In Ontario, we are three weeks into the school year. Those who work in elementary schools are glad to be with students and colleagues, but there is a weariness too. We have a feeling it is going to be a long year. It’s been several long years in a row already. There are two main…
Tag: children
“Mom Grief” Could Apply To Anyone
A couple of months ago, I was talking with two of my colleagues about something we dubbed “mom grief.” The three of us are at different stages of our parenting journeys, but we agreed that there is a not-often-discussed grief that applies to all involved parents. Just seeing your children grow is incredibly beautiful, but…
How can I be writing about this again?
It has been almost a decade since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Is that enough time between senseless mass killings of American children? How can we be here again? Being a human, and especially an elementary school teacher, I grieve every time this happens, anywhere. I’m sure these Grade 4 students in Texas are…
World Children’s Day – Gratitude Day 20
Today, on World Children’s Day, I’m grateful for the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, as well as the Convention on the Rights of the Child. I’m glad so many people agree that children have the right to a safe, happy, healthy childhood. I’m especially grateful to live and parent and teach in a…
Back-to-School Thoughts from a Teacher/Parent
A week ago, as you know, it became official in Ontario: we’re going back to school this September. In the days since then, there has been an outcry from parents, staff, unions etc. who feel that the Covid-19 measures announced by the government do not go far enough to keep students and staff safe. I…
To My Firstborn On His 10th Birthday
Dear E, It’s Thursday night, June 6th, 2019. Tonight marks a whole decade since I went to the hospital to have the first procedure of my induction, because you were already 9 days late. You were born two days later, utterly uprooting and replanting our lives with your arrival. This evening, you and I took…
The Apocalypse is now… and the kids know it.
It’s Monday, and the 2018 Climate Conference in Poland (COP24) is in full swing. Seems as good a day as any to talk about the Apocalypse. I’ve been hesitating on this writing, because I understand that a blog post about the world as we know it going down in flames is… a bummer of sorts….
Raising a Daughter in Scary But Hopeful Times
Recently, I had the chance to catch up with an old friend whose family was expecting their third child: a daughter, after two sons. [Actually, I started this post more than a month ago, and as it happens, said daughter was born TODAY, early this morning! So read on, in honour of wee baby EC’s…
Paragon of Calm needs a reboot. Already.
In my last post, you may remember that I have made it my mission to be calm in the mornings with my kids. I’d like to tell you proudly that I made it through the week with exemplary calm! But I didn’t. Not quite. I think it comes down to a sleep problem – one…
Stress Is Just How We Roll These Days
Doesn’t it seem like stress has been trending for too long? Like it’s a bit ridiculous that feeling hassled is not reserved for crunch times – that instead it’s just a way of life? Last week a colleague, who also happens to be my friend and neighbour, asked me, “Do you ever feel like you’re just barely…