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MARCH BREAK W l-:i)Nl£Si)AY. r*KBRt 'A K Y 2 6 . 2(X )2 · P a g e HI At home this March Break? Teach your kids to live and learn (NC)-March Break is a great oppor tunity to spend quality time with your children, providing them with activities to fill their days that can be both fun and educational. A range of activities will keep their brains from going on autopilot and will give them something interesting to talk about when they get back to class. " It is important for parents to make an effort to make the break fun as well as educational." says Dr. Michael Luther, Educational Specialist with Kumon Math & Reading Centres. "Being at home over the March Break can become extremely boring for chil dren who are used to being active and busy all day long at school." Dr. Luther suggests the following ways for parents to make this March Break fun at home, and at the same time, add some learning: Help your children find some interesting books for pleasure. J Read to your younger children and have them discuss the stories and do related art work themes. J Obtain educational software for the computer that involves game-playing (e.g. math, history, geography, liter ature. fantasy, etc.). Make sure that there arc lots of arts and crafts materials and activities. -J Plan for sports and athletic activi ties over this period. Take time to teach your children new skills (e.g. cooking, fixing, invent ing. creating, painting, etc.). Obtain comics, magazines and puzzle books for your children. Make sure that there are lots of jigsaw puzzles, construction blocks, chemistry sets and other educational types of activities for your child. Do not allow your children to sit in front of the TV or play video games all day long. If your children must watch TV, encourage them to watch educational television shows. J Plan to have other children come over to the house and watch values-oriented. educational or historically-based movies. Planning ahead and setting up some of these activities for your children over the March Break can make the break a fun. memorable and worthwhile vaca tion - even if you stay home. - News Canada Picture perfect: Keep kids busy and creative with scrapbooking projects during March Break By Ronda Addy S P E C IA L T O T H E B E A V E R Who among us doesn't have hun dreds of fam ily photos just stuck in boxes for no one to see? And chances are there are no dates or names written anywhere on the pho tos. Am I right? There is a simple solution to this problem. It's called scrapbooking. The current rage of scrapbooking parties is being com pared to the quilting bees of the past. Here is some information for getting started, and remember, organization is the key. What are the basic materials you need before you begin? The first decision is the type of binder you are going to use. Word of warning, avoid anything magnetic. Many a photo has been ruined by using magnetic pages. There are four basic types of binders: spiral, threering binder, post-bound and straphinged. There are good and bad points to every type, so there is no right or wrong answer. There are two other very impor tant purchases you w ill need to make. The first is acid-free cardstock in a variety of colours and shades suited to the photos you w ill be scrapbooking. U ntil you develop your style, don't go buying tons of paper. The second is a paper/photo trimmer that can cut both 8" x I I " and 12" x 12" paper. For adhering the photos in your scrapbook, you w ill need photo mounting squares that can be pur chased in boxes of 200-500 and a 2in-1 glue stick or pin. You w ill also need a fine tip for details and a chis el for bigger projects, and clear photo corners for photos that you don't want to adhere permanently in the scrapbook. For doing the lettering, marking, etc.. you w ill need acid-free journal ing pens. Black is a must. Different sizes can be added as you begin to experiment with what you like. You w ill also need #1 and #2 pencils. Don't use them really sharp, as they w ill scratch or make an indentation on the paper. If you need to erase, make sure you use a white polymer eraser. Red erasers are rough on the paper, don't pick up all the lead and can leave a red trail behind. The last things you need are a clear plastic ruler, a pair of sharp scissors and a photo-permanent marking pen. You are now ready to start scrapbooking! Now what? Here are a some guidelines to get you started. Establish a focal point. A focal point instantly attracts the eye. Without one. a page lacks impact, while too many focal points make the page look crowded. _l Vary photo sizes. M ix sizes on your page for visual interest. J Vary photo and embellishment shapes. A variety of different shaped elements helps move the viewer's eye through the page. J Overlap elements. Overlapping elements not only makes the layout more visually interesting as it leads the viewer's eye over the page, but it allows more photos on a page. F ill the centre. The eye is attracted to the center first, so it's the perfect place for a photo, journaling plaque or decorative element. J Follow the golden rule of using patterned paper. Mat photos with plain paper before placing them onto a patterned background. A plain matte provides a visual space between your photos and a bright background. J If possible, group your photos by events: specific holidays, birth days, vacation, etc. There you have it! You have taken the all-important first step. Remember the most important thing about scrapbooking is to preserve memories for you and future genera tions to enjoy. Make this March Break a mix of vacation and education (N C )-C an't think of what to do on March Break? Get out! Get out with your children, that is - the school holiday is a perfect time to have some fam ily fun and relax ation. But it's also important for children not to fall back in their learning. Research suggests that even a short interruption from school can affect the learning of some children. " Parents can make sure their kids don't fall behind by combining fun with a little learning over the holi days," says Dr. M ichael Luther, Educational Specialist with Kumon Math & Reading Centres. "It's a lot easier to do this than some parents might realize." Dr. Luther suggests the following ways to mix vacation and education: Involve your children in plan ning their activities. This allows them to engage in research techniques. J Visit your local museum, sci ence centre or gallery - many have interactive programs geared particu larly for children. Take your child to children's theatre productions. J Check listings for free readings at the local library and meet authors who may be reading from their works. If you're taking a fam ily trip, get good books on tape and play these in the car. Get outside - take field trips to conservation areas. Make use of these conservation areas and provin cial parks for cross-country skiing and snowshoe trails. Wherever you go on holiday, it's a good idea to add an educational com ponent to your trip. Local tourist boards, your community newspaper and the Internet are useful tools for planning activities with your chil dren. - News Canada Craft survival kit for March Break (NC)-When preparing your own craft survival kit for March Break, keep the following items on hand: J Colour construction paper, finger painting paper, doodle pads Pipe cleaners Invisible tape Craft glue. Children's scissors pencil crayons, crayons and markers String Assorted beads/letters Finger paint/brushes Craft Sticks 5 D a ys o f F u n a t 5 T o ro n to A ttra c tio n s - M a rc h 10-14,2003 Tuesday March 11 11am to 5pm PUTTING EDGE Burlington Power Centre 1250 Brant St. 905-315-9155 www.puttingedge.com Wednesday March 12 6pm to 10pm LASER QUEST Toronto East 416-285-1333 Mississauga 905-272-8000 Brampton 905-456-9999 Richmond Hill 905-883-6000 TorontoZoo Friday March 14 11am to 4:30pm Thursday March 13 1pm to 8pm ZODIAC FAMILY CENTRE 385 John St., Unit 10, Thornhill 905-709-8988 www.zodiacswim.on.ca TORONTO ZOO 361A Old Finch Ave. Scarborough www.torontozoo.com Jo in NEWSOKIDS d u rin gM a rc hB re a ka n dta k eh o m eaL o o tB a gfille dw ith"g o o d ie s "e s p e c ia llyOKIDS A d m is s io n p r i c e v a r i e s at e a c h v e nu e.