a peek inside the fishbowl

14 Mar, 2011

Day one of March Break, and a new gig

Posted by andrea tomkins in: - Know More Do More|Publishing/writing/career stuff

March Break started with a bang. Last night one of the girls had a sleepover. We had an impromptu summer picnic-style dinner (hots and hams, carrot slaw, and potato chips!) and afterwards curled up to watch Open Season 2.

They are all chatting over breakfast while I attempt to plan the rest of our week. There is work to be done too and I need to schedule around it. I haven’t had a spare moment to share some fun news with you and I’ve already be at it for over a week.

Some of you know this already, but I’m officially working as the Social Media / Community Manager / Social Media Content and Strategy Gal (I can’t come up with a title for myself – help?) for the Know More Do More campaign. I first wrote about KMDM in March 2010, and for the better part of a year we plowed through their tip jar to see if we could shake things up a little around here. It was KMDM that inspired me to go on a sugar fast, read labels a little more closely, and organize a neighborhood game of freeze tag… among other things.

I am pretty excited to be working with such a great group of partners. And if you’ve been here for any length of time you’ll know that this is a topic that I’m really passionate about.

Know More Do More encourages a whole-child approach to good health. It’s not about counting calories or buying treadmills for the whole family. It’s about taking small steps and creating healthy habits. It’s about introducing a family game night instead of watching TV seven nights a week. It’s about sitting down to a dinner you made as a family, going for a walk in the park, buying local, and taking a deep breath.

Lovely.

One of the things I’m doing for KMDM is providing content for their relaunched Facebook page. I would love it if you could join me there and jump into the conversation. Contributing to the Facebook page is a tiny way you can help make all of our families a little healthier. (How? KMDM is, at its core, an awareness campaign. Talk brings change. Your participation on Facebook helps spread the word. By sharing information with other parents you are helping make healthy living a priority in people’s minds. And who knows, maybe your comment or tweet will be the ripple that creates a wave of change? For example, wouldn’t you love to see more kids walking to school or playing in the park after school? If so, you need to be part of a movement that supports it, and show your support.)

KMDM is also on Twitter (which is something else I take care of) and you can follow me there too. We have some neat things planned, including some giveaways, which is pretty cool in my books. :)

You can read more about KMDM on the official website

Knowledge is power. And my goal with KMDM is to spread the word about healthy living.  I know that sounds totally granola and is quite possibly a turnoff for those who equates “healthy living” with Birkenstock-wearing commune dwellers (nothin’ against Birks, of course) but it is my hope that through KMDM I will be able to remind people that it’s not that hard to be healthy and active. Good health is not beyond our reach. And being mindful of what our kids are eating and doing, and helping them get the best possible start in life, is the best gift we can give them.

Edited to add:  one of the things I’d like to do once the weather improves is organize a big playdate at the park some sunny Saturday morning. Or maybe a bike parade along the Ottawa River parkway when it closes on Bike Sundays. Maybe with prizing? Anyone interested in that kind of thing? :)


5 Responses to "Day one of March Break, and a new gig"

1 | Annie @ PhD in Parenting

March 14th, 2011 at 9:16 am

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A park date sounds great!

Cycling is great too, but more difficult to catch up and chat with people.

2 | Robyn

March 14th, 2011 at 1:35 pm

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Great news, Andrea — so glad you are taking this on!

3 | Jackie

March 14th, 2011 at 7:18 pm

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Something that is a struggle for us non-outdoorsy types is getting enough exercise in the winter. I would love to see neighbourhood public schools open up their gyms to families in the neighbourhood. I know this is an idea that Silken Laumann talked about in her book Child’s Play. What are your thoughts?

4 | Jen Hughes

March 18th, 2011 at 12:00 am

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Love the park playdate idea!

5 | Jennifer

March 18th, 2011 at 9:27 pm

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Love the park date idea. We would so be in.

Jackie: your idea Re: school gyms in winter is possible and easy to do. Many schools in our ‘hood do it. If you are interested in knowing how, ask Andrea for my email. I can tell you how.

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My name is Andrea and I live in the Westboro area of Ottawa with my husband Mark and our dog Piper who is kind of a big deal on Instagram. We also have two human offspring: Emma (24) and Sarah (22). During the day I work as a writer at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre. I am a longtime Ottawa blogger and I've occupied this little corner of the WWW since 1999. The Fishbowl is my whiteboard, water cooler, and journal, all rolled into one. I'm passionate about healthy living, arts and culture, travel, great gear, good food, and sharing the best of Ottawa. I also love vegetables, photography, gadgets, and great design.

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