Island Parent Family Resource Guide 2015

2015-2016

Family Resource Guide

Over 900 Listings from Victoria to Parksville

Experience the precision of customized vision Curiosity • Diversity Exploration • Nature Play-Oriented Learning

Register Now

for half day and full day Early Learning Programs

Dr. Joslin, Dr. Morin & Associates Doctors of Optometry

Langford: #105–814 Goldstream Ave 250-474-4567 www.langfordoptometrists.com

3905 Haro Road, Victoria BC

250-477-3731 arbutusgrove.ca

shop online at mo mease.ca

Sooke: #5–6726 West Coast Rd 250-642-4311 www.sookeoptometrists.com

New Patients Welcome

Michelle Fraleigh

MBA, MA, CCC, RCC

Counselling for Individuals, Couples & Families Making changes in your life and relationships doesn’t take luck, talent or a miracle.

You just have to decide to take the first step.

Have you known for a while that something has to change?

Maybe something has just turned your world upside-down.

Or, maybe that thing you’ve been struggling with has become too much to deal with all by yourself.

That’s where I come in.

STROLLERS • HIGH CHAIRS • CAR SEATS • SLEEP AIDS TRAVEL BEDS • SUNCARE • DIAPER BAGS • CARRIERS NATURAL SKINCARE • SWINGS • AND MORE! Mattick’s Farm #121–5325 Cordova Bay Rd 778-265-5432 momease.ca facebook.com/MomeaseBabyBoutique

Are you ready to get started?

You can reach me at 250-661-1115 or

michelle@michellefraleigh.com I look forward to hearing from you.

A designation of BC Association of Clinical Counsellors

532 Herald St, Victoria

It’s time for change in Ottawa.

For your kids. For their future.

for Victoria

250-384-3399 murray.rankin@ndp.ca @MurrayRankin fb.com/MurrayRankinMP

MurrayRankin.ndp.ca Paid for and authorized by the official agent of the candidate. cope:225-md

Family Resource Guide 2015/2016  1

28 Years of Island Parent

A

common question we hear at Island Parent is: “How do you manage to provide your magazine to your readers for free every month of the year?” The answer is: “Our advertising partners support Island Parent through their paid advertisements and therefore we can provide you with all this great local information every month

for free.” In return we ask that you please support our wonderful partners that you see on these pages.

Island Parent’s reach is extensive. Between direct distribution to retail shops, free distribution to consumers, mail subscriptions, free online digital issues, e-newsletters, unique site visitors and rapidly growing

Island Parent Magazine, produced by Island Parent Group Enterprises Ltd., is a monthly publication that honours and supports parents by providing information on resources and businesses for families, and a forum for the exchange of ideas and opinions. Views expressed are not necessarily those of the publisher. Letters (max 250 words) should be emailed to the Editor at editor@islandparent.ca. No material herein may be reproduced without the permission of the Editor. Unsolicited manuscripts are welcome and should be emailed to editor@ islandparent.ca. Island Parent Magazine is distributed free in selected areas. Subscriptions can be obtained by sending $35.00 (includes GST) with your name and address to the address below. Canada Post: Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement 40051398.

Island Parent Magazine

Galemys Far

social media channels, we have more than 71,000 readers every month.

For a comprehensive list of where you can pick up a free copy of Island Parent every month, visit islandparent.ca and click at the top of the home page “Where to Pick-Up a Copy.”

830-A Pembroke St, Victoria, BC V8T 1H9 Tel: 250-388-6905 Websites: www.islandparent.ca, www.kidsinvictoria.com Publisher/Owner: Mark Warner Editor: Sue Fast Sales & Marketing: RaeLeigh Buchanan Publisher’s Assistant: Linda Frear Distribution: Ray Cutts, Ted Dawe (Mid-Island) Founders: Jim Holland & Selinde Krayenhoff Production: Eacrett Graphic Design Printed at Black Press, Victoria Cover printed at Hillside Printing ISSN 0838-5505

bby day is

Cover Photo: Ryan MacDonald Photography

Follow Us on Facebook & Twitter facebook.com/IslandParent twitter.com/IslandParent

Spookier Fun Nightly 6-10 pm th Oct 15 5th to Oct 31st

Pumpkinfest!

Kid Friendly

Hayrides id d to the h Pumpkin k Patch ki h Corn Maze • Kids Games • Train Rides Petting Farm • Haunted House Face Painting • Live Entertainment Bouncy Castles

ride in the Cow Train!

October Weekends 10 am to 4 pm 10th & 11th, 17th & 18th, 24th & 25th & 31st

info@galeyfarms.net • 4150 Blenkinsop Road • 250-477-5713 2 IslandParent.ca

Family Resource Guide 2015/2016  3

Important Phone Numbers

Child Find BC. . . . . . 1-888-689-3463

Gulf Islands, Westshore, Sooke)

HealthLink BC HealthLinkBC.ca. . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1-1

POLICE (NON-EMERGENCY)

Highlands . . . . . . . . . . 250-474-1773

Help Line for Children. 250-310-1234

Central Saanich . . . . . 250-652-4441

Langford. . . . . . . . . . . . 250-478-9555

Kids Help Phone . . . 1-800-668-6868

Sooke (East Sooke, Jordan River, Otter Point, Port Renfrew, Shirley) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-642-5241

Metchosin. . . . . . . . . . 250-478-1307

Poison Control Centre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-800-567-8911

Options Pregnancy Centre 4-855 Caledonia Ave. 250-380-6883

South Island (Greater Victoria, Saanich, Sidney,

Esquimalt . . . . . . . . . . 250-995-7654 Oak Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-592-2424 Saanich. . . . . . . . . . . . 250-475-4321 Sidney (includes North Saanich, Willis Point) . . . . . . . . . . 250-656-3931

North Saanich . . . . . . . 250-656-1931 Oak Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-592-9121 Otter Point. . . . . . . . . . 250-642-6211 Saanich. . . . . . . . . . . . 250-475-6111 Sidney . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-656-2121 Sooke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-642-5422

Provinical Eating Disorders Awareness Campaign jessieslegacy.com . . . . 604-988-5281 Sexual Assault Crisis & Information Line. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-383-3232 The Representative for Children & Youth www.rcybc.ca. . . . . . 1-800-476-3933

Victoria . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-995-7654

Victoria . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-384-1122

Western Communities (Colwood, Highlands, Langford, Metchosin, View Royal) . . . . . . . . . . 250-474-2264

View Royal. . . . . . . . . . 250-479-7322

Vancouver Island Crisis Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-888-494-3888

AMBULANCE (NON-EMERGENCY)

Women’s Transition House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-385-6611

All areas . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-727-2400

FIRE (NON-EMERGENCY) Central Saanich . . . . . 250-652-4444

OTHER IMPORTANT NUMBERS

Colwood. . . . . . . . . . . . 250-478-8321

Emergency Fire, Police or Ambulance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-1-1

East Sooke . . . . . . . . . 250-642-4411 Esquimalt . . . . . . . . . . 250-414-7126

BC Association of Family Resource Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . frpbc.ca

Make sure your children know to call 911 for Emergency Police, Fire or Ambulance

Greater Victoria School District New Kindergarten parents are invited to attend our popular Welcome to School Parent Information Evenings where you will learn about our District’s exciting Kindergarten programs and meet with educators from across the District. For more details, please visit our website at www.sd61.bc.ca/programs/kindergarten/

Pa r e n t M ee t i n gs: Early French Immersion

General Information

Tuesday December 1, 2015

Wednesday January 20, 2016

S.J. Willis Education Centre

S.J. Willis Education Centre

Questions? Call 250-475-4120

Questions? Call 250-475-4220

6:30–8:00 pm

923 Topaz Avenue

4 IslandParent.ca

6:30–8:00 pm

923 Topaz Avenue

Contents: Family Resource Guide 2015/16 Listings Important Phone Numbers................................................4

Family Fun & Entertainment South Island..................................................................54 Cowichan Valley...........................................................56 Mid-Island....................................................................56

New Parent Resources South Island....................................................................6 Cowichan Valley.............................................................7 Mid-Island......................................................................8

Party Planning South Island..................................................................57 Mid-Island....................................................................58

Family Support South Island..................................................................12 Cowichan Valley...........................................................15 Mid-Island....................................................................16

Retail Products South Island..................................................................58 Cowichan Valley...........................................................62 Mid-Island....................................................................62

Education South Island..................................................................20 Cowichan Valley...........................................................23 Mid-Island....................................................................24

Family Restaurant & Food Markets South Island..................................................................63 Cowichan Valley...........................................................64 Mid-Island....................................................................64 Residential Camps..........................................................68 Family Travel..................................................................68

Articles

Photo by Ryan MacDonald Photography

Classes & Programs South Island..................................................................38 Cowichan Valley...........................................................42 Mid-Island....................................................................43 Health & Wellness South Island..................................................................50 Cowichan Valley...........................................................52 Mid-Island....................................................................52 Legal & Financial Services South Island..................................................................52

The Upside of Green.....................................................10 LOL..............................................................................18 To Sleep.........................................................................26 Making Memories.........................................................28 Nature’s Bounty............................................................30 10 Tips to Reduce Water Consumption.........................34 Infant Crying.................................................................44 Keeping Anger at Bay....................................................46 Beat the Rainy Day Blues..............................................47 Child, Youth & Family Public Health Services..............48 The FLYN System.........................................................51 Work-Life Balance.........................................................52 Promoting Reading in School-Aged Kids.......................60 10 Picnic-Friendly CRD Parks.......................................65 Reading Emotion..........................................................66 Empathy-Boosting Books..............................................67 Share the Trail...............................................................70

Departments Party Directory........................................................32, 33 Annual Family Events...................................................36 Family Resource Guide 2015/2016 5

New Parent Through Play Resources

Learning

South Island MATERNITY/FERTILITY Early Pregnancy Assessment Unit epau.ca . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-592-5633

DIAPER SERVICES Happy Island Diaper Service . . . . . . . . . . happyislanddiapers.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-866-922-7377

cordovabaypreschool.org

Countryside Preschool

countrysidepreschool.org goldstreampreschool.com

Goldstream Preschool Gonzales Preschool

gonzalescooppreschool.com lakehillpreschool.org

Lakehill Preschool Lambrick Park Preschool

lambrickparkpreschool.ca

Lansdowne Preschool

lansdownepreschool.com oakbaypreschool.com

Oak Bay Preschool

Call (250) 655-3333

Sidney Preschool Strawberry Vale Preschool

strawberryvalepreschool.org

Outside Victoria Errington Preschool erringtonhall.bc.ca/preschol.htm Gabriola Island Preschool www.gabriolapreschool.org

6 IslandParent.ca

Aboriginal Prenatal Support 231 Regina Ave . . . . . . 250-384-3211 Birthright Victoria 516–620 View St . . . . . 250-380-0305

Access Midwifery & Family Care 208–2951 Tillicum Rd . 250-380-6329 Birthways Midwifery Service 2254 Belmont Ave . . . . 250-384-9062

BEST BABIES PROGRAMS

Tiger Lily Doula Services tigerlilydoula.com . . . . 250-710-2489 Your Birth Your Way Doula Services yourbirthyourway.ca . . 250-514-1477 Victoria Doula Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . doulasofvictoria.ca VIDA Doulas vidadoulas.ca . . . . . . . 250-661-2544

MIDWIVES

Community Midwifery Care 130 McPhillips Ave, Salt Spring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-537-2243 Cook Street Community Midwives 101–1005 Cook St . . . . 250-386-4116 Dandelion Midwifery 709 Connaught Rd . . . 250-590-7770

saltspringcooppreschool.com

The Midwives Collective 107-1120 Yates St . . . . 250-590-7605

www.vicpa.org

PRENATAL SERVICES

Sooke Family Resource Society Prenatal Program sfrs.ca . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-642-5152 Vancouver Island Naturopathic Clinic Inc. 204-4480 West Saanich Rd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-881-1806 VIDA Doulas vidadoulas.ca . . . . . . . 250-213-8837 Lamaze certified Childbirth Educators.

VIDA offers fun and informative private and semi-private childbirth classes to suit your individual needs and your personal time constraints. Hospital tours will be arranged as well.

Call (250) 753-1939

Salt Spring Island Preschool

Western Communities Midwifery 287 Stewart Ave . . . . . 250-589-3417

Mothering Touch Centre 975 Fort St . . . . . . . . . . 250-595-4905 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . motheringtouch.ca Prenatal classes taught by certified childbirth educators. Pre- and postnatal yoga and fitness, breastfeeding education, parenting the newborn, baby groups.

Midwifery Care 547 Michigan St . . . . . 250-592-5407

Nanaimo Preschool

West Coast Midwives 2823 Dysart Rd . . . . . . 250-384-5940

Birth & Beyond Doula Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-889-6009

Helping Hands Doula Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-217-1926

Cordova Bay Preschool

Victoria Midwifery Group 35 Cambridge St . . . . . 250-381-1977

Camosun College . . . 250-370-3550

Glowing Touch Doula Services glowingtouch.ca . . . . . 250-514-3009

Victoria

Sooke Midwifery 2050B Townsend Rd . . 778-425-0780

DOULAS

Birth Space Yoga and Doula Care birthspace.ca . . 778-977-DOUL (3685)

Discover our parent-operated cooperative preschools where children (and their parents) learn through play.

Midwifery Services of Victoria 2000 Beach Dr . . . . . . . 250-592-0099

Esquimalt Neighbourhood House . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-385-2635 ext. 203 Peninsula Best Babies 2410 Malaview Dr . . . . 250-655-5300 Saanich Neighbourhood Place Best Babies . . . . . . . . 250-360-1148 Victoria Best Babies 1240 Gladstone Ave . . 250-381-1552 Victoria Native Friendship Centre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-384-3211

PUBLIC HEALTH (VIHA) Esquimalt 530 Fraser St . . . . . . . . 250-519-5311 Gulf Islands . . . . . . . . 250-539-3099 Peninsula 2170 Mt. Newton X Rd 250-544-2400 Saanich 3995 Quadra St . . . . . . 250-519-5100 Saltspring Island 1-137 Crofton Rd . . . . . 250-538-4880 Sooke 104-2145 Townsend Rd 250-642-5464 Victoria 1947 Cook St . . . . . . . . 250-388-2200 West Shore 345 Wale Rd . . . . . . . . 250-519-3490

BREASTFEEDING SUPPORT Breastfeeding Matters . . . . . . . . . . . breastfeedingmatters.ca Eats on Feets facebook.com/eatsonfeetsvancouver island La Leche League of Greater Victoria . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-727-4384

NEW PARENT SUPPORT Aboriginal Infant Development Program 231 Regina Ave . . . . . . 250-384-3211 BC Association of Family Resource Programs . . . . . . . . . . 604-738-0068

Infant Development Program 3970 Haro Rd, Victoria . . . . 477-1826 International Nannies & Homecare Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . internationalnannies.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-383-9566 Peninsula Best Babies Program 9860 Third St, Sidney. 250-656-0134 HappyBaby Sleep Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-857-1408 . . . . . .happybabysleepsolutions.com UC Baby 202-4489 Viewmont Ave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-744-2234 Vancouver Island Baby Fair . . . . . . . vancouverislandbabyfair.com Vancouver Island Multiple Birth Association email . . . . . . vimba234@hotmail.com Victoria Pregnancy Centre 4-855 Caledonia Ave. 250-380-6883 Welcome Wagon welcomewagon.ca . . 1-866-518-7287

ADOPTION SUPPORT Adoption Support Program 2400 Arbutus Rd . . . . . 250-721-6751 Choices Adoption & Counselling Services 100–850 Blanshard St . 250-479-9811 Family Services of Greater Vancouver 1616 West 7th Ave . . . . 604-736-7613 Fernwood Foundation bcadopt.com . . . . . . . 1-877-236-7807 Options Pregnancy Centre 4-855 Caledonia Ave. 250-380-6883

The Cridge Young Parent Outreach Program 1307 Hillside Ave . . . . . 250-995-6421 This dynamic service for young parents, parents-to-be, and their children offers support, mentoring and advocacy to young parents as they endeavor to have healthy babies, develop their parenting skills, and pursue their education and employment goals.

Family Eyecare Centre . . . . . . . . . . familyeyecarecentre.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-383-2411 Greater Victoria Down Syndrome Society . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-479-7450

Origins Supporting People Separated By Adoption originscanada.org . . . . 250-419-1200

Cowichan Valley DOULAS Cowichan Birthwise . 250-748-8493 Cowichan Childbirth, Prenatal & Doula cowichanchildbirth.com 250-510-0805

MIDWIVES Cowichan Midwifery Group 164 Station St . . . . . . . 250-709-2040

Family Resource Guide 2015/2016 7

Confident girls.

Inspiring women.

•

Leaders in Early Childhood Education

•

Nature-based early learning curriculum

•

Empowering girls’ leadership program

•

Small school benefits: safe, supportive, high engagement

•

•

Continuity in education from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12 Canada’s first & only girls’ STEM* school

*STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

ST. MARGARET’S SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23

Visit from 9:00–11:00am & 1:00–3:00pm 1080 LUCAS AVE, VICTORIA 250.479.7171 | WWW.STMARG.CA

Make this their best year ever with Tutor Doctor.

• Convenient, Comfortable One-to-One Tutoring at Home • Expert, Screened, Well-Matched Tutors • Tailor-Made Program for Every Student

CALL (250) 802-5256

vancouverislandtutors.com 8 IslandParent.ca

PRENATAL SERVICES Matraea Centre, Duncan matcentre.ca . . . . . . . . 250-597-0085

PUBLIC HEALTH (VIHA) Duncan 675 Canada Ave . . . . . 250-709-3050 Lake Cowichan Health Unit 58 Cowichan Ave . . . . . 250-749-6878

NEW PARENT SUPPORT Aboriginal Infant Development Program, Duncan 5768 Allenby Rd . . . . . 250-746-6184 Island Mother, Cowichan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250 737-1687 Margaret Moss Health Centre, Duncan 675 Canada Ave . . . . . 250-709-3050 New Mom Centre, PostPartum Support & Education, Duncan newmomcentre.ca . . . . 250-510-2518 Sundrops Centre for Child Development, Duncan 5856 Clements St . . . . 250-746-4135 Y Young Moms Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-382-1004

Mid-Island MIDWIVES/DOULAS Born Healthy 630 2nd Ave, Ladysmith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-245-3079 Jennifer Hewko, Registered Midwife 3799 Avolea Dr . . . . . . 250-760-1080 Mid-Island Midwifery, Nanaimo 2506 Maxey Rd . . . . . . 250-741-1294 or 350 Stewart Ave . . . 250-716-1366 West Coast Doulas, Port Alberni, Parksville, Tofino & Ucluelet . . . . . . . . . . . . .westcoastdoulas.com

PRENATAL SERVICES Crisis Pregnancy Centre of Nanaimo 1717B Kerrisdale Rd . . 250-714-2191

PUBLIC HEALTH (VIHA) Campbell River Public Health 200-1100 Island Hwy . 250-850-2110 Ladysmith Health Unit 224 High St . . . . . . . . . 250-755-3342 Nanaimo Health Unit 1665 Grant Ave . . . . . . 250-755-3342 Nanaimo Princess Royal Family Centre 260 Irwin St . . . . . . . . . 250-755-3342 Parksville Health Unit 249 W. Hirst Ave . . . . . 250-947-8242 Port Alberni Health Unit 4227 6th Ave . . . . . . . . 250-724-1315 Tofino and Ucluelet Public Health and Coastal Family Place 265 First St . . . . . . . . . 250-725-4020

NEW PARENT SUPPORT Aboriginal Infant Development Program, Nanaimo 668B Centre St . . . . . . 250-470-2348 Central Vancouver Island Crisis Society, Nanaimo . . . . 250-754-4447 Family Resource Association 198 Morison Ave, Parksville d69fra.org . . . . . . . . . . 250-752-6766 Hands On Prevention & Education Centre, Gabriola Island 790 North Rd . . . . . . . . 250-247-8730 Healthy Beginnings Ladysmith, Nanaimo . . 250-755-6230

Island Parent Magazine A10–830 Pembroke St 250-388-6905 Kids In Victoria . . . kidsinvictoria.com Ladysmith Association of Family & Friends . . . . . . . . . . 250-245-6424 La Leche League, Nanaimo 409 Belmonte Place . . 250-754-5853 La Leche League, Parksville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-954-2922 Nanaimo Infant Development Program 1135 Nelson St . . . . . . 250-753-0251

Children’s Music Classes Birth to 12 years

These classes build confidence and improve social and academic skills, all while your child gets creative with movement and sound.

Families Making Music Orff Piano Trumpet & Trombone Violin, Fiddle & Cello Choir Guitar & Ukulele . . . plus more!

Register Today!

900 Johnson St. 250.386.5311

Welcome Wagon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . welcomewagon.ca

vcm.bc.ca/departments/childrens-music Family Resource Guide 2015/2016 9

Rachel Dunstan Muller

Nanaimo Unique Kids Organization Supporting children and youth with special needs and their families since 2005.

Autism, ADHD, Anxiety, Tourettes and other Special Needs.

250-585-6856

uniquekidsoffice@shaw.ca Visit us online:

www.nuko.ca

10 IslandParent.ca

The Upside of Green G

reen living often gets a bad rap: it’s seen as inconvenient, time-consuming, expensive, and/or limiting. I admit that when I’m feeling tired or discouraged I sometimes succumb to this way of thinking, seeing my planet-friendly choices as ‘duties’ rather than a source of health and well-being. But going green has all kinds of rewards.

To appreciate them, let’s first address some of the criticisms.

Going green is time-consuming. It certainly can be—if you’re growing you’re own food, or making everything from scratch. But there are many green practices which actually save time. Combine errands whenever possible, planning the most efficient route. Shop in your own neighbourhood, instead of driving to a more distant big box store. Walk or cycle to your destination to combine exercise with transportation. Buy good quality once, rather than poor quality many times. Kick the recreational shopping habit. To avoid the excessive packaging of convenience or take-out foods, cook and bake double and triple batches when you’ve got the time and energy, and freeze the leftovers for days when you’re too busy for the kitchen. Wash full loads of laundry instead of more frequent partial ones. Save yourself and/or your partner time by getting your kids involved: sorting recyclables, hanging clothes on an indoor or outdoor line, or assembling their own lunches in reusable containers.

Green products are expensive. While certain things like organic food or ecoconscious clothing often cost more, overall an earth-friendly lifestyle is also a budgetfriendly one. “Reduce” is by far the most important of the three ‘R’s, and will almost always save you money. Reduce how much you drive, how much you buy, and how much energy you use. Downsize to a smaller vehicle, or ditch your vehicle in favour of bus passes and bicycles. Put on sweaters, and turn down the thermostat. Invest in reusable products to replace disposable ones. Buy secondhand. Eat lower on the food chain, adding a few vegetarian meals to your weekly menu. Use vinegar and/or baking soda in place of more expensive and toxic cleaning products. For black belt level savings, choose the smallest home you can,

as near as possible to your family’s school and workplaces.

A small carbon footprint equals a small life. If you define happiness by how much stuff you own, or how far away and exotic your vacations are, then yes, a smaller carbon footprint will equal a smaller life.

But researchers who study positive psychology—or the pursuit of happiness—have concluded that this way of thinking is actually a recipe for dissatisfaction. Beyond getting our basic needs met, for real happiness we need healthy relationships and the opportunity for personal growth. No carbon required.

In other words, with the right attitude and some creativity, a small carbon footprint life can be as big and fulfilling as we make it.

Those are some of the criticisms of green living, but what are the rewards?

Simplicity. A life with less stuff translates into more freedom and greater peace of mind. A smaller selection of toys will make it easier for your children to tidy their rooms, and can actually reduce stress, stimulate creativity, and increase the quality of their play. A simplified wardrobe will give you more time in the morning, more space in your closet, and greater clarity about your personal style. A pared-down kitchen is a much more inviting workspace than one overflowing with gadgets you don’t need.

So is a decluttered sewing room or garage.

The next time you get the urge to shop, tackle the clutter in a small area of your home instead. You’ll be amazed how much lighter you feel. For inspiration on decluttering and downsizing, go to theminimalists. com/familylinks.

Challenge. We need challenges to keep life interesting and to grow as human beings.

Green living gives us the opportunity to continually flex our creative muscles as we explore planet-friendly alternatives to the unsustainable status quo. Where you direct your energy depends on your personal interests and aptitudes. Want to join an existing challenge? Google BC Hydro Power Smart to reduce your electricity consumption, Meatless Monday to go vegetarian once a week, PAREdown Home for radical waste reduction, or Project 333 to tame an out-

of-control clothes shopping habit. Have a DIY mindset? Experiment with homemade cleaners, personal care products, or even make-up. Enjoy time in the kitchen? Expand your from-scratch repertoire, and learn to preserve locally-sourced food. Have an aptitude for sewing, woodworking or other crafts? Make your own gifts this year.

Empowerment. The media is full of discouraging stories about our planet’s health. We can’t control the big picture, but we can take responsibility for our own contributions to climate change and overconsumption. And when we make green choices—taking reusable produce bags to the store, arriving on a bike, or packing our kids’ snacks in reusable containers—we inspire others and give them permission to do the same.

Green living gives us the opportunity to continually flex our creative muscles as we explore planet-friendly alternatives to the unsustainable status quo.

Connection. We live in an extremely disconnected culture. We shop in impersonal big box stores, travel in individual, climatecontrolled vehicles, and insulate ourselves with personal devices and headphones when we have to commute with strangers.

We value independence and self-reliance so highly, that many of us don’t know our neighbours. Living in an environmentally sustainable way provides all kinds of opportunities to break down these barriers.

Shopping locally allows us to get to know the producers in our community—the farmers, beekeepers, butchers and bakers. We get a chance to form new connections when we join a carpool or a community garden, or respond to a Facebook request to share an item we no longer need. And when we work together towards a common community or global cause, we become part of something bigger than ourselves. That’s a great antidote to ‘me’-centred living.

Peace of Mind. Making green choices that work for our families is a way to live in integrity. I know that I sleep better at night when my daily decisions match my vision for a more just and sustainable future.

Rachel Dunstan Muller is the mother of five, and a children’s author. Her previous articles can be found at islandparent.ca.

Celebrate...

Plan your birthday celebration with us!!

Cowichan Aquatic Centre 2653 James Street 250.746.7665

Register Online at www.northcowichan.ca

Family Resource Guide 2015/2016 11

Ballet Victoria Dance School

Family Support South Island

GRIEF SUPPORT

COMMUNITY CENTRES

Circle of Friends . . . . 250-384-9133

Beacon Community Services 9860 Third St, Sidney . 250-655-5313

Compassionate Friends 1346 Ravens View Dr . 250-478-9270

Blanshard Community Centre 901 Kings Rd . . . . . . . . 250-388-7696

Living & Learning Through Loss www.teenloss.com . . . 250-413-3114

Braefoot Activity Centre 1359 McKenzie Ave . . . 250-721-2244

Origins: Supporting People Separated by Adoption www.originscanada.org 250-419-1200

Ballet • Contemporary Jazz • Hip Hop • Tap

Burnside/Gorge Community Centre burnsidegorge.ca . . . . 250-388-5251

Classes taught by the professional dancers of Ballet Victoria in a unique, safe, creative and fun environment.

