13 Hours of Rain

Dear Trendy Mom: I'd like you to understand, that I choose to be a non-member of the "Club". I'm not a hip Momma with Lululemon clothing, big bling sunglasses, a tattoo for fashion purposes, and an iPhone with current pictures of my kiddos. My wardrobe is functional and relatively thrifty. I wear clip-ons when I drive. I think tattoos are a colossal waste of money for myself. And my husband and I share a Samsung "flip phone" with a no texting privileges. Where are the pictures of my kiddos? I have a few laminated gems in my wallet. I am an old school, archaic parent in a techno-savy, fashion-conscience society. And frankly, it doesn't bother me if I am. Or does it? As I get older, I realize that the choices I have made on how I prefer to live have alienated me somewhat from others in my current stage of life (like you). For instance, when it comes to fashion and the other stereotypical things that interest women out there, I rather go for a h...

Dear Daughter, There comes a time when you fail at something. Either you just can't master a particular skill or you are not mentally, emotionally, or physically ready for the challenge. While our society touts "everyone is a winner" and passes out participation ribbons like candy, there are still domains in which you lose or fail. Like swimming. This weekend you received your Preschool Level 2 Swimming Report Card. Sad to say, you are NOT moving on to the next level. You failed to master the critical skill of submerging your head completely underwater. "I feel awful," your instructor apologized, "But if she doesn't put her head under water, I can't pass her." "I understand," I assured her, "We don't want her to move on to the next level until she is ready. She is a cautious learner when it comes to physical skills. She walked at 17 months. She does not desire to remove her training wheels off her bike. If she has ...

First, I would like to wish all my readers a Blessed Easter . May you have a wonderful time with family and friends as we celebrate Christ's Death and Resurrection. And now for my current thoughts... Oh Chocolate Cake! Lent season ended on Palm Sunday and now we are well into Passion Week. I have mixed feelings about how these last 40 days progressed. I was generally faithful in avoiding desserts, my selected "fast". Though I must admit I indulged in my children's birthday cakes. Too much, probably. Since my expected company was unable to come for my daughter's birthday, I ate pieces of chocolate cake for several days in a row. Not good. But I couldn't bare to see it chucked (since my husband is not much of a cake eater). And I do not like eating previously frozen cake. Thus, next year, if I choose to give up something in the food category, I will need to select an item that I can completely forgo. Like peanut butter. Oh how I LOVE peanut butter. That wou...

One of my favourite units to teach in the old Science 9 curriculum was Soil Science . Okay, Soil Science wasn't technically in the curriculum. But it was an extension of one of the required units. And since I was teaching a group of talented, somewhat gifted, science students, I decided to explore something unique. Keep in mind, I have no formal training in Soil Science . So I learned alongside the kids. We mucked around in the lab examining soil samples under the microscope trying to figure out what kind of soil we were working with. We studied soil maps of our province (and now I realize, I have lived in three different soil zones in the course of my residency in this province). However, my fondest memories of the unit was the exam that I created with much thought and intentionality. I gave the students an excerpt from the  Lord of the Rings to analyse for soil types. Many students were ecstatic when they reached the question. "We get to read Lord of the Rings in Scie...

As a mathematics teacher, it bothers me when I encounter professionals who make blatant calculation errors, errors that should be avoided as part of the job. Last week, I took my son for a routine physical exam. The nurse at the clinic weighed him and told me he was 4.71 kg. All good. Then she punched some numbers into her calculator and reported, "He is 10 pounds, 3 ounces. Well, almost 4 ounces." I nodded while thinking, "You converted wrong, again ." So here is a mathematical contest for all my readers. Answer the following questions in the comment section of this blog post. If your response is correct and thorough as well as unique , I will seek you out and award you a prize! You have ONE week to respond. What did the nurse do on her calculator to convert 4.71 kg to 10 lbs 4 oz? What was the nurse's conversion error? What is the nurse assuming to be true which resulted in the error? What is my son's correct weight in pounds and ounces? Explain how to ...

It is report card time at many schools and I know of several teachers and students who dread this day with every fibre of their being. One group of students that are often filled with a large amount of anxiety are the "high achievers." Specifically, they are afraid of receiving grades that are not "high" by their standards. I have encountered these types of students numerous times in my career. And I believe that several of these students do not want to be challenged at the cost of their marks. They may exclaim, "Yes, challenge me! I'm bored!" But then they add the disclaimer, "Please don't compromise my 98%." I was one of these students in the past. However, as a teacher, I am supposed to encourage my students to develop new skills in a particular subject. When the student is learning, they often make mistakes. They do not score perfectly. Yet, over time, they increase their competency in the skill. And in the end, I award them the mark ...

