With the first month of school nearing an end, our family is finally back in the swing of things. Lunches, uniforms, new bus schedules... it's all a part of the back-to-school season, right? This year, we decided to take on the HP Brain Training Challenge in addition to the typical school preparations that we may (or may not) look forward to each year. For our first Creative IQ-inspired challenge, my daughter and I chose to re-design her bedroom and had a lot of fun doing so. For our second challenge, we worked on improving our science knowledge, teamwork and artistic skills by playing educational games using the Rove20’s 10-point multi-touch 20-inch screen. We explored the solar system and living cells, solved puzzles and much more. Finally, we completed a third challenge that was designed by the writers of Creative IQ to develop improvisation, planning and implementation skills. This activity included designing and printing our own restaurant menu with the ENVY 5530 e-All-in-One, including menu items with prices, setting a table, waiting on customers and then adding up the bill to figure out the total amount owed.


Using the Rove20, my daughter and I created a simple menu using Microsoft Word via SkyDrive. We were able to use the limited functions to create a table, edit the font and insert a clipart image.


In addition to the menu, we used the printables function on the HP Envy to print out some Disney colouring pages. There were many to choose from, including Disney Planes, Sofia the First and Phineas and Ferb.


After previewing the colouring page, you will have the option to print. Your printer needs to be connected to your Wi-Fi since it will need a couple of seconds to download the page. They were perfect for keeping the young kids busy while waiting for their 'meal' to arrive.


This is a great activity as it aims to develop writing, spelling and math skills. It is only one of several activity suggestions in Creative IQ, a truly handy resource that will be making its way into the Teacher Resource section of our school library.

We later returned indoors and sat down at our workshop tables to begin work on our butterfly garden.

If you see a sign at the side of the road that says "15 miles to The Fruit Shack," do yourself a favour and pay a visit to Niagara-On-The-Lake fruit grower Steve Pohorly. 

Along with his beautiful daughter and wife, he welcomed a group of bloggers onto his farm last weekend as he shared with us his passion for agriculture. (And a basket full of fresh-from-the-farm fruit!)

While touring his apple orchard, we learned about three-legged ladders.

 We sampled sweet and juicy honeycrisp apples.

And we marveled over the endless number of apples that a single tree can produce.

Further along, we came across some blue plum trees and sampled the delectable fruit.

Unfortunately, we were saddened to learn that they would be removing the plum trees due to lack of demand. What a shame. Everyone agreed that these plums were incredibly tasty and yet, we wondered why we rarely, if ever, see them at our local grocery store.

We were also surprised to learn that a large number of peaches had remained unsold this past season and as a result went to waste. It was disheartening to discover that the amount of time and energy invested in growing and harvesting fruit could be so futile.

Dedicated to ensuring a thriving and sustainable farming industry in Ontario, Farmers Feed Cities values the importance of fostering collaborative partnerships with farmers such as Steve Porhorly, as well as industry, community organizations, school groups and the public. As such, they are encouraging Ontarians to ask questions about the food we bring into our homes. If it's seasonal Ontario produce you're looking for, is it available where you regularly shop for groceries? If not, do you take the time to ask the store manager to stock their produce department with locally grown food? Or do you shrug it off and instead opt for produce that had been harvested 45 days prior to arriving at your local store?

I woke up this morning and all I could think about was how much I miss being at Blue Mountain. Do you think if I wished long and hard enough I could somehow postpone the end of summer?

This past summer, this was the view of the resort from our room at the Westin Trillium House on the morning we made our way to the Scenic Caves Nature Adventures park:

If you've read my review of Dempster THINS, you will already know that my all-time favourite sandwich as a child was a Schneiders Jumbo Summer Sausage sandwich. Every now and then, I will pick up some freshly sliced Summer Sausage at the deli and will inevitably snack on a slice or three before storing it in the fridge. For school lunches, I will often pick up some preservative-free Schneiders Country Naturals Black Forest Ham as well. Since I love sandwiches, it goes without saying that I #LoveLunch, so much so that I couldn't pass up on a chance to co-host a Schneiders Twitter party.

Here are the party details and who to follow on Twitter:

Date: Tuesday, September 17 

Time: 9:00 pm ET

Party Hashtag: #LoveLunch

Hosts: @Schneiders – @Listen2Lena – @TeacherMomofTwo – @Kidsumers

What's up for grabs? A grand prize consisting of free lunch for a year. Nuff said.