Fairfield Community Association fairfieldcommunity.ca . 250-382-4604

In addition to children and youth classes, BV offers classes in Yoga, Pilates and adult Ballet.

Vancouver Island Naturopathic Clinic Inc. 204-4480 West Saanich Rd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-881-1806 Victoria Counselling Service 420-1105 Pandora Ave 250-418-0550

Esquimalt Neighbourhood House 511 Constance Ave . . . 250-385-2635

Fernwood Neighbourhood Resource Group 1240 Gladstone Ave . . 250-381-1552

Rainbows . . . . . . . . . . 250-479-0766 Victoria Hopsice Bereavement Services victoriahospice.org . . . 250-370-8868

PARENT EDUCATION Children’s Health & Human Rights Partnership . . . . . . . . . . . . CHHRP.org

Inter-Cultural Association 930 Balmoral Rd . . . . . 250-388-4728

LIFE Seminars Parenting Programs Dr. Allison Rees . . . . . . 250-595-2649

COME TRY YOUR FIRST CLASS FOR FREE!

James Bay Community Project 547 Michigan St . . . . . 250-388-7844

PARENT SUPPORT

Registration is ongoing at www.balletvictoria.ca 250-380-6063 bvclasses@balletvictoria.ca

Oaklands Community Association 1-2827 Belmont Ave . . 250-370-9101

BV is a nonprofit school that helps support professional dance in Victoria.

Saanich Neighbourhood Place 3100 Tillicum Rd . . . . . 250-360-1148 Sooke/Westshore Early Years Centres sfrs.ca . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-217-9243 Victoria Immigrant & Refuge Centre 637 Bay St, 3rd Floor . . 250-361-9433

Big Brothers Big Sisters 230 Bay St . . . . . . . . . . 250-475-1117

YM-YWCA of Greater Victoria 880 Courtney St . . . . . 250-386-7511

Bridges for Women Society 320–1175 Cook St . . . . 250-385-7410

COUNSELLING

Child Abuse Prevention/ Mary Manning Centre 210–1175 Cook St . . . . 250-385-6111

Esquimalt Neighbourhood House 511 Constance Ave . . . 250-360-0644 Maxine Fisher, M.Ed., RCC, MTA . . . . . . .victoriafamilycounselling.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-686-7582 Men’s Trauma Counselling Centre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-381-6367

12 IslandParent.ca

Dr. Allison Rees . . . . . 250-595-2649

Victoria West Community Association 521 Craigflower Rd . . . 250 590-8922

Dr. Allison Rees . . . . . 250-595-2649

Andrea Bayne - Principal Paul Destrooper - Artistic Director

1UP Single Parent Resource Centre 602 Gorge Rd . . . . . . . 250-385-1114 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.1-up.ca.

1Up offers a wide variety of 3- to 8-week personal growth and parenting courses, a mentoring program for single moms, and a single dads’ support group. Courses open to all.

South Island Centre for Counselling & Training southislandcentre.ca . . 250-472-2851

Child Care Resource and Referral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . islandfamilyinfo.ca Sooke . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-642-5152 Westshore . . . . . . . . . . 250-391-4324 Victoria & Gulf Islands . . 250-382-700 or . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-800-750-1868 Family Caregivers’ Network Society 6-3318 Oak St . . . . . . . 250-384-0408 Family Services of Greater Victoria 899 Fort St . . . . . . . . . . 250-386-4331

First Metropolitan United Church firstmetvictoria.com . . . 250-388-5188 First Unitarian Church of Victoria 5575 West Saanich Rd 250-744-2665 F.O.R.C.E. Society for Kids Mental Health . . . . . . . . . . . forcesociety.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-818-4810 Foster Parents Support Services 145-735 Goldstream Ave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-598-1500 Hulitan Family & Community Services Society 902A Calendonia Ave . 250-384-9466 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . hulitan.ca A not for profit urban Aboriginal agency.

Island Parent Magazine A10–830 Pembroke St 250-388-6905 Kids In Victoria . . . kidsinvictoria.com Military Family Resource Centre Work Point . . . . . . . . . . 250-363-3443 Niecia A. Dunn Coaching & Parent Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 778-977-2088

NIL/TU,O Child & Family Services Society niltuo.ca . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-544-1400 Pacific Centre Family Services Association, Colwood & Sooke . . . . . pacificcentrefamilyservices.org . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-478-8357 Parent Support Services Society of BC . . . . . . . . . . . . parentsupportbc.ca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-384-8042 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-877-345-9777 The Representative for Children & Youth rcybc.ca. . . . . . . . . . . 1-800-476-3933

UVic Family Centre 39208 Lam Circle . . . . 250-472-4062 Vancouver Island Parenting Consultations . . . . . . . 250-510-5611 Victoria Immigrant & Refugee Centre 637 Bay St, 3rd Floor . . 250-361-9433 Victoria Native Friendship Centre 231 Regina Ave . . . . . . 250-384-3211 Victoria Sexual Assault Centre 201-3060 Cedar Hill Rd 250-383-5545 Young Parents Support Network 404–620 View St . . . . . 250-384-0552

Sooke Family Resource Society sfrs.ca . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-642-5152

WIN Administration Office 812 Cormorant Ave . . . 250-480-4006

Sooke Options for Community Living Association socla.ca . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-642-6364

SPECIAL NEEDS & DISABILITY SUPPORT

Communica Dialogue & Resolution Services Society 102-2220 Sooke Rd . . 250-383-4412 St. Barnabas Anglican Church 1525 Begbie St . . . . . . 250-595-4324 Success By Six . . . . . . . . . . . . successby6victoria.ca TS Consulting . . . . . . . 250-590-4114

Perfect Day Special Needs Store perfectdaystore.com . . 250-216-2445 Autism Services, Community Living Victoria . . . . . 250-477-7231, ext. 237 BC Lions Society for Children with Disabilities . . . . . 250-386-0668 BeConnected Support Services beconsupport.ca . . . . . 250-727-3891

Fall and Winter Classes…

Expand your skills, build your confidence and find the joy in learning • Nationally recognized Level B Academic Assessments • After school remedial learning classes, starting at 3:30 p.m.

• Language arts, mathematics, study skills and higher-level math and science • All READ Teachers are BC Certified Locations: Colwood, Sidney and Victoria Call: 250-388-7225 for information about our services and schedules Check out the website: http://www.readsociety.bc.ca

Family Resource Guide 2015/2016 13

HeadWay Victoria Epilepsy & Parkinson’s Centre headwayvictoria.com . . 250 475 6677 Supports families and children living with seizures

Does your child have difficulty reading?

• can’t read words just read earlier • letter reversal • symptoms of dyslexia • “sounds out” words but can not blend them correctly • confuses similar sounding words • avoids reading/poor speller

Canucks Autism Network canucksautism.ca . . . . 604-685-4049 Provides high-quality, adaptive sports, recreational and social programs for children, teens and young adults with autism. For a full listing of Vancouver Island programs, visit canucksautism. ca/VancouverIsland or call 604-6854049.

Child & Family Counselling Association (Autism Program) 5–230 Menzies St . . . . 250-595-4423 Community Options for Children & Families 1595 Bay St . . . . . . . . . 250-380-6363

I offer an effective program that works!

Call for more information or to arrange your individualized one-on-one tutoring solution.

Brenda Osadchy 778-440-0997

totallearningservices2014@gmail.com

Art Classes Drawing Painting • Sculpture Cartooning Portfolio Preparation • Day and Evening Classes • One or Two hour sessions • Technique Oriented • Ages 5 and Up

COMPLETE A PORTFOLIO COURSE – Ages 14 & Up, DESIGNED ESPECIALLY FOR YOU

The Cridge Respitality Service 1307 Hillside Ave . . . . . 250-995-6412 Our unique Respitality program provides parents of a child with disabilitiy with a chance to pause and be refreshed with a complimentary overnight stay for two in a hotel or bedand-breakfast.

Monarch House Victoria #211-605 Discovery St 250-220-8999 Monarch House offers an interdisciplinary approach that improves access, coordinates treatment and focuses on results. We meet the needs of families and individuals with behavioural communication, learning, and motor skills challenges.

Mosaic Learning Society Victoria 500 Admirals Rd . . . . . 250-382-0848 Pivot Point Family Growth Centre pivotpoint.ca . . . . . . . . 778-410-2319

The Cridge Respite Resource Service 1307 Hillside Ave . . . . . 250-220-8569 This vital service keeps an up-todate listing of people able to provide respite care and parents who need respite services for their child. If you are either a parent or a respite care provider, please contact us for more information.

Power to Be Adventure Therapy powertobe.ca . . . . . . . 250-385-2363 Power To Be’s programs offer a supportive environment for youth and families living with a barrier or disability to experience outdoor adventures such as hiking, canoeing, kayaking and more.

FOR ENTRANCE INTO: INTERIOR DESIGN, ARCHITECTURE, BACHELOR OF FINE ARTS, FASHION & MORE Now taking Registrations for Fall

Greater Victoria Down Syndrome Society gvdss.ca . . . . . . . . . . . 250-479-7450

www.artisticstatementgalleryandschool.com

14 IslandParent.ca

Lifetime Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lifetimenetworks.org Providing creative and inclusive programs welcoming people with disabilities, including a Continuing Education Program, Employment Programs, friendship building, personal support networks, fine arts, social events, cooking and independent living.

Little Steps Therapy Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-386-1171

Family Support, Community Living Victoria 3861 Cedar Hill X Rd . . . . . . . . . . . 250-477-7231, ext. 236

Artistic Statement Gallery & School of Fine Art Call Joan at 250-383-0566

Kardel Consulting kardelcares.ca . . . . . . . 250-382-5990

Queen Alexandra Centre For Children’s Health 2400 Arbutus Rd . . . . . 250-477-1826 Ronald McDonald House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .rmhbc.ca Schizophrenic Society, BC Chapter 941 Kings Rd . . . . . . . . 250-384-4225 Special Olympics . . . . . . . victoriaspecialolympics.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-477-7106

Spina Bifida & Hydrocephalus Association of BC 4480 Oak St, Vancouver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 604-878-7000 Victoria Brain Injury Society D & E, 830 Pembroke St . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-598-9339 Victoria Group Perspectives . . . . . . . . . . . groupperspectives.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-590-7624

Youth Clinic 533 Yates Street . . . . . 250-383-3552 547 Michigan Street . . 250-388-7841 Young Parent Support Network 2541 Empire St . . . . . . 250-384-0052 Youth Space . . . www.youthspace.ca Victoria Youth Empowerment Society 533 Yates St . . . . . . . . 250-383-3514

Victoria Society for Children with Autism Box 44106, 2947 Tillicum Rd . . . victoriaautismsociety@gmail.com

Cowichan Valley

Westshore Child & Youth Family Centre, 345 Wale Rd . . 250-391-4320

Shawnigan Lake Community Centre 2804 Shawnigan Lk Rd 250-743-1433

YOUTH SERVICES

COUNSELLING

Discovery Youth & Family Substance Use Services 2nd Fl-530 Fraser St . . 250-519-5313

Canadian Mental Health Association 371 Festubert St, Duncan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-746-5521 Central Vancouver Island Crisis Society, Cowichan . . . 250-748-1133

Island Sexual Health Society Clinical Services . . . . . 250-592-3479 Community Ed . . . . . . . 250-388-2202 Parents Together Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-384-9133 PFLAG of Greater Victoria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-385-9462

COMMUNITY CENTRES

Community Options Society, Cowichan 200 Cowichan Way . . . 250-748-0232 Cowichan Family Life 250-748-8281

Duncan Mental Health & Addiction Services . . . . . . . . . . . 250-709-3040 South Vancouver Island Assessment & Resource Service, Duncan 305–394 Duncan St . . . 250-746-6900

GRIEF SUPPORT Rainbows, Duncan 371 Festubert St . . . . . 250-746-5521

PARENT SUPPORT Big Brothers Big Sisters #1-60 Ingram St, Duncan bbbscowichan.ca . . . . 250-748-2447 Child Care Resource and Referral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . islandfamilyinfo.ca . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-746-4135 ext. 231 Cowichan Family Life Association 2C–2753 Charlotte Rd . 250-748-8281 Parent Support Circle Shawnigan Lake . . . . . 250-384-8042

SPECIAL NEEDS & DISABILITY SUPPORT BeConnected Support Services beconsupport.ca . . . . . 250-727-3891

STAGES Performing Art School since 1980

Come Dance With Us

es lass C l hoo .. e -S c angels. r P e e l t im itt • Offering classes for Teens and Pre-Teens in Jazz, Day or the l f Ballet, Lyrical, Tap. Musical Theatre, Acrobatics

& Hip Hop, in a non-competitive atmosphere.

• Not sure which class to take?

Try a Drop-In: No hassle, No Obligation.

Even the littlest angel can dance

Call 250-384-3267 Email us at: stagesdance@shaw.ca Or visit our website: www.stagesdance.com Family Resource Guide 2015/2016 15

Cowichan Therapeutic Riding Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ctra.ca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-746-1028 Clements Centre Society 5856 Clements St . . . . 250-746-4135 Early Intervention Team 202–394 Duncan St . . . 250-709-9022

Ladysmith Parks, Recreation & Culture, Ladysmith 810-6th Ave . . . . . . . . . 250-245-6424 Ladysmith Resources Centre Association 721 First Ave . . . . . . . . 250-245-3079 Gabriola Community Centre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-247-9291

YOUTH SERVICES Community Options Society 200 Cowichan Way . . . 250-748-0232

Mid-Island

GRIEF SUPPORT Child & Youth Grief Support, Nanaimo . . . . . nanaimohospice.com 1729 Boundary Ave . . . 250-758-8857 Rainbows, Nanaimo 2221 Bowen Rd . . . . . . 250-751-7888

COMMUNITY CENTRES Central Vancouver Island Multicultural Society, Nanaimo 114-285 Prideaux St . . 250-753-6911 Cherry Creek Community Centre, Port Alberni 3720 Moore Rd . . . . . . 250-724-1923

Family Caregivers’ Network Society 526 Michigan St . . . . . 250-384-0408 Family Resource Association, Qualicum Beach 181 Sunningdale Rd W 250-752-6766 Family Services of Greater Victoria 899 Fort St . . . . . . . . . . 250-386-4331 Foster Parent Support Services 3D 132 Roberts St . . . . 250-245-2622 Kw’umut Lelum Child & Family Services, Ladysmith 7973 Chemainus Rd . . 250-246-3336

Rainbows, Parksville (4-12 yr olds) 345 N. Pym St . . . . . . . 250-248-3927

Nanaimo & Area Resource Services for Families 210–170 Wallace St . . . 250-754-2773

Spectrum, Parksville (13-18 yr olds) 345 N. Pym St . . . . . . . 250-248-3927

Nanaimo Family Life Association 1070 Townsite Rd . . . . 250-754-3331

PARENT SUPPORT

Nanaimo Mental Health & Addiction Services . . . . . . . . . . . 250-755-3361

Child Development Centre 1135 Nelson St . . . . . . 250-753-3521

Associated Family & Community Support Services Ltd, Parksville 155 Weld St . . . . . . . . . 250-248-0076

District 69 Family Resource Assoc.

Qualicum Beach 181 Sunningdale Rd . . 250-752-6766

Big Brothers & Big Sisters, Nanaimo #3-2350 Labieux Rd . . 250-756-2447

Reliable

Child Development Centre 1135 Nelson St . . . . . . 250-753-0251

Nanaimo Women’s Centre 285 Selby St . . . . . . . . 250-753-0633 Nanoose First Nations 111 Snaw-Naw-As Rd . 250-390-0003 Nutsumaat Lelum, Ladysmith 3947 Shell Beach Rd . . 250-245-0994

— An Expert You Can Trust — Quality Work WCB Insured Competitive Rates Specializing in:

Renovations New Construction Custom Showers Hot Water Tanks Fixture Replacements Contact me today for a quote:

Travis Warren 250-886-2141 travismwarren@gmail.com 16 IslandParent.ca

PacificCare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . islandfamilyinfo.ca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-756-2022 or . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-888-480-2273 Parent Support Circles, Nanaimo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-468-9658 Parent Support Circles, Parksville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-468-9658 Parents Together Parents Line 20 5th St . . . . . . . . . . . 250-754-9661 Princess Royal Family Centre 260 Irwin St . . . . . . . . . 250-755-7855 Salvation Army Meal Program 505 8th St . . . . . . . . . . 250-754-2621 Snu Ney Muxw First Nations 668 Centre St . . . . . . . 250-740-2300 SOS Child Youth & Family Centre, Parksville 245 West Hirst Ave . . . 250-248-2093 The Representative for Children & Youth rcybc.ca . . . . . . . . . . . 1-800-476-3933 Tillicum Lelum Friendship Centre 927 Haliburton St . . . . 250-753-8291

SPECIAL NEEDS & DISABILITY SUPPORT Child Development Centre 1135 Nelson St . . . . . . 250-753-0251 Footholds Therapy Centre, Nanaimo footholds.ca . . . . . . . . . 250-585-4411 Island Deaf and Hard of Hearing Centre 205-55 Victoria Rd . . . . 250-753-0999 Kardel Consulting . . .

Nanaimo . . . . . . . . . . .

Parksville . . . . . . . . . . .

Campbell River . . . . . .

Courtenay/Comox . . . .

kardelcares.ca 250-729-7401 250-248-8336 250-287-8397 250-338-6557

Nanaimo Brain Injury Society 101-55 Victoria Rd . . . . 250-753-5600 Nanaimo Unique Kids Organization #2-5801 Turner Rd . . . . . . . . nuko.ca

YOUTH SERVICES ADAPT Society, Nanaimo 206-96 Cavan St . . . . . 250-754-0600 Nanaimo Youth Services 290 Bastion St . . . . . . . 250-754-1989

Family Resource Guide 2015/2016  17

LOL

W

Sarah Milligan

e don’t usually consider the sense of humour as a survival skill. It seems more like a pleasant superfluity—enjoyable enough, but unlikely to become the single quality capable of saving our sanity. It is only when we enter the parenting years—those of sleep deprivation, endless snack serving, and carseat wrestling matches—that we discover humour’s true power and recognize it for the lifeline it truly is.

Believe it or not, this is nature’s way of honing our survival skills, of giving us the tools we need to get through the day-to-day.

A parent encounters situations in the field that are so purely bizarre, so removed from previous experiences—nothing in our lives can have prepared us. We need to develop a new coping mechanism, and sometimes forced humour is the only one that works.

A few examples: we may find ourselves

This isn’t to say that our normal, adultoriented sense of humour will cut it. To be useful, it has to adapt. Like so many other aspects of our lives, the sense of humour must adjust to parenthood: learning to operate in a challenging new environment, one low in adult conversation and high in noise. We may not recognize our new sense of humour at first, but that is to be expected. Suddenly, things that used to be funny, aren’t. Adult jokes, for example, become much less enjoyable after the first time your child shouts one across the playground; sarcastic humour can also be problematic when kids who interpret everything literally overhear. And those late-night comedy shows just aren’t worth staying up for when the baby’s preferred rising hour is 5 a.m.

Our sense of humour also adapts to the company we keep. Previously, we may have associated with adults who had a more sophisticated approach to the subject of humour.

After becoming parents, we spend most of our time with a significantly younger crowd, one with its own culture of funny. Slowly but surely a parent becomes the unwitting audience for an in-house comedy club, featuring nonsensical punch lines, plenty of bathroom puns, and millions upon millions of knock-knock jokes.

We get very, very good at faking laughter; it helps, of course, that everything seems funnier when we are severely overtired.

extracting hummus from the car stereo one afternoon. The next, explaining to our child why it is generally not a good idea to scream toilet words while waiting for a Subway sandwich to be made. Or, we might be awakened at 4 a.m. to discover a sleep-walking preschooler peeing in the recycling bin.

In these situations, we have only two options: to cry or to laugh. And crying is only admitting defeat. So, instead, we laugh—sometimes through tears. But humour works. It eases the tension and reminds us that life isn’t perfect, and that even if the hummus never comes out of the stereo, and the car reeks faintly of garlic for a year, at least it will make for a unique story to tell at the kid’s graduation party.

Humour softens the edges, if we can find the funny side. And there’s always a funny side.

Somewhere along the way, the sense of humour emerges as a new and refined entity and becomes absolutely vital to preserving a parent’s mental well-being. There is no other biological function that will serve us so well.

Humour becomes our most valuable asset, the single most important item in our parenting toolkits. The laughter may be slightly more hysterical than it once was, but as long as we’re laughing, we’ll be alright.

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

18 IslandParent.ca

Sarah Milligan lives on Vancouver Island. She is grateful to her children for the joy they inspire, not to mention the endless writing fodder.

LAST CHANCE FOR OUR 2015 CIVICS

2015 CIVIC DX

$ 13 6 39 LAST CHANCE FOR OUR 2015 CIVICS *** LEASE FROM

$

‡

#

Weekly on a 60 month term with 260 payments.

MSRP $17,245** includes freight and PDI.

Standard features include:

• ECON mode button and Eco-Assist™ system • Drive-by-Wire Throttle System™

• Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA®) with Traction Control

2015 CIVIC DX

LAST CHANCE FOR $ OUR 2015 CIVICS

39

FOR ONLY

*

LEASE FROM

2,500

0.99 APR $0 down UP $ %

#

‡

— OR Weekly on a 60 month term with 260 payments. ** includes freight and PDI.

TOMSRP $17,245

—

13

Standard features include:

$

MORE,

Adds to or replaces LX

• Air conditioning

• 16" alloy wheels

• HandsFreeLink™ Bilingual Bluetooth® Wireless Mobile Phone Interface

• 7" Display Audio Sys Next Generation

• Multi-angle rearview camera

• Power moonroof wit

• Intelligent Multi-information display (i-MID) with TFT display

• Proximity key entry s and pushbutton star

• Heated front seats

• Honda LaneWatch™

6 39 $

$

£

MORE,

step upMSRP to a$20,045 CIVICincludes EX

1,000 + 0.990.99% APR 0 down **

Adds to or replaces DX features:

Adds to or replaces LXand features: freight % # $PDI. ‡ Model shown • 16" alloy wheels Weekly on a 60 month term with 260 payments.

Civic Touring 15-0688 ™ ** • 7" Display Audio System withand HondaLink includes freight PDI. MSRP $17,245 Next Generation

• Air conditioning

Finlayson Street • Standard Power moonroof withinclude: tilt feature features

• •Proximity key button entry system ECON mode and Eco-Assist 250-388-6921 and pushbutton start

• Intelligent Multi-information display (i-MID) with TFT display

• Drive-by-Wire Throttle System™ • Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA ) with Traction Control ®

™

system

• Drive-by-Wire Throttle System™ • Honda LaneWatch™ blind spot® display • Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA ) with Traction Control

• Heated front seats

LEASE FR

*

MSRP $20,045** includes freight and PDI.

PLUS, FOR A LIMITED TIME, *GET A $1,000 FROM

step up to a CIVIC LX

506 • Multi-angle rearview camera

• ECON mode button and Eco-Assist™ system

step up to a

Adds to or replaces DX features:

2015 CIVIC DXLEASE FROM $52

FOR ONLY ANOTHER LEASE

• Driver's seat with 6-way manual adjustment

• HandsFreeLink™ Bilingual Bluetooth® Wireless Mobile Phone Interface

cash purchase incentive

step up to a CIVIC LX

• Advanced Compatibility Engineering™ next generation body structure

Model shown: Civic EX FB2E5FJX

$

FOR ONLY ANOTHER

MORE,

0.99 APR $0 down %

$

FOR ONLY

*

13

$

MSRP $22,445** includes

FOR ONLY LEASE BONUS ON

M

17,

step up to a CIVI

$

Adds or replaces DX features CIVICtoLX AUTOMATIC • Air conditioning

• HandsFreeLink™ Bilingual Blu Wireless Mobile Phone Interfa • Multi-angle rearview camera

• Intelligent Multi-information d (i-MID) with TFT display

• Heated front seats • Advanced Compatibility Engineering™ bc * ™* $ $ • Advanced Compatibility Engineering next generation body structure £$1,000 Lease Dollars available on lease transactions from Honda Finance Services (“HFS”), on approved credit only, on all 2015 Civic models. All bonuses are deducted from the negotiated selling price after taxes. *Limited time weekly lease offer and all other offers are from Honda Canada Finance Inc., next generation structure lease offer applies to a new 2015 Civic DX model FB2E2FEX/Civic LX model FB2E4FEX/Civic EX model FB2** E5FJX for a 60-month period, for a total of 260 payments of $38.94/$51.69/$58.33 at 0.99% APR based on applying $1,100/$0/$0 “lease dollars” (which are deducted from the negotia ** leasedbody • Driver's seat with 6-way manual MSRP includes freight and MSRP $22,445 includes freight andofPDI. order to achieve $0 down payment, dealer will cover theadjustment cost of tire/battery tax, air conditioning tax $20,045 (where applicable), environmental feesPDI. and levies on the 2015 Civic DX only on the customer’s behalf. Down payment $0.00, first weekly payment and $0 security deposit due at lease inception. Tot $13,439.40/$15,165.80. Taxes, license, insurance and registration are extra. 120,000 kilometre allowance; charge of $0.12/km for excess kilometres. **MSRP is $17,245/$20,045/$22,445 including PDI ofmanual $1,495. License, insurance, registration and taxes are $20,045 extra and ** may be required at the a ti • Driver's seatfreight withand 6-way adjustment MSRP includes freight

LEASE FROM 52

LEASE FROM 58

LEASE FROM

or payments shown do not include a PPSA lien registration fee of $30.31 and lien registering agent’s fee of $5.25, which are both due at time of delivery and covered by the dealer on behalf of the customer. Offers valid from Sept. 1st till Sept. 30th, 2015 at participating Honda retailers. Dealer may sell/le necessary on certain vehicles. Offers valid only for British Columbia residents at BC Honda Dealers locations. Offers subject to change or cancellation without notice. Terms and conditions apply. Visit www.bchonda.com or see your Honda retailer for full details.

PLUS, FOR A LIMITED TIME, GET A $1,000 LEASE BONUS ON ANY CIVIC PLUS, FOR A LIMITED TIME, GET A $1,00 £

Model shown: Civic EX FB2E5FJX

Model shown: Civic EX FB2E5FJX

000 2,500 0.99 UP TO

%

$+

cash purchase incentive

CASH

% 17,545 1,000 0.99

MSRP $20,045** includes freight and PDI. Model shown — Civic OR — Touring 15-0688

$

506 Finlayson Street

+

CIVIC LX AUTOMATIC

$

MSRP $20,045** includes freight and PDI. Model shown Civic Touring 15-0688

506 Finlayson Street

2015 Civic: 250-388-6921

250-388-6921

years worth 17bchonda.com of reasons to buy

dit only, on all 2015 Civic models. All bonuses are deducted from the negotiated selling price after taxes. *Limited time weekly lease offer and all other offers are from Honda Canada Finance Inc., on approved credit. #The weekly 2E5FJX for a£$1,000 60-month period, for aavailable total of 260 payments of $38.94/$51.69/$58.33 leased at 0.99% APRon based oned applying $1,100/$0/$0 “lease are deducted from the negotiated sellingselling price price beforeafter taxes).

