A Cozy Winter Camping Experience at Silent Lake Provincial Park

We love camping at Ontario Parks in the summer, which allows us to enjoy the serene outdoors and all the wonderful things we can do in the warm weather - thinking of it makes me miss summer! We have also learned to embrace the beauty of winter; the fresh cool air, soft snow, the beauty of trees covered with white snow, and all the fun activities we can do in the winter from skiing, tobogganing to snowshoeing and more. 

When we travel in winter to enjoy the festive season or to explore winter themed events and activities, we usually stay in hotels. We tried winter camping in one of the roofed accommodations at Ontario Parks, which is truly a lovely way to get close to nature, away from the everyday hustle and bustle. 

Exercising the mind and being creative at LSA summer camp

On our recent post about TAC sports camp we mentioned that they have partnered with LSA (Lifetime Skills Academy) to offer STEM themed programs, which will help our children exercise their creativity and develop a variety of skills.

Win a copy of Big Book of Kids' Birthday Cakes

It doesn't matter how old we get, our birthdays remain to be a special day. For a child celebrating their birthday with a beautifully structured cake with something they like on it such as dinosaurs or castles will make their day even more special. Although my family and I don't do big birthday celebrations, each year for my children's birthday I enjoy making a cake with their favourite character or liking that tends to change each year. 

Win This Awesome Squashed Game And Squash Your Opponents

Squash your opponents right out of the game with this 3D game that adds a whole new dimension to board games. It is lots of fun trying to squash the pawns of your opponent and making a choice to loose some of your own pawns during this process. 

School struggles book review and giveaway

I had a wonderful opportunity to read and learn from the book School struggles.  This book is easy to understand as there are no jargons.  I liked the "take a way points" and tips at the end of each section in this book.  I agree with lots of things in the book and realized that we have to make changes as parents to avoid problems in the future.  Labelling children with problems, doesn't help anyone because many variables and factors contribute to the problems children may face in school.  The author Dr. Selznick has worked with families over 25 years and recognizes the complex mixture of cultural, socio-economic backgrounds and uniques of each family.  He offers guidelines based on his experience, professional practice and research.  He recognizes that these struggles that children have are because of their differences and does not label it as a disability.   

The author explains that children become shutdown learners when there are cracks in the foundation because of time + lack of understanding + strained family communications = school struggling shut down learners.

Children that will struggle in the future can be identified early as 4-5 years of age.   Even when parents feel there is something wrong and approach the educator, they are usually told not to worry.  The signs that a child is struggling in school work emerge in upper elementary grades and become more pronounced by high school, at this time it becomes overwhelming for the family.  

Timing is important, so dealing with the problem patiently before it matures is something we can do.  Some signs to look for and consider so we can intervene early will prevent children from becoming shut down learners.  

• If the child is tuning out during circle time, 
• Highly spatial and visual learners, 
• Active or over active, 
• Having trouble with language based activities i.e. reading and writing.

Here are somethings we can do to help the children

• Trust your feelings when you think something is wrong
• Know what to target and help with skills that needs more practice.
• Look for small things to boost the child's self esteem i.e. "Wow, I like the way your working without being asked to."  
• Get the child involved in creative extra curricular activities such as sports, art, cooking, music etc.
• Maintain equilibrium between fun and learning.  Don't let school problems dominate every interaction i.e. play board games or do crafts
• Support and connect with the child to let the child know you are in the same team.  
• Keep homework time calm.  Yelling and telling the child to try hard doesn't help.  Set a point system to reward the children and encourage. i.e. however try to avoid monetary compensation and reward with fun trips, going out for ice cream.
• Encourage children to read out loud.  After grade 2 children usually read independently and we might not recognize if they are have reading or comprehension problems.
• Lack of understanding that there is a skill deficiency adds up and causes frustration to the child and adults.
• Teach the basics i.e. phonic sounds.  Reading and comprehension problems can be helped by prompting and talking to the child so they can start thinking.  i.e. the author suggests programs like glassanalysis.com
• Stay organized from the start.
• Technology has changed lots of things in our daily activities and has created less interaction between families, which is why it is important to set a family time to talk and play with each other.
• Let children contribute to the guidelines and rules on what will help them do the homework and study.

Children who struggle with their school work face lots of social problems as well and get picked by peers, family, which effects their self esteem.  We can help these children by preventing the problems and taking a step back to see which basic skills need practice i.e. follow directions, play with others, identify letters, sound out the words etc.  

Throwing children into special education is not the solution.  Medications that are available out there to control behaviour is not a solution either, these types of medication come with lots of harm.

This book will help parents and professionals help chldren take a less rocky road in school.  The book is available online and at bookstores.  I am glad to host a giveaway of the books The Shut Down Learner and School struggles to one person in US or Canada.  The giveaway ends on September 30th, please enter through the rafflecopter below. 

Update: The winner is Elaine

a Rafflecopter giveaway
All rights reserved on photographs and opinion of the written content Createwithmom © 2012. Please Ask First

TELUS encourages Canadians to enter Holiday Mode

This is the season for holiday parties, family dinners, and catching up with friends. But it’s pretty hard to catch up when everyone is glued to their phones. In fact, a TELUS survey this year found that Canadians are twice as likely to be on their phones around family and friends (82.6 per cent) than they are when at work (40.6 per cent).

