Kidding Around Vancouver Island

This from a magazine article I wrote late last year for a column I did called Class Acts. BLYS Yoga is now part of our lives. Our 10 year old takes the pre-teen/teen yoga classes and LOVES it. 2nd time for it and ask when it starts. We have other young friends going with her [...]

Ella Rose learns the marimba from Fahlon We love the Craig Street Market in Parksville. So many great things to see, buy and eat! Also hear. We fell in love with the local youth group Kumbana Marimba, led by sisters Fahlon and Jasmine Smith from Errington. They play traditional African music along with some South [...]

FREE Events with the VI Symphony Saturday, February 18, Port Theatre Musical Instrument Zoo (11 a.m. -12 noon) NoteworthyKids Music Club Family Event (11:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.) Open Rehearsal (12:30-1:30 p.m.) Reserve your Complimentary Ticket: 250-754-8550 Info: www.vancouverislandsymphony.com

We all want to teach our kids the true meaning of Christmas.  What about teaching them the true meaning of Labour Day?  That’s George’s plan for the girls this year:  cutting the lawn, weeding the garden, ripping out that old fence and putting in a new one.  Some good old-fashioned labour.  Okay, while we see [...]

KidsFest in Parksville is coming up this Sunday August 16th for a full day of fun, food, and entertainment.  It’s held down at the Community Beach in the large field over on the right hand side – where the kites are flown. Will Stroet is the MC and provides muscial entertainment between acts, which include [...]

Sometimes the kids just need to get away from it all.  You know, from the daily grind of eating, playing, more eating, more playing, but mostly they need a break from their parents.  So sitting around a room with your parents, or going swimming with your parents, no matter how nice the resort,  just doesn’t [...]

The kids have at least half a dozen hula hoops hanging in the carport, but none of us has been able get the hula part of it.  The only use the hoops get is a rare game of daddy toss – 10 points if you get it over his head and 5 points if it [...]

A friend of ours who lived for a short time in Parksville and had to move back to Alberta for job reasons, keeps emailing and asking how things are on the Island.  You can hear the longing in their words.  We love Parksville too – it’s the epitome of small town Island summers – and [...]

See the problem is, they call it Canada Day, but it’s really Canada Days and picking and choosing between them isn’t easy.  Let’s start in Ladysmith. We love Transfer Beach as you probably know, and that’s a great place to have Canada Day, which is why the clever folks at Parks and Rec are having [...]

This August-like weather has forced us to re-think our June activities somewhat.  We’re not used to getting out sprinklers or using water parks so early in the season. Grace says she could get used to not being used to it….  I had trouble understanding that too, but the main thing is they’re having a blast. [...]