Playdate with Pandoro

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 my baby brother but boy, he is a handful!

  Oh. Wait! Frankie lives with us, too. He's our cousin. Frankie is four. He goes to the Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre with me.

 Pandoro came to our house for a playdate. Pandoro is a Panda bear. Panda bears come from Tranna, you know. Pandoro is the Prince of Tranna.

 Uncle Mark and Auntie Carolina and Auntie Connie came, too. The grownups visited and we buddies got to play. We played Hide & Seek. That's a fun game. I close my eyes and count to a hunnert while everyone disappears. Then I look for them. Chance is a terrible hider. He's so newborn he thinks that when he closes his eyes, he's invisible. He's not, you know. I can see him. Pandoro and Frankie hid in the laundry basket. They were easy to find because they giggled a lot. Laundry baskets don't laugh. They're silly cubs.

Then we bounced on the bed. We're all good bouncers. Bouncing made us hungry.

We make faces for our sandwiches. I love pickles. They're one of the Four Food Groups in Canada's Food Guide.

Then we built a tent so we could eat peanut butter and pickle sandwiches for lunch. We ate Smarties and drank root beer, too. It was the bestest picnic, ever!

Chance doesn't have any teeth, so he just drinks chocolate owls' milk. We get it at Mac's. 

After lunch, we hunted for lions in the back yard. We have space ray guns. We holler, "Goin' on a lion hunt, one, two, three! Goin' on a lion hunt, can't catch me!" We pretend squirrels and cats are lions. Lion hunting is fun.

Then, Pandoro had to go home. It's a long way to Tranna. That's where Panodoro and Uncle Mark and Auntie Carolina and Auntie Connie live. We said, 'good-bye' but we will see each other again and play some more.

 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!

Grandpa James is hollering, "Where's Frankie? Where's my handsome bear cub? Where's my Knight of Knewfoundland and my Lord of Labrador?" That's Frankie. He's a handsome bear cub. He's the Knight of Knewfoundland and the Lord of Labrador.

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. Do good deeds. Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and have a playdate with us! We can play Hide & Seek together! Okay! Over and out!"

Frankie, Chance and me love to shop at Windsor Thrift. The store is at 3212 Sandwich Street.  Tony and Tracey are very nice.

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! Oh. Wait! I forgot! Frankie lives with us, too. He's four and he goes to the Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre with me.

Tony and Tracey show me how the cash register works. Frankie and Chance aren't paying attention. They're playing 'Stare Me Down and Make Me Laugh.'

Know what? We're at Windsor Thrift. It's a store right by our house. It's full of all kinds of clothes and toys and furniture. Tony says that some things are new and some things are 'gently loved.' I know what gently loved means. It means someone loved the toys and shirts and games before me.

People donate things to Windsor Thrift. That's what good citizens do. They share things. Sharing is good, you know. Good citizens get to eat Smarties and drink root beer.

When I grow up, I could work at Windsor Thrift. When someone came into the store, I would say, "Hello. How are you today? How may I help you? Would you like to buy a glass dolphin or maybe a book about dinosaurs?"  I love books and there's lots of them at Windsor Thrift.

We can volunteer at Windsor Thrift. Volunteers are good citizens, you know.

 Look at all the clothes! Frankie, Chance and me are helpers. We're good helpers. We can hang clothes on the racks. We can put dishes and cups and toys on the shelves.

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!  Grandpa James is hollering, "Where's Frankie? Where's my Knight of Knewfoundland and my Lord of Labrador?" Frankie is the Knight of Knewfoundland and the Lord of Labrador!

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. Give gently loved things to Windsor Thrift. Buy things at Windsor Thrift. Be a volunteer. Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can go see Tracy and Tony and buy things together! Okay! Over and out!"

Come on down to Windsor Thrift!

Our New Puzzle

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! Oh. Wait! Frankie lives with us, too. He's our cousin, you know.

We got a present from Nana Elizabeth. It's a puzzle. It's a puzzle about O Canada. We take out all the puzzle pieces and then put them together so we can see our home and native land. Puzzles are fun. We start with British Columbia. I know where British Columbia is. It's the first one on the left.

