There’s a new trailer for Steven Spielberg’s The BFG, and we finally get to see what the big, friendly giant that gives the film its name looks like!
This was a book by Roald Dahl that I absolutely loved as a kid. If you or your family doesn’t know it, it’s perfect for read-aloud story time. Doesn’t matter how old the kids are. It’s wonderful.
Knowing what happens won’t ruin the magic of watching it come alive on-screen when the movie opens July 1st either!
Disney
The new Disney animated movie, Zootopia, is a modern day parable about stereotyping and judging others by what they look like. Pretty heavy stuff, but Disney manages to make it a lot of fun and it’s quickly become one of my daughter’s favourite movies.
The film went through a few editions before the animators decided on the final story though and this deleted scene is from an earlier imagining of the tale. It’s not one that’s on the blu-ray copy of the movie either.
In this imagining, all predators in Zootopia reach a coming of age – it has the feel of a bar mitzvah – where they become an adult and put on a taming collar.
A big step in any predator’s life, it’s a celebration. Or is it?
As excited as the little polar bear is to become a “big bear”, even in this basic animation, you can tell his dad knows what it’s really about. While it might make the other animals feel safer, it’s a pretty strong statement about trust and public opinion.
If your heart doesn’t break when those balloons drop, you’re a stronger person than I am!
Disney
Screenshot via YouTube
Get the tissues out because this commercial about growing up with a parent in the military has all the feels!
I grew up an airforce brat and even though I was fairly lucky and dad didn’t have too many long deployments, he was still away as much as he was home.
And it’s not just military families – business trips are a reality for plenty of parents and kids.
This ad, called “Letters to Dad,” shows a little boy that just wants to get a message to his father.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you about the tissues!
Did you hear the news? A HUGE announcement yesterday that J.K. Rowling has written and will soon release three new Harry Potter books, or at least three new collections of short stories set in the Harry Potter world. Some people were really disappointed with Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts One and Two because it wasn’t a traditional book, just a play and script book (and some were super upset with the way Hermione’s story is told), so this should hopefully make-up for it.
On September 6th, we’ll see a new set of eBook shorts called Pottermore Presents, with bits from Pottermore’s archives and original writing from J.K. Rowling. Pottermore is the digital publishing, e-commerce, entertainment and news company from J.K. Rowling and is the global digital publisher of Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World.
via Pottermore
The covers were designed by MinaLima, or Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima, the graphic design team behind the artwork of the Harry Potter films.
The three books are not specifically about Harry, but look into the darker side of his world and even tell us a bit more about characters like Hogwarts professors Dolores Umbridge, Minerva McGonagall and Remus Lupin.
The three new Harry Potter books are:
So, if you really want to find out how a witch or wizard becomes a portrait, or why the Blacks give their kids such strange names, pick up your copies in two weeks through the official Harry Potter website, Pottermore, and most online book stores for about $3 US a pop.
This IKEA commercial from France brings out all the feels!
For the people that raised us, we may always be the little ones that couldn’t pronounce spoon or put their shoes on the right feet. But, everybody grows up.
And as proud as every parent may feel, there’s still a tiny little voice inside asking:
“If only we could keep some things small forever”
When Disney posted its list of shows that we’re being renewed back in June, one popular show – Doc McStuffins – was missing.
It that features an African-American Dottie McStuffins, a.k.a. “Doc”, who wants to be a doctor like her pediatrician mother. In the meantime, she fixes broken toys and, more recently, toy pets.
We have good news and bad news.
Good news: “Doc McStuffins” is here to stay for a few more years. Season 5 has officially gotten the green light from the network.
Bad news: It won’t be on TV until 2018.
“‘Doc McStuffins’ is an unmistakable example of our commitment to powerful storytelling that enriches and enlightens kids. I can think of no other children’s television show in recent history that has touched as many lives and made the kind of impact around the world that Doc has,” said Nancy Kanter, executive vice president and general manager, Disney Junior Worldwide, in a prepared statement. “Our viewers have forged a deep connection with this series and are very vocal about how strongly they believe in these characters.”
“Doc McStuffins” won a Peabody Award in 2015 and NAACP Image Awards in 2015 and 2016 in the “Outstanding Children’s Program” category. First Lady Michelle Obama guest-starred as herself in an episode last Veterans Day, or Remembrance Day as we call it in Canada.
#RenewDocMcStuffins because representation for children matters!
