Editor Tracey Tong, left, with her daughters Millie (top), Ellie (bottom) and dad Frank. Photo Credit Tracey Tong
Summer in the capital is finally here.
It’s an exciting time, full of possibility and anticipation.
The more ambitious of us have Plans (yes, with a capital P) – to keep the kids busy with summer school, suggested reading lists, sports, swimming lessons, music festivals, museum outings, day trips (basically anything to distance them from the television); deep clean the house and turn the backyard into a tropical oasis.
Your to-do list might be low-key and consist mostly of kicking back at the cottage with family. After the year we’ve had, that’s OK, too. The point is that summer holds such promise, and our team at Parenting Times Magazine hopes to inspire you to you make the most of it.
If your family is looking for a sport you can do together and that will allow you to take in all the sights this city has to offer, check out our cover story on the Ottawa Bicycle Club’s Youth Development Program.
Perhaps you have to work through the summer (such is the life of an adult) but your kids are off to camp. Be excited for them and for all the new things they’re going to experience. Education writer Sheryl Bennett-Wilson rounded up all the things the camp can teach your child, proving that learning doesn’t just happen in a classroom. Find the story in Focus on Education.
Summer (with no school to wake up for the next morning!) is the perfect time to let your child have an epic (but not too epic) party. We’ve enlisted Josée Juneau of Enchanted Evenings Sleepover Parties to help you throw the event of your pre-teen dreams. Check out the story in Mom the Entrepreneur.
If you’re looking to head further than the region, consider taking grandma and grandpa with you – you won’t regret it and neither will they. Bennett-Wilson walks us through how to travel with the older adults in our lives.
We also have a story on two of our favourite things: lifelong friends and books. Learn how Ottawa locals (and besties!) Samantha Clusiau-Lawlor and Renée Tessier co-founded ReadAbilities Publishing House after they found a lack of children’s books with neurodiverse characters.
Finally, this wouldn’t be a summer issue without our columnists. Chris Hunt (Memoirs of a New Dad) and Jon Willing (Dad’s Dispatch) share their enviable warm weather plans with us and Kita Szpak (The Happiness Formula) lists her top family entertainment picks for the region.
Whatever this summer in the capital has in store for you and your family, may it find you in good health (and may you have air conditioning). We raise a cold drink to a great season!
Best Wishes,
Tracey