I've been teaching for two weeks now. And part of me can't believe how easy it has been to get back into the swing of things. I guess when a person has been doing this for 10+ years, it starts to become second nature. However, there are a few things that have caused this educator to shake her head with either annoyance or sadness. None of these are new issues, just old ones that have made a poignant impact after almost a year and a half maternity leave. Teens & Cell Phones Wow. I forgot how many kids walk around in the hallways with their ears or fingers glued to a cell phone. What are they doing? Talking, texting, playing games, taking pictures, etc. It is an epidemic! As well as an addiction for many. And I do shake my head in disgust when a 15 year old is sporting a Blackberry . Come on! Save your hard earned money for something more significant, like an education. So, do you want to know what my answer was to a student who wanted to use their iPhone as a calculator? NO...

For the past three months, my esthetician and I have had a little arrangement. I arrive at her home for an eyebrow wax and she hands me the next season of Star Trek: The Next Generation . Her husband has kindly granted us the privilege to methodically view his precious collection of all seven seasons. We are currently in season three. My husband and I are thoroughly enjoying this trip down memory lane. Captain Picard's brilliant leadership is inspirational. Plus his dry wit and brief moments of boyish enthusiasm are a delight to watch. Worf, the Klingon Chief Security Officer, is entertaining as he heroically attempts to tone down his warrior spirit in light of Starfleet diplomacy. And Worf's stoic comments are hilarious! Lieutenant Commander Data - now here is one fine android officer! While his computer-like skills are admired by his comrades, he would trade them away in an instant to become human. True, his reflections on humanity are at times naive, but at other moments hi...

This YouTube video is dedicated to all my Star Trek: The Next Generation friends out there! Enjoy a good laugh. "Believing oneself to be perfect is often the sign of a delusional mind." ~ Data (First Contact)

One of my highlights from this May long weekend was watching Star Trek , the highly anticipated sci-fi prequel of the original Star Trek television series. What an absolutely amazing movie! It took my breath away. Now, I was not a huge fan of Captain Kirk and his adventures around the universe. Star Trek: The Next Generation was more my forte (Captain Picard is by far my favorite Star Trek captain!). But my husband has fond memories of waking up early on Saturday morning to watch Kirk and Spock encounter the paradoxes of the galaxy. Yah, cartoons were cool, but Star Trek was riveting, magical, and entertaining. Riveting, magical, and entertaining are three words that sum up Star Trek , the movie. Is it worth viewing on the big screen with Dolby surround sound? A resounding YES! Don't worry, I will not give away the plot as I share my reasons why. 1. J. J. Abrams directs a movie that Star Trek fans will appreciate and new viewers to the phenomena will enjoy. There is enough refere...

A frustrated teacher was sharing a story about a typical experience in the math classroom. After his lesson on factoring, he observed his students working on their homework. They kept on getting the questions incorrect. "What is the problem?" he asked, "Do you understand what is going on?" They did. They could explain the process beautifully. The teacher dug deeper. He found the answer to their difficulties. They did not know their basic multiplication facts. He then gave them a grid with the timetables until 20. Guess what? They were able to factor. As an advocate of numeracy, such stories disturb me. I was fortunate to have great mathematics teachers in my lifetime who did not shy away from drilling math facts into my brain. Don't get me wrong. I am all for actually understanding mathematical concepts. But if a kid has to grab a calculator to figure out the answer to 6 times 3, then we are really missing something. Numeracy begins when a child is young. We hav...

As part of the requirements of a seminar, I had to create an assignment for a mathematics class. Thanks to Song of Joy for the inspiration. If you can impress me with a solution to the scenario below, I will search you out and give you a prize for engaging in mathematics for leisure! Only one prize will be awarded. Contest closes in one week. Here goes! The Scenario : Anne works for a prominent hotel in the city. She is a catering manager. It is her job to oversee the many events that occur in the hotel’s banquet or conference rooms. Anne also needs to report the cost of the event, including all applicable taxes and gratuity. The cost can include items such as room rental, meal costs, and cash bars. However, the cash bar has been causing her some problems. Why? When a person picks up a drink at the bar, he or she often gives the bartender a drink ticket. The drink tickets cost a flat rate such as $4.00. This $4.00 includes all taxes and gratuity. When Anne records the cost of the drin...

