My 12-year-old has just started a two week program at the Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People. I was surprised when he had the idea, but I went along with it willingly. As a teacher (back in the day) and as a parent, I have never doubted the value of theatre for all kids. It’s wonderful to learn to stand up before others and present yourself with confidence and clarity. Theatre teaches that.

Yes, my son has a flair for the dramatic, but taking that onto the stage is a whole new thing for him.

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There is a great little story on Jackie Kovac’s blog (“The Big Kid Years” on the Today’s Parent site) about going to see the Paul McCartney concert with her daughter last Monday. her daughter (15) has grown up hearing the Beatles and Paul McCartney, so the experience was equally rich for both of them. It’s so lovely when that can happen!

The Three Little Birds performing in Toronto last weekend

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It was a big deal, last year, when we got an nice iPod Touch for my son’s birthday, and it was great to see how much use he made of it: texting friends, playing games, emailing, noting school assignments, and yes, even listening to music. When we went on longer trips it gave him something to do, and I felt like a good parent for having provided it.

When all is said and done, pets are better than iPods anway.

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If you don’t know Sandbanks Provincial Park, you’re missing out on something special. It’s only two and a half hours from Toronto. The beach is gorgeous and Prince Edward County is a pleasure to visit. We spent ten days there, half the time was just us grownups, the second half included various kids and family. In accordance with my own unsolicited advice, I let my twelve year-old bring a friend, always a good move.
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We are not a religious family per se, but we do say a simple non-denominational grace most days. It’s not about a religious tradition so much as it is about stopping to say “thank you” for what we have.

Another great meal made (mostly) by the youngest member of the family.

Much is said these days about the attitude of entitlement that young people seem to have. I’m not sure what I think about that. Sometimes I think it may be just curmudgeonly griping by the older generation. But I do think that life is that much better if we learn to stop from time to time and express appreciation.

Between people, saying “thank you” is a basic form of acknowledgment, like “please,” “hello” and “goodbye.” We affirm each other when we say these things. It does us all good. And there is something extra special about “thank you.”

I’m convinced we owe it to our kids to model thankfulness in whatever way works for us. I’m not sure you can “teach” someone to be grateful, but perhaps we can teach it by demonstrating gratitude ourselves.

I love the natural curiosity of children.

Two young visitors watching the animals in the Village.

My youngest son is a picky eater. I’ve tried all the tricks. I’ve insisted that he at least tries whatever is served. I’ve tried to force him to eat; I’ve tried bribes. I’ve tried building our menus around his preferences. Mostly, I guess, I have resigned myself to it.

You will never believe where this delicious meal came from.

Then one day I got the Jamie Oliver cooking app on my iPhone. It has many how-to videos and we enjoyed watching them immensely. (They’re great for long car drives, by the way). It also has recipes, and young son chimed in that he would like to make the pork chow mein. Just as I was about to tell him “this recipe is way to complicated,” I stopped myself…

We made the shopping list, bought all the ingredients and then we went through the elaborate preparation (“20-minute meals” my foot!) Sure, we got some parts wrong, but we ended up with something that looked pretty good (see photo). And guess who ate every last scrap on his plate!

It’s lovely to see how the simplest things can become a game.

Balancing an egg on a spoon. It makes for a great race!

We’re going camping next week, nothing special or complicated, just car camping at Sandbanks – cooking outdoors, walks in the dunes, days at the beach, roasting marshmallows over the fire. Last year, we had a great trip to Tobermory. This will be the continuation of that experience.

My sister and her family and a few of my brood make their way along the shore on the beautiful Bruce Peninsula.

The beauty of camping for me is that is seems to appeal across the generations. Adults and children enjoy the adventure of the outdoors. And believe me, my youngest can be hard to please at times, but once we get out there, he responds, and my little stick in the mud becomes a great travel companion.

The youngest Philpott reading Harry Potter in the great outdoors.

In March I went to cabane a sucre in Quebec, which is the traditional maple syrup festival there. It was a great experience (and, yes, I do intend to bring the kids next time!). There were rides in a wagon drawn by two great big Belgiums called Prince and Aline – although you’d have to pronounce their names with a rural Quebec accent to get the full effect. When I looked at the big wagon, I felt sorry for the horses having to pull it, but when I was in the wagon I realized it weighed nothing for these gentle giants. “Doucement, Prince, Aline” I heard the driver talking to the horses and I marvelled at the connection between the man and the animals.

The wagon is a big draw for visitors to Black Creek Pioneer Village (sorry - couldn't resist the pun)

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