Newsletters

Séverine Baron

Severine is a Montreal-based electronic music composer and writer. Mother of two super heroes, she can be spotted roaming around the many local festivals, running after these small city defenders.
    How To Wash Plastic Toys
    As I mentioned recently in a post about cleaning stuffed animals, my somewhat psycho-rigid side prevents me from having too much fun with things like grime and dirt in general. Imagine my badly faked smile when a couple of weeks ago, my kids giddily brought up a box full of 30-year-old LEGOS from my parents’ basement! This brought up a mind-numbing cycle: the inventory of all plastic toys needing to be cleaned in our house and how to do it. Well, turns out it’s not that complicated.
    Séverine Baron
    May 4, 2019
    Tech & Decor for Your Inner ’80s Child
    Were you born in the ’70s and have major memories of growing up in the ’80s? Yep, me too. So when my sister put on her special ’80s music playlist the other day, I found myself looking reminiscing about our childhood, especially the things we had. Remember when you bought cassette tapes? How about when you bought your very first CD and listened to it on your huge cd player that cost a fortune?
    Séverine Baron
    Mar 27, 2014
    Find Peace at Home with Paint
    Are you painting a room in your house to achieve a peaceful atmosphere? Whether it be a bedroom or a living room, a foyer or a kitchen, your color choice can affect the mood you are trying to set.
    Séverine Baron
    Mar 13, 2014
    How To Help Kids Get Themselves Ready in the Morning
    Haven’t we all lost it completely at one point or another trying to get our kids out the door in the morning?! But power struggles create distance and don’t change the results much in getting kids to school on time. Whether you have toddlers taking their time or teenagers giving you grief, here’s a list of tips and tricks to help you and them out. 1. Involve kids in creating a morning routine.
    Séverine Baron
    Mar 10, 2014
    20 Resources for Teaching Kids How to Program & Code
    Isn’t it amazing to see a baby or a toddler handle a tablet or a smart phone? They know how technology works. Kids absorb information so fast, languages (spoken or coded) can be learned in a matter of months. Recently there has been a surge of articles and studies emerging about teaching kids to code. We live in a “Back to the Future” movie. We are connected to technology now unlike when we were kids. It’s part of our lives and kids are born into it.
    Séverine Baron
    Feb 20, 2014
    Tips for Teaching Kids to Clean Up After Themselves
    Kids are messy. No way around that. But as parents we do have a tendency to clean up after them because it’s faster and more practical. Just like anything though, kids need to learn to clean, they cannot invent skills just like they can’t learn to read on their own (well, most of them anyway). There are different ways to go about it. A lot of people use rewards combined with chore charts.
    Séverine Baron
    Jan 23, 2014
    Helping Kids Focus After the Holidays
    The holidays were very exciting for most of us I presume. For my family, it was a juice concentrate of partying, eating, and playing. It seems like the kids are still over-stimulated from that period, and I’ve been having a hard time being heard or getting them to focus, even for as little as putting on their coats to go out. This reminded me we need to get back on a routine, and stick to it. We have a few techniques we use that are part of our lifestyle and values.
    Séverine Baron
    Jan 22, 2014
    How To Clean Stuffed Animals
    Is it completely germophobic to be cleaning your kids’ stuffed toys every month? Of course, I’m asking for a friend of mine (wink)! I completely understand that our kids need to grow their immune system by being exposed to various degrees of bacteria, still, I can’t look at these toys and remain calm. It makes me cringe. Just like that tiny chalk mark the teacher used to forget to erase on the board back in school. Ok, there goes my free-spirit reputation!
    Séverine Baron
    Jan 16, 2014
    15 Ideas for Celebrating New Year’s Eve with Children
    New Year’s Eve is almost here. And if you are going celebrate with kids present, it needs a little planning so everybody remains happy. There are many ways to help the whole evening go well, without fatigue tantrums, boredom, or general chaos, whether you’re letting them stay up late or not, and whether you’re having a big party or a quiet evening at home. Here are 15 ideas for things to do before the clock strikes twelve and the ball falls: 1.
    Séverine Baron
    Dec 17, 2013
    Buy or DIY: Story Stones
    Storytelling is a part of the learning process. Kids can express emotions through storytelling, they learn new vocabulary, and learn to listen as well. Story Stones are an interesting tool for boosting their creativity. Story Stones can be used by parents, educators, or other adults to guide a story along. Kids ask questions, contribute to the story, make up different stories with the same characters – all the while increasing their thinking capacities.
    Séverine Baron
    Sep 4, 2013
    Tips for Living with Kids in a Walk-Up
    “Move to a ground floor!” is what I said to my pregnant friend who lived in the top floor apartment of a three story non-elevator building with those strange outside stairs we have here in Montreal (um, it gets cold and snowy here, hello!). But she preferred to stay put and appreciate all that great top-floor light. Here’s how she dealt with it while going through first kid, pregnancy and second kid:1. Keep the diaper bag very basic.
    Séverine Baron
    Mar 12, 2013
    Before & After: Kid’s Art Easel
    My kids’ art easel is one of those things I could trash instantly when my kids are done using it. It’s covered in doodles and smudged with so much paint that it’s an eye sore. Then when they actually use it, I’m the happiest person on Earth, watching them create their soon-to-be-sold-by-Sotheby’s works of art.
    Séverine Baron
    Oct 11, 2012