In *Limited time weekly lease offer and a Lease Dollars on lease transactions from Honda Finance Services (“HFS”), approv credit only, on all 2015 Civicdollars” models.(which All bonuses are deducted from the negotiated taxes. pplicable), environmental fees and on theCivic 2015DX Civic DX FB2E2FEX/Civic only on the customer’s behalf.

Down paymentEX ofmodel $0.00,FB2 firstE5FJX weeklyfor payment and $0 security lease inception.

Total lease obligation is $10,124.40/ lease offer applies to alevies new 2015 model LX model FB2E4FEX/Civic a 60-month period, for adeposit total ofdue 260atpayments of $38.94/$51.69/$58.33 leased at 0.99% APR based on applying $1,100/$0/$0 “l arge of $0.12/km fortoexcess kilometres. $17,245/$20,045/$22,445 freight PDI of $1,495. insurance, registration and fees taxesand arelevies extra and may be required the on time of customer’s purchase. */#/**Prices and/ order achieve $0 down **MSRP payment,isdealer will cover the cost ofincluding tire/battery tax,and air conditioning taxLicense, (where applicable), environmental on the 2015 Civic DXatonly the behalf. Down payment of $0.00, first weekly payment 5.25, which are both due at time of delivery covered by the dealer on behalf are of the customer.

Offers valid allo fromwance; Sept. 1st till Sept.

30th, 2015 at participating Honda retailers.

Dealer may sell/lease forincluding less. Dealer trade $13,439.40/$15,165.80.

Taxes,and license, insurance and registration extra.

120,000 kilometre charge of $0.12/km for excess kilometres. **MSRP is $17,245/$20,045/$22,445 freight andmay PDIbe of $1,495. License, insurance, registratio Offers subjectortopayments change orshown cancellation Terms and conditions Visitand www.bchonda.com or see your Honda details. do not without includenotice. a PPSA lien registration fee apply. of $30.31 lien registering agent’s fee of $5.25,retailer which for arefull both due at time of delivery and covered by the dealer on behalf of the customer. Offers valid from Sept. 1st till Sept. 30th, 2015 necessary on certain vehicles. Offers valid only for British Columbia residents at BC Honda Dealers locations. Offers subject to change or cancellation without notice. Terms and conditions apply. Visit www.bchonda.com or see your Honda retailer for full de

CASH

17,545

$

CIVIC LX MANUAL MODEL CODE FB2E4FEX

#civictoria

Campus Honda 506 Finlayson Street, Victoria, BC V8T 5C8

250-388-6921 • www.CampusHonda.com

DL 27136

Family Resource Guide 2015/2016 19

Education South Island PRESCHOOLS, CHILD CARE & OCCASIONAL CARE A Secret Garden Preschool 246 Island Hwy . . . . . . 250-380-8293 Acorntree Preschool . 250-686-1408 Adel’s Play N Discovery House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-655-4888 . . . . . . . . . . . . adelplayndiscovery.ca Arbutus Grove Children’s Centre 3905 Haro Road arbutusgrove.ca . . . . . 250-477-3731 Formerly known as Goosey Gander Kindergarten. Half-day and full-day Early Learning Programs. Children’s learning is nurtured and supported through inquiry, exploration, play and creative expression.

ArtsCalibre Academy 3220 Cedar Hill Rd . . . 250-382-3533 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ArtsCalibre.ca “The Art of Preschool”—an engaging, comprehensive program infused with music, dance, theatre and visual arts, giving children confidence and the social and academic skills to thrive in kindergarten and beyond. Excellent staff and outstanding facilities within the Cedar Hill Recreation Centre.

Babies to Big Kids Childcare 949 Fullerton Ave Daycare owner . . . . . . 250-818-9225 . . . . . . . . . . . . . babiestobigkids.com Bee Happy Montessori House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-516-6191 Big Kids’ Corner babiestobigkids.com . . 250-590-2722 Camosun College Child Care Services camosun.ca/childcare . 250-370-4880 Carrot Seed Preschool 813 Claremont Ave . . . 250-658-2331 . . . . . . . . . .carrotseedpreschool.com Castleview Child Care . . . . . castleviewchildcarecentre.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-595-5355 Centennial Day Care . 250-386-6832

20 IslandParent.ca

Christ Church Cathedral Child Care and Junior Kindergarten Program 1670 Richardson St 250-383-5132 cathedralschool.ca ECE and specialist teachers provide an outstanding all day licensed program for 3- and 4-year-olds in our spacious and welcoming facility in our spacious and welcoming new facility.

Chrysalis Child Care, Saanichton chrysalischildcare.ca . 250-652-0815 Ciara Early Childhood Centre 846 Phoenix St . . . . . . 250-386-7369 Cloverdale Child Care 3427 Quadra St . . . . . . 250-995-1766 . . . . . . . . . . .cloverdalechildcare.com Countryside Preschool . . . . . . . . . . countrysidepreschool.org . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-652-3424

The Cridge Childcare Services 1309 Hillside Ave . . . . . 250-995-6516 Our quality daycare, preschool and out-of-school care programs offer an environment that is safe, stimulating, nurturing and responsive to every child.

Downtown Y Child Care Centre 851 Broughton St . . . . 250-413-8869 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .victoriay.com Emmanuel Preschool 2121 Cedar Hill X Rd . . 250-598-0573 Forest House Childcare Academy 192 Goward Rd . . . . . . 250-881-1975 Full o’ Beans Preschool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-360-1148 . . . saanichneighbourhoodplace.com Goldstream Co-op Preschool . . . . . . . . . goldstreampreschool.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-474-3011 Gonzales Co-operative Preschool . . . . . . . gonzalescooppreschool.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-727-1003 Hoof Beats Preschool & Childcare hoof-beats.ca . . . . . . . 250-588-2583 In the Garden Childcare Centre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-654-0306 International Nannies & Homecare Ltd. . . . . . . . internationalnannies.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-412-3730

Island Kids Academy 542 Fraser St . . . . . . . . 250-381-2929 286 Island Hwy . . . . . . 250-727-2929 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . islandkids.ca Island Montessori House 5575 West Saanich Rd 250-592-4411 . . . . . . . . . . . . islandmontessori.com Kingfisher Preschool sfrs.ca/kingfisher . . . . . 250-642-5152 Lakehill Co-op Preschool 3821 Cedar Hill X-Rd . . 250-477-4141 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .lakehillpreschool.org Lakeview Christian Preschool Preschool/Daycare . . . . . 250-658-5082 Lambrick Park Preschool . . . . . . . . . lambrickparkpreschool.ca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-477-8131 Lansdowne Co-op Preschool . . . . . . . . . .lansdownepreschool.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-370-5392 La Pre-Maternelle Appletree Preschool 500 Admirals Rd . . . . . 250-479-0292 . . . . . . . .prematernelleappletree.com Leap Forward Childcare 2758 Peatt Rd . . . . . . . 250-818-9225 . . . . . . . . . . leapforwardlangford.com Lexie’s Little Bears’ Child Care Inc. 1931 Millstream Rd . . . 250-590-3603 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lexieslittlebears.com Little Friends Childcare 40 High St . . . . . . . . . . 250-479-8423 Infant/Toddler . . . . . . . 250-479-9796 . . . . . . . . . . . . littlefriendschildcare.ca Little Wonders Preschool (VROSCS) viewroyalosc.com . . . . 250-744-2718 Metchosin Co-op Preschool 4354 Metchosin Rd . . . 250-478-9241 Miles of Smiles Licensed Childcare . . . . . . .naturejuniorkindergarten.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 778-265-4374 Montessori Educare . 250-881-8666 . . . . . . . . . . . montessorieducare.com Neighbourhood Junior Kindergarten . . . . . . . 250-479-4410 Nightingale Preschool & Junior Kindergarten Ltd. 1340 Balmoral Rd . . . . 250-595-7544 . . . . . . . . . nightingalepreschool.com Oakcrest Preschool 3738 Cedar Hill Rd . . . 250-472-0668 . . . . . . . . . . . . oakcrestpreschool.org Pacific Christian School Preschool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-479-4532

Parkdale Early Childhood Centre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-382-0512 Preschool and daycare emphasizing learning through play with children of various ages in stimulating activities with educational materials. We believe every child is unique and special. Everyone welcome.

Positive Path Early Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-655-7244 Puddles & Paints Playschool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-658-6573 Rainbow Express Daycare 433 Kingston St . . . . . . 250-382-2314 . . . . . . . rainbowexpressdaycare.com Rainbows & Dreams Preschool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-479-1966 Ready Set Grow Preschool heosc.com . . . . . . . . . . 250-472-1530 Recreation Oak Bay 1975 Bee St . . . . . . . . . 250-370-7200 R.I.A. Early Learning Centre 3307 Wishart Rd . . . . . 250-590-0781 Rogers Child Care Centre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-744-2343 Ross Bay Preschool . 250-383-7445 Sir James Douglas Playschool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-389-0500 St. Christopher’s Montessori School stcmsoakbaybc.com . . 250-595-3213 St. Joseph’s Catholic Preschool 757 Burnside Rd West . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-479-1232 ext. 120 St. Margaret’s Early Learning Centre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . stmarg.ca 1080 Lucas Ave . . . . . . 250-479-7171 Storyoga Preschool . . 778-679-4004 Strawberry Vale Preschool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-479-4213 . . . . . . . strawberryvalepreschool.org Sundance Playschool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-590-9955 Vancouver Island Co-operative Preschool Association . . . 598-2667 Victoria Montessori 750 Front St . . . . . . . . . 250-380-0534 . . . . . . . . . . . victoriamontessori.com Victoria Nature School . . . . . . . . . . victorianatureschool.com View Royal Childcare 250-479-8067 View Royal Preschool 279 Island Hwy . . . . . . 250-479-8067 West-Mont School 4075 Metchosin Rd . . . 250-474-2626 Wiseways Preschool & Daycare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-477-1312

Music for Natural History Series Natural History Sound Walk Join us for a sound walk through the Natural History Gallery and Beacon Hill Park to listen to the complexities and richness of the soundscape.

October 17 I 1 – 3 pm $20 per person | $40 per person including performance

See website for more information on this series and to purchase tickets royalbcmuseum.bc.ca Client: Royal BC Museum Publication: Island Parent - October REV Shipping Date: Sep 18, 2015; Ad Size: 4.75” X 4.5” Produced By Form Creative T: (250) 589 5966

Produced by LaSaM through the support of Canada Council for the Arts

Seek culture, creativity, community.

Find it at the Farquhar Auditorium.

POPOVICH COMEDY PET CIRCUS SUNDAY, DEC 12 2:00PM “Holiday Circus” featuring the world famous pet circus from Las Vegas!

Great for the whole family! family & group packages available

tickets.uvic.ca

250-721-8480

Family Resource Guide 2015/2016 21

Pregnant?

Pregnancy is a state of health. Midwives recognize what an extraordinary time this is in your life and we are available to support you through your childbearing year.

SCHOOL DISTRICTS Conseil scolaire francophone de la Columbie-Britannique #180-10200 Shellbridge Way, Richmond . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-888-715-2200 School District #61 Victoria 556 Boleskine Rd . . . . 250-475-3212 School District #62 Sooke 3143 Jacklin Rd . . . . . . 250-474-9800 School District #63 Saanich 2125 Keating X-Rd . . . 250-652-7300 School District #64, Salt Spring 112 Rainbow Rd . . . . . 250-537-5548

INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS

Covered by Your BC Health Care BC’s Medical Services Plan pays for midwifery care, including in-home check-ups in labour and after you’ve had your baby. You can self-refer to a midwife.

Quality Care Studies show that midwifery clients have lower rates of episiotomies, infection, Caesarean sections, forceps and vacuum deliveries and newborns that require resuscitation.

Choice of Hospital or Home Birth Continuity of Care Comprehensive Care Breastfeeding Education & Support We would be pleased to schedule an appointment to answer your questions about midwifery care.

midwivesinvictoria.ca 22 IslandParent.ca

ArtsCalibre Academy 2121 Cedar Hill Cross Rd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-382-3533 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ArtsCalibre.ca Imagine a school where music, dance, theatre and visual arts are infused into all aspects of an outstanding curriculum. Academic excellence is achieved in a dynamic, engaging and safe environment. Small class sizes, individualized education plans, highly skilled and dedicated teachers, excellent facilities and central location.

Christ Church Cathedral School 912 Vancouver St 250-383-5125 cathedralschool.ca CCCS is Victoria’s Anglican Elementary and Middle School for boys and girls. Small classes, enriched programs, after-school care and a welcoming community.

Discovery School 4052 Wilkinson Rd . . . . 250-595-7765 Eaton Arrowsmith School 200-3200 Shelbourne St . . . . . . . eatonarrowsmithschool.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-370-0046 Elizabeth Buckley School STEAMschool.ca . . . . . 250-995-6425 Glenlyon-Norfolk School 801 Bank St (Admissions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-370-6801 801 Bank St (Middle Years) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-370-6803 801 Bank St (Senior) . . 250-370-6802 1701 Beach Dr (Primary) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-370-6854

Lakeview Christian School . . . . . . . . . lakeviewchristianschool.ca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-658-5082 Maria Montessori Academy 1841 Fairburn Dr . . . . . 250-479-4746 Oak & Orca Bioregional School 2738 Higgins St . . . . . . 250-383-6609 Pacific Christian School 671 Agnes St (Elementary) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-479-9365 654 Agnes St (Secondary) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-479-4532 Pacific School of Innovation and Inquiry . . . . . . . . . . . learningstorm.org Selkirk Montessori School 2970 Jutland Rd . . . . . 250-384-3414 St. Andrew’s Regional High School 880 McKenzie Ave . . . . 250-479-1414 St. Joseph’s Catholic School 757 West Burnside Rd . 250-479-1232 St. Margaret’s School 1080 Lucas Ave . . . . . . 250-479-7171 admissions@stmarg.ca . . . . stmarg.ca Confident girls. Inspiring women.

Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12

St. Michaels University School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . smus.ca 3400 Richmond Rd . . . 250-592-2411 Jr. School 820 Victoria . 250-598-3922 Independent day and boarding school for Grades K-12. Get to know SMUS by attending an open house (smus.ca/ open15) or by signing up for one of our holiday programs (smus.ca/ holidayprograms).

St. Patrick’s Elementary School 2368 Trent St . . . . . . . . 250-592-6713 Victoria School for Ideal Education 2820 Belmont Ave . . . . 250-383-6654 West-Mont School 4075 Metchosin Rd . . . 250-474-2626 Westshore Centre for Learning & Training westshorecentre.com . 250-391-9002

DISTRIBUTED LEARNING CHEK Across BC chekabc.ca . . . . . . . . 1-888-352-2435 Hands-On Home-Learning for a Sustainable World . . 1-888-383-6619 North Island Distance Education, Courtenay 110–1742 Cliffe Ave . . 1-800-663-7925

SelfDesign . . . . . . . . . selfdesign.org . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-877-353-3374

LEARNING CENTRES & TUTORS Access Speech & Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-474-6368 Alliance française de Victoria af@afvictoria.ca . . . . . . 250-598-2723 or . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-592-3661 Brookfield Programs . 250-884-5623 C. Heather Robertson Therapeutic Language Tutor . . . . . 250-508-8197 Dyslexia Victoria Online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . dyslexiavictoria.ca . . . . . 250-815-0950 or 250-715-3034 KUMON Math & Reading 214-3965 Quadra St . . 250-479-1800 103-721 Station Rd . . . 250-474-4175 10091 Resthaven Dr . . 250-656-6696 Learning Disabilities Association 1562 Fort St . . . . . . . . . 250-370-9513 Monarch House Victoria #211-605 Discovery St 250-220-8999 Monarch House offers an interdisciplinary approach that improves access, coordinates treatment and focuses on results. We meet the needs of families and individuals with behavioural communication, learning, and motor skills challenges.

Optimally Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . .optimallylearning.com Oxford Learning 203–1595 McKenzie Ave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-477-5550 Pivot Point Learning Centres Inc. pivotpoint.ca . . . . . . . 1-866-531-4544 READ Society Learning Centre 202-990 Hillside Ave 250-388-7225 Qualified BC teachers design individual learning programs that build skills and create confident learners. Parents whose children come to READ tell us that “it works!”

For 39 years, families have been expanding their knowledge and their opportunities by learning with us.

School Is Easy In Home Tutoring schooliseasy.com . . . 1-877-ITSEASY Smart Tutor Referrals . . . . . . . . . . SmartTutorReferrals.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-544-1588

Sylvan Learning Centre 1623 McKenzie Ave . . . 250-477-3212 3145 Jacklin Rd . . . . . . 250-590-6211 Proven results. Digital tablet technology. Innovative teaching techniques, motivational programs and the Sylvan Insight assessment continue to make Sylvan Learning the leader in personalized learning from K-12. Call today to find out more.

Total Learning Services totallearningservices2014@gmail.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 778-440-0997 See ad on page 14.

Tutor Doctor . . . . . . . . vancouverislandtutors.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-386-9333 Valentus Clinics . valentusclinics.com

Queen of Angels Early Learning Centre . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-701-0433 Queen Margaret’s School qms.bc.ca . . . . . . . . . . 250-746-4185 Shawnigan Lake Montessori 1979c Renfrew Rd . . . . 250-743-6279 Starchild Centre, Mill Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-929-3240 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . starchildcentre.ca Sunrise Waldorf School Preschool 2148 Lakeside Rd . . . . 250-743-7253 . . . . . . . . . . sunrisewaldorfschool.org Yellow Submarine Family Child Care, Chemainus Daily Nature Adventures . . . . . . . . . . . chemainusdaycare.com

POST SECONDARY EDUCATION

School District #79 2557 Beverly St . . . . . . 250-748-0321

Camosun College camosun.ca . . . . . . . . . 250-370-3550 Canadian College of Performing Arts 1701 Elgin St . . . . . . . . 250-595-9970 Royal Roads University royalroads.ca . . . . . . . . 250-391-2511 Sprott-Shaw Community College 2621 Douglas St . . . . . 250-384-8121 University of Victoria uvic.ca . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-721-7211

OTHER Mad Science . . . .madscience.org/vancouverisland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-391-1814 Maritime Museum mmbc.bc.ca . . . . . . . . 250-385-4222 Victoria Good News Choir . . . . . . . . victoriagoodnewschoir.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-658-1946 Victoria Russian School . . . . . . . . . . victoriarussianschool.org

SCHOLARSHIP & EDUCATION FUNDS Children’s Education Fund Inc. cefi.ca . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-800-246-1203

Cowichan Valley PRESCHOOLS, CHILD CARE & OCCASIONAL CARE Cedar Montessori . . . 250-710-9007

SCHOOL DISTRICTS

INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS

Brentwood College School 2735 Mt. Baker Rd, Mill Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-743-5521 Dwight International School 2371 East Shawnigan Lake Rd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-929-0506 Evergreen Independent School 3515 Watson Ave, Cobble Hill evergreen.net . . . . . . . . 250-743-2433 Queen Margaret’s School, Duncan qms.bc.ca . . . . . . . . . . 250-746-4185 Queen of Angels Catholic School 2085 Maple Bay Rd . . . 250-746-5919 Shawnigan Lake School 1975 Renfrew Rd . . . . . 250-743-5516 Sunrise Waldorf School 2148 Lakeside Rd . . . . 250-743-7253 sunrisewaldorfschool.org. A fully certified Waldorf School established in 1980. Our 7 acre rural campus is located in Cowichan Station, just south of Duncan. Programs include Parent & Child mornings, preschool, mixed age kindergartens and Grades 1-8.

DISTRIBUTED LEARNING CHEK Across BC chekabc.ca . . . . . . . . 1-888-352-2435 Hands-On Home-Learning for a Sustainable World 2738 Higgins St . . . . . . 250-383-6619 Individual Learning Centre Broadmead . . . . . . . . . 250-744-1174 Saanichton . . . . . . . . . 250-656-4042

Family Resource Guide 2015/2016 23

Juan de Fuca Distributed Learning 814 Goldstream Ave . . 250-391-9002 North Island Distance Education, Courtenay nides.bc.ca . . . . . . . . 1-800-663-7925 SelfDesign . . . . . . . . . selfdesign.org . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-877-353-3374

LEARNING CENTRES & TUTORS Sylvan Learning Centre 215–80 Station St . . . . 250-746-0222 Proven results. Digital tablet technology. Innovative teaching techniques, motivational programs and the Sylvan Insight assessment continue to make Sylvan Learning the leader in personalized learning from K-12. Call today to find out more.

The Math Teacher themathteacher.xyz . . . 250-732-1597

Mid-Island

SCHOOL DISTRICTS Conseil scolaire francophone de la Columbie-Britannique #180-10200 Shellbridge Way, Richmond . . . . . . . . . 1-888-715-2200 School District #68 (Nanaimo-Ladysmith) 395 Wakesiah Ave . . . . 250-754-5521

PRESCHOOLS & CHILD CARE Beachcombers Academy & Little Oysters Preschool . . . . . . . . . . BeachcombersSchool.ca Children’s Discovery Centre, Qualicum Beach . . . . . 250-752-4343

POST SECONDARY EDUCATION

Comox Valley Montessori Society, Courtenay 2345 Mission Rd . . . . . 250-334-4089 Four Seasons Montessori, Nanaimo . . . 4960 Hammond Bay Rd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-758-8979 John Paul II Catholic School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-723-0637 Little Star Children’s Centre Qualicum Beach . . . . . 250-752-4554 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . littlestardaycare.ca St. Nikcholas Montessori, Ladysmith . . . . . . . . . . 250-245-7370

Sprott-Shaw Community College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-748-2700

St Joseph’s Preschool, Chemainus 9735 Elm St . . . . . . . . . 250-246-3191

School District #69 (Qualicum) 100 Jensen Ave . . . . . . 250-248-4241

INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS Aspengrove School, Nanaimo AspengroveSchool.ca . 250-390-2201 John Paul II Catholic School, Port Alberni 4006 8th Ave . . . . . . . . 250-723-0637 Morning Glory School, Qualicum 861 Hilliers Rd . . . . . . . 250-752-2722

St. Joseph’s Catholic School Chemainus 9735 Elm St . . . . . . . . . 250-246-3191

Vancouver Island Co-operative Preschool Association . . . vicpa.org

Maxine Fisher M.Ed., RCC, MTA

Counselling for Children, Families & Adults Over 20 Years Experience (Music Therapy Also Available)

Stress & Trauma (Acting Out) • Parenting • Family Transitions Physical & Learning Disabilities • Relationships • Individuals Skype & Phone Sessions Available M.Ed. | Registered Clinical Counsellor | Accredited Music Therapist

Call Today for a Complimentary 10 minute phone consultation Call 250-686-7582 maxinefisher@shaw.ca victoriafamilycounselling.com

STEP INTO ANOTHER WORLD & BRING THE KIDS ALONG IMAX Films - fourty-five minutes of fascination, fun and education.

Shows hourly from 10am every day.

Full-length Hollywood feature films play every evening*

250-480-4887 • imaxvictoria.com 24 IslandParent.ca

*Often rated PG-13, so maybe unsuitable for young children but a great excuse for a date night.

K-7 full BC curriculum in a Christian atmosphere . French, PE . music specialist teachers .

UVIC THEATRE PRESENTS OUR SPOTLIGHT ON ALUMNI

DISTRIBUTED LEARNING CEAP School District #69 Home Learning Program . . . . 250-954-3043 CHEK Across BC chekabc .ca . . . . . . . . 1-888-352-2435 Hands-On Home-Learning for a Sustainable World 2738 Higgins St . . . . 1-888-383-6619 North Island Distance Education School, Courtenay navigatenides .com . . . . 250-337-5300

OCTOBER 14 - 24, 2015

Featuring Kate Braidwood (BFA’03) & Andrew Phoenix ...otherwise known as

LEARNING CENTRES & TUTORS Bronwyn Brown, Coombs Box 591 . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-248-6113 Therapeutic Tutor of English Language Skills . Specializing in the Orton-Gillingham Approach . Struggling to read, spell or write? I can help . Serving Parksville/Qualicum area since 1999 .

KUMON Math & Reading 5–6421 Applecross Rd 250-390-2411

“A live cartoon for lovers and for dreamers; that is, for everyone.

I’d give it more than 5 stars - I’d give it the moon.”

Literacy Nanaimo 19 Commercial Dr . . . . . 250-754-8988 Nanaimo Unique Kids Organization #2-5801 Turner Rd . . . . . . . . . nuko .ca School Is Easy In Home Tutoring schooliseasy .com . . . .1-877-ITSEASY Sylvan Learning Centre 3260 Norwell Dr . . . . . . 250-758-1526 Proven results . Digital tablet technology . Innovative teaching techniques, motivational programs and the Sylvan Insight assessment continue to make Sylvan Learning the leader in personalized learning from K-12 . Call today to find out more .

Fun for ages 8 to 98!

P H O E N I X T H E AT R E S.C A | 250.721.8000 PREVIEW @8PM: TUES. OCTOBER 13 | EVENINGS @ 8PM: MON. - SAT. | SAT. MATINEE @ 2PM: OCTOBER 24 Presented by UVic Alumni Association Affinity Partner:

Media Partner:

Tutor Doctor vancouverislandtutors .com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-802-5256

POST SECONDARY EDUCATION

ASSESSMENTl+l lll

Sprott-Shaw Community College . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-754-9600 Vancouver Island University 900 5th St . . . . . . . . . . . 250-753-3245

OTHER Chemainus Community Schools’ Association 3172 Garner St . . . . . . . 250-246-3588

llEllll llElllll karen@brainwaveIharmonicsZcom

l

250Z815Z0330 Family Resource Guide 2015/2016

25

To Sleep S

COMPREHENSIVE FAMILY DENTISTRY family centered practice extended hours evenings and weekends the latest equipment and caring staff request an appointment online

saanichdentalgroup.com 119–1591 McKenzie Ave, Victoria

250 477 7321

info@saanichdentalgroup.com

Victoria’s favourite dentists believe a healthy smile starts early. Free first visit for children under 5.

26

IslandParent.ca

leep matters for kids, especially when they are stressed. A new study out of Concordia University shows that poor sleep might explain how stress impacts health in kids.

A good night’s sleep. Getting a good night’s sleep might buffer the impact of stress on kids’ cortisol level, which is a hormone produced in the adrenal gland to regulate the body’s cardiovascular, metabolic and immune systems. While short-term exposure to cortisol prepares the body for the “fight or flight” response, long-term exposure to cortisol can put people at risk for health problems, like heart diseases, weight gain and depression.

What does it mean to have a good night’s sleep? “Sleeping throughout the night without waking up, feeling rested in the morning, and absence of sleep problems, such as nightmares, apnea and snoring, are examples of a better quality sleep,” says researcher Jinshia Ly. Examining young sleepers. For the study, the research team recruited 220 kids aged eight to 18 years old. The participants gave saliva samples from which their cortisol levels were measured.

The kids and their parents also answered questions about stress, sleep habits and bedtime routines. They found that poorer sleep quality, regardless of how long kids spent sleeping, promoted the negative effects of stress on their cortisol levels.

