. His milk diet was teeming with antibodies. Hands and toys were washed constantly in our house. No, he wasn’t sick, he was regressing. Maybe hourly wake-ups were becoming the new normal.

Maybe I would never sleep again.

The next morning I felt as tired as I had during Angus’s earliest days. You’re a sweet little boy, I told him. But you will never have a sibling. I put him on his play mat and he lay there despondently, only occasionally batting at the stuffed bugs hanging over him. He started to whimper. We were on countdown to nap number one. And I definitely intended to join him.

When I put Angus into his crib, he started whining. Give it five minutes, I told myself, and he’ll be fast asleep. But instead of winding down, Angus was revving up. I went into the bedroom and found him lying on his stomach, covered in blue fuzz from his chin to his forehead—the result of snot on a new flannel sheet. I picked him up and he clung to my hair, wiping his sticky face against my shoulder. He burst into tears again, and rubbed furiously at his eyes with his fist. My little guy had his first cold.

A baby’s first cold is like the first fight in a relationship. It’s inevitable that it will happen, and you know in your head that when it does you’ll get through it. But a never-ending honeymoon seems much more appealing than reality.

I told myself the cold was nothing. Angus had been much sicker when he was born, and we’d survived that, hadn’t we? Admittedly,

I

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we’d had the help of competent professionals then. Mike and I were amateurs at best. But so what? So Angus was a little snotty—I had a snot-sucker and a whole box of Q-Tips. I could clear those nasal passages in no time.

So he couldn’t sleep on his back. We had a reflux wedge, our chests, a stroller, a carrier and a swing. And yes, he had a bit of a cough, but it was no big deal.

Maternity & Beyond LAURA TRUNKEY No big deal, until it turned into the cough of a hard-living rock star; rough and wheezing. A cough loud enough to rouse people up the street—or at least upstairs. Every time Angus fell asleep, his coughing fits would startle him awake within minutes.

The phlegm would rattle in his lungs until he coughed it up—and swallowed it. He spent naps and nighttimes in the baby swing.

But that didn’t stop the coughing—it only lessened it. Every couple of hours I’d jump from bed and scoop him up, draping him over my shoulder, rubbing his back until the fit ended. Once he’d returned to sleep, I’d elbow Mike in the ribs.

“Do you think he’s okay?”

“He’s fine.”

“You don’t think we should be worried?”

“It’s just a cold, Laura. It’ll go away.”

It did. After a very long two weeks.

I remember the first fight Mike and I had, and how significant it felt at the time.

But I have no recollection of the second or the third. I’m hopeful that Angus’s colds will be the same. In the grand scheme of things they’ll be insignificant. We’ll just get through them. But please, pass the hand sanitizer anyway.

Laura Trunkey lives in Victoria with her husband and her son, Angus.

January 2012

53

Green Giants he winter practice of bringing evergreen boughs into homes originated in pagan tradition; it was a symbol of hope for the return of spring and all things green. Today it is linked with Christmas trees, holiday celebrations and gift giving. And for nature lovers, the evergreen trees surrounding us on our forest walks warm us with their shelter and bless us with their beauty.

T

Douglas Fir

To help enrich your relationship with our evergreens, here is a short primer on naming and getting to know a few evergreen trees, and the features that distinguish one from another. Featuring all our evergreens could fill a small pamphlet, so here are our three most common ones: Douglas-fir, Grand Fir and Western Red Cedar.

In young Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziessii) it can be difficult to distinguish the bark from that of other young evergreens.

In older trees, however, the deeply grooved bark is distinctively thick and gnarled looking. In the very large trees, the bark can be as much as 30 cm thick with grooves up to 20 cm deep!

An easier way of identifying this tree is by its blunt-pointed needles, radiating uniformly around the twig, much like a bottle-brush. Its cones, which are wide at the bottom and narrow to a blunt point at the top, have characteristic, paper thin, three-pointed bracts poking out from under the woody scales.