Look! Look at Chance! He's so newborn he doesn't know how to play with a puzzle. He's trying to eat Quebec! "My son! You can't eat Quebec! Quebec is not one of the four food groups! Put that down this instant!" Chance really is a handful. Frankie knows how to play with puzzles. He doesn't try to eat the provinces. Frankie's four. He's very smart.

We love our new puzzle. Grandpa James helps us write a thank-you note to Nana Elizabeth for the O Canada puzzle. Won't she be surprised when she opens the letter and sees pictures of us playing with it, too. We love Nana Elizabeth lots and lots and lots!

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! Grandpa James says, "Where's Frankie? Where's my Knight of Knewfoundland and my Lord of Labrador?" 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. Learn about O Canada. Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play puzzles with us! We can have a puzzle party with hummus and pretzels and apple juice, too! Okay! Over and out!"

Today is Family Day

Chance  (left) and Frankie (centre) and me (Charles) love to play Snakes and Ladders.

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! Oh. Wait! Frankie lives with us, too!

Know what? Today is a holiday. It's Family Day. I know what a family is. It's us! Our family is me and Chance and Frankie and Grandpa James. We all live together in a nice house on Sparkle Road. That's in Olde Sandwich Towne. Olde Sandwich Towne is in Windsor. I know where Windsor is. Windsor is in O Canada.

We got aunties and uncles and nanas and gramps, too!

I don't have to go to the Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre today. We get to stay home and play! We play Snakes & Ladders. Frankie rolled a five. He's gonna move his marker five spaces. I help him count to five. That's easy! One! Two! Three! Four! Five! I have to help Chance count and move his marker for him. Chance is so newborn he tries to lick his yellow marker. I have to say, "My son! Take that out of your mouth! You can't eat yellow markers, my son! Yellow markers aren't in Canada's Food Guide."

Know what's in Canada's Food Guide? Gingerbread persons. We're gonna bake some gingerbread persons today.  I love to bake them. I love to eat them, too! I'm a very good cook. Grandpa James says I'm the Minister of Stirring. Chance is too newborn to help but he thinks he's helping. Grandpa James says Chance is the Deputy Mini-Stir of Stirring. Frankie is a good helper. Frankie is the Bearon of Baking, you know.

 Chance has red mittens. He wears them his red mittens all day long. He wears his red mittens at night when he sleeps, too. Chance is so newborn he thinks if he wears red mittens it will snow. I have red mittens, you know. I only wear my  mittens when I go outside to play in the snow. Frankie has red mittens, too.

Sometimes Chance gets his games mixed up. Look at Chance. Chance climbed into the Snakes and Ladders box. Chance wants to play Hide & Seek. Chance thinks we can't see him when he closes his eyes. Grandpa James says all newborn cubs think they're invisible when they close their eyes. I have to say, "My son! Come out of the Snakes & Ladders box this instance!" Chance can't get out. He makes little squawky noises. I have to help him. Chance is a handful.

We bake gingerbread persons on Family Day. We love to make gingerbread persons but it's more fun to eat them all up! Gingerbread persons are yummy and that's one of the four food groups in Canada's Food Guide.

 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! Oh, wait! Grandpa James is hollering for Frankie, too! "Where's Frankie? Where's my Knight of Knewfoundland and my Lord of Labrador?"

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. Do fun stuff with your family today. Then you can bake gingerbread persons and have a tea party and eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can play Snakes & Ladders! We can have a tea party, too! Okay! Over and out!"

Visiting Miss Donna, Our Dental Hygienist

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? Chance and me are visiting Miss Donna. Miss Donna is a dental hygienist. That means she's the boss of our teeth. She's checking my teeth to make sure they are healthy. She's holding an X-ray machine up to my face. It's kind of like my space ray gun but it doesn't make any noises. It doesn't hurt at all. Miss Donna says, "Sit still, Charles." Then she takes a picture. The pictures show what my teeth look like on the inside!

