Merry Christmas comes to our house on Sparkle Road!

Chance and me open our first present.

 Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, Grandpa James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know. 

Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful! 

It's Christmas morning! Merry Christmas is here! So is Santa and the elves and Elvis and the Newborn Baby Jesus and the little drummer boy and the silent knight and the shepherds and all the sheep and the three wise guys who followed the OnStar! 

We got presents under the Canadian Tire spruce! Grandpa James says to open the big red box first. Okay! We can do that!  Guess what? Inside the box is our cousin Frankie. He came all the way from Germy. That's in Europe. Grandpa James says he's from Germany, not Germy. Okay. Frankie is the bestest present!

Frankie and Chance help me open the next present. It's a new hockey stick and an NHL puck! Now we will have even more fun when we play hockey. I'm Cub Gretzky and Chance is Cub Crosby. He shoots! He scores!  We're gonna win the Stanley Cup for sure!

The next present is great big 'ole box of Smarties. I l-o-v-e Smarties. Grandpa James says we have more Smarties than there are stars in the starry night sky. That's a lot of Smarties, you know and we are gonna eat them a-l-l up!

Chance has presents, too. He got a brand new pair of red mitts! Chance loves mittens. He thinks when he wears mitts it will snow. He's too newborn to know he's not in charge of the weather.

Chance climbed way high on the Christmas tree to thank Santa for his new red mitts.

Oh. Wait! Did you hear that?  Grandpa James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find Grandpa James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed. 

 This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, Merry Christmas good citizens. Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and have Christmas with us! We can play with our Cousin Frankie, together! Okay! Over and out!"

Joyeux Noel! Merry Christmas! Froeliche Weinachten!

Fourteen Days 'Til Merry Christmas Comes to our House!

Chance and me with our Canadian Tire spruce tree all decorated for Christmas!

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, Grandpa James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know. Grandpa James says his first Christmas was the first Christmas!

 Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Uncle Zii and Auntie Ambreen and Chance and me.

Chance and me are having fun. Uncle Zii and Auntie Ambreen came to dinner. So did Grandpa John and Grandma Kathy. We had special food 'cuz Merry Christmas is coming in fourteen days! We had roasted chicken and mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes and salad. We had cheesecake with bakeapples on top!

Our cheesecake is smothered in bakeapples. Some people call them cloudberries, you know. It tastes twice as yummy 'cuz it has two names!

Then we decorated our Canadian Tire spruce tree with pretty balls and ornaments. Chance tries to lick them 'cuz they're shiny but we don't eat Christmas ornaments. They're not in Canada's Food Guide, you know. 

We sang Christmas songs while we decorate the tree. We sang Deck the Halls, O Christmas Tree and my favouritest song, Silent Knights. I don't know why the knights have to be silent when the sheep and the little drummer boy are making all that noise!

After the tree was finished we hugged everyone good night. Grandpa James tucked us into bed, read us our bedtime story and heard our prayers. Chance fell asleep during the story. That's 'cuz he's so newborn.

Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? Grandpa James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find Grandpa James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed.

This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Be kind to friends and neighbours. Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can decorate our Canadian Tire spruce together! Okay! Over and out!"

Riding in a Cab with Ali

Our buddy Ali is a cab driver. He takes us places in his big blue and yellow cab.

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy,  Grandpa James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.

 Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Know what? We have to go to the CAW Hall on Turner Road. That's pretty far away. Grandpa James says, "We'll take a taxi there. I'll call Veteran's Cab." Taxi cabs are fun to ride in. Taxi drivers have very important jobs, you know. They go places that the bus can't get to. Cabs can work late at night after all the buses go to sleep.  I could be a cab driver when I grow up. I'd say, "Where would you like me to take you, today?" I would put on the meter and away we would go!

 Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? Grandpa James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find Grandpa James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed.

This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Be kind to friends and neighbours. Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can go for a cab ride with our buddy, Ali! Okay! Over and out!"

Food Fun at Piccalo!

Alan is our server at Piccolo's. His job is important. He tells the chef what I want to eat for lunch. The food is so yummy, I want to eat everything!

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, Grandpa James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.

Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Guess what? We're at Piccolo's! Every time Grandpa Reid and Nana Margaret come to visit we go to Piccolo's to eat lunch. Piccolo's has Italian food. Grandpa James says Italian food comes from Italy but we can't believe him 'cuz he makes up stuff all the time. I know where Italian food really comes from. It comes from the kitchen!

Look, quick before it's gone! Lasagna gets eaten up really fast!

Grandpa James always eats lasagna. Lasagna is yummy and yummy is one of the four food groups in Canada's Food Guide, you know.

Over the lips and through the gums, look out tummy, eggplant Parmesan, here it comes!

Grandpa Reid and Nana Margaret like the eggplant Parmesan. We all like the Garlic Fingers. I could eat them all day! I hold one up high in the air and I say, "Look out, Garlic Finger! I'm gonna eat you a-l-l up! And then I do! Grandpa James says, "Charles don't eat like a pig." I'm not a pig, I'm a bear cub. Grandpa James says silly things sometimes.

Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? Grandpa James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find Grandpa James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed.

