Revisiting Little House on the Prairie

Like many children born in the 1970s, one of my best childhood friends-in-a-book was a plucky pioneer girl named Laura.

I loved the Laura Ingalls Wilder books: Little House in the Big Woods, Little House on the Prairie, On the Banks of Plum Creek... I read and re-read them so many times that I knew the stories backwards and forwards.

And I loved Laura. Like me, she had a older blonde sister who was the one who liked to cook and sew, while Laura wanted to be running barefoot in the wind. When cows got into the haystacks, or a ball of fire was rolling toward the house, Laura was the one who leapt into action. She was the brave one, always ready for another adventure. I loved that about her. And I loved that she was always pushing back her sunbonnet so she could see the whole world around her.

Over the years, and my many moves, my well-worn series of Little House books has traveled with, covering more miles than the Wilder family rode in their wooden wagon.

A few months ago I brought out the first book to show Miya. At first she was not too interested. She is used to short books filled with colourful illustrations and brief narratives. Long chapter books with only occasional pen and ink drawings were new to her. But just like her, the character of Laura is four years-old when we first meet her in the Big Woods of Wisconsin. And Ingalls Wilder writes in a beautifully descriptive yet accessible style that is perfect for children. She describes birds in flight, the shifting play of colours and light in a sunset, the sound of winter winds on clapboard walls... I could see Miya imagination increasingly engaging with the stories.

Soon she was asking for the Little House book each night at bedtime and would listen carefully to the story. When we finished one, she couldn't wait to start the next. She listened wide-eyed to stories of prairie blizzards and fires, wolves howling in a circle around the house. We had to reassure her several times that there are no wolves around here.

I wondered if she would lose interest as Laura grew into a teenager, then a young woman. But she stayed engaged in the story. I will admit I skipped over some passages in the latter books. The part where the woman she was boarding with pulled a knife on her husband - we passed over that. I also left out the chapter where Pa and some other men dress up in 'black face'.

But the book prompted conversations about the native rights and how settlers pushed people off their land. We had discussions about racism when Ma says 'The only good Indian is a dead Indian.' And I figured our other conversations about diversity have sunk in when Miya announced that after college Mary would likely marry someone who is also blind, "a blind boy or a blind girl".

We finished the last book a few weeks ago, but Miya still brings up Laura and Mary from time to time. It's neat how they have become real to her, just like they were to me in my childhood.

Packing lunches for kindergarten - why is there not an app for this??

Miya on her first day of school

And so it begins. My little girl is now in kindergarten. A big, new school. New teachers. New kids. A lot to process for a 4-year-old.

For her mother, there's a different sort of process going on - planning and packing daily lunches and snacks. With a ridiculously early school start time of 8:00 a.m., we have to run our mornings with the precision of a military operation in order to get baby, child and mother out the door within 45 minutes. Advance planning is key.

Surely, I thought, when everyone has a smartphone attached to their body at all times, there must be an app to help me. I imagined a drag-and-drop set up where I could list the things Miya likes in her lunch in one column, the things she likes for snack in another, than drag and drop them into a weekly or monthly calendar.

Sadly, such a thing does not seem to exist. If anyone knows of one - or has the smarts to design it - please let me know!

In the meantime, I'm going old-school. I found a pdf file to print. I've created three different weekly menus and plan to rotate through them - not because I'm brimming with lunch ideas, but so it doesn't get too monotonous for my little kindergartener.

Here is an example of one of Miya's weekly menus:

Monday

Snacks: apple slices, crackers, berries
Lunch: pasta, sausage, red pepper slices

Tuesday
Snacks: nectarine, muffin, rasins
Lunch: bagel and cream cheese, cucumber strips

Wednesday
Snacks: waffle, apple slices
Lunch: tortilla and hummus roll, red peppers, yogurt

Thursday
Snacks: crackers, cheese slices, dried fruit
Lunch: chicken fingers, sweet potatoes

Friday
Snacks: raisin bread, dried apricots
Lunch: jam sandwich, grape tomatoes, yogurt

If anyone has any suggestions for quick, easy things to add to the menu, please post them in the comment section below. Bonus points for things that can be made and packed up the night before.

Wading pool challenge complete

Miya surveying Hampton Park wading pool

With less than a week to spare, Miya has completed the Kitchissippi Wading Pool Challenge of 2013 - she has visited all 13 wading pools and splash pads in our city ward. On a hot, sunny day like today, summer seems far from over - but several outdoor wading pools closed yesterday, and the remaining pools will fill for the last time on Friday.

Asked how she felt about seeing this challenge through, Miya simply said, "good." Frankly the whole concept of a challenge seemed a bit lost on her. But she's been a good sport.