Miss Donna is very nice. I will tell you a secret. I think Miss Donna is a Princess.  My teeth and gums are healthy. I don't have any cavities. I know what cavities are. They're holes in our teeth. I don't have any holes.  That's 'cuz I brush after every meal with my Spiderman toothbrush. Grandpa James helps me floss, too.

Miss Donna checks Chance's gums. He's so newborn he doesn't even have any teeth, yet. Chance doesn't even have a tail! He will grow some teeth and a tail when he's older. Right now, Chance just drinks chocolate owls' milk. We get chocolate owl's milk at Mac's.

Know what else we get at Mac's? We get gummy worms and Smarties. Oh! Wait! We get root beer there and pineapple licorice, too. Mac's has everything!


Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? 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 James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed.

This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Brush your teeth and floss them. Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer and not get cavities. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can brush and floss together! Okay! Over and out!"

On the Set of a TV Show

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. I look after him.

 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? Chance and me are on the set of a TV show. This is fun! We got new buddies. Kyle is in charge of the cameras and lights. Mark is the Sound Guy. Shaun does lots of different jobs. Shaun is an actor, too. We see him on TV and in movies, too. Shaun and Mark are brothers--just like Chance and me.

Making a TV show is different from watching one. When Kyle says, "Action!" the actors have to say their lines and when they're done, Kyle says, "And cut!".  James says Kyle is the director. I could be a director, you know. I can holler, "Action" and "Cut!"

Shaun gives us Smarties and root beer. I love Smarties. I love root beer, too. Chance and me sit very quietly and watch the shoot. They use cameras to shoot.

Chance and me can shoot 'cuz we got real Space Ray Guns from Dollarama like us. Chance and me go on lion hunts in the back yard. We use our Space Ray Guns to catch lions, you know.

The show is called I've Got my Own Show Canada. That's a good name, eh? James is in the show. I hope I get my own TV show. I would be a very good TV star.

Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? 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 James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed.

 This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer and watch a TV shoot.

Oh! Wait! Come over to our house! We can go see Kyle and Mark and Shaun and watch them make a TV show! Okay! Over and out!"

Today is Leap Day 2012

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. I look after him, 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 just drinks chocolate owls' milk. I  look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Know what? Today is February 29. It's a special day. It's Leap Day. Leap Day only comes once every four years. That's why it's called Leap Year. We get an extra day to play and have fun. Only once every four years is a long time to wait. I'm five, you know. Even Merry Christmas comes every year.

We get to do special things on Leap Day. We play Leap Frog! That's a fun game. I leap over Chance and then he tries to leap over me. He's so newborn he can only leap a little. I help him and we holler, "Wheee! Oh! We get to cook green spaghetti and sing silly songs. James tells us stories about the Olden Days. The Olden Days were a long, long time ago. I think they started in 2006, you know.

Know what else we do? After I eat all my vegetables, then I can eat a Kinder Egg for dessert. Every one of the chocolate eggs has a surprise toy inside. I l-o-v-e Kinder Eggs, don't you? They're yummy and that's one of the four food groups in Canada's Food Guide. Kinder Eggs are a special treat. Chance just licks his Kinder Egg 'cuz he doesn't have any teeth. I have to help him eat his Kinder Egg.

We got matching race cars in our Kinder Eggs. Oh! We can race them at bedtime, under the covers after our bedtime story and after we say our prayers and James kisses our noses and turns out the light for the night. I have a flashlight, you know. My flashlight looks like a green mouse. It has a bright nose.

Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? 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 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 your friends and neighbours.  Then you can eat Kinder Eggs and drink root beer on Leap Day. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can play Leap Frog and eat lots of Kinder Eggs, too! Okay! I'm gonna go to sleep and dream about Kinder Eggs! Good night! Over and out!"

Waiting for Happy New Year

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. He doesn't even have any teeth or a tail! He just drinks chocolate owls' milk. We get chocolate owls' milk at Mac's. He takes off his diaper and climbs way high on things. Then he can't get down. I have to help him get down. I look after Chance, too. He's a handful!