Advice for parents. So what are the implications for parents, now that the school year has started and stress will likely increase for kids? Better sleep, along with other healthy lifestyle behaviours, can reduce the negative consequences of stress on kids’ cortisol levels. They should sleep eight to nine hours each night.

“But it’s even more important that they get to bed early with regular sleep and wake times, avoid napping during the day and avoid using electronic devices before bedtime.

It is also important that parents educate their kids at an early age about the importance of consistent and healthy sleep habits,” says Ly. This grounding can help kids make better choices when they gain autonomy in setting their bedtime routines as they get older.

For more information visit Concordia University at concordia.ca/artsci/psychology. html.

Proudly providing flexible High School & Career Training courses for over 3000 Adults & Youth since 1986

Get your High School Diploma Build-up your resume with Career Training On-line, Face-to-Face, or both!

Year-round registration Call today to customize your Education Plan

250-391-9002 101–814 Goldstream Ave, Victoria, BC 250-391-9002

www.westshorecentre.com

Family Resource Guide 2015/2016 27

Camille McFarlane

Making Memories I

’ve never set out to make memories, but over the past year I’ve come to realize the importance of shared family memories. The positive memories we facilitate within our family now will forever connect us. As our children grow-up, we’ll be able to hold onto past memories and hopefully strengthen our family bond through new memories. That’s not to say we should live in the past, rather we need to think about the importance of living in the moment.

In our busy lives with technology ever present, it’s important to find family time.

Sometimes that can be tough, but carving out those couple of hours is important. For some, that family time is nightly dinners, with phones put away. For others, that nightly time isn’t possible, so they might instead choose one night a week for a special dinner. When I was growing up, Sunday night dinners were not emphasized in my family, but they were in my partners’, so that’s a night we’ve decided to dedicate to family.

When I look back on my childhood, sure I remember the big trips we did and growing up on a farm, but I also remember the small seemingly inconsequential things we did as a family: Popcorn Fridays, Pizza Saturdays and all-day card-playing tournaments.

This summer I returned to Alberta and spent a good chunk of time reminiscing about my childhood with my brothers, and also answering my children’s questions about my childhood and then hearing their own precious stories.

Now as the weather turns more grey than blue, and it rains more often that not, I’ve begun thinking about ways to spend family time this winter.

presents...

Axis Theatre Company’s

by Leslie Mildiner

Sat. Nov. 28 at 1 pm VIU Malaspina Theatre

Tickets $10 or 2/$18 250-754-7587 | theatreone.org

Mid Island

28 IslandParent.ca

Weekly or Monthly Family Traditions Family time does not have to be expensive or extensive. It should just be something that everyone can contribute to and take part in. Some ideas: • A weekly movie, board-game or cards night, or just a family night once a week where a different family member gets to choose what to do • A baking day or a night when everybody makes dinner together • Weekly family swim or skate times

• A weekend morning for a family activity • One day a month to try something new or go on a day trip

Things To Do Around the Island We are fortunate to live in a place where we can spend almost every day outside and where there are numerous activities for locals and tourists alike. Sometimes I forget everything the Island has to offer or I think those places are just for the tourists. But then when I go somewhere close by and see how much fun my kids are having, I’m reminded that these places are here for locals too.

Free or Low-Cost Activities • Visit beaches or go hiking. Although it might be too cold to go in the water, there are so many incredible beaches and hikes in this region. Make family time about going on new adventures and exploring a new trail or beach. Check out the CRD website and click on Parks, Recreation and Culture to “Find a Park or Trail” at crd.bc.ca.

• Explore the bike trails or walking trails around the city. The CRD also has links to bike paths and many communities offer brochures about their walking trails.

• Try Geocaching. Visit geocaching.com and search caches around the Island. Check the difficulty rating and also if there are any recent posts to ensure that it is still active.

• Visit a Nature House. Swan Lake and Goldstream Nature Houses are open year-round and provide an opportunity to interact indoors with nature, and participate in hands-on activities.

• Take a road trip. Drive down Sooke Road, stopping at the many beaches along the Juan de Fuca Trail. Or drive up to Shawnigan Lake and check out the Kinsol Trestle. Drive to Duncan and walk through town, visiting the totem collection. Visit Chemainus and go on a self-guided tour of the outdoor murals. Or choose another destination that interests your family and research together what it has to offer.

• Visit a different park or playground each week. If you live in Victoria go to Langford, Sidney, or Sooke to visit their playgrounds.

Likewise for parks in Victoria. For ideas, visit victoriamom.ca/playgroundsvictoriabc

• Go on garden tours. There are many free gardens in Victoria such as Government House and Finnerty Gardens. Both provide an opportunity to get into nature and see how the seasons change in Victoria, with flowers almost year round. Small and old alike often find something of interest to explore here.

Hallowe’en Howl FREE - All Ages

Greenglade Community Centre, 2151 Lannon Way Thursday, October 29, 4:30pm - 6pm

Witches, Goblins, and Ghosts, Oh My! Bring the whole family and enjoy a terror-ific Halloween carnival including themed games, crafts, face painting, family entertainment and of course our giant inflatable obstacle course. Don’t forget to wear your BOO-tiful costume!

More Activities • Visit one of Greater Victoria’s tourist attractions: Royal BC Museum, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre, Miniature World, The Bug Zoo, Butterfly Gardens, Craigdarroch Castle, HCP Gardens, and Butchart Gardens. Many of these attractions have affordable seasons passes and depending upon your family interests, may be worth considering.

• Visit a Gulf Island. Although you have to add in the cost of the ferries, the gulf islands provide year-round recreation activities that can lead to lasting memories for children. Consider the BC Ferries Experience card—an electronic swipe card that can be loaded with money and used to pay for ferry travel on participating routes—for possible discounts on passenger and vehicle fares on Gulf Island ferry trips.

• Plan a winter weekend away. Take advantage of the discounted rates in places such as Parksville and Tofino and spend a couple of nights in a cozy cabin.

• Try something you’ve never done before. For example, go wall climbing at one of the Island facilities: The Boulders Climbing Gym (Central Saanich); Crag X Indoor Climbing Centre (Victoria); On the Rocks Climbing Gym (Campbell River); and Romper Room (Nanaimo).

Remember that making memories is not so much about what you do, rather it’s more about living in the moment and are committed to spending time together. In our busy lives, we need to remember to enjoy the time we spend together. That’s what will forge lasting family connections.

As I look forward to our next family time, I’m not thinking about making memories— those will happen on their own. I am thinking about what we might do, the laughter I’ll hear and the smiles I’ll see as we set out on our next family adventure.

Stelly’s School, 1627 Stelly’s Cross RRoad Friday, October 30, 4:30pm - 6pm

Carnival of games provided by Panorama Recreation and students of Stelly’s Secondary School.

250.656.7271 Visit www.panoramarecreation.ca for more events.

Natural Health Care for Children • Developmental Disorders

• Autism & ASD

• Behavioural Disorders

• ADD/ADHD

• Asthma

• Eczema

Camille McFarlane is a mother of a two and a local teacher. In her spare time she enjoys writing and going on adventures with her family.

#209–1061 Fort Street www.drzimmermann.org 250-590-5828 Family Resource Guide 2015/2016 29

Kathy Humphrey

Nature’s Bounty C

anada is ridiculously rich: a hyperbolic parody of the land of plenty, awash in nature’s bounty and ripe for the picking.

We have a solid infrastructure: highways, hospitals, schools and police. We have an active employment market and when we can’t work for some reason, we are protected from penury by private insurance schemes or by the social system. Shops and markets offer up an unimaginable array of food, clothing, furniture, tools, housewares, dishes, toys, electronics, gadgets and other stuff to meet our needs—ranging in quality from good to bad, with a lot of merely indifferent in between. We are safe to walk where we want, when we want to go there, and our children can be taught that the police are here to help, not to be avoided and feared.

Worship what and where you want, gather with like-minded people in support of a

30 IslandParent.ca

common goal, say your truth as you believe it out loud: all of these privileges go hand in hand with the red maple leaf, the ‘eh-ing,’ the tuques and the maple syrup.

We are Canadian and these are some of the things that means. Flaws exist and likely the Eeyores out there have already begun compiling a list: long waits at hospitals for too-few beds, over-crowded public classrooms driving those who can afford it to private schools for their children, powerdriven police enforcing outdated laws. Yes, there are problems: large and small. But the principle remains the same: if you’re not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. Our citizenship grants us the right to be Canadian, enjoying the perks granted by that status, and assigns us the responsibility keeping our country true to it’s vision, tenuous as that may sometimes

seem. A drop doesn’t make a waterfall, true, and one voice speaking one set of beliefs is awfully quiet all alone: in a democracy we are encouraged to define our priorities for our future, to share these with people who think the same way, and to vote for one person to act on our behalf.

Voting is a privilege. We all owe it to ourselves, our neighbours, our parents and our children to become informed and make a choice. None of us slayed any dragons to become Canadian. I was born here, as were many of my friends and relations, and when I take the time I freely admit that I won that jackpot. Some weren’t born here: my mother was born in England, as were my father’s grandparents. Canada as we know it was built by people coming here from other countries, and building on our mosaic by adding their own unique cuisines, skills, beliefs, languages and stories.

Democracy, freedom, and public safety are a bit like love and kindness: they aren’t diminished by being shared. Canada isn’t a closed club—we have room for more people here, and we need to work on our warm welcome. Let’s be thankful for what we have as Canadians, and let’s share that.

Be nice, eh!

Food. I always seem to be surrounded by tomatoes at this time of the year. They are so lovely eaten fresh, can be frozen whole or after being slow-roasted, and there’s always sauce, of course.

Tomato Sauce 6 cloves garlic, chopped 2 Tbsp olive oil 2 Tbsp butter 10 – 12 tomatoes, blanched and skinned by being immersed in boiling water for 3 – 5 minutes, then plunged into cold water until the skins begin to loosen and slip off 1 small tin tomato paste 2 Tbsp sugar salt and pepper, to taste 1⁄2 tsp crushed red peppers 4 tsp chopped fresh parsley or 2 tsp dried parsley 1 tsp dried mint 1 tsp dried marjoram 2 tsp dried basil, or 4 tsp chopped fresh 1⁄2 cup red wine, to be added at end (note: all alcohol burns off in the cooking, but omit if you prefer) Thickener: 4 tsp flour 8 tsp red wine Heat large saucepan over medium heat.

Add oil and butter, allow to melt together for a few minutes. Add garlic: fry until the garlic begins to become golden and fragrant.

Add tomatoes to garlic; stir well. Add all remaining ingredients except for red wine and thickener. Simmer for at least one hour, longer if possible. Adjust seasoning. Add red wine 10 minutes before serving, and finally add thickener. Stir until blended and thick.

Serve over pasta with Parmesan cheese and crusty bread. This recipe is very forgiving and doubles and freezes well. I’ve frozen it without the thickener and added that when serving, and honestly, have forgotten to thicken it and found it equally delicious.

Energetic cooks could make a pasta casserole for the freezer to have in stock for a weeknight supper.

Please visit our website for a complete list www.mylittlesteps.net or call Meaghan at 250-386-1171, e-mail: admin@mylittlesteps.net

Pumpkin Pie Chai Latté Pumpkin Spice Latté

Kathy Humphrey lives in Victoria with her husband and two children. She tries to see cooking for a family not as a chore but as a creative outlet.

Serious Coffee locations can be found throughout Vancouver Island and in Powell River �o �nd one near �ou go to� seriouscoffee�com Family Resource Guide 2015/2016 31

Party Directory

~ Laser Tag ~ Human Hamster Balls ~ Booger Wars ~ Video Game Theatre ~ U:Launchers ~ Foam Party

We bring the Fun2U!

Birthdays, school funfairs, fundraising, festivals, teen groups, church groups, summer camps, sports teams, corporate groups

Call Alicia 250-661-2219 Email games2uvictoria@gmail.com Global @ www.g2u.com Facebook @ Games2u Victoria

Hassle Free Parties for kids & families

Fun Sketches Caricatures

Are you planning a birthday party? Are you looking for something exciting and new? If you are then Fun Sketches is right for you! Book Fun Sketches to make your next birthday party or summer event a time to remember with a unique keepsake to cherish for years to come.

www.funsketches.com 250-589-­2607

Funtime Inflatables Vancouver Island’s #1 choice for party rentals

250-474-0597

You provide the space and food…

We’ll provide an hour of fun with puppet shows and play

250-896-5544

250 472 3546 www.puppetbooth.homestead.com

PAR-T-PETS are here!

Adorable AND affordable.

Exclusively made for Par-T-Perfect

Create and stuff a deluxe plush 8" pet to take home!

www.funtimeinflatables.ca

Home of Victoria’s Original Princess Party.

Magical

Whimsical Unforge ttable

ONLY $7.95 each!

Perfect for: · Birthday parties—great add on activity · Corporate events and Holiday parties · Fundraisers · An amazing goody bag replacement · Ask about our Par-T-Pet packages and our Par-T-Box party option – shipped directly to your door!

Call Par-T-Perfect today 250-386-5867 or visit www.par-t-pets.com 32 IslandParent.ca

We offer the largest selection of inflatables on Vancouver Island—trust your party or special event to the experts—the original bouncy castle company, serving Vancouver Island since 1990.

www.cafikercastle.com 250-889-9062

Party Directory Birthday Parties!

ctoria

:: Gym & Bouncy Castle, themed parties: creative kids, girl power and preschool parties from Princesses to Pirates!

Gymnastics

at Henderson Recreation Centre!

Birthday Parties

Call 250-370-7200

Pool, Skate, or Soccer parties at Oak Bay Recreation Centre!

Call 250-595-SWIM (7946)

www.recreation.oakbay.ca

Y

Come Fly With Us!

M

Party sizes up to 18 kids

N Celebrate your birthday with us!

N

Our great instructors will treat you to an action packed two hours of fun and fitness in our great facility!

A

We supply table top cover, napkins, hats, streamers and balloons

G Y M

A S T I C S

FALCON

GYMNASTICS Birthday Parties th

40 sary r Annive 2013 1973–

• 2 large decorated birthday rooms • Free T-shirt for birthday child, invitations for up to 10 children • The ONLY Inflatable Climbing Mountain with trampoline in town • Party Time now offered for many different groups (schools, daycare centres)

Book Early: 250-479-6424

#208 – 721 Vanalman Ave

(Broadmead & Royal Oak Area)

www.falcongymnastics.com

G

Optional character

S

Two certified instructors and a host Optional character

T I

Gymnastics games and music

C

Optional character

S

Free t-shirt

Optional character

Foam landing pit and 40' long trampoline

Optional character Optional character

Party participants can win a FREE month

Available Saturday & Sunday Afternoons Optional character

Corner of Store & Pembroke

www.victoriagymnastics.com

250-380-2442 Family Resource Guide 2015/2016 33

Liz Zdunich

re entirely Child and family fo ervices a cused Our s

Our Services Include • Supervised Parent Time • Review Sessions • Supervised Phone Calls • Court Attendance • Supervised Exchanges • Parent Plan Consulting • Professional Reports • “Hear the Child” Reports Office 250.590.4114 Cell 250.216.2286 • Fax 250.984.7560

10 Tips to Reduce Water Consumption The summer sunshine was glorious. Berries ripened early. Yum! The sunsets were magnificent. We were beckoned outside to fill our days playing at lakes, water parks, and beaches. The downside is that we’ve had very little rain. Forest fires were rampant with the dry earth and timber. Fishing bans were in effect due to Level 4 water restrictions.

And farming harvests suffered. Thankfully, there are many ways we can help reduce our water consumption—even beyond the city regulated ideas. Here are 10 possibilities.

1

Place a dish wash basin in the kitchen sink to collect water from washing your fruits and vegetables.

Instead of letting the water just run down the drain, use it to water indoor plants.

Email teh@tsconsultingvictoria.ca 830 Pembroke Street, Victoria, BC V8T 1H9

4

Collect used bath water, or the shower water usually wasted while the water warms up in a large bucket (that you are able to safely lift when full) and use that grey water to flush the toilet. Flush-

Send Us Your Stories!

Island Parent is looking for articles for upcoming issues. Some of our best content comes from people just like you—Vancouver Island parents who are passionate about their families and are dealing with the day to day issues of raising children in our community. Share your experiences, your thoughts on a particular issue, your ideas on places to see or projects to do— anything related to parenting.

Check our Writer’s Guidelines at islandparent.ca for specific information on submissions.

We’d love to hear from you.

Please email submissions to editor@islandparent.ca.

34 IslandParent.ca

2

Collect stale pet water or the leftover water from your water bottle to water the outdoor plants and garden. (As pet food can end up in their water, it is best to use this water outdoors to avoid encouraging bugs indoors.)

3

Every time the toilet is flushed for only a facial tissue or small bit of trash, five to seven gallons of water is wasted. Save the gallons and use the garbage can instead.

ing your toilet with the bucket of water requires approximately a gallon of water which you pour directly into the toilet bowl.

Start slowly at first, then quickly add the rest of the water into the bowl. There’s no need to flush. The clean water in the toilet tank won’t unnecessarily be wasted multiple times a day. You will be amazed at how much water regularly gets flushed away without our noticing as it is hiding in the tank!

5 78 9 6 Join the cold shower movement. When you start showering with cold water, you are less likely to stay in the shower and linger. Old shower heads use to use up to five gallons of water per minute, while water-saving shower heads produce about two gallons per minute. If 10 houses on your street took just five-minute showers each morning for only one week, between 700 to 1,750 gallons would be saved. Can you believe it? There are reasons beyond the water consumption benefits to turn the water temperature down, too. Cold showers have been linked to increased alertness, improved immunity, healthier hair and skin, a decrease in stress and depression, increased healing from muscle soreness, improved circulation, and increased metabolism. Healing for your body and mama-nature!

Wash your hair every other day rather than everyday. Cutting off five minutes of hair washing time three days a week for one year will save a whopping 1,560 to 3,900 gallons of water. But just like taking cold showers, skipping a shower and shampoo every other day has many other benefits. Reduction in exposure to chemicals (if you haven’t yet made the switch to natural shampoo and conditioner), time saved in morning routine, hair and scalp isn’t stripped of naturally protective scalp oils leaving it frizzy and dry, and the financial savings of going through half the product each year.

Not ready to skip the daily shampoo? Switch out the in-shower conditioner (the one that instructs you to “leave in for two minutes before rinsing”) for a leave-in store bought conditioner, or create your own.

How long does the tap need to run before the water runs cold for drinking? You can catch that water in a wash basin in the sink for watering plants. Or prevent the need for it to run at all and keep a jug of water in the fridge so you don’t have to run taps at all.

Instead of running the water while brushing your teeth, use a glass of water to dip and clean your toothbrush in so you can turn the tap off while you brush.

Instead of planting grass in your yard, plant drought-resistant shrubs and plants that don’t require the same amount of watering. Or better yet, plant a veggie garden and reap the benefits of any watering in the form of fruit, veggies and herbs—just a few steps away from your door. Until you make the switch, raise

your lawn mower cutting height. The longer grass blades help shade each other which reduces evaporation and inhibits weed growth. A great tip throughout the year.

10

Though rainfall may be scarce, rain barrels are a great option to catch the water when it does fall. By collecting this water during a rainfall, you will have a supply to water the garden.

Though the summer is over, it will take mama-nature a long while to recuperate from the drought conditions and forest fire damage we have had this season. Let’s work together to help her along in her healing.

Liz Zdunich is a playful yogini, teacher and coach, lover of sweet beats and a goddess of GROOVE, Master Trainer in THEGROOVE, Reiki practitioner, blogger, business owner/operator and above all, a mumma of two beautiful, bright lights.

LizZdunich.com

Leave-In Conditioner Blend of a couple teaspoons of a carrier oil (such as jojoba, sweet almond or melted coconut oil) with 5-10 drops of lavender or rosemary essential oils.

Comb through wet hair, starting at the ends.

Family Resource Guide 2015/2016 35

2015/2016

Generously Sponsored by and

Annual Family Events Visit kidsinvictoria.com for updated monthly event listings OCTOBER 2015 You Can’t Take it With You at Langham Court Theatre. A comedic dive into the lives of a somewhat “batty” family who have zany views of what other people might consider to be normal. September 30 to October 17. 805 Langham Court. 250-384-2142.

Loon at the Phoenix Theatre. A man, the moon, a most peculiar love story. October 14-24. 250-721-8000.

Walk on Week in Victoria. Get to know your walking community by meeting at one of four neighbourhood coffee shops to make your way to the launch event. Music, food, walking swag.

Meet at 7:30am on October 5th at: Discovery Coffee, 281 Menzies St; Tre Fantastico, 810 Humboldt St; Fernwood Coffee, 1-1115 North Park St; Fol Epi, 101-398 Harbour Rd. Walk on Week October 5-11. walkonvictoria.org.

Kids Mega Sale at Pearkes Arena. Gently used baby and children’s clothing, toys, equipment and maternity. kidsmegasale@gmail.com. facebook.com/KidsMegaSale.

Uplands Park Ivy and Broom Bash at Uplands Park. Bring your family, tools (loppers and pruners) and gloves to join in the fun of weeding out ivy, Daphne, and a few remnants of Scotch broom. Join Friends of Uplands Park and the Greater Victoria Green Team at the Beach Drive entrance to Cattle Point and sign in at the registration table. Some tools available.

October 17 and 18, 1-4pm. 250-595-8084. friendsofuplandspark.wordpress.com.

Norman Foote “The Howl” a Musical Masquerade at Cowichan Theatre. So scary you will howl with laughter. Music, costumes and Halloween all come together in this engaging concert for youth and families. October 20, 7pm. 250- 748-7529. cowichanpac.ca.

Open House at St. Margaret’s School. Come see the campus in action. Interested families are invited to drop in from 9-11am and 1-3pm to take a student-led tour, meet with faculty and staff, try on the red blazer, and find out why girls thrive. 1080 Lucas Ave. October 23, 9am-3pm. stmarg.ca. 250-479-7171.

NOVEMBER 2015 Beethoven Lives Upstairs at the Royal Theatre.

Life gets a little noisy and a lot more interesting for young Christopher after an eccentric old man named Beethoven moves in upstairs.

Listeners will be touched by history, drama, music and fun as they come to understand the genius of Beethoven. Come one hour early for the VS Instrument Petting Zoo and other activities in the lobby. November 9, 2:30pm.

250-385-6515. victoriasymphony.ca.

Elf the Musical at Chemainus Theatre. When Buddy the Elf discovers he’s actually human, he has just one wish—to discover his true identity.

But finding his father and restoring the holiday spirit turns out to be his biggest Christmas surprise. November 20 to December 31. 1-800565-7738. chemainustheatrefestival.com.

Hamelin, A New Fable at Malaspina Theatre at VIU. Medieval Hamelin Town is governed

by a spoiled Mayor, his mommy, and greedy corporation types who have no interest in the hardworking townsfolk and have taxed them into poverty. With surprising plot twist, Hamelin is an engaging revisit to one of the world’s most endearing tales. 1pm, November 28. 250-754-7587. theatreone.org.

Island Farms Santa Claus Parade along Government St (from Belleville to Chatham St).

Bring the family to this festive annual parade to celebrate the holiday season. Meet up at the Capital Iron parking lot for delicious free treats courtesy of Island Farms. November 28, 5:45pm. 250-382-3111.

Munsch-ercise at the Roxy Theatre. Don’t stop believing that girls just wanna have fun as the Paper Bag Princess, and other favourite Robert Munsch stories go through the eye of the tiger that will hit you with its best shot in this straight-up fusion of fun, kid health and story. Play along, sing along and enjoy this wacky world where we will celebrate good times. November 19-29. 250-383-8124. kaleidoscope.bc.ca.

DECEMBER 2015 A Christmas Carol at the Belfry Theatre. A ghost story for Christmas, the Belfry’s acclaimed 2012 production returns, along with some of the best-loved Dickensian characters of all time. A story of love, generosity and second chances, it takes us through the darkness and into the light of true joy and celebration December 1st to December 20th. 250-3856815. belfry.bc.ca.

We’ll choose a winner every Monday from now to November 30th!

We’re part of your

best recipes.

No purchase necessary. Contest opened to residents of British Columbia who have reached the age of majority. Submit your recipe by November 30th, 2015 at 11:59:59 AM (PST) and you could win one of the eight (8) Island Farms “free product” coupon booklets having an approximate retail value of $50.00 CDN each. Contest rules available at islandfarms.com

36 IslandParent.ca

The Nutcracker at the Royal Theatre. Dance Victoria presents the Winnipeg Ballet’s performance of Nutcracker, a treasured holiday classic. December 4-6. rmts.bc.ca.

Popovich Comedy Pet Circus at University Centre Farquar Auditorium. Holiday circus featuring the world famous pet circus from Las Vegas. Great for the whole family. Sunday, December 12, 2pm.

The Nutcracker at Cowchan Theatre. New vignettes and characters who join the family in their traditional Christmas Eve party where a gift unleashes a torrent of unexpected surprises.

December 12, 2pm & 7pm. 250-748-7529. cowichanpac.ca.

The Gift at the Royal Theatre. An original, magical Christmas story set to the music of the Nutcracker. December 27 to 29. balletvictoria. ca. 250-386-6121.

JANUARY 2016 Roald Dahl’s Little Red Riding Hood at the Royal Theatre. Take a symphonic walk through Roald Dahl’s magical, thrilling and hillarious forest. The familiar cast of characters are here: there’s a wolf, a grandmas, and a little girl in a red cape. But Dahl, has twisted things around and spiced things up. Dahl’s feisty Little Red can certainly take care of a dim-witted wolf with the help of the fearless orchestra. Come one hour early for the VS Instrument Petting Zoo and other activities in the lobby. January 31, 2:30pm. 250-385-6515. victoriasymphony.ca.

FEBRUARY 2016 Sleeping Beauty at the Cowichan Theatre, Duncan. An exhilarating showcase of great dancing. February 13. 250-748-7529. cowichanpac.ca.

MARCH 2016 Superheros to the Rescue at the Royal Theatre.

The Mighty Maestro thinks all he needs to be a superhero is a red cape, but not even the orchestra agrees with him. Enter Mr. Invisible

to save the day and teach the Mighty Maestro what it really takes to be super. Come dressed as your favourite hero for this fun concert that will include super music like the theme from Superman, Chariots of Fire and more. Come one hour early for the VS Instrument Petting Zoo and other activities in the lobby. March 6, 2:30pm. 250-385-6515. victoriasymphony.ca.

Romeo & Juliet at the Royal Theatre. The drama of Shakespeare and the unbridled creativity of Ballet Victoria unite in a passionate fusion.

Driven by Prokofiev’s score and original new music, the intensely physical choreography of this new work will ignite your heart and soul, and leave you breathless. March 8th & 9th.

250-380-6063 balletvictoria.ca.

APRIL 2016 Symphony Community Days at the Port Theatre, Nanaimo. Come enjoy 3 FREE musical activities presented by the Vancouver Island Symphony for YOU! Presented by the Vancouver Island Symphony. Kids ages 5+ can try the instruments of the orchestra at the Musical Instrument Zoo; you can meet conductor Pierre Simard and everyone can attend the Symphony Rehearsal from 12:30-1:30 p.m.

Complimentary Tickets must be booked for this Symphony event through the Port Theatre Ticket Centre: 250-754-8550. April 2nd.

