Camping. With kids.

I have been looking into buying a new tent for our family. I would like to introduce my children to the world of camping. I have not been camping in nine years. I have not owned a tent in nine years. The last time I went camping was while I was teaching in Monterrey, Mexico, back in 2002.

My tent did not return home with me. It was a good tent, but parts of it were held together with duct tape, and I calculated it would be better if I sold it to a teacher who was staying in Monterrey, instead of having to pay the extra money to bring it home with me, and probably never use it again. I sold it for 300 pesos. I likely would have had to pay $30 to bring it on the plane, so I was actually up $60, in the end.

It was a tent by Eureka. It was roomy, and had a full fly. I had used it on a school canoe trip. I had used it for camping at a weekend concert in Gimli, where I saw Pearl Jam, briefly. I had also used it camping several times in BC, and stayed quite dry. And, I used it on our many weekend excursuions while working in Mexico.

My parents had bought the tent while I was still in high school. It replaced our massive, heavy, canvas tent we used when we were much younger, and our parents still enjoyed camping. I ended up trading a tent I received from my brother for my birthday and Christmas one year for it. The tent he had bought me from Canadian Tire might have been okay, but it didn't have a full fly. I wanted a tent with a full fly.

And now, I am searching for a tent for my family, so we too can experience camping. I haven't decided where we will camp. Next summer, we want to drive out east, to the Quebec Maritime, or Cape Breton. Perhaps we can camp along the way, instead of staying in motels, as we did for our trip west last summer. Santa's Village has a campground. We could stay there one night instead of doing the crazy three hour (one way) drive for a day trip. There is always the back yard. I would like to get a canoe or kayak one of these days, but I really am not experienced enough for that. We might all need to take canoe lessons before we foray into canoe trips.

My first step is to decide what tent to buy, and move on from there. Any advice? I have looked at Canadian Tire. I have also looked at Mountain Equipment Coop, and on the Eureka website. A friend said they really liked their Broadstone, with two rooms. They have since moved up to a tent trailer. My best friend said she bought her tent, with a full fly, at Costco. She too has upgraded to a tent trailer. Another friend, who is an active canoe tripper, and a single mom of one little girl, is still using the same tent she had as a tree planter. I suppose it depends on how much money I am willing to part with. I want a tent that will house a family of four, fairly comfortably, and keep us dry. I would like to spend less money, if possible, but am open to options.

Then, we need to buy the rest of the camping gear so we can truly live outdoors!

No Barney, Wiggles or Doodle Bops in our home.

One day, you are doing dishes in the kitchen with the radio on as your preschooler is playing in the living room. A catchy pop song comes on, and you hear your daughter singing " I like it, like it, come on!". Oh, how cute, she knows the words to popular music. But then, you realize your three year old is singing along to Rhianna's S and M. Not really appropriate lyrics for your little darling.

This got me thinking, what kind of music should our children be listening to? I am pretty sure we listened to songs with questionable lyrics as children. We probably didn't even realize the words had meaning. Songs catch on, usually, because of a melody. Often we have no idea what the actual lyrics are, even as adults. I am pretty sure I am not scarred, or morally depraved from listening to music with explicit lyrics, but we would like to shelter our children as long as possible and keep them...children.

In our home, we listen to a lot of French children's songs. My kids love them. I know it can get annoying for adults to have to listen to " children's" muisic all the time, but we have come across quite a few artists who play catchy songs. There is quite a broad range of music I am willing to listen to, so I am fairly easy to please, but here are a few suggestions.

For the Francophones: My favourite, by far, is Shilvi. My daughter loves her too. She has a lot a jazzy influences, and she references various music styles, and famous pieces. She also has a lot of play on words, so linguistically the songs are interesting. Of course, Annie Brocoli is popular with the kids, and I don't mind her songs. Carmen Campange sings a lot of the traditional songs I remember learning as child, like Bonhomme, Bonhomme Sais Tu Jouer?, so there's the nostalgia factor with her. We also picked up a CD while in France, and it has songs like Une Souris Verte and J'aime La Galette.

If you are looking for free French music for kids, there is usually one or two cable or satellite channels that offer children's music in French or English. Also, Le Loup (Sudbury, Timmins, Chapleau) plays kids music in the mornings on the weekend. We also listen to Espace Musique, on CBC. It is not children's music, but it isn't generally pop either, so the lyrics tend to be more appropriate. Also, you coukd hear Spanish, Portuguese, French, and English music. It is a great way to broaden everyone's musical horizons.

