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Bored Games BY BETHANY LEE
Storytime with Miss Shannon! Join the online virtual storytime circle from the Orangeville Public Library – anytime! Orangeville Public Library has shifted all kids’ programming online until further notice. Not to miss a beat, the library is adding storytime via their YouTube channel with the lovely Miss Shannon, who presents upbeat, topical stories for kids. (Enjoy a few minutes to yourself while your little ones are engaged!) www.orangevillelibrary.ca
ILLUS TR ATION BY SHEL AGH ARMS TRONG
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ven as vaccines roll out and Covid case numbers drop, the longed-for “all clear” signal remains dauntingly elusive. So we continue to look for new ways to entertain our kids and keep life bearable. For some parents, the guilt of the kids’ screen-time creep is overwhelming, so we drag them out for walks around the neighbourhood or a nearby trail. Others have pulled out the old Wii to play some Mario Kart as a family. Or maybe it’s shooting some hoops, if you’re lucky enough to have the surface and the net – everything to do with the outdoors from sports equipment to wood for decks to hot tubs is nearly impossible to find, and when you do, the prices are exorbitant.
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For the makers Yes, Caledon! We love the recent announce ment by Caledon Library – their most southern branch is being re-envisioned. The modernized Valleywood branch will house a maker space and recording studio, as well as spaces for working, learning and meeting. Imagine 3-D printers, crafting supplies, audio and video capture and editing tools! The library collection will have a focus on supporting these new services plus tech, making and creative arts. Watch for progress and opening dates to come. www.caledon.library.on.ca
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With everything old being new again, and as the weather warmed enough to allow for open windows, I recently felt a burst of nostalgia for board games. Board games for the bored. My love of board games comes naturally. I was lucky enough to experience a bit of cottage life growing up, and the memories of those days washed over me as I sought out more family activities. My dad’s side of the family had two little cottages side by side on the edge of Six Mile Lake. Many memories of the times we spent there are burned in my head and heart. The smells of Ontario’s nearnorth instantly take me back – pine and campfire and Canadian Shield filling my lungs as we drove through the last few kilometres to the lake. (“Follow the little arrow signs! Left! Right! Don’t forget the one missing a sign is the final left!”) Long days on the burning white-hot wooden dock, waiting to
see what the catch of the day would be, as the wood crackled and creaked in the sun. Paddle boating to the “island” across the way (really no more than a small outcrop, with a few trees to hide you from your parents, even if just for an hour). Dock spiders. Slappy porch doors. Baby raccoons living under the steps, coming for treats with their tiny hands stretched out to take your offering. My Gramma Kirwin ran the show. (She was Dad’s mom – and while he is a Lee, she remarried after the death of his father and took the new surname. Her given name was Elizabeth, but, a sign of the times, she went by Betty.) Gramma Kirwin told everyone what was for dinner, when it would be ready, which chores needed to be done and where you could sleep for the night. Her sweet nature didn’t mean she didn’t have full control. Upwards of 20 people might be crammed into the two cottages when you took into