— kate (@katelynlapray) July 24, 2016
I am DocMcStuffins? #RenewDocMcStuffins #DocMcStuffins @DisneyJunior @DisneyChannel @DisneyChannel @DisneyStudios pic.twitter.com/UzZdO4CNzw
— Dr. Jones Tam (@DrJJTam) July 27, 2016
#RenewDocMcStuffins! Hard to find role models for girls in kids’ TV as positive as #DocMcStuffins! https://t.co/g7yApBcgvX
— Adrienne M. Penta (@AdriennePenta) July 26, 2016
Very happy to see it coming back to television, even if we have to wait it out with reruns.
What happens when you ask a group of kids to explain the Christmas story? For Southland Christian Church, in Kentucky, you become a viral hit!
I’m not even religious, and I absolutely loved this!
“You the best baby I ever seen! There. I said it.”
One of the most respected health organizations in Canada announced they will petition the federal government to restrict the advertising of certain foods to children and teens because of what they see is a growing threat to good health. CityNews has the story.
Do you think an ad ban is the answer to childhood obesity?
photo credit: Flickr
The RRSP deadline has come and gone, the T4s have arrived, and now it’s just a matter of deciding when. When…you want to roll up your sleeves, spread all that stuff over the kitchen table, and do your taxes. Back when you were young and single that was a fairly simple proposition but now it’s far more complicated — especially when you add little ones. Today’s Parent magazine has some great tips every mom and dad needs to know at this…er…taxing time of year!
photo credit: Pixabay
It’s become a major concern for parents: the chance their kids will suffer a concussion while playing sports. It seems to happen more now than ever before, and a Canadian man thinks he may have the answer. CityNews has the story!
photo credit: CityNews
It’s every parent’s goal: raising happy, well adjusted kids who in turn become happy, well-adjusted adults. According to new research there’s a secret to achieving this, and it focuses on one key thing. Inc.com has the details!
photo credit: Pixabay
Sometimes all it takes is one little thing to make your day. Well, it’s the same for your kids! Today’s Parent magazine has come up with 12 simple, small things that will make them smile….and in turn, as you well know, you smile too.
photo credit: Public Domain Pictures
Canada Day celebrations can get busy and crowded. Here are a few tips in case you and your little ones get separated. Share this post with other parents and post any other tips you have in the comments!
– Take a photo of your child at the start of the day/event so you have exactly what they are wearing/look like.
– Write your name and cell number along the inside neck collar or bottom seam of your child’s shirt so they can show it to someone for help. Sharpie on the arm/back works too but can rub off.
– If there are volunteers or security, show your child what they are wearing and point them out regularly. None? Look for moms with kids! Make it a game so they are actively looking for them.
– Play the “What Am I Wearing?” game. Have your kids take a good look at you, close their eyes and describe what you’re wearing. It might help them locate your in a crowd or describe you to others.
– If traveling, take a few of your hotel’s business cards from the front desk (you also often find them on the nightstand in your room) and tuck them into your kids’ pockets.
Have a safe and fun long weekend everyone!
Where is the best place to live? Many Canadians are convinced they already know the answer: Wherever they are now.
But as proud as we are of our hometowns, there are some cities that simply have it all. And for the second consecutive year that place is Ottawa.
Year after year, our nation’s capital excels on the MoneySense list but the editors know there may be naysayers out there. On the off-chance readers get the idea they have a soft spot in our hearts for the nation’s capital and played favourites, they shuffled the data a bit and used a tool to reweight the scoring system to see if Ottawa would be dislodged. It didn’t budge from its perch: Ottawa is unassailable as Canada’s Best Place to Live in 2017.
For the full Canada’s Best Places to Live package, click here.
As you explore this year’s rankings, you, too, can play with the variables with our new interactive tool. It might be that you’re more interested in a thriving arts scene and are not alarmed by higher-than-average crime rates. Or costs be damned, you simply want somewhere milder in the winter.
Go ahead and dial the different inputs up or down. Based on your priorities, you can find your own Best Place to Live.
The editors at MoneySense are unwavering in their views about what makes one city better than another. It should be prosperous, but affordable. Safe, yet easy to get around. And it should have the type of weather that draws you outdoors.
This year, the most ambitious yet, Best Places to Live ranks 417 cities, towns and villages. That’s almost double the number of communities we’ve looked at in previous years. By doing so we now capture communities with populations as tiny as 9,000.
Tracking the data for hundreds of Canadian cities is a significant task. To help it accomplish this, MoneySense turned to Environics Analytics and other partners to help gather the most comprehensive data set possible.