Miya playing around at Woodroffe
Park Pool

And while this challenge may seem like a walk in the park, Miya did not come through without some battle scars. After a chilly dip in the Parkdale Market wading pool one Saturday, her mother wrapped her up tight in a towel to warm up. Foolish mother. The towel was so tightly bound that when Miya tipped forward while sitting on the ground, she had nothing to catch her fall but her face. A fat lip and nasty scrapes around the nose were testament to the ordeal. (Luckily, her daddy happened to bring back some homemade ice cream sandwiches shortly afterward, which magically dried the tears.)

Despite such mishaps, exploring the local wading pools has been a great way to get to know our neighbourhood better. Watching the dog wading hour in Reid Park, joining a community party at Champlain, listening to African drumming at LaRoche, making a bunny craft at Woodroffe, and attending a birthday party at Hintonburg - it's been a more diverse experience then we had anticipated at the start.  Miya was even interviewed about it all by the local community paper.

Map of Kitchissippi splash pads & wading pools.
Miya put a sticker on each one after visiting it.

After 10 pools and 3 splash pads, Miya still counts Iona Park as her favourite pool (it does have home court advantage) but she was impressed with several of those she visited - especially McKellar Park that has penguins painted on the bottom of the pool. All in all, a successful summer mission.



Anyone else visit some good wading pools this summer?

Kitchissippi Wading Pool Challenge

It's not a challenge for the faint of heart. It takes commitment, tenacity. It also requires a bathing suit, beach towel and sun hat. Pool toys are optional.

The challenge? Visit all 13 splash pads and wading pools in the Kitchissippi area before the end of this summer. Do you have what it takes?

Miya at Parkdale Market Pool

Four-year old Miya is determined to see this challenge through. "I believe I have the fortitude and discipline to rise to the occasion," she said - or something to that effect. (It might also have been something like, "Can't we go to the pool now?")

So armed with a pink bathing suit, flowered hat, sunscreen, and a favourite beach towel, she ventures forth. For a girl still unwilling to submerge her face in water, she is making an admirable conquest of the neighbourhood pools.

Of the 10 wading pools, she has already visited 6. Asked which is her favourite, she chooses Iona Park - the wading pool closest to home in which she has spent many summer hours.

So are you up for the Kitchissippi Wading Pool Challenge of 2013? Leave a comment and let us know how many of the local pools you've visited this summer - and which one is your favourite.

Wading Pools in Kitchissippi:
Ev Tremblay Park: 108 Beech Ave
Reid Park: 40 Reid Ave
Parkdale Market Park: 366 Parkdale Market
Champlain Park: 140 Carleton Ave
Hampton Park: 645 Parkview Rd
Iona Park: 223 Iona St
Lions Park: 294 Elmgrove Ave
Westboro Kiwanis (Dovercourt): 411 Dovercourt Ave
McKellar Park: 539 Wavell Ave
Woodroffe Park: 180 Lockhart Ave

Splash Pads in Kitchissippi:
Hintonburg Park: 1064 Wellington St W
LaRoche Park: 52 Bayview
Roy Duncan Park: 295 Churchill Ave

3 years-old

To celebrate turning 3, Miya invited approximately 30 guests to her back yard for a spring planting party.

Each young guest received a clay flower pot. There were paints for parent-assisted decorating (water-soluble paints don't work so well on things that will be watered), dirt to fill the pots with (or just dig around, as many chose to do), and flowers to plant.



Giving toddlers opportunities to play in the dirt is a pretty safe bet for a easy entertainment - although parents may have wondered about the combination of dirt and finger foods. Would you like some potting soil with that penguin cracker?

 Miya's daddy produced some fantastic cupcakes - the chocolate ones with sprinkles on top were a big hit, both a tasty snack and a fashion accessory.

Miya's big race

On Sunday, Miya and her family participated in the 2012 Minto Run for Reach. This intense competition pitched our young Ottawa native against some of the best athletes in the region - including Paralympian runner Jon Dunkerley.

Though she had been keen to face her rivals in the Half-Marathon competition, out of consideration for her mother (who, to her daughter's chagrin, is a hopeless runner), Miya consented to limit herself to the 3K Family Walk/Run. Since this event was not timed, when her decision was announced there was an audible sigh of relief among other racers.


Miya showed early promise as a marathoner, and  just a few days shy of her third birthday, she proved that she is ready to take on the challenges of road racing. Bolstered by the support of her family - mom, dad and grandma - as well as the companionship of Baby Penguin, she smoothly sailed to the finish line.

John Stanton, President and Founder of the Running Room who was the Run for Reach race starter, is rumoured to have been  studying Miya's running technique and may be introducing a line of pink croc racing shoes at his stores this summer.