March Break in which you and your kids play Poohsticks

If you have school-age kids, you have March Break. It’s just one week but with the kids out of school, plans must be hatched.

This issue of City Parent lays out dozens of options to keep kids occupied and for families to do together. There are travel tips and event listings that will tip you off to more activities than you’ll have time to squeeze into the week.

In the United States and elsewhere in this county it’s called Spring Break. March is more non-committal than spring, at least where the weather is concerned. March is not necessarily spring and March Break weather can range from temperatures cold enough to keep snow on ski runs or mild enough to enjoy a bike ride or to set a kite soaring.

While it’s best to weatherproof March Break plans and think about indoor activities there is that desire to get out in the fresh air, especially if the sun is shining and the wind chill isn’t unbearable. That desire drives many families to southern destinations but for those of us who tough it out at home where there is no beach and no rain forest trails, outdoor fun requires some creativity.

Inspiration came to my little boys and me from Winnie the Pooh. One of our favourite parks features a slowly flowing river with a footbridge. It was the ideal spot to play Poohsticks, a game in which Pooh and Piglet stand on a bridge over a river into which they toss Poohsticks, – known outside of the Hundred Acre Wood as twigs – and see whose is the fastest. As it’s important to have access to fallen branches, the river needs to be near trees and in the best case, near a forest that can be explored as a warm-up to Poohsticks play. 

The entertainment value of floating sticks won’t be sustained for long. That’s where a book like “Project Kid: Crafts That Go!” by Amanda Kingloff, featured in On the Bookshelf this month, can give idea-starved parents a break this March. It features 100 crafts, some that float like Poohsticks. A river will suffice if a beach is out of reach but in this issue you’ll find a way to bring the beach home with simple Jell-o recipes with a tropical and nautical theme. If a trip to beach-bountiful Florida and Disney World is in your future, check out associate editor Christine Davis’s tips in her article this month.

Let us help put your mind into March Break mode.