September is always the time of year I resolve to set new, positive habits and one of the things on my list this year is philanthropy.
The idea that every student learns differently has gained widespread recognition in education theory and classroom management strategy over the past half a century. Learning is now viewed as a complex process, influenced by an individual’s own cognitive, emotional and environmental factors, as well as prior experience. Research shows that people have different preferences and strengths in how they take in and process information and these preferences are sometimes referred to as learning styles. We use learning styles to describe and help us understand the different ways in which children learn.
On the afternoon of Sunday, November 23rd, 2014, a bullet flew through our house. We don’t live in a high violence area. We don’t even live in a city. We live on a quiet street out in the country where nothing exciting EVER happens. Until that day.
September is just around the corner and that means the dreaded school lunches are BACK! As a high school teacher, I am often up and out the door before my Kindergartner and preschooler even wake up, meaning school lunches have to be made/organized in advance(well, almost all the time!).
My six year old daughter is standing across the room, putting together a salad to go with the dinner I’m making. She’s put some mixed greens in a bowl, added dressing and croutons, and is gently tossing it with a pair of tongs. She’s being helpful, learning valuable cooking skills, and is more than happy to take on this role. It’s a very sweet scene, and as I watch her, I feel grateful to be her mom.
Chocolate bars, wrapping paper, spaghetti dinners. Been there, done that.
I have two favourite things about ‘Family Fondue Night’. One, is the chocolate fondue for dessert – which we’ll get to in just a bit. But the other – and perhaps the best, even better than chocolate – is the time we spend as a family.
Last month I wrote a piece for The Mabelhood on the Great Screen Time Debate which generated some great online conversations among parents and caregivers on exactly how much TV is “too much”. It also highlighted the fact that, for some parents, avoiding screen time altogether was impossible and unrealistic.
My kids have often encountered little friends along the way who seem to have a few “quirks.” The kid might not have a formal diagnosis, but as I say to my kids, “let’s make sure we’re extra patient, there’s something ‘up’ with this little friend.”
Thanks to Justin Bieber I have perfected a look that is part sulk, part confusion, part sex appeal. You know the look I’m talking about it, the one he uses when he’s being photographed in public or discussing calculus. I use it every time my husband wants to talk about money and honestly, I thought that was all I’d ever learn from the Biebs.