On Monday, February 21st, 2022 kids will be out of school. Businesses will close for the day. Its the dead of winter and many organized events are still on pause due to pandemic restrictions. So, what do you do for Family Day? Here are our suggestions.
Hike. Sled. Fish. Skate.
If weather allows Family Day will be a prime day to get outdoors and explore. Gananoque and our local area has great hiking trails that are beautiful any time of year. Two favorites are the Lion’s Loop Trails, that travel along the Gananoque River, and the Roger’s Trail that runs between the Rec Center and James Brennan Road. There is a second convenient entrance to the Roger’s Trail at the end of Herbert Street just beyond Emergency Services.
Two popular sledding locations, if any snow is remaining, are Bay Road and Landon Bay, 1000 Islands National Park. While older kids enjoy the hill at the bottom of Bay Road for sledding, younger children enjoy the gentle slopes at Landon Bay. For added fun you could also try a winter picnic. Fill a thermos with hot cocoa, stow some plastic cups and a backpack of snacks and enjoy an outdoor mini feast. The pavilions at Rotary Park on Bay Road and at Landon Bay are both good locations to take a rest.
Over the winter there many people have been out fishing on the river through holes in the ice. If you’ve never tried ice fishing before its a great time to try it. In Ontario, the whole Family Day weekend is license free. And while we’re talking ice, Family Day is a great time to put on skates and glide. The Gord Brown Memorial Canada 150 Outdoor Rink is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. for public skating.
Is the library open on Family Day?
Yes! Our library will be open on Family Day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It’s a great time for families to come in and sign up for library cards and borrow books, puzzles, games and activity kits. Here are some of our top picks for 2022:
Have a Family Scavanger Hunt with our Go Find It Kit
The Go Find It Kit comes with two games perfect for treasure hunters. The card set “Go Find It” is especially great for early readers. The games is played with a deck of cards. You shuffle the deck and deal out five cards. Each card has it own descriptive word. For young children you simply see if you can can find things to match the words on the cards. For older children it can be a race to see who can complete all five cards the fastest. The kit also comes with The Family Treasure Hunt Game with reusable clues, a board game, a gold bar (you can hide your own treasure in it) and jewels.
Cook Something Up
The library has great books for families like Kid in the Kitchen by Melissa Clark and Daniel Gercke (Author) with fantastic recipes like Binge Watch Popcorn and Crunchy Top Mac and Cheese. There’s even a section called Wrap Artists: Taco Party (how fun would that be… right?).
The library also has Make and Take Mug kits that come with their own mug cake recipe and ingredients. You can paint up and bake the mug then use the mug to make a cake. The library will also be getting a book in called Mug Cakes: Ready In 5 Minutes in the Microwave by Lene Knudsen though it may not arrive in time for Family Day, it will be a fun one to return for!
Be Puzzled and Play On
For three years the library has worked on expanding its jigsaw puzzle and board game collection so there is something for all ages and interests. Recently they added more 60, 100 and 300 piece jigsaw puzzles that are great for young puzzle builders, quick builds, and older puzzle builders. The library also has jigsaw puzzles with three different sized pieces by Cobble Hill that is great for the growing family with family members of different ages like the adorable Basket Case seen above.
Try Coding Together
S.T.E.A.M. is one of the biggest acronyms out there for kids right now. Science, technology, engineering, arts and math are key building blocks children need to learn to excel in today’s world – and that learning can be so much fun! Discover the library’s new e-service STEM Village at www.gananoquelibrary.ca/e-resources/ or borrow a Scratch coding kit. You can also borrow an arts and crafts kits.
