Recreation and Leisure at Home

National Truth & Reconciliation Day content

• Learn about the history and continuing presence of aboriginal people in Canada
• What is Orange Shirt Day?
• Explore Indigenous culture and heritage with these awesome activities.

• Watch a free film online to learn more about Indigenous Peoples. The Aboriginal Peoples Television Network or the National Film Board are a great place to find relevant films and shows: https://www.nfb.ca/subjects/indigenous-peoples-in-canada-first-nations-and-metis/ and www.aptn.ca/
• Read the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and its Calls to Action http://trc.ca/
• Understand the land you are on and whose territory it is; work to acknowledge and create a relationship with the land and its original caretakers
• Start a book club with friends and read books by Indigenous authors, discuss the topics you read about
• Purchase Indigenous artwork, beading, jewelry and other creations at local and/or virtual Indigenous Art Markets or check out the artists here: https://passthefeather.org/
• Support Indigenous owned businesses
• Donate time or money to Indigenous organizations and causes:
  • The Healing of the Seven Generations https://healingofthesevengenerations.ca/
  • Indian Residential School Survivors Society https://www.irsss.ca/
  • Woodland Cultural Centre https://woodlandculturalcentre.ca/
  • Native Women’s Assocation of Canada https://www.nwac.ca/
  • Indspire https://indspire.ca/
  • Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund  https://downiewenjack.ca/
  • First Nations Child & Caring Family Society https://fncaringsociety.com/
  • Legacy of Hope Foundation  https://legacyofhope.ca/

Indoor Activities For Families

• Explore Indigenous culture and heritage with these awesome activities.
• Minute-To-Win-It Candy Corn game
  • What you need:
    • bananas
    • candy corn

    How to play:

    1. Give each player a peeled banana and a bag of candy corn.
    2. They have one minute to push the candy corn in the banana to make it look like corn on the cob.

