Helping push the gear cart, er, stroller Yesterday we spent the day at Kidsfest. When we woke up it was raining, but the weather dried up just in time for us to leave--yay! It was the first time attending for all three of us; though I did perform there one year, I never experienced it as a child. We had tickets to see Will Stroet & the Backyard Band at 10:30am, so we hopped on the bikes & zipped there (the quick way, avoiding the seawall) just in time for the show. Sprout loved doing the actions to every song. As it was a bilingual show, he even learned some French when Will was teaching all the kids the words to the exercise song, En haut, en bas. After the show we chatted with Kim (Will's wife & manager), Will & their little daughter Ella. He has just released a new DVD of his songs. If you're looking for some fun kids' music, stay tuned for a giveaway of Will's new DVD on The Sprog! He's playing Kidsfest again on Sunday & there are a few tickets left--it's a really interactive show for kids around two & up. Sprout loved the toys & puzzles. The monkey costume: not so much. Next stop was the Exploration Zone--if you don't manage to get tickets for a show at Kidsfest, this area, as well as the Celebration Zone & the Imagination Zone are accessible for just $6; there's tons to do in there. We headed straight for Twist & Toddle, a big carpeted tent for the littlies. It was full of toys: trains, puzzles, little animals, costumes, tents, tunnels, a water table with boats & buckets, as well as a baby zone for the really tiny ones. Sprout didn't want to leave! Shadow puppets & two of the MANY volunteers that make Kidsfest possible. We heard that the Shadow Puppetry tent was fun, so we went there next. Sprout enjoyed watching the shadows on the screen in the darkened tent for a few minutes, then we went around back & made some shadows ourselves. He did a little dancing to the music (middle eastern influenced tunes--I recognized a song by Beirut as we were leaving) then we checked out the playground for a while. There were quite a few school groups, so the playground was packed with kids a lot bigger & faster than Sprout. The bucket o' kids swing. By this time it was lunch & we were getting peckish, so we walked over to Railspur Alley to grab some food at Agro Cafe. It was fairly quiet when we arrived, which was a really nice break. They had a Kidsfest Special: three different lunch boxes with sandwich, juice, fruit & another snack. Sprout's 'Elephant Box' had more cheese cubes than he could eat (which is a lot!). After lunch we went back into the Exploration Zone to check out the Circus Skills tent with Dawn. There are hoops & balls for juggling practice, devil sticks you can try, hula hoops & more. Dawn showed Sprout plate spinning & he emptied all the juggling balls out of the bucket, one by one. I tried a leopard print hula hoop (it matched my gumboots!) but I think I need more practice. Maybe on Saturday... The Soundscape Zone, or HIT IT WITH A STICK We didn't have time to see everything, so I'm looking forward to taking Sprout to Soundscape, an outdoor noise-making extravaganza. Maybe we'll get his face painted if he'll sit still long enough & I'd love to try making a sock puppet at Sock It To Me! The Vancouver International Children's Festival is open: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 9:30am-2:30pm, Friday 9:30am-6:30pm, Saturday 10:00am-6:00pm Sunday 10:00am-4:00pm What are you planning to do & see at Kidsfest this year? Disclosure: I was asked by Limelite PR to be part of a team of bloggers promoting the festival through writing about our experiences with it. My posts & opinions are my own. :) If you like what you read here, please vote for me in the Vancouver Mom Ultimate Blogger contest. Voting closes soon on June 4, 2012. Thanks!
In this International Women's Day lesson plan, introduce your children to famous female scientists and try a simple science experiment
Enjoy the Golden Carers Activity Calendar for Seniors! Be inspired and prepared with activities for International Children’s Book Day
In honor of International Women's Day during Women's History Month, multi-hyphenate creative and activist Cleo Wade opens up about personal growth and finding inspiration through her womanhood.
