March 2016 - Forever In Mom Genes

TIFF Kids—special films for special kids

Mar 21 2016

My eldest child has been making short films since he was old enough to use an iPad. One of his earliest was an iMovie project called, “A Video For A Special Sister.” He showed it class by class at his school in an effort to teach his peers what it’s like to have a sibling with special needs. The technique was amateur, but his message was mature beyond his years. Is it possible to be a doting stage mother if my child is behind the camera? Anyway, like some sort of cosmic cinematic kismet, a fitting showcase is coming to the TIFF Kids International Film Festival this year! My son and I are going to view the Jump Cuts Young Filmmakers Showcase—short films created for young people by young people. This year’s theme challenges young filmmakers (grades 4-6) to create an onscreen representation of a disability. It will be interesting for my mini Spielberg to watch how his peers approach filmmaking, editing, and story telling. I wish he had known about this earlier and could’ve entered. He’d have won for sure! That was my dramatic stage mother voice again, wasn’t it? Speaking of disabilities (seamless segue, I know)[…]

Mar 21 2016

I think I may have given birth to the next George Lucas. My son has been making videos since he was little. #toddlersandtripods From early on he’s scripted mini movies, created stop motion animation and made documentary style shorts about topics he cares about like animals and basketball and Star Wars. His films have become more complex and creative. For now it’s a hobby, but perhaps it will turn into a life passion? C’mon kid—mama wants to rub elbows with Tina Fey and her squad. When we were invited to preview this year’s digiPlaySpace my son actually passed on a basketball game so he could come along. He has big hoop dreams, so this was clearly something that piqued his interest. If you live in the GTA and have children in the 3-13 age range, The 2016 TIFF Kids International Film Festival and digiPlaySpace are a must-see-must-do! I had no idea all of this family-centered entertainment was right in my back yard. If you’ve never been, here’s the scoop: The TIFF Kids Film Festival will be presenting 139 films from 35 countries. All the screenings and events take place at TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto, April 8 to 24, 2016.[…]

Mar 15 2016

When people ask what I do for a living I usually just stare back at them, blinking stupidly before I answer. Then I explain awkwardly that I used to be a teacher. Though I haven’t taught in years, for some reason I often still lead with that. Maybe I want people to know that I went to school and learned how to BE something legit—as though being a “Content Creator” is a made up career. I can assure you that working from home as a Content Creator/Influencer is a real gig involving skills I never anticipated would fall within my scope of expertise. In fact, a few areas within my job description didn’t even exist ten years ago. I started my first blog in 2006 shortly after our second child was born and it became apparent she was going to have some medical and developmental challenges. I left my career as an elementary school teacher to stay home to care for her. While she napped, I wrote about our life. Forever in Mom Genes was a place for me to dump my thoughts—worries, bliss, fears, triumphs, stories about our family, the challenges of parenting a child with disabilities, and anything[…]

Archive - March 2016

TIFF Kids—special films for special kids

Family Films and Fun: 2016 TIFF Kids International Film Festival AND digiPlaySpace