• Microsoft-summit-for-21st-century -learners
    family - parenting - special needs - Technology

    Microsoft Summit on 21st Century Learners – EVENT in Windsor, Ontario, April 11 Geared Towards Teachers

    April 9, 2015 - By 

    When I see educational opportunities like this Microsoft Summit on 21st Century Learners happening nearby in Windsor, Ontario I get excited, for several reasons. I am a parent of two children who are still in grade school. Digital kids. I arm both of my girls daily with technology at home and at school and I am abundantly aware of how they absorb media and how they learn. It’s radically different than how I learned 20 to 30 years ago.  Only 20 to 30 years ago we trotted off to school with books and pencils and paper. Now kids carry tablets,…

  • parenting

    Does Your Child’s Teacher Make the Grade?

    June 19, 2014 - By 

    I am the daughter of a teacher. My memories of marking papers and playing games at the back of my mother’s grade two classroom are strong. Many August days at end of the summer, I worked with my Mom, steadying the ladder as she lovingly decorated her classroom. Teaching is a calling I respect. A teacher’s job can be hard, rewarding and trying all at once. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock However, as the parent of two girls in the school system and I am very often frustrated with education. Funding decisions, allocation of resources, and even teachers in my kid’s lives sometimes don’t…

  • Health - Parenting - special needs

    How to Write an All About Me Booklet for Your Special Needs Child

    October 29, 2013 - By 

    This All About Me Special Needs Book is one of my favourite tools for my daughter. I’ve had one for Ainsley for several years now and it is always well received by teachers, coaches and others who work with her regularly. These All About Me Special Needs Booklets work well when your child is young and unable to tell people what he or she needs. We used them often for Ainsley, especially at camp. The idea is that you can use them as a tool for helpers, teachers or support staff when dealing with a child who has medical needs…

  • family - Parenting

    Schools of Thought On OverCrowding and Education #ldnont

    January 11, 2012 - By 

    Schoolhouse image from creative commons, copyright Caitlyn Willows There’s a school of thought out there that goes something like this: well, you make do with what you’ve got. And that should be good enough, right? Wrong. I don’t buy it. This is not a picture of our school, but it is a symbol of what that phrase stands for to me. If we all made do with what we’ve got there would never be any progress and our kids would all still be sitting in one room schoolhouses with no heating and doing math on tiny handheld slates. Guess what?…

  • parenting

    Giving Your Child The Gift of a Second Language: Guest Post

    February 3, 2011 - By 

    In the evolving and sometimes depressed current economy it’s hard for parents not to worry about their child’s future. What will jobs look like 10, 20, even 30 years from now? What are the best ways to nurture creativity and resilience? How do you give your child a competitive edge? One of the greatest tools for children is language. Acquiring a second language early on makes a lot of sense. It is unlikely that the economy will stay terrible forever – but if current trends continue, children are likely to enter a cut-throat workforce. A good education is crucial in…