Vernal : Pertaining to spring. Equinox : Equal day and night.* When : Occurs when the sun is vertically above a point on the equator. In the Northern Hemisphere it officially arrived at 7:44 a.m. ET. Translation : It's finally SPRING !!! To celebrate : I have added more color to my blog and changed my title and introspection description to include lyrics from one of my favorite Nichole Nordeman songs "Every Season". Why : Spring is my season of choice. My heart finds joy when the world comes to life again. Snow melts into giant puddles. Birds return with new songs. Flowers and trees bloom once more. The days become longer. I smile more! :) (*Interested in more facts about the Vernal Equinox? Check out this National Geographic link!)

I am reading an absolutely fascinating book by Malcolm Gladwell entitled, "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference." The author explores social epidemics. Specifically, what makes one movement spread like wildfire while another does not? Now, I will not go into details just in case some of you may desire to read the book. Nonetheless, I want to touch on one point: the power of context in social revolutions. Gladwell illustrates this point by recounting a dark period in New York city's history. During the mid-eighties, New York was known around the world for its brutal crime rate. Murders, drug deals, robberies, and other criminal activity were commonplace. The New York subway system was no exception. Commuters were not safe on public transit. But under the direction of David Gunn, the subway system was dramatically cleaned up. Surprisingly, he didn't target the high profile crimes. Instead, he went after fare-beating and graffiti with a vengeanc...

The marketing industry fascinates and infuriates me. It has an insidious way of targeting our fears and values. 1. Environmentally Friendly Products. Accompanying the fear of a global climate catastrophe is our need to purchase products and services that are perceived to be kinder to our environment. I am not against being cognisant of our earth's deplorable status and taking action to repair our world. However, it bothers me when products or services are labelled as being environmentally friendly on one hand but cause equally challenging problems on the other hand. For example, many institutions are becoming fans of e-billing and e-pay stubs. The service is labelled as being kinder to the environment. And the institution saves a whole wade of cash in paper and printing. But, in order to received your e-bill or e-pay stub, you need a computer. And these computers are replaced often to keep up with the technological times. The result? E-junk! Many cities are overwhelmed with that a...

I gotta share what I've been reading... SUGAR Known by many names such as glucose, fructose, and sucrose. Extracted from sugarcane in the tropics and sugar beets in temperate zones. Cultivation thrived at the expense of black Africans and other slave labour. Only became popular in Europe in the 1600s. Demand increased with the discovery of the preservation of fruit by sugar and the making of jams, jellies, and marmalade. The world's sugar production rose by 700% between 1900 and 1964, when many developed countries consumed one hundred pounds per capita annually! Compare that with England's annual consumption of four pounds in the early 1700s. Addiction to sugar and the resultant health problems associated with the over-consumption of sugar have spurred on the sugarless industry (ex: aspartame, sucralose, etc.), which sadly has its own share of problems. and SPICE Nutmeg: Grown in Indonesia. Monopolized by the Dutch during the 1600s. Used in China to treat rheumatism and sto...

I am sure you have heard of the saying, "It is darkest before the dawn." This axiom is used by well intentioned people to encourage us to keep persevering in our trials. The words soothe our souls with the hope that our redemption will arrive just when we are ready to give up. Sadly, the statement is scientifically inaccurate. It is not darkest before the dawn. A matter of fact, there is a lot of light before the sunrise. It is the darkest in the middle of the night, when the sky is overcast, the moon is hidden on the other side of the earth, and you are in the middle of nowhere. Truthfully, we do not want to embrace this image of despair. We do not enjoy the idea of being all alone, forgotten, and in the dark. We cringe at the idea of screaming out to God and hearing our words ominously echo into the night. Why? Because our culture is afraid of pain, suffering, and persecution. And we want to escape it, quickly. We strive HARD to find a cure for our pain, an escape from our ...

Yesterday marked the official end to my unofficial "Christmas holidays". True, as a stay-at-home Mom, I do not receive a true holiday from my "work". However, the last three weeks have been different from the norm. First, it was the Christmas season. Life was busy with purchasing gifts for loved ones, putting up decorations, buying good eats (I hardly bake, except muffins), and spending time with family. Second, my sister , her husband and son came to visit us from afar. Good times. Yesterday, they returned home via airplane. Now I must say farewell to the past and move on with the future: 1. Farewell to R & M . It was absolutely wonderful to have them visit this frigid land during Christmas. We enjoyed riveting hours of Settlers of Catan (Seafarers version); frantic Christmas shopping followed by leisurely gift openings; consuming good food (too much food!); relaxing moments of conversations (as well as stimulating debates on politics); and joyfully watching o...