The Great Balanzo at Malaspina Theatre at VIU. In this live circus perfomance featuring Aythan Ross, the everyday is turned into an adventure. Balanzo is amazing, silly and unforgettable. He’s the last surviving member of the Royal Balazos who where exiled from their kingdom hundreds of years ago. Since then, they have survived by travelling around the world as circus performers. The whole family is sure to enjoy this show. April 9, 1pm. 250754-7587. theatreone.org.

Robinson & Crusoe at the Roxy Theatre.

Two unlucky soldiers from opposing sides find themselves stranded on a roof of a house adrift on the sea. Together they must overcome their heightened suspicions if they are to make it out of this ordeal alive. Separated

TM

by cultures, language and beliefs, can they find a deeper means of understanding and work together to survive? Robinson and Crusoe is a fascinating story of hostility, friendship and discovering similarities among people.

Robinson and Crusoe addresses international conflict, race,conflict resolution, culture, and the struggle to survive and overcome adversity in a time of struggle. April 15-24. 250-3838124. kaleidoscope.bc.ca.

May 2016 Cinderella at the Royal Theatre. The performance that established Ballet Victoria’s unique artistic voice in Canada is at last returning to the stage. Brilliantly told with a fantastic flair and Prokofiev’s spectacular score, this family treat with reimagined designs, costumes and unique choreography will leave you enchanted. May 20th and 21st. 250-380-6063. balletvictoria.ca

July 2016 Canada Day celebrations at various locations on July 1. Check kidsinvictoria.com for events listing.

ONGOING Behind the Scenes at the Royal BC Museum.

The museum has turned inside out with a year-long feature exhibition of B.C.’s amazing natural history. Get up close and personal with thousands of specimens you’ve never seen before, a separate virtual exhibition, and activities for the entire family. Free for members and children under 5. royalbcmuseum.bc.ca.•

Because local matters

for Patients

$1 Donated to your local Hospital Foundation October 14th to 31st, 2015 or while quantities last.

Customer care 1 800 667 8280 | thriftyfoods.com 10036 C01 IslandPasrent-SE16.indd 3

2015-09-16 3:09 PM

Family Resource Guide 2015/2016 37

Classes & Programs South Island ART PROGRAMS Art Gallery of Greater Victoria— Children’s Studio 1040 Moss St . . . . . . . 250-384-4171 Artistic Statement Gallery & School of Fine Art 107-2250 Oak Bay Ave 250-383-0566 Community Arts Council of the Saanich Peninsula cacsp.com . . . . . . . . . . 250-656-7400 Fiddlesticks Studio of Fine Arts for Young Children fiddlestickschild.ca . . . 250-858-7034 Fired Up Ceramics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . firedupceramics.ca Kid’s Works School for the Arts kidsworks.ca . . . . . . . . 250-884-1290 Open Space 510 Fort St, 2nd Flr . . . 250-383-8833

38 IslandParent.ca

CLUBS & ACTIVITIES Boys & Girls Club Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . bgcvic.org 301-1195 Esquimalt Rd 250-384-9133 7162 West Saanich Rd 250-652-3021 410 Macaulay St . . . . . 250-380-9250 830 Pembroke St . . . . . 250-370-5909 626 Hoylake Ave . . . . . 250-478-0721 Girl Guides of Canada 938 Mason St . . . . . . . 250-383-1712 Navy League Cadets navyleague.ca . . . . . . . 250-565-3344.

Royal Canadian Air Cadets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89pacific.ca Scouts Canada scouts.ca . . . . . . . . . . 1-888-726-8876 Victoria Sea Cadets . . 250-363-0864

Boston Dance Collective 2750 Quadra Street . . . 250-658-1818 BDC is proud to offer classes for dancers from three years of age in acro, ballet (RAD), contemporary, hip hop, jazz, modern, tap. Recreational and professional programs are available. Find us at bostondanceco.com.

Centrepoint Dance School 1080 Lucas Ave . . . . . . 250-592-4260 Dance Unlimited danceunlimited.ca . . . . 250-361-3267

Victoria Flying Club . . 250-656-2833

dansko Studios Inc. est. 1993 4814 W. Saanich Rd . . 250-475-6606

DANCE SCHOOLS

Leap Forward Dance School 2758 Peatt Rd . . . . . . . 250-818-9225 or . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 778-265-5955

Arabesque Dance Studio dancearabesque.ca. . . 250-595-3107 Classical ballet instruction for students aged four to advanced levels.

Ballet examinations are available in the Cechetti Method. Class sizes are limited to ensure personal attention.

Lighthouse Academy of Dance 934 Goldstream Ave . . . . lighthouseacademyofdance.com

Maple Leaf School of Ballet 310 Henry St . . . . . mapleleafballet.ca O’Brien School of Irish Dance obrienirishdance.com . 604-340-2370 Pacific Dance Centre 5182 Cordova Bay Rd . 250-477-6114

Your child’s vision plays a big role in their early development.

Seeing an optometrist early can help prevent developmental delays and permanent vision problems, and even detect the cause of learning problems in school.

Call us today to book a comprehensive eye exam!

Stages Performing Arts School 301 - 1551 Cedar Hill X Rd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-384-3267 The Beat Dance Studio @Royal Roads University . . . . . . . . . . thebeatdancestudio.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-514-2788 Victoria Academy of Ballet 716 Johnson St . . . . . . 250-590-6752 Victoria School of Irish Dance . . . . . . . . . . .victoriairishdancers.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-888-9421 Wendy Steen Mitchell Dance 2033 Belmont Ave . . . . 250-598-7679 Westcoast Academy of Performing Arts wapa.ca . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-415-1477 Whitespace Dance . . . . . . . . . . . . whitespacedance.com Westshore Zumba westshorezumba.com . 250-413-7213

DAY PROGRAMS (See also “Recreation Centres”) Autism Services, Community Living Victoria . . . . . 250-477-7231, ext. 237 Boys & Girls Club . . . . 250-384-9133 Byte Camp . . . . . . . . . 250-661-3358 Canadian Forces Sailing cfsa.wordpress.com . . 250-385-8873 Forge Church . . . . . . .TheForgeChurch.com/camps FUN Camps 600 Richmond Ave . . . 778-712-2267 Glenlyon-Norfolk Marine Adventure Program . . . . . . . . . . . 250-370-6852 Hands On Summer Camp . . . . . . . HandsOnSummerCamp.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-995-6425 Christ Church Cathedral School 912 Vancouver St . . . . 250-383-5125 Pedalheads pedalheads.com . . . . 1-888-886-6464 Science Venture . . . . . 250-721-8661

Family

Eyecare Centre Doctors of Optometry

749 Yates Street, Victoria, BC V8W 1L6 P 250.383.2411 F 250.382.2444 www.familyeyecarecentre.com

Enter Our Online Contests Every month at Island Parent and Kids In Victoria you can enter to win some great prizes!

Prizes include:

• Family Getaways • Gift Certificates • IMAX Passes • Books, CDs and More One entry per family per week.

Check out the prizes and enter the contests by visiting

IslandParent.ca or kidsinvictoria.com

Maple Tree Children’s Centre “Where GROUP child care feels like family” 2 locations to better serve Victoria:

3130 Jutland Rd (near Mayfair Mall) and our BRAND NEW Infant/Toddler and 3–5 Centre at 100 Aldersmith Pl (near the intersection of Admirals and Old Island Highway)

250-588-0512 Family Resource Guide 2015/2016 39

SMUS Education Extension Holiday Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . smus.ca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-370-6120 Soccertron . . . . . . . . . 250-475-3777 Tennis Kids KidsAtTennis.ca . . . . . . 250-412-1406 Victoria Academy of Ballet 716 Johnson St . . . . . . 250-590-6752 YM/YWCA 880 Courtney St . . . . . 250-475-3777 World Cup Soccer Camp . . . . . . . . . worldcupsoccercamp.com

DRAMA PROGRAMS Canadian College of Performing Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . ccpacanada.com Four Seasons Musical Theatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . fsmtheatre.ca Kaleidoscope Theatre 3130 Jutland Rd . . . . . 250-383-8124 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .kaleidoscope.bc.ca Vancouver Island’s resident professional theatre company and theatre school for young people and families.

Offering year-round professional theatre classes, camps and productions for all ages.

Est. 2005

New Artistic Director, David Beales Bolshoi Ballet Academy TCP, S.R.B. Assoc., A.R.A.D.

Kate Rubin Theatre & Drama Studio . . . . . . . . . . . . . katerubintheatre.com katerubin@telus.net . . . 250-386-8593 . . . .facebook.com/KateRubinTheatre Specializes in dramatic training for children, young people and adults, taught by experienced professionals.

Classes, workshops and individual coaching are offered throughout the year.

Kid’s Works School for the Arts kidsworks.ca . . . . . . . . 250-884-1290 Screen Actor’s Studio 845 Fisgard St . . . . . . . 250-595-1339 StageCoach Langford 250-743-0858 . . . . . stagecoachschools.ca/langford Victoria Academy of Dramatic Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vadarts.com

GYMNASTICS Falcon Gymnastics Centre 208–721 Vanalman Ave 250-479-6424 * Ongoing registration. * Classes for boys and girls. * Ages 20 months and up. * Beginner through advanced. * Teen and adult drop-in. * The best birthday parties in town. * falcongymnastics.com.

Lion’s Pride Gymnastics 1060 Henry Eng Place . 250-383-3547 Victoria Gymnastics 2051 Store St . . . . . . . . 250-380-2442

LIBRARIES Greater Victoria Public Library Bruce Hutchison Branch 4636 Elk Lake Rd . . . . 250-727-0104 Central Branch 735 Broughton St . . . . 250-382-7241 Central Saanich Branch 1209 Clarke Rd . . . . . . 250-652-2013 Emily Carr Branch 3500 Blanshard St . . . . 250-475-6100 Esquimalt Branch 1231 Esquimalt Rd . . . 250-414-7198 Goudy Branch 119-755 Goldstream Ave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-391-5702 Juan de Fuca Branch 1759 Island Hwy . . . . . 250-391-0653 Nellie McClung Branch 3950 Cedar Hill Rd . . . 250-477-7111 Oak Bay Branch 1442 Monterey Ave . . . 250-592-2489 Saanich Centennial Branch 3110 Tillicum Rd . . . . . 250-477-9030

Ballet (RAD) Acro Street Dance Jazz/Modern (ISTD) Tap (ISTD) Contemporary Adult Classes Preschool Dance 934 Goldstream Ave. Langford BC V9B 2Y4 250 595 8705 info@lighthouseacademyofdance.com www.lighthouseacademyofdance.com

Looking for child care?

Taking care of children?

Child Care

Resource & Referral Your community’s best source of child care information and resources.

40 IslandParent.ca

Call your local Child Care Resource & Referral for free referrals and resources.

Victoria & Gulf Islands: 250-382-7000 or 1-800-750-1868 Sooke: 250-642-5152 Westshore: 250-391-4324 Cowichan Valley: 250-746-4135 local 231 PacificCare (Ladysmith north): 250-756-2022 or 1-888-480-2273 Funded by the Province of BC

www.islandfamilyinfo.ca www.ccrr.bc.ca

Vancouver Island Regional Library Sidney-North Saanich Branch 10091 Resthaven Rd . . 250-656-0944 Sooke Branch 2065 Anna Marie Rd . . 250-642-3022

MUSIC Fiddlesticks Studio of Fine Arts for Young Children fiddlestickschild.ca . . . 250-858-7034 Girls Rock Camp Victoria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . girlsrockvictoria.ca Guitar in Motion . . . . . 250-217-2316 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .guitarinmotion.com Larsen Music larsenmusic.ca . . . . . . 250-389-1988 Mary Rogers Music Studio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-744-9049 Music for Young Children® . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . myc.com Music Together Victoria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-217-2477 . . . . . . . . . musictogethervictoria.com Tom Lee Music #105-2401D Millstream Rd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-838-5222 Victoria Children’s Choir . . . . . . . . . . VictoriaChildrensChoir.ca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-721-0856 Victoria Conservatory of Music vcm.bc.ca . . . . . . . . . . 250-386-5311 Be part of a musical journey that 4300 students of all ages and abilities currently share with the VCM. World renowned faculty and musical creativity await. Join Today!

Victoria Good News Choir . . . . . . . . victoriagoodnewschoir.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-658-1946 Sing with us for the joy of singing.

Experience the gifts of music with your child(ren) in a warm and caring community. No auditions and all ages welcome. Rehearsals/Drop-Ins: Tuesdays, 6:30 pm, Saturdays, 10:00 am.

Choose one or both.

RECREATION CENTRES

SCIENCE/NATURE

Archie Browning Sports Centre 1151 Esquimalt Rd . . . 250-414-7103

BC SPCA spca.bc.ca/kids . . . . . . 250-388-7722

Cedar Hill Recreation Centre 3220 Cedar Hill Rd . . . 250-475-7121

CRD Parks Programs 250-478-3344

City Centre Park citycentrepark.ca . . . . . 250-391-1738 Crystal Pool & Fitness Centre 2275 Quadra St . . . . . . 250-361-0732 . . . . . . . . . . . . victoria.ca/recservices.

Swimming lessons for all ages and abilities; 50m pool with waterslide, two kids’ pools and sauna/steam rooms; full fitness facilities and wellness programs.

Henderson Centre 2291 Cedar Hill X Rd . . 250-370-7200

Gorge Waterway Nature House Gorge Park . . . . . . . . . 250-380-7585 Greater Victoria Compost Education Centre compost.bc.ca . . . . 250-386-WORM Mad Science . . . .madscience.org/vancouverisland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-391-1814 Go exploring with your friends and family to the ISLE OF MINUTIA—a safe online activity.

Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary 3837 Swan Lake Rd . . 250-479-0211

Panorama Recreation Centre panoramarecreation.ca 250-656-7271

SKATING

Pearkes Recreation Centre 3100 Tillicum Rd . . . . . 250-475-5400

Oak Bay Figure Skating Club oakbayfsc.ca . . . . . . . 250-744-6603

Recreation Oak Bay recreation.oakbay.ca . . 250-595-7946

Saanich Skating Club saanichskatingclub.com250-479-1094 or . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259-477-2053

Esquimalt Parks & Recreation 527 Fraser St . . . . . . . . 250-414-8500 Gordon Head Recreation Centre 4100 Lambrick Way . . . 250-475-7100

Saanich Commonwealth Place 4636 Elk Lake Dr . . . . . 250-475-7600 Salt Spring Island Recreation 145 Vesuvius Bay Rd . . 250-537-4448 Save On Foods Memorial Centre 1925 Blanshard St . . . . 250-361-0732 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . victoria.ca/arena Passport to skating lesson programs for all ages and abilities; special events and theme skates; youth and sports programs; rental opportunities for ice/dry floor/meeting rooms.

SEAPARC Leisure Complex, Sooke 2168 Phillips Rd . . . . . . 250-642-8000

Juan de Fuca Skating Club . . . . . . . . . .juandefucaskatingclub.ca

SPORTS PROGRAMS Boardworks Diving 4636 Elk Lake Dr . . . . . 250-479-0330 Gorge Soccer Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . gorgesoccer.ca Hampton Little League Hampton Park . . . . . . . 250-385-0022 Highland Pacific Golf 450 Creed Rd . . . . . . . 250-478-4653 Island Swimming . . . . 250-479-3909 Kenzen Sports Karate . . . . . . . . . .KenzenSportsKarate.com Lakehill Soccer Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . lakehillsoccer.com Ages 4-18, co-ed, year round soccer

WindStars Music School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . windstars.ca Youth Choir 61 choir.sd61.bc.ca . . . . . 250-477-5569 School District 61 Honour Choir.

Enrollment fee $40 per term. A fun, rewarding and challenging musical experience for SD61 students 11 to 17 years old.

Friends of Uplands Park friendsofuplandspark.wordpress.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-595-8084

West Shore Parks & Recreation westshorerecreation.ca 250-478-8384 Juan de Fuca Recreation Centre and Centennial Centre offer a variety of programs for preschoolers, school age and teens, plus drop-in swimming, skating, child minding & more.

Operation Trackshoes 3100 Foul Bay Rd . . . . 250-721-2233 PISE (Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence) piseworld.com . . . . . . . 250-220-2510

Family Resource Guide 2015/2016 41

Pacific Coast Swimming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-727-9243

Cowichan Valley

Royal Victoria Yacht Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-592-6113

CLUBS & ACTIVITIES

Sportball sportball.ca . . . . . . . . . 250-590-4625 Victoria Sea Cadets . . 250-363-0864 Victoria Synchro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . victoriasynchro.com VI Paddling . . . . . . . . vipaddling.com Westshore Motocross Assoc. westshoremx.com . . . . 250-590-8088

OTHER Andrea’s Sew Easy . . 250-592-7879 . . . . . . . . . . . . . andreasseweasy.com The Makehouse 833 1/2 Fort St . . . . . . 778-432-2294

Boys & Girls Club, Duncan 2471 Beverly St . . . . . . 250-748-1171 Girl Guides 321 Cairnsmore St . . . . 250-748-1052

DAY CAMPS

BC SPCA . . . . . . . . . . . 250-388-7722 Does your child love animals? Visit spca.bc.ca/youth for information on BC SPCA kids’ programs in your community.

LIBRARIES Vancouver Island Regional Library Cowichan Branch 2687 James St . . . . . . . 250-746-7661 Lake Cowichan Branch 38 King George North . 250-749-3431

MUSIC PROGRAMS Music for Young Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-800-828-4334

RECREATION CENTRES Cowichan Aquatic Centre, Duncan 2653 James St . . . . . . . 250-746-7665 Cowichan Lake Sports Arena 311 South Shore Rd . . 250-749-6742 Cowichan Sportplex 5847 Chesterfield Ave . 250-746-5666 Kerry Park Recreation Centre 1035 Shawnigan-Mill Bay Rd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-743-5922 Shawnigan Lake Community Centre 2804 Shawnigan Lk Rd 250-743-1433

RIDING Alpine Stables alpinestable.com . . . . . 250-743-6641 Cowichan Therapeutic Riding Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ctra.ca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-746-1028

SKATING Duncan Skating Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . . duncanskating.com

Is Your Will Up To Date?

Gliders & Furniture

Services provided for your family:

Indie • The agile, Evolving lightweight all-terrain.

• Real Estate Transactions

With Your Family Needs

• Mortgage Refinancing • Wills • Powers of Attorney

Sabrina Hanousek, BA Notary Public

• Travel Consent Letters

The Kiddies Store 3045–C Douglas St. (Rear) 386-2229 www.tjskids.com

Finlayson St.

St.

42 IslandParent.ca

Serving the Infants • Toddlers • Youth • Parents & Grandparents of Victoria s Dougla

Member 250-382-8880 sabrina@notariesondouglas.com www.notariesondouglas.com 201–2610 Douglas Street, Victoria

For All Your Your Baby Baby Needs…

Needs… New, We Also Do&Rentals!

For Used Rentals

Larch St.

T.J.’S

(Under Sleep Country in the REAR)

Mid-Island CLUBS & ACTIVITIES Boys & Girls Club, Chemainus 3172B Garner St . . . . . 250-246-5421 Boys & Girls Club, Ladysmith 730 3rd Ave . . . . . . . . . 250-245-8921 Boys & Girls Club, Lantzville 7-7221 Lantzville Rd . . 250-390-4001 Boys & Girls Club, Nanaimo 20 5th St . . . . . . . . . . . 250-754-3215 Navy League #65 JP Bell, Nanaimo . . . . . 250-753-3797 Royal Canadian Sea Cadets 136 Amphion, Nanaimo . . . . 250-3797 Royal Canadian Air Cadets 205 Collishaw, Nanaimo250-754-0076

DANCE Glengarry School of Celtic Dance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-758-0208 O’Brien School of Irish Dance obrienirishdance.com . 250-340-2370

DAY CAMPS BC SPCA . . . . . . . . . . 250-388-7722 Does your child love animals? Visit spca.bc.ca/youth for information on BC SPCA kids’ programs in your community.

GrandKids University @ Vancouver Island University, Nanaimo viu.ca/grandkids . . . . . 250-734-6252

GYMNASTICS Flipside Gymnastics flipsidegymnastics.ca . 250-756-9102

LIBRARIES Vancouver Island Regional Library Campbell River Branch 1240 Shopper’s Row . . 250-287-3655 Chemainus Branch 2592 Legion St . . . . . . 250-246-9471 Hornby Island Branch 1765 Sollans Rd . . . . . 250-335-0044 Ladysmith Branch #3-740 1st Ave . . . . . . 250-245-2322 Nanaimo Harbourfront Branch 90 Commercial Dr . . . . 250-753-1154

Nanaimo Wellington Branch 3032 Barons Rd . . . . . . 250-758-5544 Parksville Branch 100E Jenson Ave East . 250-248-3841 Port Alberni Branch 4245 Wallace St . . . . . . 250-723-9511 Qualicum Beach Branch #101–660 Primrose St . 250-752-6121

MUSIC PROGRAMS Nanaimo Community Band . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-722-3088 Nanaimo Conservatory of Music ncmusic.ca . . . . . . . . . 250-754-4611

RECREATION CENTRES Beban Park Social Centre 2300 Bowen Rd . . . . . . 250-756-5200 Bowen Park Complex 500 Bowen Rd . . . . . . . 250-756-5200 Frank Crane Arena 2300 Bowen Rd . . . . . . 250-756-5200 Kinsmen Park Pool 5779 Alderlea St . . . . . 250-246-3811 Ladysmith Parks, Recreation & Culture, 810-6th Ave 250-245-6424 McGirr Sports Complex 6185 McGirr Rd . . . . . . 250-756-1173 Nanaimo Aquatic Centre 741 Third St . . . . . . . . . 250-756-5200 Nanaimo Ice Centre 750 Third St . . . . . . . . . 250-756-5200 North Cowichan Parks & Recreation, Chemainus 2876 Fuller Lake Rd . . 250-246-3811 Oliver Woods Community Centre 6000 Oliver Rd . . . . . . . 250-756-5200 Ravensong Aquatic Centre 737 Jones St . . . . . . . . 250-752-5014

RIDING Cowichan Therapeutic Riding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-746-1028

SCIENCE/NATURE Morell Nature Sanctuary 787 Nanaimo Lakes . . . 250-753-5811

Community Board Making our Community a Better Place to Live

1Up Victoria Single Parent Resource Centre 1-up.ca Art Gallery of Greater Victoria aggv.ca Child Care Resource & Referral childcarevictoria.ca Good Food Box thegoodfoodbox.ca GoodLife Fitness Victoria Marathon RunVictoriaMarathon.com Kaleidoscope Theatre kaleidoscope.bc.ca Royal BC Museum royalbcmuseum.bc.ca Silver Threads Service silverthreads.ca Thrifty Foods Kids Run RunVictoriaMarathon.com Victoria Conservatory of Music vcm.bc.ca Enquire about non-profit brochure or magazine distribution in Greater Victoria:

publisher@islandparent.ca Family Resource Guide 2015/2016 43

Diana Hurschler

Infant Crying W

e all know that it is normal for babies to cry, but sometimes the actual experience and resulting stress of your own baby crying is not what you would expect. Two of my four children were easily consolable and did not cry very much. My other two children were the complete opposite, leaving me unprepared for the amount of crying or my lack of ability to console them.

What is “normal” infant crying: • The amount an infant cries daily will typically increase slowly in the first two to three months of life. Once it reaches its peak, it generally starts to decrease.

• Some infants may experience their “peak” at three weeks of age, others may reach it at two months old. For some infants, the amount they cry at their peak may be 30 minutes, for others it could be five hours.

Either scenario is within normal range and part of normal infant development.

• The periods of crying tend to start and

stop for no apparent reason at all. Crying is not always indicative that an infant is experiencing any pain, even though they may look like they are in pain. You may notice your infant struggles or grunts or even cries when he is gassy, but sometimes the crying is unrelated to anything physical.

• The infant tends to start the crying late afternoon and evening, which is usually the time when most parents have a natural wane in energy.

All this can be upsetting and exhausting for new parents, especially as the crying gets worse before it is better, and if the baby has long periods of inconsolable crying. Parents often think or misunderstand that if they are soothing “correctly”, then they will be able to calm their baby. This type of thinking can easily lead to thoughts of “if I can’t soothe my baby, then I am a failure” or “something must be wrong with my baby.” It is interesting to note that studies on infant crying have been done across the globe and the results

show the same increase and decrease patterns over the first few months, regardless of caregiving styles.

Now that we know what is normal, how do we deal with it? Once you have gone through the checklist of obvious causes of crying—for example, hungry, tired, uncomfortable, needs more/less stimulation—there are a couple of tried and true ways of helping your crying baby which may help calm them or decrease the length of time they cry. But it is important to remember: some of these methods work some of the time, but they may not work all of the time. So please, be easy on yourself if you are unable to soothe your crying infant every time!

Tips to soothe your crying infant (try implementing before crying starts— you may have better luck!): • Give baby something to suck on, whether it be breast, a clean finger or a pacifier. The sucking action helps to calm flailing limbs, relax tummies and steady baby’s heart rate.

• Swaddling. This mimics the secure feeling of the womb which decreases newborn’s startle reflex.

• Rhythmic movement. Rock, sway or stroke your little one in a repetitive pat-

B Warmer Collection 25% off October 5–31 Royal Oak Shopping Centre Victoria, BC 250.479.0803

www.BelliesInBloomMaternity.com

44 IslandParent.ca

terned movement. These actions can help to regulate baby’s breathing pattern.

• Music. Experiment with music and song to see which one has the most calming effect.

• White noise. Many infants are calmed by a flow of ongoing noise, similar to the sound that they could hear in the womb.

The sound of a radio off the station or a fan may work well. Even using your voice to “Shhh…shhh…shhhh” in your baby’s ear quietly can be calming.

It is important to note that these tips work best when combined with one another.

For example, give your baby something to suck, swaddle her, rock her and have something for her to listen to at the same time.

The crying may not cease immediately so persevere for a while to allow your baby to get into the new rhythm. I see many parents trying one technique only for a minute or two before abandoning it to try another.

This will actually have the opposite effect on the baby who will become even more stimulated rather than settled.

One overall strategy that works preventatively is to maintain as much close physical contact with your baby throughout the day.

Many studies show evidence that babies who are held closely have less crying time overall.

Certainly listening to your infant crying inconsolably is one of the most stressful experiences a parent can have. If you are reaching your limit, it will not harm your baby to put your baby in a safe place and let him cry for a while. Please take some time for rest and relaxation yourself. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from a friend or relative as your baby’s cries likely will not be as hard for them to listen to. Make sure your baby is with someone who will not shake or harm the baby in frustration.

I was completely unprepared for how stressful it would feel to have my baby crying continuously. I was even more unprepared for the resulting stress and strain our family felt. Sometimes babies will cry and it does not mean anything is wrong with you as parent or that something isn’t right with your baby.

As a mom who has survived a couple of my own babies who had a high level of crying, I can tell you one thing: This too shall pass, and the crying and stress really do become a distant memory.

Diana Hurschler, RN BscN, childbirth educator, certified breastfeeding counselor has been helping families in their childbearing years and beyond since 1998. Diana is the proud Mama of four little ones. She can be reached at diana@hurschler.com.

