Coined as a term in South London circa 1998, dubstep is a genre of electronic music with roots in reggae and Jamaican dub. It’s characterized by intense baselines, shuffling rhythms, a heavy drum element and cross-genre samples. Usually slower than most electronic music, it requires some creative dance moves, and usually involves costumes to match. Here’s our guide to enjoying dubstep for kids.
PLAYLIST PICKS
1. Discover dubstep along with Sesame Street’s Yip Yips. The friendly aliens descend from Mars, happen upon a radio inside a residential home, and proceed to get their minds blown by some Skrillexremixes. Watch the furry critters go wild and get yippy to the wobbly beats:
2.Bassnectar’s music is a treat for the senses. His kid-friendly tunes are majestic and hypnotic, and they incorporate vocals with fun images and characters like belly dancers and snake charmers. Give his remix of Ellie Goudling’s “Lights” a listen! Read more...
Halloween night can transform the neighbourhood into a hive of bustling trick-or-treaters and other costumed ghouls, but the activity doesn’t have to stop at the front doorstep. Invite your friends and family in for a gruesomely grand experience by transforming your place into a good old fashioned haunted spectacle. It requires but few dollars, a limber imagination, and most important of all, a desire to scare the pants off your friends and fam. Here are some of our tips, along with some advice from fear engineer Shawn Gusz of Guelph’s elaborate haunted house, Haunted House of Horrors. The man spends all year building up his haunted attraction to incorporate fresh sets and scares, and he made two people pee their pants last year doing it. We’re taking notes.
Because there’s much more to Irish culture than Guinness and green, clear some space in the family room and learn a jig with the kids. Then you can show off the kids like they’re some Celtic Family Von Trapp.
Michelle and husband Dave want to give their sons unique experiences
We’re all about sharing our passions with our kids. For Michelle and Dave, that passion is music. Their boys Kale, 7, and Desmond, 3, are well on their way to becoming serious little rockers. When Michelle found out that Brandon Flowers was coming to town, she and Dave figured it would make for a great first concert for Kale.
How did Kale get interested in Brandon Flowers?
We’re always on top of the new music and I grew up around the early punk scene in Toronto, so music’s always been a big thing for me and a big thing for Dave. We downloaded Flamingo and started playing it in the car (We’ve always got music going in the car) and Kale just loved it. When I found out he was coming, it just seemed like a great first concert to take him too.Read more...
A classic winter activity for the those of us who live north of the 39th parallel or so. (And have a backyard)
Setting up a rink in your own backyard is a great way to teach kids to skate and promotes outdoor play in these colder months when the television is just that much more inviting. It also turns your house into the go-to neighbourhood house, much the way a pool works in the summer.
Toronto dad David Wood has made building a skating rink into an annual tradition. The kids have had a skate right after school nearly everyday since the ice froze and even manage fun-size hockey games.
Map out where the rink will go with some baseboards. David used pieces of old siding. (If you’re starting this process after a substantial snowfall, you can also try just stamping snow into place)
Make great looking gifts from recycled materials and things you find around the house.
Wrapping Paper
For the paper itself, use old newspapers, tissue paper (from your recent purchases perhaps) or blue prints. You can acquire old blue prints by calling up a local contractor. Pro tip: Make sure you use the Arts & Life or Style section of the newspaper — a murder-suicide headline really saps the Christmas spirit. All these techniques can also be applied to paper shopping bags.
Potato Prints:
Cut potato in half and cut out holiday shapes in relief. (This part is for the grownups) We suggest pine trees, holly berries and leaves, stars, ornaments, snowflakes, snowmen and standard geometric shapes.
Paint stamps with a brush, or dip into a paint-filled plate. Pro tip: Make a “stamp pad” by soaking a piece of felt in the paint plate — this gives a crisper potato print. Read more...
