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Summer Slide Is NOT An Amusement Park Ride

Jul 18 2012

It’s July and we’re fully immersed in summer fun: swimming, travelling, frolicking but all the while, my nine year old is slip-sliding away…. specifically, his math skills are. All the progress made in the spring is slipping away. I don’t tell my children this, but I despise arithmetic. Words are my thing. It seems my son has inherited my love of literacy and my distaste for addition, subtraction and all things numerical. As an elementary school teacher I know that though all children have strengths and weaknesses, all children can learn. The key is finding the way best suited for them. So this summer, before we slide any further down this slippery number line, we’re not playing around. Er, well actually we are, playing. Playing math games. We have discovered that our son responds well to math games, puzzles and other FUN problem solving activities. Here are three of the brain games we’re playing this summer: 1. Puzzles like this IcoSoku Game from Recent Toys I hate puzzles more that I detest math, but this turned out to be fun. Easier than a Rubik’s Cube, but harder than doing your taxes. It says it’s designed for ages 5-10 but I’d like to[…]

Jun 26 2012

Camp songs and campfires, silly skits and the Tuck Shop. I remember camp fondly and know this is something I want to share with my son. Eventually. The issue is, I’m somewhat over-productive. Fine, just put an “s” in front of mother and that’s me. The thought of sending my baby off into the wild without his mama to check on his well-being every fifteen minutes? The horror. When the two of us were invited to visit Muskoka Woods on a media tour, I was disappointed that we wouldn’t be able to go. It would’ve been the perfect opportunity to let my son get all campy WHILE keeping my eye on him. But, his birthday party was scheduled for the same weekend. Details had been arranged, RSVPs had been returned. Our S’more making hands were tied. A friend suggested that I at least give him the option. So I told my son we could either keep the party plans as is or reschedule and go to camp. Upon hearing the camp itinerary he said, “We get to go on a bus?! Is it the kind with a bathroom on it??” Oh dear. I had him at bus. The kid[…]

Jun 12 2012

Gator skin, flakey fingernails that won’t grow beyond the boundaries of their nail beds, hair resembling a wheat field at harvest time… I’m in the midst of a dry spell. What could be missing from my daily routine that could be responsible for this desperately dry situation? I drink at least one glass of water a day so…. oh wait. Mystery solved. Our bodies are 70% water so I’m guessing it’s a tad important. I like water (especially with a little squeeze of lemon) so I’m at a loss as to why I’ve been avoiding it. I have decided to end this drought and made a plan to liquify my assets so-to-speak and came up with a Mandate to Hydrate. I vow to drink water all day, every day for a week, and then *graph my results. The first day I may have overdone it. When my teeth started floating, I knew I had H2Overdosed. Day Two, I sipped water sensibly throughout the day (not madly gulping tumblers-full like a college freshmen at a Kegger like Day one). By lights out I had consumed about nine glasses of water. I felt good; maybe a little bloated, but in a[…]

Jun 05 2012

I’m not a red head, nor do I have a Cuban husband or a best friend name Ethyl. However, I relate to how Lucille Ball relentlessly generated hair brained schemes. Lucy always had a plan and would stop at nothing to see it through to the awkward and often disastrous end. My friends and family always tease me about my “big plans.” There’s a distinct pause on the phone when I say, “I have this great idea. Want to hear it?” Invariably after they take a breath, they listen and offer words of patient encouragement (followed by a very faint snickering, which I can totally hear by the way!). Admittedly, not all of my ideas are gems. My NiftySnail Craft & Activity Kits delivered to parents and grandparents via snail mail took off with snail like speed and then died a slow and painful death (and now I’m stuck with a ridiculous email addy that I can’t seem to shake). My dry-erase freezer contents tracker system and its fancy digital version got freezed out. The crafting empire I started with my friend Sarah took off, but only for one half of the partnership. Can you guess which half? The half who[…]

May 28 2012

Is there really such a thing as a boy toy? I don’t mean in a Madonna sort of way… I’m talking about gender specific toys. You know, dolls for girls, army men for boys. For the record, the dolls and army dudes totally hook-up after hours. Toy Story opened my eyes to that deviant underground society. My kids don’t pay much attention to gender labels. They play with whatever captures their imaginations in the moment. My son often plays with his sister’s most iconic of girl toys — the dollhouse. Mind you, it generally serves as the hideout for robots, dinosaurs and a regiment of Storm Troopers. My daughter plays with her dolls occasionally, but not for long. She’s at her happiest when she’s active. And sweaty. And dirty. What captures her interest most are bike rides, bugs in jars, soccer games and her new passion, baseball {which in our rather small yard has led to abundant trips to the neighbour’s on ball retrieval missions}. Yesterday while my creative boy was creating, my sporty girl was playing with her new Grow-to-Pro Triple Hit Baseball machine. She started out t-ball style, but soon graduated to auto pitch. She can load[…]

Summer Slide Is NOT An Amusement Park Ride

Muskoka Woods

My Mandate To Hydrate

A Penchant For Invention

Boy Toys?