Organic mattresses and bedding for all ages

Great Pretenders

Kool Toys & Teaching Tools

Toys, games and puzzles for all ages #102 – 2517 Bowen Road Nanaimo 250.585.1778

koolandchild.com

The Lighthouse Parent An innovative program for parents who want to learn how their child’s brain develops from the womb to 18 years.

Find out what the latest research says about attachment theory, brain plasticity and how you can joyfully connect with your child at every age and stage.

For information on our wide range of courses visit www.1-up.ca 250 385 1114

info@1-up.ca

602 Gorge Rd East, Victoria BC V8T 2W6 Generously funded by

Family Resource Guide 2015/2016

45

Allison Rees

Keeping Anger at Bay B

eing a parent can be stressful and bring on emotions you never thought you had.

A child’s needs can be intense and non-stop.

Stress and anger are closely related because the verbal or physical expression of anger temporarily alleviates stress, and can become a bad habit. If your stress levels get too high, anger quickly shows up to release that increased tension. We behave just like a three-year-old having a sudden meltdown after spending 20 minutes shopping. The child has a tantrum and then feels much better. But when this comes from a parent it can be scary for the child and damage the child’s self-esteem.

Parental anger is common, but it isn’t something that parents talk about while they are watching their kids play at the park. What could leave a parent feeling more shame than having lost it with their child?

Tucking the issue away and not facing it makes things worse. The parent who feels guilty is more likely to back down on setting healthy limits. Without clear limits, children become more demanding, and then parents, after ignoring many irritations, lose it and do or say something in anger that crosses the line. Welcome to the guilt-anger cycle.

When parents feel angry, they are at risk for using corporal punishment which can escalate to physical abuse. They are also at

risk for belittling their children, potentially causing emotional wounds which can last for years. Corporal punishment does not help a child to develop a conscience. Instead, the child is much more likely to become aggressive himself. Children who have very angry parents tend to have less empathy. They avoid trying new things for fear of criticism or they lie to protect themselves. Children may resist doing activities with that parent that would normally be fun and inviting for the child. Ultimately, the parent-child bond deteriorates.

When you’re angry, you can’t think clearly and you may tell yourself untrue things about your child, like “He just likes to push my buttons.” This assumption is always wrong! What you perceive as an intention is usually just a child’s immature behaviour.

While calling you “butt head” or walking away when you are talking to him may not be the most respectful behaviour, it might be the only one he has access to when he is stressed. You don’t have to approve of this but you must accept the immaturity of your child—otherwise you will be telling yourself all kinds of things that will push your own buttons. Challenge your thinking to inspire something more neutral and true.

“He doesn’t know how to process strong feelings. He’s doing the best he can right

now”…“He’s not doing this to bug me, he’s just being a kid.”

Pushing your own catastrophe button will also contribute to mistaken thoughts like “I can’t take this anymore!” and “She will never learn to take responsibility.” Such thoughts will not lead to calmer interactions with your child. If you are going into panic or meltdown, you will have physical early warning signs like a clenched jaw or a burning feeling in your face. Practice taking yourself to a calmer state several times a day. Even several minutes a few times a day of breathing, closing your eyes and giving yourself reassuring thoughts can make a huge difference. If you can’t find the time, that might be part of the problem.

Watch how you talk to your child. Belittling a child can be extremely harmful.

Saying “I’m tired of hearing you whining, you are such a little wimp, suck it up” is far more damaging than saying “I’m feeling really angry right now. I need time to myself!” Learn how to state how you feel instead of blaming your child. It will stop you from being verbally abusive and it will actually get you in touch with your feelings and own them. Your child is not responsible for your feelings. It helps to pay attention to the subtle feelings of overwhelm or irritation before they escalate. Developing this awareness can stop you from reaching the more heightened states of anger.

Dr. Allison Rees is a parent educator/counselor and a partner in LIFE (Living in Families Effectively) Seminars in Victoria. For more information, visit lifeseminars.com.

The following anger chart—arranged around the letters of the word “ANGER”—summarizes effective ways of dealing with anger and its other underlying emotions.

A N G E R

Steps to Awareness

How This Can Be Effective

Attend to your early signals of anger. What do you feel in your body?

How do you behave?

You can catch anger before it escalates. When you increase your awareness of the early signals, you can choose how you will react.

Negotiate with those around you about your anger, not about specific issues. Choose distance and time.

Discuss this strong emotion with your family. Come up with a signal that means you need time out: Give me five, Grumpy Guy alert, Bag Lady alert. Calm down, remove yourself from the situation and take some time to reflect. Even turning your back and breathing deeply can be effective.

Gear down from taking action and explore your feelings. Identify them if you can. Pay attention to your own triggering thoughts that may provoke anger.

Get alone Express your emotions Analyze your thoughts Recognize your needs Catch negative trigger thoughts and replace them with healing ones. Use your feelings to explore what your needs are.

Express your feelings and needs assertively.

When you ________, I feel________ because _________.

I want/would like you to _________.

Resolve issues if possible. It may be as simple as making a positive request. It may mean engaging in conflict resolution. It may mean resolving the issue within yourself.

Resolving conflicts stops the vicious circle of old issues and patterns recurring. Resolution doesn’t have to be complicated, but it can’t happen without the preceding steps.

Often we need to feel anger to know there is a boundary that needs to be addressed.

46 IslandParent.ca

Beat the Rainy Day Blues

In Home Tutoring Certified Teachers Grades 1–12 (all subjects) Call now

1-877-ITS EASY

L

et’s face it. This is the West Coast and that means at least a few days of rain, even during the summer months. But don’t despair on rainy days. There’s plenty to do, from visiting a museum to braving the rain and getting out in the wet stuff. Here are 10 suggestions for rainy day fun.

Visit a rec centre. Go for a swim. Burn off some energy, soak in the hot tub, show them you’re not too old to go off the diving board!

Drop by a book store and check out the kids’ section. Then go home and spend the afternoon snuggled up reading.

Go outside. Don rain gear and make a splash. Warm up afterwards with a mug of hot chocolate. And homemade cookies.

Turn the living room into a fort. Drape blankets and rearrange furniture to create tunnels, houses and hidey-holes. Flashlights, stuffies and toys will add to the fun.

Make your own boardgame. Playing games can be fun, but so can designing your own.

Let kids decide the rules, colour their gameboard and make playing pieces.

Visit an indoor tourist attraction. Been to a museum lately? Are you into bugs or butterflies, local history or art? A rainy afternoon is a great time to be a tourist in your own town.

Make a masterpiece. Provide markers, paints and brushes, assorted paper, scissors, glue, stencils, beads, glitter and other enticing art supplies. Let your imagination run wild.

Have an indoor picnic. Sometimes all it takes is a simple change from the normal routine to make things seem festive. Clear a space on the family room floor, spread out a blanket and have a picnic lunch, complete with thermos and cooler. Put on some music, invite guests, and enjoy your feast.

Build a Lego or Playmobil set-up (a monstrous one!). Pool all your pieces and spend the afternoon building. Create houses, roads, skyscrapers, castles—a whole city.

Write a letter. The old fashioned kind—on beautiful stationary and with an actual pen or pencil. Walk to the mailbox and send it on its way. •

(1-877-487-3279)

www.schooliseasy.com

BBB finalist 2014 for excellence in honesty, integrity and trust

New Kids Dentist

Dr. Anita Gadzinska-Myers

is a Board Certified Specialist in Pediatric Dentistry and has a Fellowship in Special Needs Dentistry for children • Accepting new patients now (infants to teenagers) • Referral not needed • Member of Cleft Lip and Palate Team

Special Services:

short wait list • intravenous sedation • hospital dentistry • nitrous oxide

Victoria Pediatric Dental Centre 206–1830 Oak Bay Ave

www.victoriapediatricdentalcentre.ca

250-383-2133

The support you need for the life you want.

BeConnected supports children, youth and adults to lead rich lives in community. · Residential Services for children, youth and adults · Home Share Services · Supported Living Options · Respite Services for children, youth and adults · Community Inclusion Services · Employment Services • Host Agency Services · Other Services and Supports for Individuals and Families Victoria and surrounding communities, the Southern Gulf Islands, Duncan and the Cowichan Valley.

Contact Us! Victoria 1—3891 Douglas St Phone 250-727-3891

Duncan 202—321 Festubert St Phone 250-748-3858 www.beconnectedsupport.ca Find us on facebook!

Family Resource Guide 2015/2016 47

Vancouver Island Health Authority

Healthy Families, Happy Families

Child, Youth & Family Public Health Services

Child, Youth T & Family Public Health

he Child, Youth and Family Public Health program of Island Health is a multidisciplinary team whose focus is on disease prevention and health promotion.

Island Health’s primary goal is the improved health and wellness of residents of the Vancouver Island region. To reach this

Program offers a range of services to support children’s good oral health. Services vary depending on the community but can include education and skill building for groups and individuals, resources for professionals working with children, youth and their families, oral health counseling

goal, Island Health helps support residents by working with community partners to protect and promote health and prevent injury and illness.

The Child, Youth and Family Public Health program supports the health and wellness of island residents by providing speech, hearing, dental and nursing services to individuals, families and communities.

These programs are available free of charge throughout Vancouver Island.

and preventive services for some families, and screening of kindergarten children for tooth decay. The Dental Program has created teaching kits, which are available for loan to schools, preschools and parenting groups. In addition, dental hygienist support is available to adults and children with developmental disabilities.

South Island Health Units Esquimalt Gulf Islands

250-519-5311 250-539-3099

(toll-free number for office in Saanichton)

Peninsula Saanich Saltspring Island Sooke Victoria West Shore

250-544-2400 250-519-5100 250-538-4880 250-642-5464 250-388-2200 250-519-3490

Central Island Health Units Duncan 250-709-3050 Ladysmith 250-755-3342 Lake Cowichan 250-749-6878 Nanaimo 250-755-3342 Nanaimo Princess Royal 250-755-3342 Parksville/Qualicum 250-947-8242 Port Alberni 250-731-1315 Tofino 250-725-4020

North Island Health Units Campbell River Courtenay Kyuquot Health Ctr ‘Namgis Health Ctr Port Hardy

250-850-2110 250-331-8520 250-332-5289 250-974-5522 250-902-6071

www.viha.ca/prevention_services/

48 IslandParent.ca

Dental Services Dental disease, even in baby teeth, can impact a child’s ability to eat, sleep, grow, concentrate and learn. The Dental

Hearing Services The Hearing Program offers services to children from birth to 19 years of age and people with developmental disabilities with a variety of programs to support healthy hearing. Audiologists test hearing for babies and children, work together with schools

and preschools to offer direct student support, and answer general questions on hearing and hearing services. The Hearing Program also offers hearing screening for all newborns and all children in kindergarten.

Nursing Support Services The Nursing Support Services program assists parents and caregivers to help children from birth to 19 years of age with special health care needs to lead active, healthy lives in their communities. Service is provided in schools, preschools, child-care facilities, and homes. Children who need specialized health care such as diabetes support, tube feeding, and tracheotomy care can be referred to Nursing Support Services.

Public Health Nursing Services Public Health Nursing offers services to women, children and families to support healthy growth and development. Nurses contact all parents of new babies to provide education on infant care and feeding, growth and development, and postpartum depression. Many health units offer Breastfeeding Support Clinics and Public Health Nursing also partners with community agencies to provide perinatal education and support.

Public Health Nurses prevent disease and promote health by offering Child Health Clinics where infants and children are immunized against a variety of life threatening illnesses. Nurses provide School Based Immunization Clinics in all schools to protect Grade 6 students from Hepatitis B, Meningococcal C, Varicella (chickenpox), and Human Papillomavirus diseases and to protect Grade 9 students from Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Pertussis. In addition, Public Health Nursing offers influenza clinics both in health units and in community facilities to members of the public who are eligible for publicly funded influenza vaccine Building on many years of partnership, Public Health staff continue to work with elementary schools and parents to provide kindergarten vision and hearing screening and follow-up. Earlier identification of vision and hearing concerns can result in better treatment outcome for children.

Professionals from Public Health Nursing, Dental and Nutrition provide service and support within the Comprehensive School Health model to both public and independent schools. Members of the team work with students, parents/guard-

ians, school staff and community groups to identify the priority health needs of the school populations.

Speech-Language Services Speech-Language services are available for preschool children. Assessment and treatment is provided for preschool-aged children with speech and language disorders.

Children needing additional services such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, psychological assessment, social work and support for hearing impairment should be referred to Queen Alexandra Centre for Children’s Health where their speech and language therapy is provided in conjunction with their other services.

Vancouver Island residents are well supported by Island Health’s Child, Youth and Family Community Health program.

Services in Central and Northern Vancouver Island may vary slightly from those in this article; please call your local health unit for information. Contact information can be found in this magazine or online at viha. ca/children.

For the Explorer in You! • Hike the Fossil Trail • Visit the Cave Theatre • Explore a Cave • Try Rock Rappelling OPEN YEAR ROUND

250-248-7829

HORNELAKE.COM

Ranked #1 on TripAdvisor

Family Resource Guide 2015/2016

49

What is more important than your child’s education?

Nothing.

Orton-Gillingham is a completely different method of teaching literacy skills using visual, auditory, kinesthetic and tactile senses to those students with Dyslexia.

One-on-one and group lessons available.

Tutoring is now available online.

Using online tools, qualified students are able to enjoy excellent quality instruction in the comfort and privacy of their homes, anywhere in the world! Some restrictions apply.

C. Heather Robertson Therapeutic Language Tutor

c.heather.robertson@gmail.com

250.508.8197

Health & Wellness South Island ACCUPUNCTURE Vancouver Island Naturopathic Clinic Inc. 204-4480 West Saanich Rd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-881-1806

ALTERNATIVE HEALTH Vancouver Island Naturopathic Clinic Inc. 204-4480 West Saanich Rd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-881-1806

DENTISTS Saanich Dental Group 119-1591 McKenzie Ave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-477-7321 Victoria Pediatric Dental Centre 205-1830 Oak Bay Ave 250-383-2133

HEALTH CLINICS Millstream Medical Clinic 107–2349 Millstream Ave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-391-7554 St. Anthony’s Medical Centre 582 Goldstream Ave . . 250-478-6242 Tillicum Mall Medical Clinic 14–3170 Tillicum Rd . . 250-381-8112

MASSAGE THERAPY Vancouver Island Naturopathic Clinic Inc. 204-4480 West Saanich Rd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-881-1806

NATUROPATHS

Victoria & Vancouver Island 1-866-518-7287 Nanaimo 250-756-9794 Or online at: www.welcomewagon.ca

50 IslandParent.ca

Dr. Anke Zimmermann 304-2250 Oak Bay Ave 250-590-5828 Vancouver Island Naturopathic Clinic Inc. 204-4480 West Saanich Rd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-881-1806

OPTOMETRISTS BC Association of Optometrists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . absee.ca Cadboro Bay Optometry Clinic 3830 Cadboro Bay Rd . 250-360-2229

Dr. Joslin, Dr. Morin & Associates 105-814 Goldstream Ave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-747-4567 5-6726 West Coast Rd 250-642-4331 Family Eyecare Centre 749 Yates St . . . . . . . . 250-383-2411

PHARMACIES Cadboro Bay Peoples Compounding Parmacy . . . . . victoriapharmacy.com 3825 Cadboro Bay Rd . 250-477-2131 Fairfield Peoples Compounding Drug Mart . . . . victoriapharmacy.com 15-1594 Fairfield Rd . . 250-598-9232 Fairfield Peoples Compounding Pharmacy . . . . victoriapharmacy.com 1282 Fairfield Rd . . . . . 250-595-5997 Shelbourne Plaza Peoples Compounding Pharmacy . . . . . . . . . . . . victoriapharmacy.com 3643 Shelbourne St . . . 250-577-1881 UVic Campus Pharmacy UVic SUB . . . . . victoriapharmacy.com 3800 Finnerty Rd . . . . . 250-721-3400

SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY/ OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY Monarch House Victoria #211-605 Discovery St 250-220-8999 Monarch House offers an interdisciplinary approach that improves access, coordinates treatment and focuses on results. We meet the needs of families and individuals with behavioural communication, learning, and motor skills challenges.

YOGA Fernwood Yoga Den 1311 Gladstone Ave . . 250-590-4664 Iyengar Yoga 202–919 Fort St . . . . . . 250-386-9642 Mothering Touch Centre & Birth Services, 975 Fort St . 250-595-4905

OTHER Anaphylaxis Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . pactvictoria.com Family Eyecare Centre . . . . . . . . . . familyeyecarecentre.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-383-2411 Taoist Tai Chi . . . . . . . . . . pacific.canada.taoist.org . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-383-4103

Bill Dean

The FLYN System

M

y father has a great memory but staunchly refuses to use it. Instead, he has always written copious notes about everything he thinks he might forget, from booting up his computer to resetting the furnace. When I was young, these notes would be written on yellow legal sheets and taped to the various objects to which they pertained. He had a scribblepad at his office desk, and another on the end table beside his easy chair in front of the TV. As life progressed and technology got more complex, my father also moved forward. He upgraded from yellow lined sheets to little yellow sticky notes. He bought a home theatre system about a year ago and now it’s just about impossible to pick up his remote without getting a paper cut. If you visit his house and he wants to make sure you don’t forget something, my father, who assumes that every mind works like his, will stick a little yellow note to your glasses, or even your forehead.

“Before being seen in public, remove sticky from forehead,” I once wrote on my hand.

My sister, Lindy, always hated his clutter of

Little Yellow Notes and dubbed this the FLYN system. I leave it to you to figure out what the “F” stands for. Hard to believe that she home schooled her children with that mouth.

Darth Vader would have been much scarier had he said, “Luke, you’re just like your father!” None of us want to become our parents, but eventually, the inner child recedes and that inner parent leaks out. One day, we find ourselves telling our own kids to “stop arguing or so help us God we’re going to turn this car around” and we realize that life and karma have conspired to make us clones of our parents.

I never subscribed to my father’s FLYN system. I decided early on to rely on my memory.

Then I had children and in the confusion, forgot where I left my memory. Technology saved me. My iPhone has a note making function which I depend on to make sure that I don’t forget to tie my shoes or remove my glasses before bed. But now my phone is so full of reminders that it often seems more convenient to fight to recall something rather than sort

through the various notes. Also, that to-do list is depressingly long.

Today, I caught myself attaching a FLYN to the face of my iPhone.

The larger shock was to realize that this is not an isolated incident. It’s a habit. I once had

a note on there for so long that the adhesive lost its stick. I had choices: I could have completed the task, written a new FLYN, or added the note to the electronic collection on my phone.

Instead, I used scotch tape to stick it back on.

Resistance is futile.

William M. Dean is a writer living in Victoria with his wife, Junko and two children, Noah and Rihana. William blogs his wit and wisdom at wmdean.com.

LEARN TO SKATE with WEST SHORE PARKS & RECREATION

To ensure high quality instruction we follow the Greater Victoria Active Communities Learn to Skate Program

To register call 250-478-8384

www.westshorerecreation.ca

Family Resource Guide 2015/2016 51

Tigh-na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort & Conference Centre, Parksville 1155 Resort Dr . . . . . . 250-248-2072 Victoria Pilates Inc. Mattick’s Farm . . . . . . . 250-727-0075 The Vitamin Shop . . . . . . . . CanadianVitaminShop.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-386-1212 UC Baby 3D/4D Ultrasound ucbaby.ca . . . . . . . . . . 250-744-2234 Westshore Zumba westshorezumba.com . 250-413-7213

Cowichan Valley HEALTH CLINICS Coleman Medical, Duncan 186 Kenneth St . . . . . . 250-746-4102 Margaret Moss Health Centre, Duncan 675 Canada Ave . . . . . 250-709-3050 Matraea Centre, Duncan matcentre.ca . . . . . . . . 250-597-0085 Millstream Medical Clinic 107–2349 Millstream Ave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-391-7554 Valleyview Treatment Centre #27-1400 Cowichan Bay Rd Cobble Hill . . . . . . . . . . 250-743-9395

PHARMACIES Valleyview Peoples Drug Mart 26-1400 Cowichan Bay Rd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-743-1448

PHYSIOTHERAPY South Cowichan Physiotherapy 59-1400 Cowichan Bay Rd, Cobble Hill . . . . . . . . . . 250-743-3833

Mid-Island NATUROPATHS Arbour Wellness Centre, Nanaimo 2136 Bowen Rd . . . . . . 250-729-4969 Inspired Health Naturopathic Clinic #11-321 Wesley St . . . 250-714-0721

PSYCHOLOGISTS Waterman & Associates 70 Prideaux St . . . . . . . 250-754-8559

52 IslandParent.ca

Legal & Financial Services South Island CREDIT COUNSELLING Credit Counselling Society nomoredebts.org . . . . 1-888-527-8999

LAWYERS Collaborative Family Law Group . . . . collaborativefamilylawgroup.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-704-2600 Duncan & Faber, Family Law duncanfaber.com . . . . . 250-383-8038 Legal Aid Legal Services Society 200–747 Fort St . . . . . . 250-360-4516

MEDIATION BC Parenting Coordinators Roster Society . . . . . . . . . . . bcpcroster.com South Island Dispute Resolution Centre . . . . . . disputeresolution.bc.ca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-383-4412 TS Consulting . . . . . . . 250-590-4114

NOTARIES Notaries on Douglas 201-2610 Douglas St . . 250-382-8880

FINANCIAL PLANNERS Bobby Vu Financial Solutions Inc. #101-3962 Borden St . 778-265-2622

REAL ESTATE SERVICES Briar Hill Group at Pemberton Holmes briarhillgroup.com . . . . 250-744-0775 Lawless Brown Mortgage Team Mortgage Depot/Verico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-656-0855

Erin Skillen

Work-Life Balance L

ast year I left the TV production company I co-owned. I loved producing and the people I worked with, but I didn’t like what the TV industry wanted more and more of— bad reality shows. I promised myself years ago that I wouldn’t make shows that clashed with my integrity and I wanted my work to create positive impact. I was supposed to go back to TV after I finished maternity leave with my daughter, but instead I let it go. And that was terrifying.

Since then I have been offered multiple full-time jobs and—perhaps stupidly— turned them all down. I have two kids under age five and instead of staying home to raise them or getting a proper job, I’m launching a startup gaming company. Some people think this makes me a crazyperson.

They are right.

Sure, it would be nice to at least have my kids both potty-trained and not shift between drafting my business plan and interrogating my daughter with “Toots or poops, Sweetie? Toots or poops?!” Sometimes late at night I worry that I’m making the wrong choice. But that’s part of what makes this exactly the right time. Many entrepreneurs have some form of insomnia.

My kids already wake me up in the night.

Getting all of the worrying done at the same time seems like a multi-tasking win-win.

With or without your own business, being a working, breastfeeding mom rarely runs smoothly. More than once I’ve been solo at a conference with back-to-back meetings for 12 hours, wondering if it’s actually possible for my breast to explode before I can make it back to my hotel room to pump. I usually didn’t get back until the evening, missing out on parts of posh networking parties so I could milk myself as quickly as possible and hurry back. Glamorous.

Entering the gaming field, I often find myself in events filled with 20-somethingyear-old tech guys. At one weekend-long workshop I discovered that the only washroom was at the front of the event space,

next to the young, male, baby-free presenter.

A stronger me would have whipped out my pump, yelled “Deal with it!” and pumped right in my seat. The real me chickened out, opting instead to walk calmly into the washroom and frantically squeeze out all the milk I could into the toilet in what I deemed to be a comparable amount of time in comparison to a normal pee. Then I walked back out into the room as if I hadn’t been doing anything that would make at least half the room gag.

I have had to lock myself in the bathroom at home for brief, unexpected calls from clients, muting the call whenever I wasn’t speaking to ensure a “Mommy!” didn’t slip down the line as my husband shooed the little person from the door. I have worked on my laptop in my car in parking lots across the city any time my daughter fell asleep in transit. I have caught up on emails in the food court of a shopping mall after pushing a stroller around and around to get my daughter to sleep. I have hidden my phone behind the train table at playgroup so I could respond to an urgent text while assisting in the construction of a bridge for Thomas and his buddies. That’s about the epitome of life/work balance, I think.

Now that my daughter is a weaned toddler and my kids are in daycare together full time it’s easier to get the time to work and properly delineate between work time and play time, but I have to pay for it. My time costs money. I’ve been doing contract work to pay the bills. When contracts were slow I sold things I didn’t need anymore to fill the gap, so I could keep my business moving forward. True, it might be easier to start a business once my kids are both in school and I’m not paying a fortune in childcare.

But, again, I’m a crazyperson.

There is no way I could do any of this if I didn’t have a supportive partner who understands why now is the time to do this.

He has never once suggested I wait another three years until both kids are in school. He helps whenever he can and is gentle when money becomes an issue. A lot of people don’t have that support at home, so I am grateful. There are still some struggles of course. The house will forever be a disaster, but my husband runs his own business, too, so he’s okay with just pulling clean clothes out of a pile on the couch.

Beyond home life, there are definitely other downsides. I don’t apply to amazing business programs that would require re-

locating to the US for three months. I don’t attend all of the conferences that could help propel my company. I have to be choosy. My kids are only going to be little for a short time, and I don’t want to be away from them for weeks at a time. I’d love to attend all of the different networking events and mixers my colleagues go to, but that usually means missing dinner and bedtime with my kids after they’ve been at daycare all day. I’m not willing to miss my kids all the time.

Will the business be a success? I really hope so. I’m not living out of my car or anything drastic like that, but I have put a lot on the line to pursue it. My kids are too young to fully understand what I’m doing, but they are learning from it. My son created his own office at preschool. In our family, where my husband and I both have our own home offices, this was like a jock kid hitting his first home run. With any luck, taking this leap will inspire them as much as it has inspired me. Or maybe they’ll rebel and become reality TV producers. We’ll see.

Erin Skillen is the founder of content4good in Victoria.

Family Services of Greater Victoria Formerly BC Families in Transition

899 Fort Street 250.386.4331 www.fsgv.org þ Individual, Couple and Family Counseling þ Parenting Coaching þ Relationship Referee þ Parent­‐Teen Mediation þ Specialized Children’s Therapy Services þ Divorce and Separation Legal Information and Mediation þ Caught in the Middle þ Parenting with a New Partner þ Parenting After Separation Serving Greater Victoria Since 1978 Family Resource Guide 2015/2016 53

Family Fun & Entertainment

used bikes parts classes repairs

South Island FAMILY FUN Affordable Hot Tubs & Saunas Ltd 4649 West Saanich Rd 778-433-6786 All Fun Karts, Cages, Clubs & Camping at Western Speedway allfun.bc.ca . . . . . . . . . 250-474-1961

25 crease avenue 250-418-8867 w w w. r e c y c l i s t a s . c a

St. Joseph’s Elementary School 757 West Burnside Road 250 479 1232 www.stjosephschool.ca St. Joseph’s Elementary School has limited space in all

Josephʼs Early Learning Centre grades (K–7), as well as space in our licensed Group Day Care and Preschool Program. Applications are available on-line or W. Burnside Rd. 250-479-1237

from the school office. St. Joseph’s offers a rigorous academic www.stjosephschool.ca program in a Catholic Christian atmosphere.

announce that our Early Learning Centre is now ng full time daycare for children who are 3 andUs! 4 Come Grow With cations are available on-line or from the Early ce. St. Josephʼs offers an excellent program in a tmosphere. are 7:30 AM - 5:00 PM. For Pre-School additional information to Grade 8 Programs an Clifford at 250-479-1237.