This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Be kind to friends and neighbours. Then you can eat Garlic Fingers and lasagna, too. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can go to Piccalo's together! Okay! Over and out!"

Eating Dim Sum at Sky Dragon

Our buddies at Sky Dragon are William, Steven, Kathy, Andy and Sunny.

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live with my buddy, Grandpa James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know. We live on Sparkle Road. That's right next to Sandwich Street. That's in Windsor. I know where Windsor is--it's in O Canada.

 Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Sometimes we go to Toronto. We ride on VIA Rail. I love the train but we don't eat trains, you know.  That would be silly, wouldn't it? They're not in Canada's Food Guide.

Our train goes from Windsor to Toronto. When we get to London, we're halfway already!

We have lots of things to do in TO. One of our favouritest things is to eat at Sky Dragon. They have very yummy food. It's Chinese food. The nice servers bring us Dim Sum. I know what Dim Sum means. It means 'choose to your heart's content.' I like to choose my food. It's fun. I always eat Har Gow and Beef Balls and Cheung Fun, too. Chance doesn't have any teeth, he's so newborn. He licks my Char Sui Bao and makes squeaky noises 'cuz he's happy. Dim Sum always makes us happy!

Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? Grandpa James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find Grandpa James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed.

 This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Be kind to friends and neighbours. Then you can eat Dim Sum at Sky Dragon. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can eat at Sky Dragon together! Okay! Over and out!"

Hallowe'en Night is Fun!

I'm dressed up to look like Ray Charles. Chance is wearing his Boo! handkerchief.

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy,  Grandpa James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.

 Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Coffee Crisps are yummy and that's one of the four food groups in Canada's Food Guide.

Tonight is Hallowe'en. It is the scariest night of the year. We get to dress up in costumes and visit our friends and neighbours. I'm wearing sunglasses. I'm dressed up to look like Ray Charles. Chance is so newborn he just gets to wear his Boo! handkerchief around his neck. Chance doesn't even have any teeth, yet. I'll have to help him eat it all up! Grandpa James is disguised as a grumpy old man.

When we eat Smarties we have to eat the red ones last. It's one of the rules about Smarties.

Okay, this is how to Trick-or-Treat. We go to the door and ring the doorbell. Then we holler,
Trick or treat,
Smell my feet,
Give me something
Good to eat!

The people guess who we are. They give us good things to eat like Smarties. Some people gave us Aero bars and Coffee Crisps. We got root beer and Kinder Surprise Eggs!

Know what the surprise is?  Inside the chocolate there's a toy!

 Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? Grandpa James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find Grandpa James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed.

Boo!

This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Be kind to friends and neighbours. Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can Trick-or-Treat together! Okay! Over and out!"

Our Jack-O'-Lantern

I know where Jack-O-Lanterns come from. They come from pumpkins.

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, Grandpa James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.

 Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. He's so newborn he doesn't even have any teeth! I look after Chance, too. He's a handful! He climbs way high and can't get down. He makes little squawky noises 'cuz he's afraid. I have to say, "My son! Come down from there this instant!" Then I have to help him.

Know what? We're getting ready for Hallowe'en. We're gonna make a Jack-O'-Lantern. This is how you make one. First, you have to buy a pumpkin at Westside Foods. That's on Sandwich Street. We can walk there from our house.

Jack-O'-Lanterns are born as pumpkins. Pumpkins are a fruit, you know.

There are lots of pumpkins at Westside Foods. We pick a nice one. We want our Jack-O'-Lantern to look v-e-r-y scary.

Okay. First we have to cut off the top of the pumpkin. We use a knife. We have to be careful 'cuz knives are sharp and we could cut ourselves. That would not be good.

Next we have to scoop out the seeds but we don't throw them away. They're good to eat, you know. We save them. We will toast them in the oven. Roasted pumpkin seeds are  yummy and that's one of the four food groups in Canada's Food Guide.

Now we cut some eyes and a mouth for our Jack-O'-Lantern. Then we put a candle inside. Our Jack-O'-Lantern is really scary. We turn off the lights and Grandpa James tells us the story of Stingy Jack. He made the first Jack-O'-Lantern, you know. It's a scary story, just like our pumpkin!

Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? Grandpa James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find Grandpa James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed.

 This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Be kind to friends and neighbours Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can make Jack-O'-Lanterns together! Okay! Over and out!"

Pumpkin Pie for Hallowe'en

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, Grandpa James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.

 Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. He's so newborn he doesn't even have any teeth. Chance can only drink chocolate owls' milk. I look after Chance, too. He climbs way high on things and can't get down. I have to say, "My son! Come down from there!" Then I have to help him 'cuz he's a real handful!

Look at us! We helped Grandpa James cook a pumpkin pie. I know where pumpkin pie comes from. It comes from pumpkins!  Pumpkins are ready to eat when Hallowe'en comes. I like Hallowe'en and I like pumpkins, too. I know the rules for making pumpkin pie. Grandpa James says the rules are called the recipe. This is how we make pumpkin pie.

