Every year we try to get our girls tickets to something as a Christmas gift (you know, experiences over “stuff”. Which isn’t to say that they didn’t get any “stuff”.) This year, we decided to surprise them with a family getaway to Toronto for Mirvish’s The Wizard of Oz. While the kids put on a nice polite […] Read more…
While out Christmas shopping, my husband decided he wanted to buy some sort of game we could play with the girls, and he chose Jenga. And then couldn’t wait until Christmas to give it to them. It’s been a huge hit. It’s very quick and easy to play (we’re not quite at the Monopoly marathon […] Read more…
I am not a demanding customer. I hate to return things, I apologize for bothering staff, and I avoid conflict at all costs. You need to know that before you continue. You also need to know that this post could potentially put you to sleep. So if you’re just surfing mindlessly during a bout of […] Read more…
Again inspired by Pinterest, I decided to do some jazzy pots for my walkway this year. The pots are actually leftovers from Spring 2011 when I picked up ready-made arrangements at Costco. Almost still full of dirt, there was a perfect base to start with. I used dollar store red ‘stuff’ (what’s the real word?), […] Read more…
Thanks to Pinterest, I am so into printables these days. I jumped on the bandwagon around Easter, and have been loving them right through summer and fall. I know lots of bloggers who keep one beautiful frame in a prominent position in their home, and then rotate the contents to coordinate with the season. I […] Read more…
As part of the Hallmark Press Pause Panel, I receive a few boxes throughout the year of hot-ticket Hallmark items to review, and the Christmas selections are always my favourite! Here are the items I’m recommending this holiday season: Unicef Cards: At $13 for a box of 12, it’s not much more costly than the dollar […] Read more…
Okay, I know pillows aren’t exactly the most original idea in the world, but I love this one because it’s unique. Mom is into making pillows and transferring pictures onto them, and when I first saw one I oohed and ahhhed enough to prompt her to ask “Would you like me to make you one?” (If it had […] Read more…
As my regular readers may remember, one of my organizational strategies involves keeping all holiday-themed stuff in bins, which are brought out well in advance of each occasion. This includes not only decorations, but also toys, books, games, etc. When I pulled out the Christmas bins a couple of weeks ago and let the girls dig in, you […] Read more…
While my students are Christian (most Catholic, as are my daughters) I see a great value in reading stories about Judaism (as well as other religions). I mean, we share a whole Old Testament of history and beliefs with the Jewish people, and it creates a great opportunity to teach about differences. The simple bottom line that […] Read more…
As most of you know, I’m a teacher. And I’m well aware that when it comes to early learning, flashcards are taboo. But you know what? I still think they have their time and place within a balanced approach to literacy (or numeracy, or whatever the case may be). When it comes to sight words, we’ve used cards […] Read more…