Every week of the pandemic has arrived with a new theme. Know what I mean? But, oh my God, this week was not my favourite. This is week seven of our pandemic story and online school. I was all set to write a pandemic story about how well we were doing, making the best of this social distancing/ quarantine/ lockdown situation. On the weekend, I literally said out loud: “I am so proud of all of us. We get up and get dressed every single day and we try to do something, do work, take a walk, go for a…
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By Payton Schuck Note from Paula – My daughter Payton starts university in September. First Year University! Let me first of all say, we are so proud of Payton and can’t wait for her to start, but also it seems like it was yesterday when I was dropping her off for her first day of kindergarten and here we are almost starting university. She graduated from high school and has been accepted at her top three choices. Two of those are in town and her top choice came through first, so that was exciting to see. Her face lit up…
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It’s getting close to Mother’s Day and I know a few of your kids will be looking for amazing and sweet gifts for you. This Mother’s Day Writing Worksheet is a fun little way for them to pay tribute to you. Of course, this year what could be cute is if you send this to a child that you know. You could email it, print it out and mail it out to your niece or nephew. The beauty of this one is that kids can personalize it and also they can practice their writing or printing. If you are a…
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OH my goodness, these days during the pandemic we are getting increasingly clever at doing things while social distancing. We parents are smart at the best of times and even smarter, or maybe more resourceful, especially now during a pandemic. I mean, who would have thought that we’d be hunting down ways to amuse kids after shifting everything to help our kids embrace distance learning during this time. This Indoor Scavenger Hunt post contains affiliate links as a service to my readers. I make a small commission via qualifying links. Keeping Kids Busy Indoors There are so many ways to…
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Inspirational TED Talks can be great for anyone, but teenagers, in particular can really benefit from these 18-minute or less talks that can cover almost any topic. Teen years are hard slogging and watching them struggle sometimes as parents is so challenging. If you can remember your teen years, you’ll probably easily recall the angst and fear and general uncertainty. Right now, that angst and anxiety is running even higher for most because of the pandemic. That’s where inspirational TED Talks come in. Inspirational TED Talks to Ease the Teen Years From zits and breakups to proms and makeups, the…
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These days hope is either nowhere or everywhere you look. I choose everywhere. Now is not an easy time at all. Many are worrying over jobs and health and the global pandemic of course. So, I thought these hope quotes could be slightly comforting right now. Of course, I am fully aware that hope quotes are mighty small arrows in the quiver when it comes to all the insults being hurled our way right now. Without hope we are all aimless wanderers on a shared planet. I choose hope always. What’s your favourite hopeful quote? Famous Authors “Hope is the…
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Let’s play five things you didn’t know about me. One. I am afraid of snakes. They creep me out big time. Two. I grew up in Guelph with my Mom and brother. We were a tiny family of three. Three. I didn’t take my first trip by plane until I was about 23. I paid for it myself and went to Margarita Island in Venezuela for spring break with several girlfriends. Four. My Mom grew up in England. Five. My Dad’s family came from Germany. Enjoy this adorable Germany colouring and printing book for kids. I’ve never been to either…
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Embracing nature is something my family has always done. We love to go camping, hiking, skiing, and just generally be out and about, enjoying the earth. Unfortunately, that’s not really something we can do right now. That’s why I’m loving these books from DK Canada that are all about embracing nature. I received product for consideration here. There really couldn’t have been a better time for these books to arrive at our home. For a family who’s all about embracing nature, the social distancing scenario has been tough. That is especially true for the kids. I wanted to find books…
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But are we even doing Easter this year? We’ve gone back and forth on this actually, a few times this year. I mean honestly no judgement at all if you are taking it easy and simply getting through. But this week, I did a fair bit of reading and a whole lot of thinking. What would Easter look like in the middle of a pandemic? Would we be doing Easter? Our original plan was to drive to my brother’s home in Toronto. But that was back in February before we’d even heard the term Covid-19. Before spring vacations were cancelled…
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Last week, I posted a list of live zoo webcams and that was a big hit. So, in that spirit here is a list of live aquarium webcams and Youtube videos that delve into underwater worlds providing entertainment and education for all of you. Aquariums are Soothing For So Many Reasons Let’s be honest, the research for me was awesome last week when I hunted down a huge list of zoo webcams. I am totally addicted to the live webcam of the Edinburgh Zoo pandas and have been watching it every day. Who knew that pandas could be so entertaining…