West-Mont Montessori

City Centre Park, Playzone 1089 Langford Parkway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-391-1738 Hatley Park National Historic Site 2005 Sooke Rd . . . . . . 250-391-2666 Highland Pacific Golf . . . . . . . . . . . highlandpacificgolf.com 450 Creed Rd . . . . . . . 250-478-4653 Hillside Sea Rangers Kids Club . . . . . . . . . . hillsidecentre.com/events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-595-7154 Great fun and adventure for children 5-10 yrs who are interested in the ocean and local marine life. Free activities include Beach Clean Ups, Ocean Side Discoveries and more.

Mattick’s Farm Mini Golf 5325 Cordova Bay Rd . 250-658-4053 Miniature World at the Empress Hotel miniatureworld.com . . . 250-385-9731 Tumblebums Play Centre & Toy Shop 133-735 Goldstream Ave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-474-PLAY WildPlay Element Parks wildplay.com . . . . . . . 250-59o5-2251

FESTIVALS & FAIRS Creatively United for the Planet Festival . . CreativelyUnitedForThePlanet.com Festival de la francophonie francocentre.com . . . . 250-388-7350 Fringe Festival . . . . . . 250-383-2663 Luxton Pro Rodeo . . . 250-478-4250 Pacific Rim Whale Festival . . . . . . . . pacificrimwhalefestival.com

West-Mont Montessori School 4075 Metchosin Rd, Victoria t: 250.474.2626 e: info@west-mont.ca w: west-mont.ca 54 IslandParent.ca

Saanich Fair 1528 Stellys X Rd . . . . 250-652-3314

Shakespeare Festival . . . . . . . . . . . . . .vicshakespeare.com Victoria Dragon Boat Festival 3651 Shelbourne St . . . 250-704-2500 Victoria Independent Film & Video Festival 1215 Blanshard St . . . . 250-389-0444

MUSEUMS BC Aviation Museum, Sidney 1910 Norseman Rd . . . 250-655-3300 Craigdarroch Castle Historical Museum 1050 Joan Cres . . . . . . 250-592-5323 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . thecastle.ca Craigflower Schoolhouse & Manor 2790 Shoreline Dr . . . . 250-383-4627 Fort Rodd Hill & Fisgard Lighthouse National Historic Sites of Canada 603 Fort Rodd Hill Rd . 250-478-5849 . . . . . .parkscanada.gc.ca/fortroddhill Come run, climb and go underground at Fort Rodd Hill. Then steer a ship, sound the fog horn and master the games inside Fisgard Lighthouse.

Artistic Director David Beales Bolshoi Ballet Academy TCP, S.R.B. Assoc., A.R.A.D.

Maple Leaf School of Ballet

Vancouver Island’s Premiere Russian Ballet School

Royal BC Museum 675 Belleville St . . . . . . 250-356-7226 Saanich Historical Artifacts Society 7321 Lochside Dr . . . . 250-652-5522

STANDARD PROGRAM

Petit Ballet (3 & 4 years old)

NATURE

Society of Russian Ballet syllabus - Ages 5 to 18

CRD Parks crd.bc.ca/parks . . . . . . 250-478-3344

Boys Only Classes & more

Galey Farms Corn Maze & Market 4150 Blenkinsop Rd . . 250-477-4450

310 Henry St. Victoria BC V9A 3J2 +1 778 433 5323

Goldstream Park Nature House . . . . . . . goldstream@naturehouse.ca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-478-9414

Christ Church Cathedral School

Gorge Waterway Discovery Centre Gorge Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-7585 Gulf Islands National Park Reserve 2220 Harbour Rd . . . . . 250-654-4000 Horticultural Centre of the Pacific 505 Quayle Rd . . . . . . . 250-479-6162 Parks Canada . . . parkscanada.gc.ca Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre 9811 Seaport Pl . . . . . . 250-665-7511 Victoria Butterfly Gardens 1461 Benvenuto Ave . . 250-652-3822

THEATRE & ART Art Gallery of Greater Victoria 1040 Moss St . . . . . . . 250-384-4101

w w w. m a p l e l e a f b a l l e t . c a

JK (ages 3 - 5) | K - Grade 8

An affordable independent school with exceptional results     

Small classes Outstanding Fine Arts & Athletic programs Proven academic record Before and after school care Downtown location

Celebrating 25 years

Call us to arrange your personal tour

250-383-5125 | 912 Vancouver Street | www.cathedralschool.ca Family Resource Guide 2015/2016 55

Cinecenta, Student Union Building @ UVic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-721-8365 Four Seasons Musical Theatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-478-0329

Victoria Bug Zoo victoriabugzoo.com . 250-384-BUGS Welcome to the amazing world of insects and arachnids! It’s fun, educational and interactive for “kids” of all ages. Open year round.

Intrepid Theatre Company #2-1609 Blanshard St . 250-383-2663

OTHER

Kaleidoscope Theatre 3130 Jutland Rd . . . . . 250-383-8124

Navy Run, CFB Esquimalt navyrunesquimalt.com 250-363-1008

IMAX®

Victoria Good News Choir . . . . . . . . victoriagoodnewschoir.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-658-1946

Dance Victoria . . . . . . 250-595-1829

Victoria in the Royal BC Museum 675 Belleville St . . . . . . 250-480-4887 Pacific Opera Society pov.bc.ca . . . . . . . . . . . 250-382-4944 University Centre Farquhar Auditorium tickets.uvic.ca . . . . . . . 250-721-8480 Victoria Operatic Society #10-744 Fairview Rd . . 250-381-1021 Victoria Symphony #610-620 View St . . . . 250-385-6515

ZOOS Beacon Hill Children’s Farm Beacon Hill Park . . . . . 250-381-2532

Cowichan Valley FESTIVALS & FAIRS Islands Folk Festival Duncan . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-248-8975

MUSEUMS BC Forest Discovery Centre 2892 Drinkwater Rd . . . 250-715-1113

NATURE The Raptors, Duncan 1877 Herd Rd . . . . . . . 250-746-0372

THEATRE & ART Chemainus Theatre 9737 Chemainus Rd . 1-800-565-7738 Cowichan Theatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cowichantheatre.ca 2687 James St . . . . . . . 250-748-7529

Mid-Island FAMILY FUN Jumping Jiminy’s Playland & Café 2980 Island Hwy . . . . . 250-729-0999 Romper Room Indoor Climbing 4835B Boban Dr . . . . . 250-751-7625 Tiger Lily Farms Barnyard & Trail Rides 1692 Errington Rd . . . . 250-248-2408 WildPlay Element Parks, Nanaimo 35 Nanaimo River Rd 1-888-716-7374 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WildPlay.com

FESTIVALS & FAIRS Filberg Festival Comox Valley . . . . . . . 1-866-898-8499

MUSEUMS Alberni Valley Museum 4255 Wallace St . . . . . . 250-723-2181 Black Nugget Museum, Ladysmith 12 Gatacre St . . . . . . . 250-245-4846 Comox Air Force Museum 19 Wing Rd . . . . . . . . . 250-339-8162 Courtenay Museum . . 250-334-0686 McLean Mill National Historic Site 5633 Smith Rd . . . . . . . 250-723-1376 Nanaimo Museum 100 Museum Way . . . . 250-753-1821

NATURE

Now Running !

Classes in Saanich

56 IslandParent.ca

Butterfly World 1080 Winchester Rd . . 250-248-7026 Filberg Heritage Park 61 Filberg Rd . . . . . . . . 250-339-2715 Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park Qualicum Beach . . . . . 250-248-7829 Morrell Nature Sanctuary 787 Nanaimo Lk Rd . . . 250-753-5811

North Island Wildlife Recovery 1240 Leffler, Errington . 250-248-8534 Pacific Rainforest Adventure Tours . . . . . . . . . rainforestnaturehikes.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-248-3667 Seaview Game Farm, Black Creek 1392 Seaview Rd . . . . . 250-337-5182 Tiger Lily Farm 1692 Errington Rd . . . . 250-248-2408 World Parrot Refuge, Coombs 2116 Alberni Hwy . . . . 250-248-5194

THEATRE & ART Chemainus Theatre 9737 Chemainus Rd . . 250-246-9800 Nanaimo Theatre Group 2373 Rosstown Rd . . . 250-758-7224 Port Theatre, Nanaimo 125 Front St . . . . . . . . . 250-754-8550 Theatre One www.theatreone.org . . 250-754-7587

Island Swimming

Swimming for Excellence in Life

Island Swim Skills Programs Available Now!

Suitable for Children Aged 6-11 Sessional and Year Long Programs Available Programs Available at: Saanich Commonwealth Place Juan de Fuca Recreation Centre SEAPARC Leisure Complex For more information on our Island Swim Skills programs contact:

www.islandswimming.com

Email: info@islandswimming.com Phone: (250) 744 5536

OTHER Mount Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . . mountwashington.ca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-888-231-1499

Party Planning South Island ACTIVE PARTY PLACES Falcon Gymnastics 208–721 Vanalman Ave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-479-6424 Games2U g2u.com . . . . . . . . . . . 250-661-2219 Lion’s Pride . . . . . . . . . 250-383-FLIP Recreation Oak Bay recreation.oakbay.ca . . 250-595-7946 Victoria Gymnastics 2051 Store St . . . . . . . . 250-380-2442

ENTERTAINERS & CLOWNS Donald Dunphy’s Professional Magic Entertainment DonaldDunphy.com . . . 250-727-6505 Fun Sketches Caricatures funsketches.com . . . . . 250-589-2607 The Maritime Museum of BC mmbc.bc.ca . . . . . . . . 250-385-4222 The Puppet Booth . . . 250-472-3546 . . . . . . puppetbooth.homestead.com

O’Brien SchoolofofIrish Irish !ancing O’Brien School !ancing

Register now for 2015-2016 classes Register now for 2015-2016 classes Register now for

2015-2016 classes

*Traditional IrishIrish dancing classes for thefor the *Traditional dancing classes recreational, performance recreational, performance *Traditional Irish dancing classes for andthe competitive dancer and competitive dancer recreational, performance

and competitive dancer *Victoria (Cadboro Bay,Esquimalt, Downtown) *Victoria (Cadboro Bay,Esquimalt, Downtown) • Victoria*Nanaimo (Cadboro Bay, Esquimalt, Downtown) *Nanaimo *Duncan • Nanaimo • Duncan *Duncan

www.ocobirishdance.com www.ocobirishdance.com

www.ocobirishdance.com irishdance@shaw.ca irishdance@shaw.ca 604-340-2370 irishdance@shaw.ca 604-340-2370

604-340-2370

Family Resource Guide 2015/2016 57

MUSEUM/MOVIE

PARTY SUPPLIES/PLANNING

IMAX® Victoria in the Royal BC Museum 675 Belleville St . . . . . . 250-480-4887

Funtime Inflatables (Victoria) 656 Caleb Pike Rd . . . . 250-474-0556

SilverCity 3130 Tillicum Rd . . . 1-888-3FAMOUS

SCIENCE/NATURE Mad Science Vancouver Island . . . . vancouverisland.madscience.org . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-391-1814 Victoria Bug Zoo 631 Courtney St . . . . 250-384-BUGS

PARTY SUPPLIES/PLANNING Cafiker Castle cafikercastle.com . . . . 250-889-9062 Funtime Inflatables . . 250-474-0597 Island DJ Services island-dj-services.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-686-2038 Lizzy Lee & Me 3655 Shelbourne St . . . 250-590-5568 Par-T-Perfect par-t-perfect.com . . . . 250-386-5867 The Party Boutique partyboutique.ca . . . . . 250-999-9313 Top Notch Parties Let us style and cater your dream party . . . . . . . . . . . topnotchparties.ca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-896-5544

Cowichan PARTY SUPPLIES/PLANNING Horse Play Parties, Duncan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-701-9116

Mid-Island ACTIVE PARTY PLACES Jumping Jiminy’s Playland #400-2980 Island Hwy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-729-0999

SCIENCE/NATURE Mad Science Vancouver Island . . . . vancouverisland.madscience.org . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-391-1814

58 IslandParent.ca

Tanner’s Books 2442 Beacon, Sidney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-656-4449

CLOTHING

Retail Products South Island ART & CRAFT STORES Island Blue Print 905 Fort St . . . . . . . . . . 250-385-9786

AUTOMOBILES Campus Honda 506 Finlayson St . . . . . 250-388-6921

BABY SUPPLIES Bellies in Bloom Maternity 104-4489 Viewmont Ave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-479-0803 Momease Baby Boutique 121-5325 Cordova Bay Rd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 778-265-5432 Mothering Touch Centre & Birth Services, 975 Fort St . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-595-4905 TJ’s The Kiddies Store 3045C Douglas St . . . . 250-386-2229

BICYCLES Fairfield Bicycle Shop 1275 Oscar St . . . . . . . 250-381-2453 North Park Cycle 1725 Quadra St . . . . . . 250-386-2453 Recyclistas 25 Crease Ave . . . . . . . 250-418-8867

BOOKS Bolen Books 111–1644 Hillside Ave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-595-4232 Barefoot Books . . . . . 250-380-7197 Chapters 1212 Douglas St . . . . . 250-380-9009 School House Teaching Supplies & Children’s Bookstore . . . . . . . . . schoolhouseteaching.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-385-9032

Abra Kid Abra 2024 Oak Bay Ave . . . . 250-595-1613 Mothering Touch Centre & Birth Services 975 Fort St . . . . . . . . . . 250-595-4905 Persnickety For Kids, Salt Spring PersnicketyKids.ca . . . 250-931-0091 Sailor Jack Family Consignment Store 424 Craigflower Rd . . . 250-382-5225 Scallywags . . . . . . . . . www.scallywags-island.ca 624 Fort St . . . . . . . . . . 250-360-2570 TJ’s The Kiddies Store 3045C Douglas St . . . . 250-386-2229 Victoria Kids Consignment . . . . . . . . victoriakidsconsignment.ca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-514-4080 WIN Resale Shops 1803 Cook St . . . . . . . . 250-389-2203 785 Pandora Ave . . . . . 250-361-9303 174-160 Wilson St . . . . 250-412-0369

COMPUTERS Restart Computers 847 Yates St . . . . . . . . 250-995-3020 Mac Zen . . . . . . . . . . . 250-999-0036

DANCE SUPPLIES Toes ’n Taps 1733 Cook St . . . . . . . . 250-480-0017

HAIR SALONS

Lizzy Lee & Me 3655 Shelbourne St . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-590-5568

HOME DECOR/FURNITURE TJ’s The Kiddies Store 3045C Douglas St . . . . 250-386-2229

HOME RENOVATION Habitat for Humanity Victoria ReStore . . . . . . . . habitatvictoria.com 849 Orono Ave . . . . . . . 250-386-7867 West View Plumbing & Ventilation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-886-2141

MATERNITY Bellies in Bloom Maternity . . . . . . . BelliesInBloomMaternity.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-479-0803 Mothering Touch Centre & Birth Services, 975 Fort St . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-595-4905

Unlock the

potential With professional, one-on-one tutoring.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Larsen Music 1808 Cook St . . . . . . . . 250-389-1988 Tom Lee Music #105-2401D Millstream Rd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-838-5222

Math | Language Arts | Languages | Study Skills | Homework Support Call 250.544.1588 to learn more

TOYS Buddies Toys 1831 Oak Bay Ave . . . . 250-595-6501 2494 Beacon Ave, Sidney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-655-7171 Discovery Toys toylady.ca . . . . . . . . . . 250-477-9891 Science Works 1889 Oak Bay Ave . . . . 250-595-6033 Tumblebums Play Centre & Toy Shop 133-735 Goldstream Ave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-474-PLAY

PHOTOGRAPHERS Belinda Fontes Photography belindafontes.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-885-0146 Nicole Israel Photography . . . . . . nicholeisraelphotography.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-889-5639 The Light Within Photography . . . . . . . . . . . thelightwithinphoto.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-589-2534 Rebecca Wellman Photography . . . . . . . . . rwellmanphotography.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-480-8756 Regal Portraits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RegalPortraits.com Ryan MacDonald Photography . . . .ryanmacdonaldphotography.com Squishy Prints Photography squishyprints.com . . . . 250-634-3444 Thayne Photography . . . . . . . . . .thanynephotography.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-812-4572

Enriching Young Minds in Victoria since 2002.

SmartTutorReferrals.com

Emmanuel Preschool

Emmanuel Preschool

2121 Cedar Hill Cross Road (by entrance to UVic)

Openings forHill 2013–2014 2121 Cedar Cross RoadClasses! (by entrance to UVic) Children through ininclusive, our all inclusive, Children learnlearn through play in play our all non-denominational Christian preschool. non-denominational Christian preschool.

Great facility; outdoor play area a gym rainy for day play!

Great facility; outdoor playand area andfor a gym Two teachers with ECE certification plus assistant teachers to day play!

Twochildren. teachers with ECE certification helprainy with special needs plus an assistant help with special needs A competent and caringteacher teachingtoteam! children. A competent and caring teaching team!

Opportunities: Classes for 2015–2016: Mon / Wed / Fri morning class Mon/Wed/Fri morning class Tues / Thurs morning class Tues/Thurs morning class 5 mornings a week

5 mornings a week Phone 250-598-0573 Phone 250-598-0573 preschool@emmanuelvictoria.ca preschool@emmanuelvictoria.ca www.emmanuelpreschool.ca

www.emmanuelpreschool.ca

Attention Non-Profit Organizations Would you like your informational brochures or magazines professionally distributed to 16 high traffic areas in Greater Victoria?

Victoria Community Information Services (VCIS), an Island Parent Group subsidiary, services these locations on a weekly basis to ensure your brochures and magazines are highly visible for pickup by walk-by traffic.

Our wall-mounted distribution boards are outside partnering grocery stores and inside many recreation centres.

Space is available for either brochures (approx. 4" x 9") or magazines (approx. 8.5" x 11").

For distribution rates or additional information, please contact Mark Warner

publisher@islandparent.ca 250-388-6905

Family Resource Guide 2015/2016 59

Promoting Reading in School-Aged Kids R

eading is an important part of your child’s overall health and well-being.

Children who don’t learn to read well may have emotional and behavioural problems later in life. The skills your child learns early in life will help him well into adulthood.

You can help your child develop good reading skills with the following suggestions.

For more ideas, visit caringforkids.cps.ca.

Read to your child • Make reading part of every day. Even just a few minutes will make a difference.

It’s also a great way to create a special bond by spending time with your child.

• Continue to read out loud to your child even when he can read alone.

• Read books that are a bit above your child’s reading level, as long as they are books that he can still understand and enjoy.

Read with your children.

Children who are learning to read need to practice. If your child is doing well, regular reading at home is a chance for her to show off. If your child is having trouble, it provides a safe place to practice with someone she trusts.

Be a role model.

Your children should see you enjoying reading. If he sees you and other family members reading books, newspapers, and magazines, he’ll learn that reading is important, fun and valuable.

Consider creating a special reading place in your home that is quiet and cozy.

Keep books close to this area.

Use rhymes, games and songs.

Singing traditional songs and telling stories can all enhance your child’s learning opportunities. This can also be a great way to expose your child to other languages.

Ask the experts for help.

Teachers and librarians are good sources of advice for books that are right for your child’s age and reading level. Bookstore staff can be helpful too.

Visit the library, and create one at home.

Get your child a library card as soon as you can (even babies can get a library card!)

Make library visits part of your routine. If there are more books than toys in the house, your child is more likely to pick up a book when there’s nothing to do.

Limit screen time.

Create time for reading by limiting the amount of time your child spends watching television or playing computer and video games.

Give your child some control over who reads and when.

It’s important to support your child if he

A CANADA THAT WORKS. TOGETHER.

Abolish tuition fees and relieve debt for students and families. Defend our coast. Jumpstart the Canadian economy with sustainable local jobs. To read our fully-costed platform, go to greenparty.ca (From Left-to-Right) Brenda Sayers (North Island–Powell River): brendasayers.ca • Frances Litman (Esquimalt–Saanich– Sooke): franceslitman.ca • Glenn Sollitt (Courtenay–Alberni): glennsollittgpc.ca • Elizabeth May (Saanich–Gulf Islands): elizabethmay.ca • Paul Manly (Nanaimo–Ladysmith): paulmanly.ca • Fran Hunt-Jinnouchi (Cowichan–Malahat–Langford): franhuntjinnouchi.ca• Jo-Ann Roberts (Victoria, including Oak Bay): joannroberts.ca Authorized by the Official Agents for Brenda Sayers, Frances Litman, Glenn Sollitt, Elizabeth May, Paul Manly, Fran Hunt-Jinnouchi and Jo-Ann Roberts

60 IslandParent.ca

decides to take on a longer book. Take turns reading, perhaps alternating paragraphs or pages. Or you can “act out” the story—your child can read the dialogue, and you can narrate by reading the rest of the text.

Give your child a choice of books.

Present a few books that are the right type and length for your child, and let him choose. If you don’t present a few options, he may not make good choices. Children might choose the biggest (or smallest) book, or the one with the most attractive cover.

Students who are behind in their reading level may not want to be seen with a book that is “babyish,” so they may choose books that are too hard for them. And sometimes books for older students with low reading levels may be boring. A good strategy is to say, “You choose one, I choose one.”

Practice writing.

Reading and writing go together. Children can practice their writing skills by making lists, keeping a journal, making a catalogue of their collections, or writing to friends and family, including emailing and texting (with parent supervision).

If your child is an impatient reader, choose books that have movement.

Books with short chapters or “cliffhangers” encourage children to keep reading. Use sound effects and different voices to help keep the story interesting.

Have fun with word play.

Tell jokes with puns, and play games that involve words, like Scrabble, Boggle and hangman. Do crossword puzzles together.

Play “I Spy” with letter sounds instead of colours.

Guided Nature Walks & Hikes, Drop-In Events, Canoeing Most are free, all are fun!

Nature Outings & Events That Pique Your Natural Curiosity For Nature Lovers of All Ages, For Every Season

There is a whole world of natural and cultural history to explore at our nature centres at Witty’s Lagoon, Francis/King and Elk/Beaver Lake Regional Parks.

Calendar of activities at crd.bc.ca/parks Capital Regional District | Regional Parks crdparks@crd.bc.ca 250.478.3344

Opportunities to read are everywhere.

Encourage your child to read street signs, the back of the cereal box, or the sports pages of the daily newspaper. Your child might also enjoy reading non-fiction or comic books. Recipes help children learn to read for detail—leaving out just one ingredient can lead to disaster! Time on the Internet can also involve reading, but it is a good idea to always supervise time spent online.

For more ideas and information, visit the Canadian Paediatric Society’s website Caring For Kids at caringforkids.cps.ca

• preschool to grade 2

Spaces Available

• before and after

school care

• small class sizes • supportive and

caring staff

• excellent academic

foundation

• Kodaly music

5575 West Saanich Rd (across from Red Barn Market) 250 592 4411 imhsenroll@gmail.com www.islandmontessori.com

program

• lovely rural location

connecting children to nature

Family Resource Guide 2015/2016 61

SHOPPING CENTRES Broadmead Village Shopping Centre 777 Royal Oak Dr . . . . . . . . . . . . . broadmeadvillage.ca Hillside Shopping Centre 1644 Hillside Ave . . . . . 250-595-7154 Mattick’s Farm 5325 Cordova Bay Rd Mayfair Shopping Centre 3147 Douglas St . . . . . 250-383-0541 Tillicum Centre 3170 Tillicum Rd . . . . . 250-381-7123 Uptown . . . . . . . . . . . shopuptown.ca Westside Village Shopping Centre 172 Wilson St WestShore Centre 2945 Jacklin Rd . . . . . . 250-474-3269

SPECIALTY STORES Soccerworld 831 Vernon Ave . . . . . . 250-475-3777

Cowichan Valley Beds & Bedding Resthouse Sleep Solutions 126 Station St, Duncan Resthouse.ca . . . 250-597-REST(7378) Organic mattresses, plillows, linens and platform beds. Natural sleep products for all ages.

CLOTHING Kinderbeez, Duncan 2755 Beverly St . . . . . . 250-748-2345 Matraea Mercantile, Duncan 170 Craig St . . . . . . . . . 250-597-0085 Trendy Tots, Duncan 151 Craig St . . . . . . . . . 250-701-4240

MATERNITY

Matraea Mercantile, Duncan matraea.com . . . . . . . . 250-422-3003

OTHER Better Business Bureau 220–1175 Cook St . . . . 250-386-6348

PHOTOGRAPHERS McKinnon Photography . . . . . . . . mckinnonphotography.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-890-9222 Tony Colangelo Photography tcphotography.ca . . . . 778-422-1422

TOYS Red Balloon Toyshop, Duncan . . . . . . . . . . theredballoon.ca 158 Craig St . . . . . . . . . 250-748-5545

Mid-Island CLOTHING Huckleberry Baby Shop A-3148 Barons Rd . . . . 250-585-5552 Indigo Children’s Consignment 436 1st St, Ladysmith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-245-2042 Kit n’ Caboodle, Nanaimo 36-1925 Bowen Rd . . . 250-585-KIDS Planet Kids 1743B Comox Ave . . . 250-339-3422 308-5th St, Courtenay . 250-871-7771

We’re just getting warmed up.

sunday november 9, 2:30 pm royal theatre Maestro Joey Pietraroia, conductor Classical Kids Life gets a little noisy and a lot more interesting for young Christopher after an eccentric old man named Beethoven moves in upstairs. Listeners will be touched by history, drama, music and fun as they come to understand the genius of Beethoven.

Come early for the VS Instrument Petting Zoo and other activities starting at 1:30pm in the lobby. media sponsors

victoriasymphony.ca or call 250.385.6515 62 IslandParent.ca

Pumpkin Pie Kids Wear 411A Fitzwilliam St . . . 250-754-3933

MUSIC STORES Tom Lee Music #10-6894 Island Hwy N 250-390-2626

• Reggio • N E W SC H O O L

PHOTOGRAPHERS Erin Wallis Photography, Campbell River . . . . . . erinwallis.com

SHOPPING CENTRES Woodgrove Centre, Nanaimo 6631 Island Hwy North . . . . . . . . . . . . woodgrovecentre.com

TOYS/EDUCATIONAL SUPPLIES Kool & Child, Nanaimo koolandchild.com . . . . 250-585-1778 The Children’s Treehouse 306-60 Commercial St . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-714-0026

OTHER Chemainus DBA . . . . . . . . . . . . . visitchemainus.ca

Where learning is fun!

Preschool Children’s Program Space available for REGULAR SCHOOL YEAR 2015/16 with Introductory Discount Designed for ages 3 to 5 Monday to Friday – 8:30am to 2:30pm ~ or ~ Monday to Friday 1/2 Day – 8:30am to 12:30pm

(M,W & F – 3 days/week & T & Th – 2 days/week – 8:30am to 2:30pm *Limited Space Available*

Please check our website for more information

R.I.A. Early Learning Centre Reggio International Academy

3307 Wishart Rd, Victoria V9C 1R2 www.reggiopreschool.ca

Call us for a Tour!

