February 11, 2009 by Barbara.

The deadline for deciding which weeks Reid would be at the day camp that her school runs is tomorrow. Taking a leaf out of Melissa’s book, I printed the calendars for June through September and then cut and glued them so that the weeks ran in single lines, regardless of months changing.

Next, I noted the last and first days of school and decided that it would be best for Reid to attend the last week of school to be sure to be comfortable when class started. After that, I was left staring at the remaining 9 weeks. Then, I hit a small but important barrier. Ontario has Junior Kindergarten for 4 year olds, which means that Reid is without her usual care arrangements but isn’t eligible to attend the vast majority of summer camp, or day camp, programs. Most offer full day programs for children who are 6 or older. Half-day programs are so short as to be completely impractical for our family with two of us working full time. I think that she would enjoy a camp at the Canada Children’s Museum, National Gallery of Canada, or the Canada Science and Technology Museum. They are among those who don’t want little kids, though. I invited, okay begged, my niece to bring her family to Ottawa for one week so that Reid and Dylan can attend the half-day camp at the Canada Agriculture Museum.

I’ll take some time off to hang with Reid but since it looks like Ken will be on French training we won’t be taking a family trip. I sweet-talked Grandma Joyce into agreeing to watch over - or coordinate the watching over - of Reid for a week. I may have assigned a week and then asked about her availability but since the result is the same, why quibble.

Cosmic Adventures and Starr Gymnastics take 5 year-olds for full-day camps. Since Reid will hit that milestone on July 25th, I’ve penciled in a week at each of these for August. For the rest of the summer, Reid will spend time at her school’s day camp. She’ll enjoy spending time with the mixed age group, I think. She’ll be among the oldest and there will be times when she is playing with the toddlers and preschoolers. Reid likes to help out and she’ll have some opportunities to do so even while many of the activities, like swimming and soccer, are offered to each age group separately.

According to the Ottawa Camps website, the Ottawa Citizen will be running a summer camp guide on February 21st. I’ll check it out and still be able to juggle some weeks around if the most fabulous camp ever is featured and accepts girls who are 4.5 or 5. I scrolled through last year’s guide and I’m not optimistic but it’ll be worth a few minutes of scanning.

Andrea at the Fishbowl is tackling Summer day camps for Ottawa kids as well and knowing the type of folks who comment, that’ll be a resource to track as well.

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February 11, 2009 by Barbara.

Remember when I was complaining about the cold and snow we’ve had this winter? Well, I should spend some time apologizing because Ottawa really is a fine place in the winter, as these pics of Reid, Uncle Roger and me demonstrate.

View More Wordless Wednesday Participants, look at my previous Wordless Wednesday entries, or check out the Wordless Wednesday HQ. You’ll find lots of cute babies and kids at 5 Minutes for Mom.

Posted in Pastimes, Barbara's family, Uncategorized | Print | 7 Comments »