HRM Parent Blog

Hands down this week’s Time Well Spent tops our list.  Not only does it force your family to spend serious quality time together, but it’s a win for the planet as well.  Doesn’t get much better than that!

Earth Hour is this Saturday March 26th, 2011 at 8:30pm and we’re putting the challenge out to all our HRM Parents and families to join the hundreds of millions of people across the globe who will switch off the lights in their homes and businesses for one whole hour.  It’s the world’s largest public action for the environment and we’re proud to be a part of it.

To make it even easier for you to participate, here are some ideas for how to spend the time.  Who knows, you may end up having so much fun you’ll keep it going well beyond 60 minutes!

Where on Earth?   Grab a globe or atlas and have fun looking up all the places you’ve travelled to or want to visit.  Then look up the places where your friends and family live or have visited.  Who knows, you may end up planning a fun family vacation before the night is over?

Story Time:  This one involves a little homework but hopefully not the kind that the kids will complain about.  Have everyone come to Earth Hour prepared with some funny stories to share.  Pick some quirky themes and have them make up some stories or poems to fit. Some ideas might include: my most embarrassing moment, why I don’t like mustard or if I could be a superhero I would…

Memory Lane: Calling all sentimental parents!!  Earth Hour is the perfect time to pull out the old photo albums and fancy scrapbooks and take the family on a stroll down memory lane.   Do your kids know the story about the day they were born? Or when you first found out you were going to be a parent?  Have they seen any family wedding photos, or pics of Uncle Bill before he went bald?  Who knows where it will take you.

Board Games:  Love ‘em or hate ‘em - there’s really nothing like a little family friendly competition!  Pictionary, Monopoly, Candy Land, Risk, Clue, Trivial Pursuit, Cranium, Boggle…and more.  Go grab a few from the basement and let the games begin!

Yuck!  This may get a little messy but it’ll sure help them remember Earth Hour.  Even though Halloween is still months away, enjoy the darkness by pulling out all the gooey stuff from the kitchen for some “Guess what you’re Feeling” fun.  You know – peeled grapes as eyeballs, cooked macaroni as brains…eek!  For a not so slimy version – pick unusual objects from around the house and place them in bags for people to feel and guess what they are.

A few ideas to get you started, but we would love to hear yours as well.  Post your suggestions below or on our Facebook page.   Plus, help us spread the word by sharing this post with your friends and family so they too are aware of such an important event.

Of course, the cautious parents in us, also wants to add a little reminder to ensure all the candles you may light during Earth Hour are away from flammable items, well out of reach of little hands and are extinguished afterwards.

We hope you participate and make HRM’s Earth Hour a successful one!

Just because the Canada Games are over and our vacations are a thing of the past, that doesn't mean you can't still have a lot of fun this weekend.

Only in HRM could you visit a world famous dinosaur, see Peter Wolf, sample food cooked on an open hearth and attend a free baby shower all on the same weekend!!  Check out our events calendar for more details on all these great events.  

Not up for staying inside?  Why not take a trip to Martock or Wentworth for a ski or grab the snow shoes and go for a trek around your nearest park or golf course.  Not to mention that our beloved Oval is open with public skating scheduled throughout the weekend.

Whatever you and the kids choose to do this weekend - hope it's safe and happy! 

Registration is now open for Take Me Outside Week in Nova Scotia from September 20 to 26 at www.takemeoutsideweek.ca (available in both French and English). Take Me Outside Week is coordinated by Recreation Nova Scotia to support a growing "back to nature" movement as they invite more children and youth and their families out into the great outdoors.

Families and small groups can register the activities they plan to do during the event week. There are lots of ideas for activities on the website available here - good ideas that will no doubt be useful even if your family cannot participate in this week's activities. As well, there are lots of organized events to take part in across the province - check out the full list here.

By registering you qualify to win one of many great prizes, such as an annual family pass to Kejimkujik, an annual family pass to the Museum of Natural History, a $50 gift certificate to one of HRM's Adventure Earth Centre programs, plus lots more!

Organizations can also register their activities and events during the event week and access lots of ideas and resources on the website.

