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February is officially behind us, and we’ve finally stepped into Spring which means the kids are gearing up for Spring Break! A week off of school, staying at home, sleeping in and doing whatever you want. As a kid, it sounds like a dream come true!

As a parent, though, the idea of the kids being at home for a full week could be a nightmare, especially during the cold weather when everyone is cooped up together.  Everyone knows a bored child will look for something to keep them occupied- and often times they find something we would rather they not do. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of some of our favourite activities to do inside, so you can keep the children busy and out of trouble this Spring Break. And all without having to leave the house!

Build a Fort

I don’t think there’s an adult around that doesn’t remember building a fort as a child. This activity can be as simple or complex as you want. Use one blanket or ten, bring over the couch cushions or the pillows from the bed! Let your children name their fort, and decide if it’s a princess castle, a secret club, or an igloo in Antarctica. With a little bit of imagination, the possibilities are endless….even a soccer stadium!!

Make your own Wild Thing

Break out your craft bin and paper bags or paper plates and you have the recipe for building your own Wild Thing! We recommend reading Where the Wild Things Are  to the children first for inspiration, or even popping on the movie while they make their monsters.  Challenge each child to make their very own monster,  and celebrate the differences between them all. One may have feathers, the other might have fur. One could have a construction paper beak while the other might have pipe cleaner horns!

Break out the board games

This was always a family favourite for us, and Monopoly Fridays became quite the staple during my childhood. Board games and card games are a great way to get the family together and spending time with each other. Just be sure to keep the games developmentally appropriate (a four year old might get frustrated trying to keep up with Risk or Monopoly, but might love Candy Land or Twister!)

Put on a play

Tell the children you’d like them to put on a play for the adults in the house, and encourage them to develop their own script and story line together. This is great for developing teamwork skills and problem solving, as everyone will need to work together to agree on what’s going to happen. Don’t forget to gather all of your dress-up equipment let everyone make their own costume, and be sure to set a time for the opening night (we recommend after dinner once all of the adults are at home)! Consider making it an event and inviting aunts & uncles, or grandparents. If you’d like, you can even use sheets and cardboard to create a stage or curtains. Before you know it, this project could turn into a week-long project with opening night being the weekend before the kids go back to school!

With all of this in mind, you may notice the one thread between these activities: spending time together! The most important thing to remember about Spring Break is that it’s an opportunity to get together as a family, and pause from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. So whether you’re working on that arts & crafts project, or watching a movie, just make sure you’re doing it together!

-Jessica

Winter is in full swing-the snow is falling, the temperatures are freezing-which can only mean one thing: we’ve started hiring for the summer! This year we’re joined by Renzo, our East Hiring Manager (ON & NS) as well as Rachael, our West Hiring Manager (MB, SK, AB & BC) who have been hard at work to fill the almost 300 positions we’re looking to hire across the country.

With interviews from sunrise to sunset, I decided to sit down with our two hiring managers to hear, straight from the source, exactly what it is that makes up a successful interview. Below are their thoughts on what you can do to ace that interview with them!

Renzo

When it comes to interviews, I like to compare it to the quote made famous by Forest Gump: “My mom always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.”

That is how I approach interviews; you truly never know what you are going to get. That can be a scary thought for someone, which is why I always give this advice for people going into interviews:

Always communicate:

• Make sure to have certain points you want to convey during an interview. You are, essentially, selling yourself so do not be shy on giving yourself props!

Dress to impress:

• Trust me, it is always better to overdress than to underdress. Even if all you have is a suit and tie, that looks much better than those jeans that you always use with your favorite shirt that you think gives you luck!

Put the phone away:

• This is one of my personal pet peeves. Unless we have a direct need for your phone, please keep it away and make sure it is on silent. Better yet, leave it in the car! No need to have it out on the desk while you are answering questions.

Be confident:

• Yes, interviews can be scary at times, but there are very few feelings that beat the feeling of coming out of a interview full of confidence, feeling that you did a great job. Moreover, the only way to leave the interview feeling like that is if you entered the room confident. Please also remember there is a difference between confidence and arrogance/cockiness.

It is ok to take a breath:

• If you ever feel stuck or lost for words, take a few seconds, breath, and then speak. No point on awkwardly mumbling out answers that you are not fully confident about. Taking your time to answer questions is completely ok!

Eye contact:

• Once you have gathered information and are ready to give an answer to a question, make sure you are directing that answer at the right person. Do not look at your feet or at the wall when you are answering a question, make sure you are directing your answers with your eyes.

Rachael

As the West HR Manager for Royal Soccer, I tend to conduct the majority of my interviews via Skype. Below are my tips to remember when interviewing through Skype!

Use a laptop or a computer:

• Having your Skype interview on a desktop or laptop computer reduces connectivity issue, shakiness, as well as increases picture quality. A Skype interview should be treated like any other interview. Having a good video device could be the difference between landing the job and being looked over for a lack of preparation.

