You know spring is here once the sap starts running from the maple trees. If you’ve been thinking of taking the kids out to visit a maple sugar shack but don’t want to drive off the island and spend the better part of a day on your outing then you are in luck. There’s a small sugar shack right in the West Island.
At the Cap St. Jacques park you can visit a maple sugar operation every weekend until April 20th, 2008. It’s open Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the site which includes a tractor ride out to the shack and back. They also have a maple pull for a few extra dollars.
Don’t forget to visit the animal farm which includes geese, horses, cows, sheep and goats. There’s no charge for visiting the farm.
To find out how to get to Cap St. Jacques Park check out the interactive Nature Parks Map and click on the Cap St. Jacques entry.
When was the last time you sat down to play some card games with your family?
Families often played card games together before technology crept in and took us away from some of the simpler activities. There are many advantages to rediscovering this social pastime.
First of all it’s inexpensive and can be played anywhere. You can buy a pack of cards for a couple of dollars. Since it’s a social activity it’s a fun way to increase your family time. For children it teaches them strategy, patience and dexterity. There are games suitable for almost any age.
Some games you may have played as a child include Go Fish, Crazy Eights, Concentration, Old Maid, Rummy and Hearts. If you need to refresh your knowledge of some of these childhood favorites or want to learn some new games you can find the rules to hundreds of card games at this Card Game Directory site.
Take advantage of a great opportunity to spend time with your family and provide your children with lasting memories.
With the best of intentions parents may be creating a generation of stressed-out, over-stimulated and exhausted kids. With school, homework, sports and other extra-curricular activities there’s no room for any free unstructured downtime in a typical child’s life.
The idea of course is that parents want to maximize their children’s experiences, give them every advantage possible in the belief that this will give them an edge when they become adults.
What is often forgotten is that during the unscheduled, just hanging around times, children are still developing, learning and discovering on their own. More importantly, it gives them an opportunity to recharge so they are better equipped to handle, appreciate and benefit from their next activity.
If you fear you may be falling into the overscheduling trap, take a look at this article entitled 12 warning signs that your child is overscheduled.
You can also look at The Joy of Doing Nothing for some helpful tips and A guide to choosing extra-curricular activities a grade by grade guideline for selecting appropriate activities.
