Today was the first day back at in-person school since the winter holidays began in December. On the day last week when it was announced that we would head back this week, I remember that as the news sank in, my brain gradually released this huge invisible ball of stress and I started to feel Read More
Tag: school
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 Read More
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The Diversity of YouTube – Gratitude Day 19
Today, I’m feeling grateful for YouTube. It feels funny that I can remember the babyhood of YouTube even though so many people I spend time with every day cannot (because they weren’t even born). I remember thinking, “Who is going to watch random strangers doing inconsequential things in their living rooms?” Turns out, almost everyone! Read More
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Those Little Moments – Gratitude Day 18
Today when I walked into my house after work, I could tell that that guy I love made that food I love because it smelled so good in here. It kinda made my day. (He’s on evening shifts this week, so most of the time we only overlap at home when one or both of Read More
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Remembrance Day Reflections – Gratitude Day 11
I have been involved in organizing Remembrance Day assemblies at my school for long enough that I’ve lost count of how many years it’s been. It’s a day that has always meant a lot to me, and has always been an internal struggle as well. (As you already know, if you’ve been reading this blog Read More
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#NaBloPoMo, Day 19: Questions excellentes
Today at school, we talked a little bit about Paris. I showed my Grade 4s and 5s that little boy and his dad – not just because the vocabulary (très, méchant, gentil, fleurs, maison, etc.) is right on point, but because when they see a child, they instinctively relate. Two days a week, I have Read More
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Be The Calm
It was a busy summer. Just so you know, that’s the usage of the word busy where it actually means overwhelming-and-sometimes-stressful-enough-to-make-me-think-I-might-lose-my-marbles. And that’s despite summer vacation, and my school being closed for renovations. We bought a house in June, right before end-of-school craziness; we beautified and sold our house in July; we packed in August, and moved on Read More
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Preschooler No More
11:36 a.m. Dear E, Today is your first full day of kindergarten – JK. I am sitting here fervently wishing I were a fly on the wall of your classroom. Are you having fun? Are you nervous about anything? Did (do) you like your first recess? Are the other kids nice? Have you eaten any Read More
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How Far to Bend the Gender
As a girl born between two sisters, I was, in childhood, emphatically girly. I loved unicorns, ballet, pink things, dolls, My Little Ponies. The tendencies of our elder brother didn’t hold much sway with us back then – he was outnumbered – and he seemed happy enough to make his Lego projects and wooden models Read More
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PLEASE DON’T TOUCH THE KINDERGARTNERS
In the first week of school this year, I passed a kindergarten colleague in the hall with a student hanging off her arm. As we crossed paths, she said, “I’m too raw of a mommy for this job.” I totally get it. Her being a “raw mommy” means that she exudes maternalism that the kids Read More
