Autumn is here!

Autumn has finally arrived. And not only because September 21st has passed. Most people think of autumn as cold weather and the lead up into the dark, cold, stay-indoors winter season. But for your children, it can be a world of wonder and amazement!

The changing colours of the leaves are a chance to teach kids about the seasons. Making a big pile of leaves and jumping in them, or gathering leaves and throwing them up in the air and dancing under them are just two great ways to enjoy the fall season! You can also take some leaves home for a cool art project! Here are just a few:

• Gather some leaves of different shapes and sizes. Take them home and put the leaf between two pieces of paper (make sure they are dry first). With a crayon or pencil crayon, rub the color over the page where the leaf is. This will make a leaf imprint on your page.
• Draw or print out the trunk of a tree with a few branches. With some finger paints, or some real leaves, put leaves on the tree. This can be a really big messy project, or a simply clean one. Use your imagination. Children's hands are the perfect size to create leaves for the tree branches.

Autumn is also the time that families start thinking about Halloween costumes. Luckily, if you purchase your costume from a mainstream store, they are all on sale by now. Costumes come out in early September, and go on sale at least 25% a few weeks after that. You should not have to pay full price for a Halloween costume ever!

Pumpkin patches are the biggest thing since sliced bread when it comes to Autumn, especially in October. There are three main pumpkin patches that I've heard good things about in and around the lower mainland. Richmond's Country Farms, Apple Barn in Abbotsford, and Alder Acres in Langley. All of the pumpkin farms have pretty much the same thing. Hay ride, pumpkins, a field, petting zoo, etc. Decide where you want to go, and thoroughly enjoy it! I recommend to wear rubber boots and old jeans. It is not necessary to wear a muddy buddy, but if you have rain pants, that might be useful! Bring a garbage bag to line the bottom of your trunk, or a crate/basket for the pumpkins to go into. Also, remember to bring your camera, it is the perfect place to get that once a year photo surrounded by pumpkins!

Teaching your kids the importance of being grateful, and giving thanks around Thanksgiving is an important lesson they can learn early. "We are not raising Children, we are raising adults" Teaching your kids the fundamentals of being an adult, like giving, being thankful, being respectful, responsible, and polite are important foundations of being a positive society member. Thanksgiving gives us the opportunity to do that. So, let me start with "Thank you for everyone who has read my blog, made a comment, or has passed the website onto their friends. I hope to make this a really useful tool for families".

There are a lot of great things about autumn. Make some warm soup, snuggle under some blankets, have a family movie night (The Nightmare Before Christmas for older kids), or go examine the wonder of the season! Remember that autumn is not only the lead up to winter, it has it's own magic too.

Enjoy!

ps. My tip: start buying Christmas gifts now!! Many many things will be on sale this month and they will not go on sale again closer to Christmas. I recommend starting early, just remember what you've bought so that you don't end up with a million presents for one child!

Raise a Reader

I helped raise a reader today, did you?

Reading with your children is probably one of the most important things you can do to stimulate their brains. Reading helps with problem solving, imagination, learning letters, and comprehension, to name a few. Today volunteers are out collecting money for underpriviledged children to grow up with books and to learn how to read.

A quote from Life Literacy Canada

"Fifteen per cent of the Canadian adult population has serious difficulty reading even basic material. An additional 27 per cent can only deal with material that is simple and where their limited comprehension makes it difficult for them to face novel demands such as learning new job skills. In total, these two groups make up 42 per cent of adult Canadians – 9 million – who are deemed to have low literacy skills."

If these people are parents and are not teaching their kids the importance of reading, they need support from their local communities, their families, and from us. Today, I donated all of my change (about $3) to this wonderful cause. Not all of us are independently wealthy, but we can all chip in. If everyone in Canada donated $1 to this cause, there would be a lot more books on the shelves of kids' homes. Go on, Raise a Reader today!

Some of Our favorite Books:

Hockey Night Out

Ever wish you could take your family to a Vancouver Canucks game, only to look at the ticket prices and have your mouth hang open in shock? Canucks games have quickly become a place for business and not a place for families.

But, have you ever thought of taking your family to a different game? A game that you could take your family of 4 to for the cost of 1 Canucks Ticket?

There are a few teams that are exciting, fast paced, and fun! Go see the up and comers of the NHL and see the Vancouver Giants, Chilliwack Bruins or the Abbotsford Heat. The Vancouver Giants and the Chilliwack Bruins are made up of teens from 15 to 20 years old who will be, or have already been, drafted for the NHL. They have skill and want to play professional hockey. They put on a good show every night and will knock you off your socks. The Abbotsford heat are the farm team for the Calgary Flames (I know I know... booooooooooo!). They are constantly trying to prove themselves to make it to the NHL by being called up to Calgary when they need another player or if someone gets injured.

Price for a WHL game (Giants or Bruins) is $20 or under.
Price for a AHL game (Heat) is $15-$45

Toons for Tots

More animated movies are making it into the theater these days and more families are going. Are you wondering if your kids will sit through a movie in a movie theater? Wondering if they'll have a melt down and all other movie goers will be throwing popcorn at you? Well, start with this!! Toons for Tots is movies especially for preschool aged children. They are held in smaller theaters across Canada (but mostly in Ontario), are inexpensive, and child appropriate. This month is Thomas and Friends: Misty Island Rescue. If you can't make it to the theater, you can buy Misty Island Rescue when it comes out this month Thomas & Friends: Misty Island Rescue (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

This is much like Movies for Mommies. Haven't heard of it, check it out here. Movies for mommies has adult movies at a quieter volume for infants to come along. That way you don't have to get a sitter and no one gets pissed off when you baby cries during a movie!