• Enjoy these fun and easy crafts:
  1. Fall leaf lanterns
  2. Leaf people
  3. Apple stamping tree
  4. Tissue paper fall tree
  5. Fall leaf suncatchers or pumpkin suncatchers
  6. Lego stamped pumpkin
  7. Paper bag pumpkin patch
• Crafts for tweens and teens.
• Chemistry experiments for teens.
• Create fluffy unicorn slime or water-bead slime.
• Make your own pumpkin spice playdough
• Make a paper worm race game. How fast can you make your paper worm go?
• Build structures with marshmallows and pretzels.
• Make a stop motion video.
• Build a cotton ball launcher and see who's shoots cotton balls the farthest.
• Try this awesome hot ice experiment.
• Make an indoor fireworks display in a jar.
• Create your own paper building blocks.
• Make a bird feeder and build a bird house.
• 8 Fun Pencil and Paper Games.
• 10 Kid-Friendly Card Games.
• Ultimate Boredom Buster: 101 Things to Do When Kids Are Bored
• Story time with Chirp magazine.
• Cool science videos by Chirp magazine.
• Use some pillows and blankets and make a fort in the living room.
• Build an indoor obstacle course out of couch cushions or cardboard boxes.
• Build a giant floor maze.
• Attach a retractable net to your dining room table, and presto: table tennis! (Watch out for chandeliers.)
• Design an indoor mini putt course. Use different objects throughout your home to make this as challenging as possible.  For the holes use plastic cups on their side to hit the ball into.  If you don't have a golf putter think of different ways to play with either a hockey stick, your hand, foot etc.  Keep score and see who can complete the course in the least amount of shots!
• Make fitness a game. Create a deck of fitness exercise cards using standard playing cards. Hearts stand for push ups, clubs for crunches, diamonds for jumping jacks, and spades for squats. Let your child pick the card, then do as many of the assigned activity as the card states. For example, an ace of spades would be one squat and a six of hearts would be six pushups.
• Challenge each other to these fun brain teasers (and give your brain a workout at the same time!).
• Make a music video to your favorite song.
• Play improv games online with friends.
• Get creative in the kitchen! Try a new recipe, bake and decorate cupcakes or make a video cooking/baking your favourite recipe and send it to family and friends.
• Make a family video or time capsule. Place some special photos, stories or answers to questions, in a shoe box. Save it somewhere safe (where you won't forget) to open it up at a later time. You can also create a video "time capsule". Kids love to see themselves on video, so how about acting out a play, writing a silly song together or just "interviewing" each other.  Questions like "How old are you?", "What do you want to be when you grow up?", "Who's your best friend?", "What's your favourite toy?", etc.  are great to preserve and look back on when kids get older.
• Change up movie night and make it an indoor "drive-in movie" experience! Make a cute car out of cardboard boxes (Hello, Amazon deliveries!) and attach a basket of snacks, then 'drive' over to your TV screen and settle in for a fun movie night!
• Have an International Dinner Night. As a family, pick out a country you would like to learn more about and are interested in. Find cuisine that is unique to that country. Prepare a dinner that would be served in that country. Maybe you can even find clothing that is worn in the country and wear it to dinner. Each family member would be responsible to bring one fact about the country to share at dinner time. Plan for an evening of creative learning time!
• Some of us aren't quite ready to travel the world just yet, but we can find out about people in other countries and visit the rest of the world from home.  Choose a new country to visit, virtually.  Learn the things that are special about the new places you 'visit':
  • What animals live there?
  • What is special about the place and its people?
  • What do they eat?
  • Which continent is it?
  • Identify its location on a map
  • What is its climate like?
  • Flag
  • What other interesting facts did you learn
• The Region of Waterloo Library has virtual programs, online access to favourite newspapers and magazines, and links to online resources for entertainment or research.
• KidsAbility has complied a great list of activities to support families during COVID-19
• The rare Charitable Research Reserve has shared a list of activities, experiments, games and workshops.
• Nature At Home activities from Grand River Conservation Authority.
• Follow Early Years Info Waterloo Region on Facebook and Twitter for activities for young children.
• Help the Waterloo Region Museum literally write history! Share your experiences of life in Waterloo Region during the COVID-19 pandemic with written accounts, artwork, or video recordings by emailing them to helpusmakehistory@regionofwaterloo.ca with the subject line “Writing COVID-19 History”. For more information, visit: https://www.waterlooregionmuseum.ca/en/whats-on/help-us-make-history.aspx#
• Waterloo Region Museum has a list of activities that will bring the museum to you at home
• Kids Corner - police themed activities for kids from our friends at Waterloo Regional Police Service.
• Fire safety for kids with Sparky School House.
• Jumpstart - check out their fun ideas to keep kids active at home and for fun tips from their partner programs, including ways to stay connected and engaged with Jumpstart Athlete Ambassadors.
• Virtual activities and interactive learning from Royal Botanical Gardens.

Outdoor Activities For Families

• Go on a Fall Scavenger Hunt!
• Go for a bike ride in your neighbourhood. For longer bike rides, check out these local maps.
• Go for a walk in your neighbourhood or take a hike on one of the many scenic trails in North Dumfries. Be a wildlife detective while on your hike and don't forget to dress for the weather!  Remember to keep 2 metres/6 feet apart from others while out for a walk.  Enjoy one of these 10 Healthy Smoothies for Kids as a healthy treat after your adventure.
• Historical Walking Tours right here in North Dumfries. Remember to keep 2 metres/6 feet apart from others while your family is out for a walk.
• Download the Earth Rangers App to give your kids free access to missions that help the animals they love! It's loaded with environmental challenges designed to get them outdoors and protect nature all year long.
• Collect leafs and create leaf rubbings.
• Go apple picking at one of the many farms located near North Dumfries.
• Visit a nearby pumpkin patch.
• Backyard pumpkin bowling

  • What you need:

    • 10 bowling pins or 2-liter soda bottles filled with sand to make them harder to knock over
    • pumpkins

    How to play:

  1. Set up the bowling pins and mark a throw line.
  2. Give each player a pumpkin or a couple.
  3. Roll or throw the pumpkins to knock over the pins.
• Draw one of these hopscotch ideas on the sidewalk in front of your home or on your driveway.
• Get out your skipping ropes and try one of these jump rope games.
• Grab a ball and have fun with one of these 8 great games for kids.
• Play tag in the backyard with one of these 21 super fun tag games.