September 15th was National Dot Day! It is based around Peter Reynolds wonderful book called "The Dot." My friend Mrs. K joined us and we dressed up special for this day! This book encourages kids to "Make your mark and see where it will take you!" Sir Ken Robinson once said, "Creativity is as important as literacy!" Creativity is a 21st Century Skill and we focus on those 21st Century Skills equally as much as we focus on the Common Core Standards! They are just as important to your child's success as the standards, if not more! This book has a great message for both children and teachers! It teaches children to celebrate their creativity and helps them build confidence in their own abilities! It teaches us teachers how powerful our encouragement and our words can be! We can use words to build them up or to criticize. In this room we choose to build these precious children up! This day was a day to show them that! It also teaches me that the process of creating art is more important than the product! What the students create should not at look the same as everyone else's creations! Nor should it look like what I think it should look like! Where is the creativity if I direct what their art should look like! Each one should be unique to the student who created it! We figured that celebrating International Dot Day was a perfect way to celebrate the process of creating! I set out some experiences and materials for the kids to make a mark and see where it takes them! The kids also created dots out of other things they found in our room! The kids wanted to have a Dot Gallery like the one in the book. They could not wait for me to display their art for all to see! We decided to put it in the hallway, but we had enough to fill our room too! Creativity will be celebrated in our room all year. Encourage your children to make their mark, the way they want to make it! You will be amazed at the confidence you will see growing each time they have the opportunity to create!
This is a great yoga sequence that you can practice at home. Includes pictures and a video of the sequence. Stretch your side body and elongate your spine.
History reading and worksheets for teaching International Holocaust Remembrance Day to Children
20 International Dot Day Art Projects for Kids, Inspired by Peter H. Reynolds storybook - The Dot. From artwork to gifts, Get Inspired, Making a Mark!
History reading and worksheets for teaching International Holocaust Remembrance Day to Children
What is Holocaust Memorial Day?
Remembering Anne Frank Worksheet
Use this age-appropriate activity to talk about gender stereotypes with children. Plus get all our lesson plans for International Women's Day.
Have you heard of International Mud Day? It is a perfect opportunity for children and adults to get down in the mud and have a great time.
A fun and creative elementary school art lesson plan for K-4th grade. This lesson plans is perfect for celebrating International Dot Day. Art teachers and educators can teach students creativity, courage & collaboration with Kandinsky inspired artwork.
Have you heard of International Mud Day? It is a perfect opportunity for children and adults to get down in the mud and have a great time.
elementary art lessons classroom management
Happy International Children's Book Day! To celebrate and help promote children's literature, I am sharing a round-up of the best children's book authors that readers should consider.
This past week we celebrated International Dot Day! It is a special day to celebrate creativity based on a precious book called "The Dot" by...
Learning about Stonehenge with children. Stonehenge crafts and field trip.
Most toddlers will need no encouragement to celebrate International Mud Day! Find out all about the day, why playing in mud is beneficial for children and my top three favourite ideas for getting, …
So is SWI the answer to the nation’s reading problems? In particular, is it a better alternative to phonics? Let’s first return to biggest purported problem with phonics—namely, its inability to ha…
Even though the world is becoming more diverse, intolerance still exists. It is important that parents teach their children about diversity and tolerance.
This year is the 10 year anniversary of International Dot Day and the 15th anniversary of the publication of The Dot. People all around the world celebrate creative expression, inspired by Peter H. Reynolds’ picture book, The Dot. Every year, Dot Day falls on or near September 15. I’d like to share how I helped my K-2 students explore their own creativity this year for
Learn more about our International Nanny Training Day Online speaker, Christina Vlinder, and what she will be discussing for this year's event!
90 Real People. Real Lives – Red Shoes Rock International Relay Guest Blogger Ann Yurcek Visit her blog at Parenting Complex Children Day 10 Ten Things You Need to Know About FASD (Fetal Alcohol Sp…
Children's Day is an occasion to celebrate and have fun. These Children's Day activities and celebration ideas could aid you to have a good time with your children.
Can children find these 12 peace themed words? Our peace word search is a fun extension activity to a school assembly or International Day of Peace themed lesson.
Think about peace and what it means to your child with this simple peace sign / poster activity.
Released for International Women’s Day, this film for the Inspiring Girls charity points out the limited representations of girls and women in children’s cartoons
