Attractions & things to do for the kids in your life

DIY Fun: V for Valentine

I'm all for chocolate and candies on Valentine's Day but little heart-shape carrots and tomatoes would look so cute in kids' lunch boxes this week that I could not resist passing on, along with a few other cool ideas.

You'll find them on my Pinterest board DIY Fun: V for Valentine at www.pinterest.com/NathaliePrezeau. (Don't have a Pinterest account yet? Read my post Pinterest explained to my daughter to get you started.)

Yummy Valentine

1) Fortune cookies made out of Fruit Rollup with your own message, 2) heart-shape carrots in the soup, 3) heart tomatoes in the salad, 4) using a marble to keep a cupcake into a heart shape...

Valentine's Day in the classroom

5) Don't tear my heart game, 6) maths buddies, 7) I'm attached to you clips...

Be my Valentine

8) Lovely Tic-Tac-Toe game, 9) love letter on a clothe pin, 10) heart-shape letter...

You can't say I'm not doing my part to put Toronto on the map!

Today, my guide Toronto Fun Places, 5th ed. was #14 seller in amazon.ca Family Travel section (all destinations considered). Disney and Paris with kids were competing for the first 13 positions... Buy it on Amazon!

Fun winter

I took a walk around Glen Stewart Ravine yesterday and saw that someone was working on creating a natural ice rink on the piece of land nestled within Glen Manor Drive East and West (north of Queen Street east). I had noticed one, years ago, but later discovered that it's not there every year because this is not a rink managed by the City. It is the action of local volunteers.

There are a few good reasons why I like this rink. The location is simply lovely. Glen Stewart Ravine is just one-minute walk north of this (entrance of Glen Manor Drive East). And it is a 5-minute walk from two cafés serving hot chocolate: the usual suspect that is Starbucks (2253 Queen East at Hammersmith) and the cutest little vegan bakery & café Tori's Bakeshop (2188 Queen East, two blocks east of Glen Manor Drive). The bakery is open Tuesday to Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (It reopens later with a dinner menu.)

Note that you can admire lights along the beach until mid-February, a 5-minute walk south of the rink. Read about Light Up the Beach.

Are we there yet?

Half the attractions in Toronto Fun Places are located within the GTA but the rest of the family outings reach as far as London, Picton, Collingwood. In 2004, I found a little book filled with family activities to help parents entertain their kids while they wait in the car, at the restaurant, in the line-up, etc.

Here are my TOP-3 favourite car games in Fun in the Run! by Cynthia L. Copeland. (It is unfortunately out of print but she has written other interesting books since. Really Important Stuff my Dog Has Tought Me is her latest.)

Game #139 (How far, how fast?)

Ask one child to guess when the car will have done one kilometer. Set the odometer to zero and tell her to start. When she's made her guess, tell her the exact mileage on the odometer. Then, proceed with the next child. It's interesting to find out what strategies kids develop to improve on their guess.

Game #134 (Red car, blue car...)

Ask each kid to pick two of the following colours: red, blue, silver, black, white, tan or green. Once they're done, tell them that each time they see a car the colour of their first choice, they make one point.  The goal is to be the first to reach 10 points. BUT, their second choice is the "Cancel Colour". If they see a car in that colour before they reach 10 points, they lose all their points and are back to square one.

Game #136 (Fast friends)

Kids gain points by succeeding in making someone in another car do one of the following: Waving a hand, waving a foot, making a silly face, pumping a make-beleive horn like a trucker, saluting, smiling... I suggest each kid takes turn so everyone can see the strangers' reaction.

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Christmas

After a great Christmas concert by Cadence at the Beach United Church (140 Wineva), we walked down to the beach to admire the 7th edition of Light Up the Beach.

Here's my photo gallery of our little escapade. When there's snow, it's even prettier because the lights reflect on the white ground. The trees are lit until mid-February (thanks to the main sponsor DeClute Real Estate) so chances are we will be able to admire the cool lights under the snow by then.

See our description DeClute Light Up the Beach to get the address of two nearby cafés offering hot chocolates and local churches offering musical events.

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