Follow Take Me Outside Week developments on: Facebook and Twitter.

Today we headed down to the Spring Garden Road Library with friends to enjoy the library's "Games on the Library Lawn" program. Thankfully the weather was beautiful, and other than minor issues with the giant inflatable dice blowing away, was great fun. The kids played while I munched on fries from Bud the Spud. Success.

Such concentration on their faces! Being a games piece is hard work, you know.

We even managed to pop into the library to borrow some actual books. These librarians are a clever sort - suck you into coming down on a sunny day for some outdoor fun, and you end up with yet more books to collect fines on. Still, heaps cheaper than buying them, that's for sure. I figure it's all good.

Here's a fun idea for Natal Day weekend, happening at Sullivan's Pond in Dartmouth on Monday from noon to 4pm:

"Where do you like to read? How do you like to play? What kinds of activities or furniture would you like to see in a big new central library? Using a variety of craft supplies make your own addition to our three dimensional library model. Add play dough chairs, decorative reading nooks, sailboats you can sit in for story times or slides from the rooftop. We’ll provide the structure and the supplies - you supply the imagination!"

Public consultations for the Central Library continue in August and September - get your two cents in before it's too late. Check out the Central Library's website for more details.

For other Natal Day events, check out the Alexander Keith's Natal Day Festival website.

Today's guest blog post is from Heather Doepner, local mom and a children's librarian at Spring Garden Road Library. Heather has some great ideas for eco-books to share with your kids. I admit I had no idea that Nancy Drew had green-themed books - I am definitely out of touch! Thank-you Heather!

Did you know that Earth Day is 40 on April 22nd? I celebrated it for the first time in the late ‘80s with a beach clean-up near my rural home. Now, I outfit my family with trash bags and we do a spring clean up around my urban neighbourhood. My son is still a little young to participate in this year’s activity: at 19 months he still tries to drink from icky abandoned juice boxes he finds at the playground. However, he is learning green habits along with his first words.

As a children’s librarian, I am happy that book borrowing is a great green way to add variety to your home story times. Halifax Public Libraries also has plenty of information books on all sorts of eco-themed topics from global warming to green living. Here are some titles to check out, loosely grouped by age. Most of these books are owned by Halifax Public Libraries.

For toddlers:

• Big Earth, Little Me (Wiley, 2009)
• Don’t Throw That Away: a lift-the-flap book about recycling and reusing (Bergan, 2009)
• What Do You See?: a lift-the-flap book about endangered animals (Krensky, 2009)
• Eco Babies Wear Green (Colman, 2008)

For younger kids:

• Sandy’s Incredible Shrinking Footprint (Handy, 2010)
• Earth Day (McNamara, 2009)
  
• Stuff!: reduce, reuse, recycle (Kroll, 2009)
• I Can Save the Earth! (Inches, 2008)
• It’s Earth Day! (Mayer, 2008)
• We Are Extremely Very Good Recyclers (Child, 2007)
• Celebrating Earth Day (McDonnell, 1994)
• The Lorax (Seuss, 1971)

For older kids:

• Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew #18: Earth Day Escapade (Keene, 2009)
• Nancy Drew Eco Mystery Triology: Green-Eyed Monster, Green with Envy and Seeing Green (Keene, 2009 and 2010)
• Going Green (Armentrout, 2009)
• Heroes of the Environment: true stories of people who are helping to protect our planet (Rohmer, 2009)
• I Love Dirt: 52 activities to help you and your kids discover the wonders of nature (Ward, 2008)
• True Green Kids: 100 things you can do to save the planet (McKay, 2008)
• Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming (Gordon, 2007)

If you aren’t yet acquainted with your public library, here are the basics:

• Apply for a free library card online at halifaxpubliclibraries.ca, or bring home ID to your local branch. Kids can get their own cards too!
• If you had a card but now it is missing, bring ID to get a new one.
• Borrow from one library and return to any other.
• Make a request for free to have an item brought from another branch.
• Download free digital e-books and audiobooks from home and use Tumblebooks (for kids) for free.
• Call 490-5753 for help.