Lately most of my book recommendations have been shared as short items in my monthly “Favourite Things” posts, and not as full posts on their own, but when I reached the end of Kirstine Stewart’s Our Turn and realized how many pages I had dog-eared, I knew it was worth some extra attention here on […] Read more…
‘Tis the season for parent/teacher interviews, and in the latest issue of Today’s Parent you can find my article about how to ace yours! You can read the Parent/Teacher interviews article online here as well, but it doesn’t do justice to the amazing work of the Today’s Parent art team, who turned my list of […] Read more…
Happy November! Time to share my latest faves! BOOKS Clearly I OD’d on nonfiction this month, starting with: Primates of Park Avenue by Wednesday Martin. While I expected this to be light chick-nonfic, there was actually a lot of real anthropological analysis of the moms of Manhattan’s Upper East Side, with great anecdotes and experiences […] Read more…
Last night on CHEX Daily I chatted with hosts Teresa Kaszuba and Mike Judson about using children’s books to explore social and world issues with kids. The titles I brought tackle subjects like bullying, learning disabilities, race, homelessness, natural resources, poverty, war and education. In the second segment, we’re joined by one of my PVNC […] Read more…
It’s October 15th, and I think I’m finally coming out of the September haze. (I’m blaming the delay on the late Labour Day.) The start of the school year always takes its toll on me. While I thrive on routine, getting both a household and a classroom back on board isn’t always easy (I’ll spare […] Read more…
Our house is now ready for Halloween! This morning I pulled out the bin of decorations, as well as our brand-new box from Hallmark, and the girls and I got busy! One of my favourite Halloween items is our collection of photographs taken over the years, which I set out as a display on the […] Read more…
Here are my top picks for the month! BOOKS The Girl in the Spider’s Web by David Lagercrantz This one continues the series begun by the late Stieg Larsson, and Lagercrantz does a great job staying true to the feel of the original books and characters – though I often wonder how much credit should […] Read more…
Last night on CHEX Daily I chatted with hosts Teresa Kazuba and Mike Judson (who always does a great job keeping the mood light!) about ways to establish strong home/school communication – and why it’s so important! Something I didn’t mention: don’t forget to keep the school/teacher informed about changes in your child’s life (medications, […] Read more…
For the “Touchy Subject” in the latest Parents Canada magazine, I answer this question with: “not very much”. See my reasons why (as well as a counterargument) here: http://www.parentscanada.com/school/touchy-subject-is-it-ever-ok-to-take-over-your-kids-homework P.S. As a primary teacher, I don’t believe in assigning very much homework at all, nor have either of my daughters ever brought home an unreasonable […] Read more…
Yesterday a dream came true. I was invited to be a guest on CTV’s The Social (kicking off Season 3 this past week), to chat about ways parents can help their kids succeed in school. It was an amazing experience, from start to finish. While I won’t give away the inner workings of the show, […] Read more…