For the Anglophones: We have been taking Kindermusik with our kids four several years, and I have a huge collection of CDs which my daughter quite often asks me to play. (Pas mon oncle Stef, maman! If I happen to have the radio on Le Loup between 3 and 6 pm. Sorry Stephane, she just doesn't find your stories as engaging as the rest of us.) The Kindermusik CDs are quite varied, and there are many different music styles, so my children are being exposed to classical, jazz, country, folk, as well as some traditional kids songs. I also like Here Come the 1,2,3s by They Might Be Giants. Quirky pop bands do great kids CDs. Barenaked Ladies is another great example. For the Kids Volumes 1, 2, and 3 also has kids songs sung by pop artists. And, another option is to listen to CBC Radio 2, for something other than pop.

I have also heard that Mini Pops do sanitized versions of many pop songs. Yes, Mini Pops are still around. Also, Glee versions are a bit "cleaner" too.

What do you listen to with your children? Do you have suggestions of your own?

Which company makes the best bubble solution, or why I love being home with my kids

Yes, it has been ages since I have written on my blog. I was busy working this year, and then June arrived, and it felt like summer already.

I am teacher by profession. What this means is that I spent a year at university learning how to teach school aged children, and this is now my "preferred" area of employment. I also studied biology, and forestry at university, but I do not have my registered professional forester designation, and I didn't do much field biology. I supposed I could qualify myself by saying I am a science teacher, but really, I am currently an occasional teacher, which essentially means I am a Jill of all trades. You want me to teach French immersion, pas de probleme. Phys. Ed., sure! Junior Kindergarten? Bring it on, I am a mother of a two year old and a four year old, I can handle it.

And yet, being an occasional teacher is quite challenging. You are always jumping in midway through the year. You are not sure if you will finish off what you have been assigned to teach. You are taking over classes with someone else's rules. You might be one in series of teachers, and the students no longer care.

I love teaching. I am constantly listening to, and reading about new things I can introduce to students, if I were given the opportunity to actually have a class of my own. But, with declining student enrollment, permanent teaching jobs are becoming harder to obtain, and new graduates somehow get scooped up before me. Former students are often hired to work beside their former teachers. I am not originally from here, so I don't often have that connection to the schools. Also, I have been home with my young children the past few years, and tend to be more constrained with regards to the jobs I can take. It becomes quite a different thing to drop everything at 7:30am when you also have two children to get ready to leave the house, and you have to line up a sitter on short notice.

I have been lucky enough to have a sitter who said I could call her in the morning if I needed her. Usually, I try to line up my work ahead of time, to prevent the morning anxiety. It is even better when I can land a longer term for teaching, because there is much more stability. Regardless, I do love the days when I have the opportunity to be home with my children.

Hence the title of my blog. Summer is upon us. We have had a bit of slow start to the warm weather, but lately, it has been so nice, you have to spend time outside with the kids. One afternoon, my daughter was entertained for two hours, just blowing bubbles. Seriously, I had quite a lot of fun too. Who doesn't like blowing bubbles? Well, it can get a little frustrating when the bubble solution works as well as water!

So far, the best bubble solution (not homemade), that I have come across is called Blast O' Bubbles. We got them at a birthday party. The bubbles last long, and you can make a multitude of them with each dunk. I am not sure if wand shape is a factor too. I do know that the mega bottle of Miracle Bubbles I bought does not work at all. It frustrates my daughter, so we've shelved this brand. Maybe it will work better in the bubble mover, since half of that solution gets dumped out when the kids are pushing it around the yard. Does anyone else have a good experience with bubble solution?

We didn't have much luck with the Walmart big wand bubbles either. The bubbles aren't any bigger because the wand is narrow, and once the solution goes below the opening of the wand, it doesn't function as well. These bubbles also popped quite quickly.

Looking for some more outdoor activities? Water pistols are always a hit, and cooling in the hot summer weather. The latest recommendations from the Health Unit is to stay out of the sun between 10am and 4pm. This can be a bit of a challenge, unless you have a child who still naps most of the afternoon. Find some shade, like that of a tree or an umbrella. We have a large carport, and a garage with two big doors, so we'll hang out under the cover of these when the sun is at its highest. Another fun thing is putting our slide into the kiddie pool. Of course, this only works well with shorter children, but it provides a few hours of splashing fun. If anyone else has some ideas how to wile away the warm afternoon hours, let us know.

I am looking forward to spending lots of time with my kids this summer. Hopefully, I get a job in September, but if not, I get to watch my eldest start school, and could attend her school events. Plus, I get to spend some quality time alone with my youngest. He rarely gets the opportunity to have me alone since he's the second child. Stay at home mom is a very rewarding job.

PS. The U Pick Strawberry farms are starting to open around the area. Where is your favourite picking place?