It is not unusual to find large Douglas-fir trees with charcoal-blackened bark from forest fires that killed other tree species with less thick and fire-resistant bark. Douglasfirs are also able to resist fires because, as they are not able to tolerate much shade, they “self-prune” their lower branches when their upper branches cast shade. As a result, the branches are high up the tree, where most ground fires cannot reach them.

The Grand Fir (Abies grandes) can be distinguished when young, by the “resinblisters” on its bark. These “blisters” are filled with a fragrant pitch. There is a story

Nature Notes DEB THIESSEN of how the Great Spirit found the Grand Fir weeping in the forest because it was not as beautiful or useful as the other trees around it. The Great Spirit assured the sad tree that it was loved because of its wonderful fragrance, then froze the tree’s teardrops on the bark, where they are found to this day. As the tree ages, the bark becomes ridged and flaky, not unlike the naturalist writing this article.

Dense, heavy and cylindrical, the cones are seldom seen unless a wind storm knocks them down, as they are found at the very tops of the mature trees, out of sight of human eye. The needles are the tree’s most distinctive characteristic, forming a flattened arrangement on their stems. Alternating short and long needles, they are reminiscent

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Island Parent Magazine

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of the black and white keys of a piano. Thus, a good way to remember the Grand Fir is by thinking of a grand piano. The backs of the needles are silver striped, and there is a tiny notch at the end of each needle.

The Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata) is decidedly unlike our other evergreen trees.

The bark is a dark, reddish-brown, thin and shaggy looking. Sometimes a thin coating of powdery green lichen can mask its natural red-brown tint. Leaves are tiny, tightly encas-

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Grand Fir

ing the twigs to give them a flattened, scaly appearance. Rather like tiny woody flower, the cones are small with only a few scales.

Revered by our coastal First Nations people, it has been used traditionally for everything from crafting baskets, mats and clothing, to building dug-out canoes. They have aptly named it the Tree of Life.

A lover of moist, lowland forests, the cedar shades streams, keeping the water cool for fish and aquatic insects. Dead and fallen cedars provide the woody debris that sustains bacteria and insects, which, in turn, become food for other creatures. Even after it has died, a red cedar keeps on giving for centuries. Downed trees anchor the soil,

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and their decaying wood replenishes the forest floor with rich nutrients, nursing the growth of new trees.

A walk in the forest in winter can be a refreshing break. Armed with a simple tree guide, you can become more familiar with some of these green giants. They reassure us that while the days are colder and darker, we can still enjoy the beauty of green in our lives. Francis/King Regional Park is an ideal start. Find out more about our guided walks at crd.bc.ca/parks.

Deb Thiessen is a CRD Regional Parks Interpreter. www.IslandParent.ca

January 2012

55

Cut It Out!

Tips from Parent Educator Allison Rees of LIFE Seminars

From Fear to Freedom f course we need to educate children about strangers and the various dangers of the world. We know that pedophiles exist, that dangerous drugs are offered to kids, and that the Internet allows kids to communicate with people who may not be who they say they are.

This is reality. At the same time we must live our lives without distorting these facts into making us think like victims.

If you are overprotecting your kids, you really need to Cut it Out! When we were kids we got to walk to school and play outside all day. We built tree forts, caught tadpoles and climbed trees. We developed a relationship with nature and expanded our physical energy and imaginations.

We have to find some balance so that our kids can experience life without fear, yet know how to protect themselves. Of course these are some basic rules:

O

• Stay in a group when you’re off the beaten track.

• Don’t go anywhere with strangers, even if they say they need help. This includes women and children.

• Be suspicious of any adult who is too friendly with children.

• Make a noise and fight back or run if someone makes a suspicious approach, and always tell about it afterwards.

• Know your karate skills and your super hero cape won’t help protect you from a dangerous adult.

It isn’t usually a stranger to fear—it can be relatives, daycare providers, scout leaders, clergy persons, babysitters and so on, so screen them very carefully. In the meantime, find space for children to play, go outside, experience freedom and do age-appropriate things. This will nourish children’s self-esteem, develop their spidy senses and give them a sense of confidence that could very well protect them!

LIFE Seminars has two books available, Sidestepping the Power Struggle and The Parent Child Connection. See www. lifeseminars.com.

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