Fun Games and Entertainment

We are always excited to try new games and do different hands on activities in our family. We love game nights, and recently have been playing Azul and Ticket to Ride London. We also spent time building with Flexo. A new calendar year comes with new resolutions to become more creative, so we have been practicing watercolour painting with Watercolour the Easy Way book and took the time to clean up, get organized, and even spiced up our phones by replacing our Pop Sockets with creative ones! We have also been reading the Four Seasons of Entertaining book that is filled with colourful photography, recipes, and ideas separated by each season. 

Gift Ideas and Giveaway

With the holidays around the corner, here are some gift ideas to consider. 

This post will be updated all month long with deals, discounts, and giveaways. 

Premium Green and Black's chocolate bars made with hand-selected, gourmet cocoa beans would be enjoyed by everyone. We found the flavour combinations unique and delicious. We used the dark chocolate in desserts that everyone enjoyed. It is available in ten unique flavours ranging from smooth milk to rich dark chocolate, Green and Black's will impress even the most sophisticated palettes.

Flippity find board game at Kimmyshop

Kimmyshop is a good destination to find all the favourite hard to find character merchandise from games, arts and crafts to bagpacks and lunch boxes. Their products are shipped all over the world. All the products in the site are separated by catergories, age, characters and brands. This makes it easy to find products for children, especially if you are looking to buy gifts.

This simple memory and matching game is targeted for preschoolers. It teaches children to work within a given time, to take turns and helps with their fine motor skills. In this game, children learn to quickly recognize the matching pictures and find as many of their favourite disney character tiles, before the sand timer ends or until they find Mickey mouse. The game continues until all the tiles are flipped.

This Hasbro flippty find is a fabulous hands on game where the whole family can enjoy as it could be played with 1 to 4 players from age 3+.

January 27th is Family Literacy Day to raise national awareness in reading and engaging in Literacy related activities as a family. Teaching our children literacy and numeracy with games are always a fun way to teach in which they will learn faster and remember.

I got a chance to review this Hasbro flippity board game from their site. All rights reserved on opinion, photographs and written content Createwithmom © 2012. Please Ask First

Holiday Gift Ideas and Giveaways

With the holiday season around the corner, here is a list of gift ideas to consider. This post will be updated all month long with deals, discounts, and giveaways. All giveaways are only open to people living in Canada.

For every home ~ 

• Cuisipro  Soft-Touch Cookware Set and Dish rack
• Hamilton Beach Juicer, Grinder, Mixer
• Melitta coffee products
• Schlage Encode Smart Door Lock

For your well-being ~ 

• Good Burdens book (giveaway enter below)
• Nature Painting in watercolor (giveaway)
• Ekster wallets

For children ~ 

• Molly the Mastodon book
• Bug Lab experience at Ontario Science Centre
• Baby Born Surprise Animal Babies (giveaway below)
• Akedo and Bluey Heeler toys (giveaway below)
• Rummikub

Rummikub for Game Nights and Giveaway

There are a few go-to games in our family we enjoy playing during game nights and get-togethers, and Rummikub is one of them. Rummikub reinforces STEM skills like sequencing, pattern recognition and planning. 

V-Tech and Hexbug Toys for the holidays

VTech has lots of entertaining and educational toys for children that would make fun holiday gifts. 

My children enjoy the VTech Kidizoom Smartwatch DX that totally welcomes our children into the digital age. This fully functional, multipurpose watch keeps children entertained, while teaching them how to read time and understand the concept in a fun way.

InnoTab® 3 Opens a World of Learning

The InnoTab® 3 by VTech opens a world of learning. There is a wealth of age-appropriate educational games, apps and more that expands our children's minds, creativity and learning. 

Both my 4 and 8 year old enjoy using the 180° 2 megapixel rotating camera and video recorder to capture images and videos. They like using the WonderCam with over 55 photo effects, funny faces and frames to create fun images with the pictures they took. 

Tech tips for #BacktoSchool

With Back to School Season it is always wonderful to know some useful tech tips. These tips from journalist Marc Saltzman will help students make the most out of their school year.

Get Creative This Holiday With Crayola

My daughter and I enjoyed using the Crayola Beadola Charm Maker kit to make fun, detailed beads. The kit includes 3 1/4 lb air drying clay bags in grey, pink, and purple, 25 gems, and four bead plates with twenty four bead designs such as hearts, stars and more for us to make imprints on the clay beads. 

Always thinking of the next fun thing to do at Fern Resort #OntariosAllinclusive

While at Fern Resort, the only thing we thought of was vacationing! The mood is all set from the time you walk into the resort till the time you check-out. This resort is all inclusive, so all the meals and activities are taken care of. This made my husband and I feel at ease since we didn't need to worry about the meals, and were able to participate in the activities we wanted to, and children were able to do activities they wanted to. 

Books for Young Readers

Cozy Classics written by Jack and Holman Wang are meant for babies and toddlers. Cozy Classics tells the story line of English literature classic novels such as Pride and Prejudice and Moby Dick using simple words. Children can grasp the basics of the story line by looking at the 12 pictures and reading the 12 words in these board books.

Disney Junior Dream Cruise Contest

My children are fans of Disney Pixar Toy Story, so they were excited when they got a chance to build their own RC and the Pizza Planet Delivery Shuttle in July. Toy Story 2 will premiere on Disney Junior, Saturday August 10th at 6pm EST. 

Festive Season in Stratford, Ontario

We love the festive season because it is not only a time for families and friends to gather in celebration of the end of a year, but also a time to admire the coziness, beauty, and magical time of winter. Just in time for the holiday season, we spent a weekend at The River Merchant Inn located in Stratford, Ontario to enjoy the Holiday Light displays, Outdoor Christmas Market, Santa’s Parade of Lights, and to go on the Christmas and Chocolate Trails.