• Potato sack races: a classic game with a few old pillowcases equals endless fun.
• Blow bubbles using this homemade bubble solution.
• Play Follow the Leader taking turns leading the other through a series of exercises (skipping, hopping, marching, etc.). Or take turns being the “coach” and telling the “athlete” what to do.
• Listen to the birds in your neighbourhood and learn a new bird call.
• Have a camp-out in your backyard before the nights get too cold, complete with s'mores!

• Fall is a great time of year to play glow in the dark games!  Charades in the dark can be quite challenging even with glow sticks.

  What you need:

  • glow sticks (bracelets, anklets, necklace etc.)
  • charades cards (optional)

  How to play:

  1. One player picks a charades card or comes up with an action to perform.
  2. Player puts on the bracelets, anklets etc.
  3. The player performs the action and the others try to guess what the action is.
• Head out for a night of stargazing. Learn about and find constellations.
• Listen for owls. Most owls are nocturnal, so you’ll need to find a time and a place to safely get out in the evening for your adventure. Owls use their voices to establish territories and attract mates in the dark.

Learning at Home (for both children & grown-ups)

• Indigenous Canada is a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) from the University of Alberta's Faculty of Native Studies that explores Indigenous histories and contemporary issues in Canada.
• Activities, games and stories for youth and educators about Indigenous peoples' culture, history, languages and more.
• Gateway To Aboriginal Heritage (activities for Grade 4-12).
• Learn At Home resources from the Province of Ontario.
• Owl magazine online, a great place for kids to keep up-to-date on science, tech, sports, history, entertainment, social issues and more!
• Jumpstart offers educational resources for parents, teachers and students to make learning and teaching a lot easier and more fun for everyone.
• Farm School is a series of 1 minute videos discussing farm life. Each video maps directly to the Ontario Curriculum Connections for grades 1-3.
• Dramatic interpretations of pivotal events in Canada’s history available through Heritage Minutes. These videos are intended to entertain, educate and encourage further research into our nation’s past. Classroom resources, including background information for each Minute and select lesson plans, can be found at www.historicacanada.ca
  
• Play and explore at the government of Canada's Climate Kids website.
• Embark on 30 adventures or quests, that will help you understand and celebrate our natural world, while learning about how dependent we are on our planet.
• Learn a new skill like coding and coding for children.
• National Geographic: Kids Videos.
• Free online learning for adults living in Ontario, through Employment Ontario.
• Learn a new language.

Fall Recipes From Council and Staff

From fall comfort food to baked goods with apples and pumpkins...enjoy these favourite fall recipes from Council and Staff!

Pumpkin Muffins submitted by Councillor Gillespie

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1-1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¾ cup corn oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 cup cooked puree pumpkin

Instructions

1. Sift together flour, sugar, soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
2. Beat eggs.  Add oil and pumpkin and beat again with mixer until smooth.
3. Add pumpkin mixture to dry ingredients and stir until blended (do not beat)
4. Spoon into muffin tins.  Bake at 350 for 18 – 20 minutes.  Makes 12

Apple Crisp submitted by Ashley Safe, Clerk

Ingredients

• 10 cups all-purpose apples, peeled, cored and sliced
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ cup water
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ cup butter, melted

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degree C).
2. Place the sliced apples in a 9x13 inch pan. Mix the white sugar, 1 tablespoon flour and ground cinnamon together, and sprinkle over apples. Pour water evenly over all.
3. Combine the oats, 1 cup flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and melted butter together. Crumble evenly over the apple mixture.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 45 minutes.

Pumpkin Loaf (GF & Vegan) submitted by Michelle Poissant, Recreation & Community Services Coordinator

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 flax egg* (see note below)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 Tbsp mashed ripe banana (primarily for binding)
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar (plus more to taste)
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (plus more to taste)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 heaping cup gluten-free rolled oats
• 1/2 heaping cup almond meal (ground from raw almonds)
• 1 1/4 cup gluten-free flour blend
• 3 Tbsp raw pumpkin seeds (and a couple of whole pecans)

Instructions

Brian's Meatloaf submitted by Mayor Foxton

• spinach
• 2lbs ground beef
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup of rice
• 1/4 cup of ketchup
• 1/4 cup of milk
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• ham slices
• cheese

Instructions

1. Mix ground beef, eggs, rice, ketchup, milk, salt, pepper and oregano.
2. Pat ground beef mixture onto aluminum foil into a large rectangle.
3. Place ham slices covering ground beef mixture, cover with ham and spinach.
4. Roll using the aluminum foil as a guide.
5. Lift with the foil and place into a baking dish.
6. Bake at 350F for 55 minutes.
7. Remove, add cheese slices or grated cheese to the top and bake for another 5 minutes.

