These days the weather is gauged by me in terms of suitability for flying.  Although I’ve always enjoyed the emotional medicinal effects of sunshine and clear skies, my love of calm winds and generally good visibility has increased dramatically since learning to fly.  I couldn’t help but notice, therefore, when I was out walking the dog at 6:30 a.m., what utter

Easter morning starts way too early when one has little ones eager and excited about the clue the bunny left...

Frohe Ostern Alle!

So... we have crabs!  Who knew?   This evening when Trevor was out walking the dog with Simon, the latter noticed this crab in the water.

"Daddy, there's a blue crab here," called Simon, and at first Trevor didn't believe him, but sure enough, there he was, hanging out under a rock near the shore.

Simon was so fascinated by this little bit of nature, describing the colours, size and so on... after taking this photo and returning home with the dog, Simon insisted on a second visit. 

Concerned that other curious onlookers might disturb and scare away the crab, Simon wanted to keep his discovery a secret.  So, don't tell anyone!  :)

When I began -- two weeks ago -- to amass chocolate for our annual Easter Egg Hunt, and store it in our closet at home, I had a sneaking suspicion that having so much temptation so close at hand was perhaps not the best idea I had ever had...  until recently, though, I did a pretty good job of resisting the temptation (well, "avoiding" might be a more accurate word; hard to eat chocolate hidden in a closet of a home one is never at, hehe!)

But last night, my resolve weakened, and I finally succumbed!  The Cadbury mini-eggs held a particular strong lure, and I am ashamed to report that I demolished a whole whack of them.

This morning's walk and workout were noticably more sluggish than usual... the aftermath of too much late night sugar and caffiene.

Not good, not good!

My boys are obsessed with money.  Age 7, they have decided they need to earn money, money and more money in order to purchase various super-hero toys and other paraphenalia they want or "need".  Since we ourselves refuse to just "give" them money, they are finding ways to earn it.  One such way is through massage.

We have worked out an arrangement whereby Mommy gets 5 minutes of massage (more like about 8 minutes -- thankfully they can't really tell time that well yet, hehe) for $2.00.  Simon and Alex take turns walking on my back, rubbing the heels of their hands into my shoulders, and pounding my muscles with their little hands several times a week.  Each time they are done, they get to go to the piggy bank and find $2.00 (usually in smaller coins, since we often keep twonies for ourselves, my husband and I). 

The physical and health benefits of this arrangement to me are obvious, and to them include not only learning to give of themselves, their time and their talents, but also learning to count -- what Grade One kid do you know that can make change and count out pennies, nickels and dimes to two dollars as quick as Alex and Simon?!

Morning Massage.... everyone wins!

Amazing, what one can learn in an idle moment... this afternoon, I attended a staff meeting where we were in-serviced on Voice Thread, an amazing online tool for integrating technology and collaborative learning.  Perhaps the most intriguing thing about Voice Thread (and its educators' counterpart Ed Voice Thread), is that differentiation is built right

A colleague of mine recently set out for a "working holiday" in a monastery.  The monks there take their meals in silence.

As an extravert, I have long been perplexed by this observation of the "silence is golden" perspective.  I mean, I get the "be still and know that I am God" mantra, however, generally, I have only achieved this on an individual basis.  In the presence of other humans, I am

Being fairly tied to the weather in terms of my moods, this day has been a surprising gift:  Despite grey skies and generally crappy weather, I flew a plane today (all by myself!) before the rain started this morning.  Then I enjoyed an incredible feast of music and authentic Christian fellowship at a new church which my neighbour had invited me to.  After this outing, I indulged in the luxury of a short nap at home, and then set out with my family for dinner downtown with dear friends.

I do so prefer sun... but this gift of a day has reminded me that the sun need not always dictate my moods!  Grey, as it turns out, can also be a pleasant colour.  :D

Nothing quite like a group of 7-year-old boys and a bunch of balls!  Sweaty, stinky and fun.  Probably the last "little boy" party before Alex and Simon begin doing older, "cooler" stuff like movies or a sleepover or something to that effect.  Kind of melancholy, really.

Grandiose plans gave way to bitter reality as I tried to implement a fine art lesson in Kindergarten this morning...

We began by looking at a work by the artist Wasily Kandinsky (lower left).  We talked about different things that are round like a circle, and listed them onto chart paper:  Oranges, wheels, belly buttons...  Then the children were asked to work with a partner to find and cut out various round things from magazines, and glue them onto a piece of manilla tagboard.  The idea was for them to make a collage.  Instead, they made a mess.  Scraps of paper everywhere, bits of gluestick cut off with scissors, a lid affixed to one child's work (because "look, Ms. Teschow, the glue stick cap is round, too!") and a total meltdown by one little fellow because allegedly the tiny, 1-inch basketball he had cut out had been stolen by a classmate.  Niether of them got to have it in the end, but Kindergarten kid #1 had a 20 minute temper tantrum about it, while kid #2 moved on to another project.

Admittedly, this was perhaps not one of my better lessons!