Know what? Happy New Year is coming! We're waiting for Happy New Year. We get to wear Happy New Year hats and blow noisemakers. Chance's hat is too big. He climbed inside of it. When the clock strikes twelve it will be Happy New Year. James says the new year is 2012. That's a really big number. I can't count that high--yet. I will be able to count higher, soon 'cuz I go to the Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre on Sandwich Street. Oh! Wait! It will only be 359 days until Merry Christmas comes to our house.

We gotta make Happy New Year's resolutions. I know what a resolution is. It's a promise to do better. I promise to share my Smarties. I promise to use my inside voice when we play indoors. I promise to play nice. That's a lot of resolutions!

Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? 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 James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed.

 This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Happy New Year!" Then you can share your Smarties and share your root beer, too. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can have Happy New Year together! Okay! Over and out!"

Making Ice Cream on Boxing Day

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!

Know what? Today is Boxing Day. That's the day after Christmas, you know. We're playing with Lily and Lulu. We're cooking. We're cooking ice cream in this little machine. Ice cream is yummy. That's one of the four food groups in Canada's Food Guide. We're making vanilla flavoured ice cream. That's good. James asked us if we wanted to make broccoli ice cream. That sounds nasty. I don't like broccolis. I have to hold my nose and take two bites, anyway. James says I have to set a good example for Chance 'cuz I'm bigger and older. That's not fair 'cuz Chance is a newborn baby cub. He just drinks chocolate owls' milk.

The ice cream tastes really good. James says that homemade food is better than store-bought food.
Know what? Sometimes we put ice cream in a glass and pour root bear on top. That makes it a float. Ice cream floats are really yummy. I could drink them all day!

Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? 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 James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed.

 This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Be nice so Santa can bring you an ice cream maker. Then you can eat ice cream and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can make ice cream and root beer floats together! Okay! Over and out!"

Visiting Dr. Greg

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. He doesn't have any teeth. He doesn't even have a tail! I look after Chance, too. He climbs way high on things and can't get down. I have to help him. He's a handful!

Guess where we are? We're visiting Dr. Greg. He's my dentist. Dentists are tooth doctors. Dentists look after our teeth. It's time for my checkup. Dr. Greg says, "Open wide, Charles." I open w-a-y wide so Dr. Greg can look inside my mouth. I don't have any cavities this time. That's 'cuz I brush and floss my teeth every day after I eat.  I brush like this. "Back and forth like a choo-choo train and up and down like an aeroplane!" Brushing my teeth is fun. Know why? 'Cuz I have a Ninja Turtle toothbrush and Spiderman toothpaste.

Chance doesn't have any teeth but Dr. Greg checks his gums. Chance has healthy gums. One day he'll cut a tooth and it will be healthy.

Dr. Greg gave us something nice. It's a tooth timer. I set it on the sink and I brush until all the sand falls to the bottom. That's how I know I'm done.

Then we get ready for James to read us  our bedtime story and hear our bedtime prayers.

 Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? 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 James so we can get our ears tickled and our noses kissed.

 This is me, Charles the Bear Cub saying, "Be good citizens. Brush and floss after every meal. Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can brush and floss together! Okay! Over and out!"

Hangin' Out at Petwise

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!

Know what? Chance and me are visiting Petwise. It's a special store for our friends like bunny rabbits and kitty cats and puppy dogs, too. This is our buddy Shaun. He helps people who come to the store. Lots of our friends don't eat Smarties or drink root beer. they have special food and it comes from Petwise. They're on Facebook, you know.

We met some new friends at Petwise. This is Carrie. She's a dog. She's very friendly. She took Chance for a piggy back ride--even though Carrie's not a pig. We just say piggyback. Chance doesn't talk, 'cuz he's a newborn cubby. Chance makes lots of little squeaky noises when he's happy. He squeaked a lot when Carrie took him for a ride. I didn't go for a ride 'cuz I'm way too big. I'm five, you know. I go to the Scruffy Maple Day Care Centre. That's on Sandwich Street. I have lots of friends and buddies there.