Chicken Lombardy submitted by Heather Strassburger, Revenue/Interim Tax Collector

Ingredients

• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1/3 cup butter divided
• 1/2 cup flour
• 8 oz sliced mushrooms
• 3/4 cup marsala wine
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 2 sliced green onions

 Instructions

1. Preheat the oven 450 degrees F.
2.  Melt 2 tbs butter in a large skillet on medium-high heat
3. Add mushrooms and cook until they begin to brown, remove, and set aside
4. Slice chicken breasts in half lengthwise. Using a meat mallet flatten between waxed paper until ¼ inch thickness. Dredge in flour.
5. Add 1 tbs of butter to the skillet, melt and then add 2 pieces of chicken. Brown on all sides then remove. Repeat with the remaining chicken adding butter each time, do not over crowd the chicken in the pan. Keep the dripping in the skillet.
6. Lightly grease a 13 x 9 baking pan.
7. Add chicken to the pan slightly overlapping. Cover with the sautéed mushrooms
8. Add wine, chicken stock, s & p. to the skillet. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 10 min. Pour over chicken and mushrooms.
9. Mix the cheeses and green onions then place on top of the chicken.
10. Bake for 15-20 mins. until cheese is melted and starting to brown.

Serves well with pasta or rice

Sweet Potato Breakfast Casserole Recipe, submitted by Karen Winter, Director of Leisure and Community Services

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon salted butter
• 1 pound pork breakfast sausage
• 6 large eggs
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 2 cups fine, dry breadcrumbs
• 1 cup refrigerated pre-chopped onion
• Chopped fresh parsley
• 8 ounces pre-shredded mozzarella cheese (about 2 cups), divided

Instructions

1. Place sweet potatoes in a microwave-safe bowl with water. Cover with plastic wrap, and microwave at HIGH until tender, about 4 minutes. Remove plastic wrap, and set aside.
2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Brown sausage in melted butter, stirring often, until sausage is browned and crumbled, 5 to 6 minutes.
3. Whisk together eggs, half-and-half, and Italian seasoning in a medium bowl. Stir together sausage, egg mixture, breadcrumbs, sweet potatoes, onion, and 1 cup of the cheese in a lightly greased 5-quart slow cooker. Sprinkle top with remaining 1 cup cheese.
4. Cover and cook on LOW until almost set, about 3 1/2 hours. Remove lid, and cook on LOW until edges are browned and liquid on top has evaporated, about 20 minutes. Garnish with fresh parsley.

Virtual Tours

• Fireworks display from Canada's Wonderland, Montreal, France, or Japan.
• Visit the world's best beach destinations without leaving your home.
• Go on a virtual dive, without getting wet!
• Dive some of the world's most beautiful reefs.
• Road Trip From Home to destinations around the world...no passport needed!
• Tour Canada's Parliament Buildings.
• Visit the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
• Canadian Farm and Foods Tour.
• Parks Canada 360 takes you on an adventure to explore Canada’s National Parks and hidden gems.
• Paddling Canada's west coast - Get ready to explore the wild, untamed beaches and lush coastal temperate rainforest of Vancouver Island.
• Iqaluit, Nunavut – The Canadian Arctic.

• A virtual tour of a Canadian penitentiary.

• National Gallery of Canada.
• Canadian Museum of History.

• Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre - During the tour you will have the opportunity to travel throughout the building and grounds while listening to survival stories, viewing historical images and documents, exploring artifacts and learning more about the history of the Shingwauk Residential School.
• The Royal Tyrrell Museum - a museum in Alberta all about dinosaurs.

