Take Learning On The Road This Summer

Summer can be an exciting time for both parents and students, but can also cause parents to worry about their child forgetting some of what they have learned, or not being prepared enough for the upcoming school year. Sylvan Learning, the leading provider of tutoring to students of all ages, grades and skill levels, believes that by making daily activities fun, and incorporating learning into these activities, the lessons children have learned throughout the school year will be reinforced, making students better prepared for their next school year.

We think that time in the car getting to a field trip destination, or to the location of another summer adventure, creates the perfect opportunity for some fun summer learning. Using simple items that are inexpensive or can be found around the house you can create your own educational car pack! We've suggested some simple ideas to create an activity pack for the car, which is sure to inspire learning and fun on a drive of any length.

Car Pack

The first step is to determine and collect the best items to include in the activity pack. For example, we suggest the following items:

1. Having maps, books, and other reading materials in each car is a must. Maps are great for sneaking in math on trips. Ask children to look at them and determine the distance from home to their destination, how long will it take to get there if you travel the speed limit, or to find the most direct route versus what the most scenic route and have them explain their answers. These activities will also give them practice reading and help them learn geography as they encounter the names of cities and roads on their chosen route.

Books of various kinds (fiction, non-fiction on topics they enjoy, and even comic books) or other reading materials are great ways to keep children occupied on long trips. While they are reading they are not only keeping busy, but also being exposed to new words and how to spell them, new genres, new ideas or facts, and gaining inspiration for any future writing or art of their own.

2. Sylvan Learning also suggests (particularly for those who suffer motion sickness in the car) keeping educational CDs, (or MP3 tracks) handy in the car. Books-on-CD from the library or bookstore, a recording of your child or you reading a book, or educational recordings such as those filled with fun songs teaching math or spelling skills are all great ways to pass the time and reinforce literacy and math concepts. Use a CD to practice math facts and set a goal for the trip (ex. on the way to your destination we’ll practice 4x table and on the way home we’ll work on 6x).

3. Having pens, pencils, drawing utensils, paper, and a small solid surface like a clip-board can be great for turning potential crankiness into creativity. With these items, children can keep track of the cool things they see from the windows, create a vocabulary list of all the new words they have learned on the trip, find writing prompts for later, or write a story during the journey. The possibilities with writing or drawing utensils and paper in a car are endless: children can create tongue-twisters for everyone to attempt, play word games (such as choosing a letter and writing down how many things they see out the window starting with that letter), or write a journal entry describing the things they see, have done so far on the trip, or are excited to do. They can also draw pictures based on these new words, sights, or tongue twisters, not only reinforcing their learning, but also creating great artwork by which to remember the trip later.

4. The last items we suggest adding are any that you feel will help augment these activities, or activities of your own, for your children. For example, binoculars are a fun way to spot distant signs, watches or stopwatches can help them learn to keep track of and calculate time, and any favourite activity booklet of your child’s can help make any road trip a beneficial, educational success for your family.

We also highly recommend a trip to your local discount store to peruse their word puzzle books and activity book section as there are often great gems to be found at reasonable prices. The novelty of having a new book can be enough incentive for even the most reluctant of children to give it a try.

Once you have gathered all these items, the second step for creating the activity pack is to find a fun box or case to put these items in. You and your family can even decorate the case yourselves! Once it is decorated and all the items are put inside, the pack should be placed somewhere in the car where it is easily seen and accessible to both parents and children, allowing its contents to always be an option.

The third and final step for the activity pack is to follow through on using it, and through its use determine what works and what doesn’t for your family, adding or taking away items over time, customizing it to what works best for your family. Finally, the last part of this final step is to enjoy the activity pack!

For more information and tips on how to make learning a part of everyday summer life and to learn more about our summer and school year programs, see Sylvan Learning’s blog, Facebook page or follow us on Twitter.

Day 2: Help Find Koba's Missing Teddy Bear

Welcome to momstown Oakville and congratulations- you have found 2 of seven letter tiles today!