Click here to find a theater near you. AND, if they don't have your theater, talk to the manager at your local theater and see if they will consider bringing it there.

And, remember: to save money, bring snacks and drinks from home!

And, if they really loved the movie or Thomas in general, get this special Misty Island inspired Thomas Take along track! We bought it for our youngest for his birthday this summer and they LOVE it!! Comes with a Thomas die cast engine and space to add on other "Take along" Thomas track. We also bought "Captain" the boat shown in the picture above to go with it. See it here or order it from the states cheaper here Thomas & Friends: Take-n-Play Rescue from Misty Island

How to Make Pizza FUN

Next time your kids want to have pizza for dinner, try making the pizza at home.
All you need is:

• Whole Wheat Pitas (or your fav. pizza crust recipe)
• Spaghetti or Pizza Sauce
• Pepperoni or another meat topping
• Green Peppers, Red Peppers, Onions, Olives, etc
• Oregano flakes
• Parmasean Cheese
• Mozzarella Cheese or your other favorite pizza cheese

Pre-heat your oven on broil and move a rack up to near the top of your oven

Heat the pitas in the oven so that they are warm

Have your child spread pizza sauce on the bottom, sprinkle oregano flakes and Parmesan cheese, put the meat and veggies on and then the cheese. Feel free to help them with whatever steps you you think they need help with.

Put them back in the oven until the cheese is melted.

Make this a fun Experience for the kids. They will learn how to make fun food and how to enjoy food at the same time. This is a good recipe for picky kids as you can put whatever ingredients you want on the pizzas.

What we do to make it fun: SHAPE PIZZA!!! Make your pizzas then get the cookie cutters out! Make any shapes you want. They can be stars, flowers, Christmas shapes, Halloween shapes, etc. Our boys love making their own shapes with the pizza. They might need help getting the cookie cutter all the way through the pizza, so make sure you are on hand to provide the muscle.

Enjoy!

Free Entry and Rides at PNE!

Sunday August 22nd is free entry day to the PNE. Rides are also free until 12noon.
A friend asked me today "just what IS the difference between playland and the PNE? Why would I go to the PNE when I've already been to playland before?" Well, I said, "the PNE is so much more then just rides!" To be honest, the PNE is where it's at. There is a market place with booths for vendors to sell their items (we got a train to go around our Christmas tree last year), lots of food, free shows (like wonderdogs, this year they will have the Backyardigans!, etc), painting on cars for kids (yes, real cars), and much much more. It's just so much fun!

If you are thinking of going to the PNE on Sunday, get there early. Gates open at 9am, rides are free until 12:00pm, but they are expecting over 90,000 people to be there. Go for the whole day, but first, check out my prevous blog about saving money at the PNE.

Playland and the PNE

The fair at the PNE is a Vancouver family tradition that has spanned generations. This year will be the 100 year anniversary! The PNE or Playland (yes, they are different) is a whole day outing and is super fun, but it does come with a steep price tag. Here are a few tips for saving at the PNE.

• Playland or The PNE, which to choose? If you aren't excited about the PNE but you want to go on rides, go to Playland. The PNE is the last two weeks of August and ends on Labour Day. Every other day of the summer it is Playland. The difference is that Playland is rides and games. The PNE has a market place and an extra section with parades, shows, entertainment, etc. You will save about $15 per person if you go to Playland, however remember that it is ONLY rides and games. If you don't like amusement park rides, you shouldn't go.
• The PNE has free concerts at night each night of the fair. This year highlights include Cindy Lauper, Michael Bolton, Mariana's Trench, Loverboy, Joan Jett and much more. Get a sitter and go to the PNE in the evening with just the adults. Walk around the market, see the booths, taste the cuisine, and see a show. A fun evening out.
• Always pre-purchase your tickets. You can pre-buy your tickets at many local retailers (7-11, Safeway, online here) This will save you about $5 per person.
• Pack a Lunch. White Spot is the official supplier of Playland and the PNE. I do notice that the staff at playland do not know how to serve hot food. The food is expensive, and does not taste very good. We have friends who are vegetarians, and they find it difficult to eat there. Try to pack a lunch and some water to bring with you. Snacks for your little ones in ziploc bags or in small containers is a great idea and this makes it easy to pull out and give to them before a melt down ensues. You will save $30-50 per family of 4 if you pack a lunch instead of buy one.
• If you plan on drinking any fountain pop while you are there, buy a "Helevator Cup". This is a reusable cup that costs $9 to buy, but refills are free from any Playland food vending station. You CANNOT use the helevator cup at the PNE food vendors. If you already have one, make sure to bring it with you when you go back, it is only $5 to re-use it another day! A regular soda will run you about $3-5 each time, so depending on how much pop you drink, this cup is a significant savings!

Have a great time this year celebrating 100 years at the PNE or at Playland. Remember to bring water and sunscreen for your little ones and for you. It does get very hot, and they do not sell sunscreen for you to purchase. Get there as close to opening as possible. It gets very busy as the day goes on, and kids can get on rides faster and have less melt downs if there is less waiting in line.

For any information about Playland or the PNE, click here.