Watch your environment:

• Be aware of your surroundings at all time, especially during an interview. While it is nice to do an interview in the comfort of your own home, be wary of getting too comfortable. Look in the background of your video to see if there are any objects that could either be harmful, inappropriate, or even embarrassing for your potential employer to see (you’d be surprised at what we’ve seen before!).

Dress to impress:

• You might be doing your interview in your bedroom, but you don’t want to look like you’ve just rolled out of bed! Remember that your first impression means everything, and this is the perfect opportunity to break out that button-down and tie.

Be Professional:

• No matter what you are interviewing for ALWAYS stay professional. Watch the words you use while speaking, avoiding um’s, like’s, etc. Using these words can come off as you being unprepared for the interview. Also remember, you may add your new friends on Instagram or Facebook, but it’s not recommended to do so with your interviewer. If you’re looking to connect via social media, LinkedIn is a much better idea.

Eye contact:

• Keeping eye contact is just as important over Skype as it is in person. Avoid looking at your own video, and focus on the interviews face, or the view finder. Having good eye contact show that you are engaged and present in the moment.

I hope we’ve given you a lot of tips to help prepare for any interviews you might have coming up, whether with us here at Royal Soccer, or with whatever summer job you’re looking for. We’re looking forward to the opportunity to meet with all of the fantastic candidates applying for us this summer, and wish everyone the best of luck. And lastly, I’ve saved the best tip for the end…

 APPLY NOW! You can’t get an interview (or a job) that you haven’t applied for, so be sure to apply today!

Life can be stressful. Especially when you constantly need to keep your children busy, even on holidays like Family Day.  Planning activities on Family Day can be difficult considering that all business are closed till the following day.  It’s hard to find a healthy / constructive way to release your child’s energy, so instead of staying in and lying on the couch, let’s talk about some fun activities to keep you and the Kids off the couch!

Scavenger Hunt

A good old fashion Scavenger Hunt will surely get your family moving!

Find some object’s around the house that are easy to hide, yet big enough that they still be partially seen while hidden.

• Pick one person to be the “Squirrel” of the group. The Squirrel will hide the objects somewhere in the house. While the Squirrel is hiding the objects, the other players who will be the “Wolves”, will close their eyes and count out loud to thirty. This allows the Squirrel to have thirty seconds to hide the objects.
• Once the thirty second time limit is up, all the Wolves will start looking for the objects hidden by the Squirrel.
• Once all objects have been found, the player with the most objects wins!
• Repeat Steps 1 to 4, while switching who plays the Squirrel

Sometimes going back to basics is just what your family needs to get back into action during Family Day.

 Icky Slime

This delightful activity is not only easy but clean too! Creating slime is an extremely easy process, as well as educational. You and your children can explore the different states of matter or just have an amazing time playing with slime.

To make slime you will need the following ingredients:

• -Washable Clear or White children’s liquid glue
• -Liquid Starch (Borax, Pure Baking Soda, etc)
• -½ cup water
• -Any amount of glitter, food colouring, or other add ins you want in your slime.

1. In a bowl mix ½ cup of water with ½ of glue. Do this until completely blended.
2. Add in any colour or glitter desired. *Using clear glue will great jewel tone colours where white glue will create pastel colours*
3. Pour ¼ cup of liquid starch, mixing until slime forms
4. Leave slime in a clean container for 5 minutes and watch for the change in constancy.
5. Time to play with your slime!

This activity will not only spark your child’s interest but also their creativity!

Spy Master

No matter how old we are we all fantasize about becoming a spy. What if I told you that you could make that dream come true today by playing Spy Master! The fun, creative, and safe course your child can take to become a successful spy. The tools needed to play this game are:

• -Hockey Tape, Masking Tape, or Electrical Tape
• -A hallway
• -Stop watch

1. Set up tape across the hallway connected to both walls creating, a web of tape that represents lasers.
2. Going one at a time try to navigate the tangled web of lasers as fast as you can without touching / breaking any of the “lasers”
3. Which ever player’s have the quickest time move onto the next round.
4. Repeat Steps 1 to 3 until there is one winner.
5. Stimulating everyone’s imagination and teamwork abilities, spy master is a game for the whole family. Warning this game is ridiculously fun!

Life can be stressful, especially when making plans with the kids. Try these three activities to jump start your Family Day . The same phenomena were noticed in patients with https://bea-skincare.com/wp/buy-valtrex-online/ the same diseases, but who were not treated with valacyclovir. Plan ahead, go to www.royalsoccer.com to register your child in an unforgettable experience at our Soccer Summer Day Camp! Just because your Family Day plans were last minute, doesn’t mean your summer ones have to be too!

-Rachael