If you haven’t collected today’s seven letter tiles, please return to the Koba Entertainment’s Facebook page to continue your search through the blogs.

Central Canada is very excited about welcoming Koba Entertainment’s mysterious guest to our region and we think you will be just as excited as us.

Make sure to visit Koba Entertainment’s Facebook page for instructions on tomorrow’s clue.

Where do you find inspiration?

This morning I am hitting road and heading north to Fern Resort in Orillia for the momstown National Spring conference.  The entire momstown team (that's 25+ people!) will be together for four days to brainstorm, plan, work and learn and come back to our respective communities ready to elevate our businesses yet again.

These bi-annual conferences always get me thinking about inspiration.  Where do you find inspiration?  What motivates and inspires you to try something new, push yourself beyond your limits and reach your goals?  I am lucky that being a part of the momstown team allows me to find inspiration from so many amazing women each and every day!  When I think about all the other momstown chapter owners, there is not one person that doesn't come to my mind when I need a dose of inspiration.  Whether they have overcome personal challenges, continually taken risks and tried new things or achieved personal milestones while trying to balance the growth of their business, there is no shortage of impressive things happening among the momstown team.

Since our conference last May, everyone single momstown team member has huge accomplishments to be proud of.  And so this afternoon, when I sit in a room filled with women who have grown and flourished over the last 12 months, I feel pretty lucky to only have to turn my head in any direction to feel inspired, proud and motivated to continue to push on towards the big goals I have for myself and my business.

Oakville's First Dishcrawl Is Heading Downtown!

Have you heard about these fabulous Dishcrawl events yet?  On Wednesday May 29, Oakville will be experiencing its first Dishcrawl event as they take participants to four downtown Oakville restaurants to reawaken your taste buds! Supporting small to big businesses in their success, Dishcrawl strives to revolutionize the environment of existing neighbourhoods to its citizens and their mission is to show food lovers the best dishes in local restaurants.  Think pub crawl, but with delicious food instead!

Wondering where you'll be headed? It's a guessing game! Organizers are keeping the names of the restaurants you will be visiting a secret for now, but there will be some hints! Follow Dishcrawl Oakville on Twitter (@Dishcrawlove) and visit their Facebook Fan Page and be the first to know!

momstown Hamilton recently attended the third successful Dishcrawl Hamilton event, read about her experience here.  Oakville has so many fabulous restaurants so I know the event on May 29th will be a an awesome and very delicious experience!  There are only a few tickets left, so make sure you get yours!  Click here to buy tickets now.

Alphabet Play Program for Oakville Kids - The Letter 'O'

momstown Oakville's May Alphabet Play event was all about the letter 'O'!  We had a great session at the Oakville Soccer Club today and explore all the things Oakville moms and kids had brought that started with O.  Then we sang "Old Macdonald Has A Farm" and "If You're Happy and You Know It" using actions for things that start with O.  Our letter 'O' craft was making an octopus so to get us into a sea-like mood we read "Into the A B Sea" and "Commotion in the Ocean".  Each child got to make their own octopus using a paper plate, ribbons and little 'o' shaped stickers.  To make your own octopus craft, draw a face on the paper plate, cut ribbons/streamers into 8 legs, glue them around the plate, and then make suction cups on our legs using the o stickers.

The grand finale was when we talked about 'o' being for orchestra and made a marching orchestra, using shakers and bells and we used the tapping sticks to practice tapping to the beat and going fast, slow, loud and quiet.

For the month June we will learn all about the letter 'P'.  Come on out and join our early literacy programs, click here to sign up and get in on the fun!  Did you know that when you buy a one year momstown membership you also get a 12 month subscription to Today's Parent magazine?  No better time to become a member!

How To Get Rid Of Ants In Your House

The momstown Oakville message board has many Oakville moms complaining about ants coming into their kitchens, bathrooms, etc.  You can always call a professional to come in and take care of the problem but if you don't want to spend a lot of money and want something that you can use year after year, here are a few easy remedies that should keep the ants out of your house!