First we put the cooked pumpkin in the big bowl. We add ginger and cinnamon and allspice. Then we put in the eggs and the milk. We get to stir it all up. Grandpa James says I'm the Minister of Stirring. Chance is too newborn to really help, you know, but Grandpa James says Chance is the Deputy Mini-Stir of Stirring. He just makes messes but he makes little squeaky noises and that means he's happy and we're all having a good time. We l-o-v-e to cook with Grandpa James.

When we put the pumpkin in the pie crust it's ready to go in the oven. The oven is very hot. It's so hot it can burn us. The oven is at 225C. That's really hot. We sit on the chair to watch our pie. Grandpa James says we use the oven to bake food in. That's different from cooking, you know.

When the pie is done it has to cool off. Then we can eat some. It smells real good. My tummy is growling. I'm as hungry as a bear! I can hardly wait. I l-o-v-e pumpkin pie. I want ice cream on my pie. Yeah. That would be even more yummy!

Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? Grandpa James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find Grandpa James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed.

This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Be kind to friends and neighbours Then you can eat Smarties and pumpkin pie and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can make pumpkin pie together! Okay! Over and out!"

The Pro Bono Open House at the University of Windsor

Chance and me speak to law students at the University of Windsor. Testing, testing, one, two, three. Chance wants to lick the microphone. He's too newborn to know you can't eat microphones!

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, Grandpa James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.

Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Guess where we are? We're at the University of Windsor. That's a really big school, you know. I go to the Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre on Sandwich Street. Then I will go to General Brock School. After that I will go to Forster High School. Then I can go to the University of Windsor. That's a lot of school! I'll be really old!

 We're in the moot court.  Today is Pro Bono Launch Day. That means for the good. I know what good is. Good is doing what's right, even when it's not easy to do. Grandpa James says that doing right builds character. I don't think building character is like building stuff with my Legos. Grandpa James says character is invisible to us but everyone else can see it.

The students at the Pro Bono Society volunteer to help groups like the Crosstown Players. We're glad they want to help us. Chance and me love the theatre. Singing and dancing and acting are fun, you know.

The law students are thoughtful. Grandpa James says they are investing in our community. That's a good thing, you know.

Chance and me are get our picture taken with Ms. Anna (left). She's the boss of Career Services. Gordon (centre) and Matt (right) are the bosses of the Pro Bono Society. They're all really nice. Know what? They all like pizza!

Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? Grandpa James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find Grandpa James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed.

This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Be kind to friends and neighbours. Volunteer in your community. That builds character. When you do good things you get to eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! We get to go to Spago on Erie Street and eat Italian food, too! Come over to our house and play with us! We can go to the university and volunteer together! Okay! Over and out!"

Charles and Chance Drive a Police Car

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, Grandpa James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.

Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Sergeant Steve is an officer. That means he's a policeman. Policemen and Policewomen have important jobs. They keep everyone in Windsor safe and peaceful. Sometimes their jobs are dangerous. We're lucky to have brave police, you know.

I could be a police officer when I grow up, you know. There's a special school for the job. I would like that. I could serve and protect boys and girls and grownups and bear cubs, too. Know what? Some officers don't drive cars. They drive police boats up and down the Detroit River.

Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? Grandpa James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find Grandpa James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed.

 This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Be kind to friends and neighbours. Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can go see Sergeant Steve and ride with him in the police car! Okay! Over and out!"

Cubcert! Charles and Chance Sing at Children's Fest

Hi. I'm Charles the Bear Cub. You know me. I live on Sparkle Road with my buddy, James. He's really old. He was the second Canadian to get off Noah's Ark, you know.

 Oh. Wait! Chance lives with us, too. He's a newborn cubby someone left in a basket on our doorstep. He's a wee little thing. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Look at Chance and me! We're on stage at Children's Fest! We have a job to do. Our job is important. Our job is to sing for the boys and girls. We know lots of songs. We're gonna sing O Canada. Then we will sing We Love Windsor and the Itsy-bitsy Spider/La toute petite arraignee. Then we're gonna sing B-I-N-G-O and The Smarties Song and  Frere Jacques and All Around the Circle and Rubber Ducky and He's Got the Whole World in His Hands. We sing our songs in French, too.

Miss Cyn and me and Grandpa James are singing.

Oh! Wait! We're gonna sing The Purple Maple Syrple Song, too! When I was a newborn cubby I couldn't say syrup. Grandpa James says I called it syrple. Now I am five. I can say syrup but I say 'syrple' just for fun.

The boys and girls come up on stage to help us sing. We have lots of fun. We have cymbals and tambourines and a big washtub drum, too!

We sing O Canada. Our Member of Parliament gave us little Canada flags. Thank you, Mr. Comaratin! Cousin Boo holds Chance. He's too newborn to know how to sing but he knows O Canada is an important song 'cuz everyone stands up when we sing it.

Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? Grandpa James is hollering, "Where are my handsome bear cubs? Where are my Sons of Windsor? Where are my Princes of Ontario? That's me! Charles! That's Chance! We're handsome bear cubs. We're Sons of Windsor and Princes of Ontario! We gotta go find Grandpa James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed.

This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Be kind to neighbours and friends. Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can sing songs! Okay! Over and out!"