250.590.0781

Community Living Victoria 250-­477-­7231 If you are a family raising a child with developmental disabilities or autism, we can connect you to resources, information and services that meet your child’s needs.

To learn more about Autism Services’ camps, social skills groups, and 1:1 support for children and youth aged 6 through 18, call 250­-477-7231, extension 237.

Visit www.communitylivingvictoria.ca to learn more about our wide range of services for children, youth and adults with developmental disabilities, and their families.

Family Restaurants & Food Markets South Island HOME DELIVERY Island Farms . . . . . . . 250-360-5222 Sustainable Produce Urban Delivery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . spud.ca The Apple Box 1725 Cook St . . . . . . . . 250-590-6257

MARKETS Country Grocer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . countrygrocer.com Goldstream Station Market May-October . . . . . . . . goldstreamstationmarket.ca James Bay Community Market May-Oct . . . . . jamesbaymarket.com

Offering Ballet, Tap, Jazz and Highland

2758 Peatt Road 778-265-5955 or 250-818-9225

www.leapforwardlangford.com info@leapforwardlangford.com

Nanaimo's downtown destination for Children’s Toys and Books Specializing in books for babies, toddlers, easy to read and kids to 12 years!

Playmobil, Brio & Thomas Trains, Folkmanis Puppets, Puzzles, Craft & Science Kits, Toys from Baby to Tween!

www.childrenstreehouse.ca 306–60 Commercial St, Nanaimo 250-714-0026 childtreehouse@hotmail.com FREE PARKING, under the convention centre. Spots #80–91 for our customers.

Family Resource Guide 2015/2016 63

Lifestyles Market #180-2950 Douglas St 250-384-3388 343 Cook St . . . . . . . . . 250-381-5450 9769 5th St, Sidney . . . 250-656-2326 The Market On Yates, 903 Yates St 250-381-6000 On Millstream, 2401 Millstream Rd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-391-1110 Save On Foods . . . saveonfoods.com Mt. Tolmie Market Unit A, 3517 Richmond Rd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-590-8460 Thrifty Foods thriftyfoods.com . . . . . 250-544-1234

RESTAURANTS/COFFEE SHOPS ABC Country Restaurant 2900 Douglas St . . . . . 250-995-1200 Lucky Village Chinese & Japanese Restaurant 100 Aldersmith Pl . . . . 778-406-2238 Pizzeria Prima Strada . . . . . . . . . . pizzeriaprimastrada.com 230 Cook St . . . . . . . . . 250-590-8595 2960 Bridge St . . . . . . . 250-590-4380 Red Robin 800 Tolmie Ave . . . . . . 250-386-4440

The Roost 9100 E Saanich Rd . . . 250-655-0075 Serious Coffee . . . seriouscoffee.com Wendy’s Restaurants . . . .wendys.ca

Mid-Island MARKETS

Thrifty Foods Mill Bay Centre . . . . . 1-800-667-8280

Country Grocer . . countrygrocer.com Thrifty Foods Nanaimo 650 Terminal Ave . . . . . 250-754-6273 5801 Turner Rd . . . . . . 250-729-4950 Parksville 280 E. Island Hwy . . . . 250-248-8823 Courtenay . . . . . . . . . . 250-338-1383 Campbell River . . . . . . 250-850-3581 Chemainus Health Food Store 9738B Willow St . . . . . 250-246-9838 Lantzville Market 7201 Lantzville Rd . . . . 250-390-4232 Save On Foods . . . saveonfoods.com

RESTAURANTS/COFFEE SHOPS

RESTAURANTS/COFFEE SHOPS

Cowichan Valley MARKETS Country Grocer, Cobble Hill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . countrygrocer.com Save On Foods . . . saveonfoods.com The Old Farm Market, Duncan 5164 Francis St . . . . . . 250-748-7141

Catrina’s Grill Mill Bay Centre . . . . . . 250-743-7277 Pioneer House Restaurant Whippletree Junction . . 250-746-5848 Serious Coffee . . . seriouscoffee.com Wendy’s Restaurant . . . . wendys.ca

ABC Country Restaurant 6671 Mary Ellen Way . . 250-390-4064 809 Island Hwy . . . . . . 250-754-8171 Serious Coffee . . . seriouscoffee.com Wendy’s Restaurant . . . . wendys.ca

We offer voice, dancing and acting classes for people of all ages.

Four Seasons Musical Theatre is a local family theatre company that offers classes and camps year round for children ages 7–14. Our goal is to foster confidence and success on the stage by teaching the fundamental skills of stage acting, singing and dancing. As part of the classes students also have the opportunity to experience our main stage shows.

64 IslandParent.ca

For more details and registration visit

www.fsmtheatre.ca

10 PicnicFriendly CRD Parks 1. Devonian (Metchosin). This hidden gem of a park with its boulder beach is a great place for a family picnic.

2. Elk/Beaver Lake (Central Saanich). The grass, picnic tables and sandy beaches offer the perfect setting for a picnic. To burn off steam—and calories!—there’s the 10km lake trail, along with two playgrounds.

3. Coles Bay (western side of the Saanich Peninsula). This small bay offers a magnificent view of the Saanich Inlet and, because it is one of only a few CRD Parks that gets the evening sun, it’s perfect for an later picnic.

4. Matheson Lake (Metchosin) has a wonderful loop trail with numerous spots to stop and sit by the water, have a bite to eat and marvel at its stunning natural beauty.

5. Francis/King (Saanich). Walk the boardwalk through the woods and then venture off onto the Shooting Star trail to enjoy a picnic lunch on the rocky outcrop at the top.

6. East Sooke (Metchosin). East Sooke has so much to offer: amazing coastal scenery, forest trails, wide open spaces, and a gorgeous white sand beach. The beach at Aylard Farm is a perfect spot for a family picnic.

7. Gonzales (Victoria/Oak Bay). The top of Gonzales Hill makes a great place for a quick evening picnic after school and work.

8. Witty’s Lagoon (Metchosin) is more of a hike but if you want to revel in the West Coast experience and have a great beach picnic, nothing beats a short drive in the country, walking among the big trees, Sitting Lady falls, and Witty’s beach at low tide.

9. Albert Head (Metchosin) is a great place for a family picnic because it is so quiet, not crowded, easy to keep an eye on your children, and it has a bird sanctuary.

10. Island View Beach (Central Saanich) has so much to see along this beautiful stretch of beach: birds, crabs, a range of seaweeds. There is a picnic shelter and washrooms, a large grassy field and a level pathway for strollers.

To find out more about these “Top 10” or any of the 30+ CRD regional parks and trails, visit crd.bc.ca/parks.•

Quality New & Used Furniture, Appliances, Building Supplies & So Much More! Come and find it all at your local ReStore!

Shop: For Great Value Donate: To Reduce Waste Volunteer: Make a difference 3311 Oak St, Victoria 849 Orono Ave, Langford

250-386-7867 www.habitatvictoria.com/restore Family Resource Guide 2015/2016 65

Paisley Aiken

Reading Emotion T

he recent hit movie, Inside Out, led to a number of conversations in my family about our different emotions. The movie, one of my boys decided, was too simple. He argued that emotions can’t be categorized as, say, joy, anger, sadness as they are all jumbled together at times. However, when speaking with young children, or even older children at times, it can be helpful to acknowledge certain feelings and be able to label them as a way to address them.

This led me to think about different picture books that successfully address the range of emotions or feelings we have. I have to put in a disclaimer. There are many books that deal with feelings, but so many of these have an instructional quality about them that many kids will find boring. I have a hard time reading them myself. For a book to have an impact it should hook readers, tell them a strong story, and engage them rather than lecture them.

Probably my favourite “feelings” book, one my boys have often heard me quote from, is Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (Simon & Schuster, 1972) by Judith Viorst. Likely enjoying a resurgence in popularity due to the recent movie of the same title, the book is illustrated by simple black etchings and brilliantly captures what we all have experienced…a typical bad, blah day. Nothing tragic happens to Alexander. He isn’t bullied. His parents don’t die. There is no terminal disease threatening him. However, he just feels rotten and the little things that he normally would hardly notice—like a poor choice of dessert in his lunch—seem enough to create a state of melancholy in him. And guess what? Nothing comes to fix his problem. Rather he understands that some days, as we all know, are just like that.

Sam’s Pet Temper (Kids Can Press, 2014)

by Sangeeta Bhadra is a wonderfully illustrated new picture book that shows how Sam found his “pet” temper when he “was the maddest he had ever been in his whole life.” At first Sam loves his temper. It gets him what he wants. His temper clears the playground, and makes him laugh. However, soon he discovers that his temper is out of control, creating situations that he wishes

didn’t happen and is more trouble than he imagined it could be. Sam has to learn to control it and proves that he is stronger than it. It’s a great little book, and may be useful to discuss after reading so that kids don’t start blaming their own tantrums on their “pet.”

In Duck’s Don’t Wear Socks (Penguin Group, 2008) a little girl learns to lighten up and not be so serious about life through some interesting encounters with a duck in unlikely situations wearing unlikely things.

If seriousness can be an emotion then this is a good book for kids who have trouble ‘lightening up.’ Little by little the duck brings a smirk, a smile, a giggle then a full laugh to brighten up the young heroine who learns that not everything is for a reason.

Big Rabbit’s Bad Mood (Chronicle Books, 2009) by Ramona Badescu is illustrated by Delphine Durand with a modern cartoon style that makes looking at this book just as wonderful as reading it. Rabbit has a mood and it follows him everywhere. He tries to call a friend, but imagines, when the friend doesn’t answer, that he is purposely ignoring him. He does many things to try and distract his mood but nothing works, until of course, the best thing of all—his family and friends come and finally chase that mood away.

I couldn’t resist buying I’m Bored, by Michael Ian Blac and Debbie Ridpath Ohi (Simon & Schuster, 2012). Bored, boring, bored. No matter how many times I tell my kids that when they are bored they come up with the best ideas they still complain at times. The protagonist of this gem is a small girl who is terribly, painfully stupendously bored—until she meets a potato. But this isn’t just any potato, this is a bored potato.

No matter how hard the girl tries to convince the potato that she is fun the potato insists on being bored. Sounds a little strange but if you have kids who complain about being bored I promise this is a great book!

Paisley Aiken reads extensively to her three energetic young boys. She is founder of The Story Studio Writing Society, a charity that grows kids’ relationship with literacy.

Empathy-Boosting Books “

In reading, you get to feel things, visit places and worlds you would never otherwise know. You learn that everyone else out there is a me, as well. Empathy is a tool for building people into groups, for allowing us to function as more than self-obsessed individuals.

”

Neil Gaiman

R

eading and stories boost empathy in children—and in adults. Research suggests that reading can be a way for parents to help children learn about the emotional world.

Here, from Empathy Lab (empathylab.uk) is a reading list of empathy-boosting books:

The Boy in the Dress by David Walliams Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder A Little Princess and The Secret Garden

by Frances Hodgson Burnett Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon Mathilda (In fact, most of Roald Dahl’s titles) by Roald Dahl The Snow Merchant by Sam Gayton Looking after Louis by Lesley Ely Kensukes Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo The Death Defying Pepper Roux, The Kite Rider, Not the End of the World, and Stop the Train all by Geraldine McCaughrean Ostrich Boys by Keith Gray The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman Goodnight Mister Tom Top by Michelle Magorian Friend or Foe, War Horse, and Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo Journey to Jo’Burg Top by Beverley Naidoo Badger’s Parting Gifts by Susan Varley Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank The Suitcase Kid by Jacqueline Wilson Just Imagine, You Choose, and Winnie the Witch, picture books by Pippa Goodheart The Fault in our Stars, Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns by John Green Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell Noughts and Crosses and Boys Don’t Cry by Malorie Blackman Gangster Granny by David Walliams The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas Top by John Boyne

Skellig by David Almond Love that Dog by Sharon Creech Flour Babies by Anne Fine Charlotte’s Web by EB White Willy and Hugh picture book by Anthony Browne How to Steal a Broken Wing picture book

by Bob Graham I Love You Blue Kangeroo picture book

by Emma Chichester Clarke Being Billy by Phil Earle Billy The Cloud Urgghh! by Hannah Cumming The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson Mr Stink by David Walliams Horrid Henry by Francesca Simon Harry Potter series by JK Rowling My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins Percy the Park Keeper Series picture books by Nick Butterworth Frog is Frog Series picture books by Max Velthuijs Vampire Diaries by LJ Smith Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Spy Dogs by Andrew Cope Stig of the Dump by Clive King There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom by Louis Sacher Giraffes Can’t Dance picture book by Guy Parker Rees Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary Farmer Duck picture book by Martin Waddell Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick Dogger by Shirley Hughes Lost and Found picture book by Oliver Jeffers Mog in the Dark picture book by Judith Kerr

1Up Single Parent Resource Centre...... 45 Arbutus Grove............ IFC Artistic Statement....... 14 Ballet Victoria.............. 12 BC SPCA.................... 26 BeConnected.............. 47 Bellies in Bloom.......... 44 Brainwave Harmonics.............. 25 Campus Honda........... 19 Cathedral School......... 55 Chemainus DBA.......... 18 Child Care Resource & Referral............... 40 Children’s Treehouse... 63 Community Living Victoria................... 63 Conseil Scolaire.......... 17 CRD........................... 61 Discovery School........ 72 Dr. Anke Zimmerman.. 29 Dr. Joslin, Dr. Morin & Associates.......... IFC Emmanuel Preschool.. 59 Family Eyecare........... 39 Family Services of Greater Victoria....... 53 Four Seasons.............. 64 Galey Farms................. 2 Glengarry Dance......... 56 Green Party................ 68 Horne Lake Caves....... 49 IMAX.......................... 24 Island Farms............... 36 Island Montessori........ 61 Island Swimming........ 57 Kaleidoscope.............. 38 Kool & Child................ 45 Larsen Music.............. 51 Leap Forward Dance... 63 Lifestyle Markets......... 30 Little Steps................. 31 Maple Leaf Ballet.. 40, 55 Maple Tree Playhouse.39 Maxine Fisher............. 24 Michelle Fraeleigh Clinical Counsellor.. IFC Momease.................. IFC Mothering Touch........... 7 Murray Rankin.............. 1 Nanaimo Unique Kids.. 10 NIDES........................ 55 North Cowichan Parks...................... 11 Notaries on Douglas.... 42 O’Brien....................... 57 Oak & Orca........... 30, 38 OCEAN 98.5............... 71

68 IslandParent.ca

Pacific Christian......... IBC Panorama Recreation.. 29 Patricia Lane.............. 10 Phoenix Theatre.......... 25 R.I.A. Early Learning.... 63 READ Society.............. 13 Recyclistas................. 54 Resthouse Sleep Solutions................. 45 ReStore...................... 65 C. Heather Robertson.. 50 Royal BC Museum...... 21 Ryan MacDonald Photography............ 57 Saanich Dental........... 26 School District #61....... 4 School is Easy............ 47 Scouts Canada.......... IBC Serious Coffee............ 31 Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre..... 35 Smart Tutor Referrals.. 59 St. Joseph’s................ 54 St. Margret’s School...... 8 Stages....................... 15 Sunrise Waldorf......... IBC Sylvan Learning.......... 11 Theatre One............... 28 Thrifty Foods........... 3, 37 TJ’s The Kiddie Store... 42 Tom Lee Music........... 29 Total Learning Services...

14 TS Consulting............. 34 Tutor Doctor.................. 8 UVic Farquar............... 21 Vancouver Island University................ 72 VICPA........................... 6 Victoria Academy of Ballet.................. 28 Victoria Conservatory of Music................... 9 Victoria Good News Choir...................... 17 Victoria Gymnastics.....BC Victoria Midwives........ 22 Victoria Pediatric Dental..................... 47 Victoria Symphony...... 62 VIHA........................... 48 Vitamin Shop.............. 13 Welcome Wagon......... 50 West View Plumbing.... 16 West-Mont School...... 54 Westshore Centre for Learning............ 27 Westshore Parks & Recreation.............. 51

Photo: Camp Qwanoes

Ad Directory

Residential Camps

Pioneer Pacific Camp Thetis Island . . . . . . . 1-800-784-1415

BC Camping Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . bccamping.org Information on summer day camps and residential camps for children.

Family Travel

Boys & Girls Clubs Wilderness Camp . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-384-9133 Camp Barnard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . adventurecamps.ca Camp Imadene Mesachie Lake . . . . . 1-800-445-7575 Camp Narnia . . . . . campnarnia.com Camp Pringle, Shawnigan Lake camppringle.com . . . . 250-743-2189 Camp Qwanoes Crofton . . . . . . . 1-888-99-QWANOES Camp Thunderbird . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-418-1840 CanAdventure Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . canadventure.ca Gulf Islands Centre for Ecological Learning . . . . . . . . . . . 250-539-0619 O.U.R. Ecovillage ourecovillage.org . . . . . 250-743-3067 Outward Bound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . outwardbound.ca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-888-688-9273

UVic Vikes govikesgo.com . . . . . . 250-721-8406

CAMPGROUNDS Horne Lake Campground . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-248-1134 Living Forest Campground, Nanaimo 6 Maki Rd . . . . . . . . . . 250-755-1755 Pacific Playgrounds, Black Creek 9082 Clarkson Dr . . . . . 877-239-5600 Park Sands Beach Resort www.parksands.com . . 250-248-3171 Weir’s Beach RV Resort 5191 William Head Rd . 250-478-3323

HOTELS Accent Inns Toll free . . . . . . . . . . . 1-800-663-0298 Tigh-na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort & Conference Centre, Parksville 1155 Resort Dr . . . . . . 250-248-2072 Travelodge travelodge.com . . . . . 1-800-578-7878 YWCA Hotel, Vancouver 733 Beatty St . . . . . . . 1-800-663-1424

RESORTS Alert Bay Lodge . . . . 1-800-255-5057 Beach Acres Resort Parksville 1051 Resort Dr . . . . . 1-800-663-7309 Blue Vista Resort, Mayne Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . bluevistaresort.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-877-535-2424 Kye Bay Guest Lodge Comox kyebay.com . . . . . . . . 1-866-658-6131

&

Malahat Farm Heritage Retreat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . malahatfarm.com Pacific Sands Tofino Cox Bay . . . . . . . . . . . 1-800-565-2322 Strathcona Park Lodge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-286-3122 The Haven haven.ca . . . . . . 250-1-877-247-9238 Tigh-na-Mara Seaside Spa Resort & Conference Centre Parksville 1155 Resort Dr . . . . . . 250-248-2072

NATURE Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-248-7829 Raincoast Interpretive Centre Tofino 451 Main St . . . . . . . . . 250-725-2560 The Land Conservancy of BC conservancy.bc.ca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-888-738-0533 Wickaninnish Interpretive Centre Tofino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250-726-7721

OTHER Best Holiday Stays bestholidaystays.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 778-679-0376 Lady Rose Marine Services ladyrosemarine.com . . 250-723-8313 Mayne Island Community Chamber of Commerce . . . . . . . . . . . mayneislandchamber.ca Tourism Tofino 1426 Pacific Rim Highway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-888-720-3414

The place online where parents and grandparents get information about their community for their family: Read current and past issues of Island Parent Magazine.

Visit our Marketplace to find businesses, programs and services that cater to the little person in your life.

Looking for that special something you had when you were a kid? Check out our classified ads.

Want to see what’s up today or this weekend?

View our calendar of events.

Whether it’s dance lessons, parenting workshops, fun days and festivals, what’s happening at your local rec centre or community events—Kids In Victoria has it all!

Maybe you are looking for something to engage your mind or perhaps need a little bit of advice. Well we have that too on our community forum.

Receive Island Parent & Kids In Victoria e-newsletter for updates and exclusive contests.

You can also enter our monthly and photo contests.

Come be part of our community at

kidsinvictoria.com

Family Resource Guide 2015/2016 69

2015-2016

Family Resource Guide

Colleen Long

Share the Trail S

Over 900 Listings from Victoria to Parksville

Please visit any of our valued partners to pick up your latest copy of Island Parent.

GREATER VICTORIA Greater Victoria Public Libraries Vancouver Island Regional Libraries Greater Victoria Recreation Centres Thrifty Foods All 25 Serious Coffee locations Island-wide Victoria Gymnastics Country Grocer Chapters Vitamin Shop The Bay Centre (info booth) Scallywags Royal BC Museum Buddies Toys Crumsby’s Market on Yates Market on Millstream Victoria Conservatory JamTots Lifestyle Market Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre

DUNCAN Duncan Mall (centre court) Indigo Red Balloon Cowichan Recreation Centre Cowichan Aquatics Centre Kinderbeez Duncan Tourist Information CHEMAINUS Chemainus Theatre SHAWNIGAN LAKE Community Centre LADYSMITH Ladysmith Recreation Centre NANAIMO Nanaimo Aquatic Centre Quality Foods Country Club Mall Regional Library – Boban Fairway Market Island Natural Health Foods Woodgrove Centre

For a complete list of where you can find a copy of Island Parent Magazine, go to

islandparent.ca 250-388-6905 70

IslandParent.ca

tay on the right hand side of the road!

Stop at the stop sign!”

Sound familiar? Teaching your kids to ride a bike on a roadway can be a daunting task. Luckily for us, we have three amazing regional trails—the Galloping Goose, Lochside and E&N Rail Trail—that we can use to help ease the pain of this childhood rite of passage.

When I first started teaching my kids to ride their bikes, we started out in our culde-sac and after they had mastered keeping their bikes upright, they were soon ready to venture further afield. Well, they were ready, but I wasn’t. After a couple of harrowing rides around our neighbourhood and even out onto Sooke Road, I knew that I needed to come up with a different plan to make these outings more enjoyable for all of us.

I was becoming a nervous wreck and my kids were tired of me shouting commands at them every other minute. “Get out of the middle of the road! Ride single file!”

Finally it dawned on me to take them on the regional trails. The trails were a great, safe place for my kids to hone their cycling skills without having to worry about cars and busy intersections. You still have to make road crossings, where you must be certain to slow down and follow the posted signs, as trail users do not have the automatic right of way. It’s also important to stay on the right hand side of the trail, except when passing, as this allows for two-way traffic. Our time spent on the trails certainly made the transition to the roadways so much easier.

On our outings, one thing that stood out for me was how many different users there are on the trails. The trails truly are part of the fabric of our lives. You can find parents with strollers, families out for a walk or bike ride, recreational and commuter cyclists, walkers and runners, and dog walkers.

On the rural sections, you may encounter equestrians.

The regional trails are accessible, scenic and have become increasingly popular with residents of the region. Did you know that combined, the regional trails receive over 2.5 million visits annually? That’s a lot of activity and potential for accidents and conflict among users.

Here are a couple of simple habits to fol-

low that will make your next outing on the regional trails safer and more enjoyable for all, whether you are teaching your child to ride a bike, commuting to and from work, or out with your dog for a walk.

1. All trail users keep to the right, except to pass.

2. Yield to others. Cyclists yield to all types of users. All trail users yield to equestrians.

3. Alert others before passing—slow down, and ensure that there is enough room to safely pass.

4. Slow down and check safety before crossing roads. Trail users do not have the automatic right of way except where traffic signs/signals give them the right of way.

5. Keeps dogs on the right hand side of the trail and pick up after your pets.

6. Be alert and visible. Wear reflective gear.

Use a light after dark and in poor weather.

If you are out on the trails during the week, especially in the urban areas, you will probably encounter a fair number of commuter cyclists between 6-9 a.m. and again from 3-6 p.m. Outside of these times, there tend to be more recreational users on the trail.

To find out more about regional trails or to plan your next outing visit crd.bc.ca/parks.

Colleen Long is the Coordinator of Volunteers at CRD Regional Parks.

Transforming disability into ability.

At Discovery School, learning disabilities are transformed into valuable skills and abilities. Students work at their own pace in small classes, with focused, individualized instruction.

• Experienced, highly-qualified teachers • Ongoing assessment, evaluation & feedback • Improves organizational & study skills • Boost confidence, independence & responsibility • Nurturing environment based on Christian values • For students aged 7 – 18 in grades 1 – 12 • Individual Education Plans • Low student/teacher ratio

Enrolment is limited. For more information or to arrange a tour, visit www.discoveryschool.ca, call Sherri Ko at 250-595-7765 or email principal@discoveryschool.ca

Start your journey here Come do high school at university!

The High School at VIU is Nanaimo’s best kept secret!

A BC certified independent high school uniquely situated on a university campus.

The High School at VIU provides an opportunity to do your high school studies in a university setting and have access to all university resources and amenities. Experience small class sizes, individual attention, and opportunities for intercultural understanding.

Accepting students for grades 10 to 12 from the local area. #startyourjourneyhere

250.740.6317 highschool@viu.ca viu.ca/highschool 72 IslandParent.ca

Search

setting up a tent

Don’t add them.

Call for a tour today!

First-time discoveries and cool adventures begin with Scouts.

After all, it’s the perfect place for kids to be kids — and have a lot of fun along the way.

CanadaAmazing is the nation's #1 are youth organization Amazing adventures arenot not just adventures just forfor ourour

ter

youthmembers! members!Be Bea avolunteer volunteer and share youth and share NOW to avoid Waitlists! yourlove lovefor forthe theoutdoors outdoors today. your today.

contact Melissa at mbond@scouts.ca ear youToTo atvolunteer, www.scouts.ca or 1-888-726-8876 volunteer, contact Melissa at mbond@scouts.ca

Teaching the BC curriculum in the inspired, holistic, Waldorf way. Enhanced by French, Strings, Handwork, Plays, Gardening and Seasonal Festivals.

Grades 1-8|Kindergarten Preschool|Parent & Child www.sunrisewaldorfschool.org 250-743-7253|Located in the Cowichan Valley

Educational Excellence to the Glory of God

Pre-School & J.K. - Grade 12 Partnering with Parents since 1960 PacificChristian.ca 250-479-4532 Come and See

Our 2nd location opening in Colwood this Fall!

ctoria Gymnastics

Why Victoria Gymnastics?

Boys & girls, ages 2 through adult, beginner through advanced Morning, afternoon & evening classes seven days a week Start any time – continuous enrollment Optional character

Monthly payments with no further obligation—cancel any time Optional character

Trial classes available

Optional character

Make-ups for missed classes

Optional character Optional character

character

We guarantee your child will flip over our Birthday Parties!

Benefits Victoria Gymnastics Will Provide for your Child: • Unlike other gymnastics clubs, our priority is ‘non-competitive’ gymnastics where all students are treated equally and fairly. Our objective is to provide students with a foundation of gymnastics that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.

• Your child's progress is monitored daily, and every 3 months, each student is awarded a medal indicating his or her progress in our 14 level, 600 skill program.

• Our ratio guarantee of a maximum of 8 students per instructor will provide your child with the Individualized attention he or she deserves.

• We are a family oriented business. Classes are scheduled so that varying ages and genders can take part in different classes at the same time.

• Clean. Very Clean. Our facilities are ozone treated.

• Consistent, safe and experienced coaching in a well structured, safe and fun environment—all of our coaches have their NCCP certification and First Aid.

www.victoriagymnastics.com

250-380-2442

Celebrating 36 Years of Excellence!