Rumoured To Be Most Effective To Keep Ants Out:
Mix of 1 cup of water, 5 Tbsp of sugar and 1/2 Tbsp of Borax (can buy this at most grocery stores) and leave it on the floor for them to drink. They'll bring it to their nest and will get rid of all of them in a day.  Put this mixture where the ants are seen inside your house and also outside the house by any doors you think they may be using to get in.  This mixture is toxic so make sure it is out of reach to kids and pets.

Other Ideas:

1.  Vacuum up some baby powder (which they find toxic) and then vaccum up the group or trail of ants.

2.  Make a mixture of rubbing alcohol, dish soap and water. Get a spray bottle, making sure to wash it out very well, and place about a teaspoon of rubbing alcohol and about a teaspoon and a half of dish soap. Then fill the spray bottle with water about an inch away from the top and close it up tight. Shake the solution until bubbles start to appear and then you're ready to spray! Because of the alcohol in the solution, the ants will stay clear away from it.  Spray this over thresholds and window sills.  You can leave small amounts of this solution in bottle caps around the areas where ants were seen.

3.  Leave out some cornmeal in bottle caps or on small pieces of tin foil.   Ants eat it and after consuming water, the cornmeal swells inside their digestive organs, killing the ants.  This is a non toxic solution.

4.  Apply scents and substances that ants don't like. Vinegar, peppermint oil, cinnamon, black pepper, cayenne pepper, whole cloves, and bay leaves are all examples that have varying claims of success by sprinkling one of these options across door thresholds or entry ways.

And to be proactive, make sure you aren't leaving any food out on the counter (even crumbs) or dirty dishes in the sink and wipe out the kitchen sink too.  If you have pet food on the floor, put the food bowl in a larger dish with some water in it, creating a moat around the pet food that ants won't cross.

There are many great things about the Spring and Summer seasons but ants in the house isn't one of them!  If you have any other tried and true methods, leave us a comment and let us know.  Good luck to all those trying to get rid of ants, hopefully you find something from this list that works for you.

Brantford Circle Square Ranch Summer Camp - An Adventure Experience For Kids

Brantford Circle Square Ranch is a Christian, non-denominational, non-profit organization, welcoming youth of any faith and race. They encourage young lives to grow spiritually, mentally, socially and physically in an exciting, fun-filled and safe adventure experience.  Summer camp is an outstanding opportunity for your child to meet new friends, try new things and enjoy a safe, fun-filled positive, caring environment. Brantford Circle Square Ranch prides themselves on accomplishing all those things and more!

From early morning to evening campers enjoy a variety of amazing activities. Climbing their 35' cargo net, swinging across the high ropes course, hitting the bullseye in archery, riding a horse for the first time, relaxing in the pool, enjoying a good meal, hanging out with friends or finishing off the day gathered around the camp fire  Camp is a fantastic vacation for kid's (and a break for parents). Brantford Circle Square Ranch endeavours to provide not only an outstanding camping experience, but a life changing one.

Located about an hour away from Oakville, Brantford Circle Square Ranch does offers camper pick up from Oakville Place.  Day camps for ages five and up, girls only or boys only options, discovery camp, horse lover's camp and more...there is certainly something for everyone!  Click here to read about all their camp options and prices.

Read what some of the parents of last year's campers had to say about their kids camp experience with Brantford Circle Square Ranch:

"The boys loved all the activities and especially loved the variety offered. The rock wall, high ropes, ziplining, mountain boarding, skate park and biking were favourites though!"

"New experiences being on a ranch - swimming, archery, horses and tack program, campfires, etc. Very great first camp experience for my 5 year old, very different from a traditional daycare setting."

"I loved how positive and organized the staff were. You can tell they truly enjoy being at the camp and working with the children. The camp counselor was awesome! I had the opportunity to hear the camp fire songs and see how much the kids really connected with each other. It was touching to see how much they bonded over the week."

Click here to see pictures of their fabulous facility and activities.  If you've been looking for a unique and positive camp experience for your kids this summer - you've found it!  To find out more about registration, click here or contact Brantford Circle Square Ranch with any questions you may have.