Big cities love to compare themselves to one another. The rivalry between Edmonton and Calgary is well established. Vancouver frequently compares itself to Toronto, very favourably of course. Toronto doesn’t think any city is worthy of comparison, in Canada at least. Ottawa never seems enter the conversation.
It’s fair to say Canadians underestimate just how strong a city like Ottawa is. Most only see it as a government town, failing to recognize it’s also home to one of the most respected tech hubs in Canada. The city employ 72,000 in the tech sector alone, led by companies like Shopify and QNX.
Combine that with stable and well-paying government jobs and you have a level of economic diversity that is the envy of Canada.
It helps explain why the unemployment rate there hovers around 5%, while median incomes top $91,000. On their own those are both strong selling points, but there is a lot more to the city than jobs and incomes.
Ottawa is a safe and affordable city that hasn’t been caught up in the real estate frenzy that’s afflicted B.C. and much of the Golden Horseshoe. It offers great access to health care and boasts a thriving cultural scene.
Yet, it’s common to hear Ottawa described as drab and boring. That may have been true 20 years ago, says Ottawa mayor Jim Watson, but not now. “Back when I arrived here the closest thing to European cuisine here was Swiss Chalet. Today we have some of the best chefs in the country, if not North America,” he says.
“As a city we are thinking bigger and bolder than we have in the past,” he adds. There is plenty of evidence to support this claim.
Ottawa’s a wildly successful development of Landsdowne Park as a work/play area is bringing fun back into the city. New buildings are helping residents to look past the drab, monolithic architectural style of the 60s and 70s that were all too common. And to top it off a new $5-billion light rail line is due to hit the streets next year.
Plus, Ottawa is just 20 minutes from skiing, hiking and even cottage country.
Our top 50 draws from almost every province. Ontario captures about 40% of the top spots while Quebec and B.C. both each lay claim to another 20% of the top 50.
Atlantic Canada is the only part of the country not represented in the top 50. Quispamsis, N.B, about 20 minutes north east of Saint Johns is the highest ranked city in that part of the county, coming in at 105.
By expanding the list of cities, MoneySense invited dozens of bedroom communities into our report that we haven’t considered in the past and we were delighted to see that many of them sprang to the top of our list. Nowhere was this trend more noticeable than in the province of Quebec, particularly around Montreal.
As rich as Montreal is in terms of its culture, food and attractiveness, the city historically struggles on the Best Places to Live rankings. That’s because it tends to have higher unemployment and lower incomes than other parts of the country.
But these challenges are largely limited to the island of Montreal. The communities surrounding the city tend to be more affluent and offer more job security.
This post originally appeared on MoneySense.ca
Me during summer vacation? Game shows. I used to LOVE watching game shows, and would get yelled at all time to TURN OFF THE TV AND PLAY OUTSIDE! Sigh. Now, it’s all about smaller screens, and I’m the one yelling. What to do? Check this out: Today’s Parent magazine has 50+ ways to get your kids to turn off the phones and tablets this summer!
photo credit; Pixabay
A simple sparkler hand-protector. Fab tips on getting uncooperative kids to put on sunscreen. Today’s Parent magazine have come up with 21 awesome summer hacks you gotta try!
photo credit: Flickr
Every summer tragedy strikes. You only have to look away for a second…and suddenly the unthinkable happens. Today’s Parent magazine has a must-read for every parent before heading to the lake or the pool: 8 life jacket tips that might save your child’s life.
photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
It’s bound to happen. And it’s going to be a kind of hurt they’ve never before experienced. Today’s Parent magazine explains what to do when your child is stung by bee, wasp or hornet this summer.
‘Despacito’ has blown up into the song of the summer and the name – which translates to “slowly” – inspired a couple of moms to create this hilarious parody.
Laughing Moms ask, “Do your kids move as slowly as ours when you ask them to do something?? Despacito was the perfect song to parody for what we think is a universal problem for parents! Slow-moving children! Sometimes, you just gotta pray for patience!”
Laughing Moms is the joint efforts of Alisha Merrick and Eden Morris. They describe themselves as happy, fun-loving moms who love to sing and laugh and plan on changing the world one laugh and one diaper at a time!
Popsicles are one of the staple treat for summers! Instead of using plain juice, pop or powdered mixes, put a side an extra 5-10 minutes and create yummy, refreshing, hydrating treats the whole family will love.
Get all the easy recipes HERE. (Plus, they’ve included some ‘adult only’ recipes for you to enjoy once the kids are off to bed!)