Please be sure to RSVP using the linky below. New to Twitter and/or Twitter parties? I have written the following tutorial to help you out, complete with screenshots:

How to RSVP for a Twitter party

After an amazing first day at Blue Mountain where we had checked in at the luxurious Westin Trillium House, my family and I joined fellow bloggers and their families on a trip to the highest point on the Niagara Escarpment located on the grounds of Scenic Caves Nature Adventures. My family and I have been to Blue Mountain several times and Scenic Caves is one place we had yet to visit. Many times I thought of exploring the caves on my own thinking that my kids would be too young to go. Boy, was I wrong!

Upon our arrival, it was clear to see that the Scenic Caves adventure park is very kid-friendly. From a children's playground where kids are greeted by Shrek to a brightly coloured train that takes you on a little tour of the grounds, kids will delight in spending a day at the park. There are plenty of picnic tables and Muskoka chairs to lounge in as you soak up the scenery or enjoy a family picnic, as well as an 18-hole mini golf course and Gemstone Mining.

We were very eager to check out the 420' suspension bridge so we made that our first stop. I'd say it's roughly a 10-15 minute walk from the main entrance and there are some steep inclines and stairs. Running or hiking shoes are definitely required. While it was a little intimidating for me at first, my kids had no problem running across it.

It was really neat to take in the view of the Georgian Bay from 300 metres above and to be greeted at the other end by a lovely water feature but that's where it ends. You have to make your way back across the bridge and back to the main entrance. Had I known that after taking the zip line you would have to eventually cross the bridge from the farthest end, I might have skipped this initial visit.

With our kids in tow, we trekked up several flights of stairs and made our way to the first cave known as the Natural Refrigerator.

Continuing on our hike, we enjoyed beautiful views, earthy smells and the sweet sounds of nature.

As we move into the second week of school, the kids and I have been busy exploring the myriad of apps on our new HP ENVY Rove20 as part of the HP Canada Brain Training Challenge with Creative IQ. For our second task, we elected to improve our science knowledge, teamwork and artistic skills by playing educational games that are fun and engaging. With the Rove20’s 10-point multi-touch 20-inch screen, exploring the solar system and living cells, solving puzzles and painting has never been this exciting.

First up was the Puzzle Touch app. After spending a good while figuring out how to search for apps in the Windows Store (it's really quite easy), it wasn't long before the Puzzle Touch app was downloaded and automatically installed. With the Puzzle Touch app, you can choose from a large selection of beautiful photos as well as the number of puzzle pieces you would like. My son started with a 6-piece puzzle and loved the car puzzle the best.

Eventually he worked his way to 12-piece puzzles and turned on the rotation option, which turns pieces and makes it even more challenging to solve. Of course, a little help and encouragement from daddy made it all the more enjoyable. 

For a free app, Puzzle Touch can provide hours of family fun. You can create a new puzzle easily by using a photo from your album or by taking a picture using the HP Rove20 built-in camera. And if you are a puzzle freak like me, you can get as many as 1,000 pieces but it'll cost you $2.99 to have full access to that feature.

Next up, we tried out the Star Chart app which allows you to explore the planets, moons, satellites, stars, and constellations within our solar system. It's the perfect app for that budding astronomer in your family.

While participating in the HP Canada Brain Training Challenge, I needed to download some apps from the Windows Store and couldn't for the life of me figure out how to search for a specific app. I looked and looked for a search bar but couldn't find one. Until I searched online, that is. At which point I felt the palm of my hand connect with my forehead. It's that easy.

In just two simple steps, you can search for the app you need by simply clicking on the Windows Store tile on your Start page and then start typing. Automatically the search bar will pop up along with any possible matches.

There. 

You can remove your hand from your forehead now.

Disclosure: The products to complete the HP Brain Training Challenge activities have been supplied by HP Canada and Creative IQ™. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own.

Now, having heard about all the fuss over the new Target stores, I had shied away from the busy parking lots and long lineups I had previously read about in my Twitter feed. So imagine my surprise when I learned that Target, contrary to my initial and utterly erroneous belief (*hanging head in shame*), carries much more than just clothing. Please don't shun me.

Lo and behold all of the wonderful back-to-school necessities to be found at Target:

Fun and funky Sharpie markers, decorative adhesive tape, paint sets, scissors, erasers... my heart is racing.