• National Ballet of Canada Virtual Museum.
• Journey through Toronto's most stunning theatre, The Elgin & Winter Garden Theatre, no tickets needed!
• Casa Loma, Toronto.
• Dundurn Castle, Hamilton.
• Be transported back to the 1800s with this tour of Fort William Historical Park.
• Virtual Field Trips with Waterloo Region Museum and Doon Heritage Village.
• National Museum of Computing gives you 3D and virtual curated tours let you explore the world's largest collection of working historic computers.
• Take a virtual tour of the moon with NASA.
• Smithsonian Natural Museum of Natural History.
• Travel to Paris, France to see amazing works of art from The Louvre.
• The Vatican.
• British Museum - This cool, interactive site lets you browse the museum collection by time period, not by room, so you can focus on the era of highest interest.
• Buckingham Palace.
• Great Wall of China.
• Mount Everest.

• Explore museums in Dubai.

Wellness & Fitness

• 25 Quarantine Mental Health & Wellness Tips.
• Take a hike on one of the many scenic trails in North Dumfries. Bring a camera and try nature photography while hiking.  "Leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but pictures."
• Go for a bike ride. Map out a new route every time to see new scenery.
• Check out the Region of Waterloo Library's September Activities Calendar
• Enjoy a yoga class and guided meditation by the NDCC’s yoga instructor, Angela Bryson of ANGELS-LANDING Yoga & Wellness.
• Family zumba class.
• Family yoga class.
• The YMCAs of Cambridge & Kitchener-Waterloo continue to connect virtually with activities for your mind, body and spirit. 
• 15 ways from ParticipACTION for you and your family to stay active at home.
• ParticipACTION workout videos.
• Try something new for your fitness routine! Always wanted to try barre exercise, line dancing, cardio funk, or HIIT (high-intensity interval training)? Find a free video online, subscribe to one of the many online classes available, or download an app to guide you from the safety of your own home. Many people find they are more comfortable trying something new when no one else is watching. You just might find your new passion!
• Join the kids at playtime. Play catch or tag, go for a bike ride, shoot baskets, pass the soccer ball around, jump rope, or play active video games. 
• Buy some new plants for the house and plant them in this DIY tissue paper claypot.
• Cultivate gratitude by verbalizing what you’re thankful for. Write down what you've been thankful for this past year and talk about it with your family. Call extended family or friends and find out what they're thankful for. Start a 30 Days of Gratitude Challenge with friends and family.  Each day record one thing you are grateful for on a small piece of paper. Put that paper in a jar or small box.  At the end of the 30 days, read all the things for which you are grateful.
• Be kind to yourself with this mindful exercise.
• Make a conscious attempt to live in the present moment. Let go of thoughts related to the past and future and consciously focus your attention in the present.
• Give yourself a spa day. Fill up your tub with one of these homemade bubble recipes, play some relaxing music and disconnect from technology.
• Spend time reading. Whether it's a novel, non-fiction read or collection of poetry, practice some affordable escapism with a good book. Ask your friends and family what their favourite books are. Start an online book club. 
• Listen to a new podcast.
• Start a journal or blog.
• Watch the sunrise or sunset (or both).
• Play an old favourite board game. Board games can be a lot of fun and can help alleviate stress. They may also bring back the carefree childhood memories.
• Helping others can help you reduce stress. Donate your old clothes and/or equipment to organizations who help people in need. This is also a great way to remove clutter and create more space in your home.
• Watch The Science of Happiness by Langs and learn the benefits of savoring life’s joys as a happiness increasing activity.
• Calming crafts - relax and de-stress while being creative.
• Learn how to create an ombre landscape watercolour painting with Steven Sabados, of In The Studio With Steven Sabados.
• Learn how to knit with this step-by-step guide.
• Fill in the blank, "I've always wanted to learn how to ____________." Chances are, there's an online course or a YouTube video for that. So the sky's the limit. Whatever you've always wanted to learn, now is the time.
• The Region of Waterloo Library has virtual programs, online access to favourite newspapers and magazines, and links to online resources for entertainment or research.
• Wellbeing Waterloo Region - In response to COVID-19, Wellbeing Waterloo Region has added COVID related events to their calendar. These listings are events and programming related to general wellbeing that have been adapted to become virtual.