See, our friends have four feet and our buddies have two feet. Snakes don't have any feet at all. Know what? Snakes don't have to wear shoes. Chance and me don't have to wear shoes, either. After our bath, we get to run around bare naked. That's a pun, you know.

We're playing Hide-and-Seek with Onyx the cat. Chance is supposed to be hiding. He climbs way up high on things. See him? He's at the tippy-top of the Cat Hotel.

When Chance closes his eyes, he thinks he's invisible but he's not. Onyx the cat and I know where to find him. We just look and there he is! Oh, oh! Chance is stuck. He can't get down. I say, "My son! Come down from there before you fall!" Bless his little cotton sox, he can't get down. I have to help him. Chance is a handful, you know.

 Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? 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 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 your friends and buddies. Be polite to your neighbours.  Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can all hang out at Petwise! Okay! Over and out!"

I Can Hear You Loud and Clear!

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!

Know what we're doing? We're getting our hearing tested at the Health Centre. We're in the sound booth. I put on the headphones and I push a button when I can hear a sound. Chance is getting his ears tested, too.

Know what? We should never put Q-Tips in our ears. That can hurt them. Doctor El Breki says, "Never put anything smaller than your paw in your ear, Charles." He's right.  I don't wanna hurt my ears!

Chance can hear really good. He's got really little ears 'cuz he's a newborn cubby. Chance sat very still while he got his ears tested. Chance's ears work fine.

My ears are bigger. That's 'cuz I'm five. I'm a growing bear cub.  Know what? My ears need helpers.  I got fitted with hearing aids by Deena and Heather. One for each ear! I can hear! Loud and clear!  I didn't know the dryer makes a noise when it goes 'round and 'round. I didn't know Chance makes really loud snory noises when he naps. Water makes noise when it comes out of the tap, too! There are lots and lots and lots of noises I didn't know about! I like my new hearing aids. Know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna listen to everything and see what kind of noises there are! I l-o-v-e noises!

I will tell you a secret.  I think Deena and Heather are princesses.

 Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? 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 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.

Oh! Get your ears checked. You can hear a lot of things if your ears need helpers. I can hear Smarties crunch when I chew on them and I can hear root beer make fizzy noises in the can!

 Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We climb up high in the sugar maple and eat peanut butter and licorice sandwiches. I will show you my hearing aids! Okay! Over and out!"

Happy New Year!

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. He takes off his diaper and climbs way high on things and then he can't get down. James says we have to watch him like a hawk. That's silly. We're not hawks. We're bear cubs! Chance is a real handful!

I know what today is. It's Happy New Year Day. That's the first day of the newborn year. James says it's 2011 everywhere except Ethiopia. It's 2002 in Ethiopia. That was a long time ago. Ethiopia is pretty far away, you know. We can't even go there on the train. Sometimes we go to Marathon House. That's downtown. They have Ethiopian food. I l-o-v-e Ethiopian food.

We watched the fireworks. Fireworks make a lot of noise. They're pretty. I wish we could eat fireworks. I bet they taste yummy. That's one of the four food groups, you know. Yummy, sweet, sticky and nasty. That's the four food groups. I can't find fireworks in Canada's Food Guide. Fireworks are how we know that Happy New Year Day is here.

I'm sitting at my desk. I'm thinking. Thinking is hard, you know. I'm thinking about my Happy New Year's Day list. I'm writing down all the things I will do this year to be a good citizen. Good citizens get to eat Smarties and drink root beer. Know what? Bear cubs in Quebec don't drink root beer. They drink cream soda instead.

1. Pick up my toys so James doesn't fall down again.
2. Don't bite Chance.
3. Eat brocollis and sauerkrauts without holding my nose.
4. Stay off the Time Out Chair.

That's a lot of things to remember!


 Oh. Wait! Did you hear that? 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 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 your friends and neighbours. Do good deeds. Then you can eat Smarties and drink root beer. Oh! Wait! Come over to our house and play with us! We can have Happy New Year's Day together! Okay! Over and out!"