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Books & Music

Love Books: Adopt a School Program

September 17, 2012

Many Canadian children don’t own one book…not one! Their school library is their only access to books. School libraries are also in need of books.

You can help by participating in Indigo’s Adopt a School which helps Canadian school libraries receive new books! The program runs from September 16th to October 6th.

Last year, the program provided 33,000 books to 154 school libraries across Canada!

You can help in several ways:

“Adopt”: Similar to a “like” on Facebook, people can come to your school page and click “Adopt”, which gives your school one point. For every 50 “Adopts”, Indigo donates a book to your school.

Donate: People can donate directly to your school. Every $12 donation gives a book to your school. Every book donation also gets your school a point.

Buy: Teachers, parents, and the school community can sell Indigo e-gift cards to their friends, family members, and co-workers; for every card they sell, Indigo will donate a book to your school!

Want to help out your children’s school or another school in need? If your school is not listed, you can tell them about the program and have them register or you can enroll the school yourself. Principals, teachers or parents may sign up a school on the Adopt a School website here.

By signing up your school (or another worthy school) on the website, you enable teachers, parents, and the rest of the community to sell Indigo e-gift cards to their friends, family members, and co-workers; for every card they sell, Indigo will donate a book to your school.

There is also a Library Makeover contest where your school can enter to win $5,000 to make over their school library. Schools can post pictures, videos, and stories displaying the challenging state of their library. Participants will be ranked according to how many points they accumulate in the program. The ten schools with the most points will each get 50 more books. As a grand prize, a judging panel from Indigo will also choose which school has the worst library, and they will get $5000 to make over their library.

I am going to help out this year. This is why:

During the 2011/2012 school year, a severe leak in our library’s roof caused repeated damage to our paperback novel collection. Further, many of our books are old, worn out, and beyond repair.

With your support, we can give one book to every child at your school, and in schools across Canada.

I’m happy to be giving away two $50 Indigo e-cards to keep for yourself and Indigo will give two books to a school of your choice! Or you can choose to donate the e-cards to the school of your choice!

Enter here and good luck! Contest ends September 30th.

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Little Kids

10 Tips to Keep Young Children Safely Occupied During Trips

September 17, 2012

It is no secret that most babies start crying and fussing once they are put in a car seat. This is especially true if they are facing backwards and older siblings are forward facing. They feel like you are ignoring them and often throw tantrums.

Hearing a baby scream while you are trying to drive is nerve-wracking, distracting and not good for anyone’s safety. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to take the child out of their car seat and drive with them on your lap, or have them held by another passenger.

Driving without having a child in an adequate seat is not only against the law it is just downright dangerous. Unfortunately people see no harm by justifying its only for a few minutes but accidents can happen when you least expect them.

If you are driving and your baby is screaming you may have no choice but to pull over and calm your child down. It is impossible to placate the child and focus on your driving at the same time.

How to keep babies comfortable during road trips? Here are some tips to help your child who is fussy in the car seat and for keeping baby occupied while you are on the road.

10 Tips to keep young children safely occupied during trips:

1. Make sure your child is not suffering from motion sickness due to an ear infection. If the fussing in the car is new it might be time to see the doctor.

2. Make sure the car seat is installed tightly so it doesn’t jolt or jerk as you drive. This can be quite irritating to a sleeping child. Make sure the child is comfortable and that harness system is positioned correctly and are not twisted or way too tight as this could be what is distressing the child.

3. Make sure a rear facing infant seat is reclined appropriately at 45 degrees, otherwise the child may be to upright with their chin buried into their chest. Not only is this not safe, it is uncomfortable.

4. Sometimes your child simply needs some air; open a car window and let the breeze in as this helps the baby get over the feeling of being confined in the car.

5. Get your child used to the idea of the car seat by bringing it indoors or in your yard and letting him sit and play in it. Once they are familiar with it there might not be so much resistance to being in it in the car.

6. Before you go out on the road, make sure that your child has soft toys to play with and keep him distracted. Never bring hard toys along as these could become harmful flying projectiles or injure the child or another passenger if there is a sudden stop or collision. Make sure that you do not use hanging materials that can tangle or cut the skin like fishing line.

7. Hang a mirror if the child is rear-facing and that way they can see you all the time and you can see them while the car is not moving. Remember while driving to keep your eyes on the road. If a mirror is causing you distractions, do not use it. Do not use regular mirrors, specialty mirrors that are shatter proof are made for this purpose.

8. Hang a child-friendly poster facing your child. These are usually learning posters that have charts and pictures on them that they find entertaining and educational.

9. Play music that your child loves or sing to your child while driving. Singing is only really a good idea if you can focus on driving at the same time.

10. Play a soothing rhythm that block out all other noises. However, remember that whatever you do decide to play you have to be able to tolerate it while you are driving. It cannot be a noise that puts you in a trance or to sleep!

Remember, babies cry because they cannot talk. However, sometimes all the crying in the world never ever gives you a clue as to what is really wrong. As it is difficult to drive with a screaming baby don’t forget it is dangerous.

Mohammad Bhorat is a certified Car Seat Technician with Baby Car Seat Installers located in Markham, Ontario. For more information visit www.carseatinstallers.com.

parenting

5 Tips to Help Back to School Stress

September 14, 2012

by Sara Dimerman

Now that we’re a few days into a new year at school, and the initial excitement has worn off, your child may still be dealing with some anxious feelings.

Below are the top five anxieties during the transition back to school and five tips to help back to school stress:

1. New beginnings.

Anxiety can run particularly high when a child is transitioning into a new phase or environment. So a four year old entering JK, a 6 year old entering grade one, a 14 year old entering high school may be more anxious than students moving between other grades. Acknowledging these feelings as being normal is very important. Remind your child that even teachers feel a little nervous at the beginning of a new school year, but that you’re confident that as the days go on, their anxiety will decrease.

2. A new teacher.

Most children experience a new teacher at the start of a school year. For some this can be exciting, especially if they have heard great things about the teacher. For others, a little more intimidating, especially if they’ve been forewarned. Remind your child that every person relates and perceives teachers differently and just because someone had had a negative experience, does not mean that your he or she will feel the same. Ask that he or she give the teacher a chance and at the end of a school day, ask your child to share two positive things about his or her teacher.

3. Meeting new students.

Again, for some this may be exciting. For others, meeting new students can be anxiety provoking, especially if your child feels that some of his or her closer friends will be distracted by the newcomers. Remind your child that the new kid in the class is likely feeling even more anxious about entering into a roomful of strangers and help your child think of ways that your child can take a leadership role in making sure that the new students feel welcome.

4. Being apart from you.

If you’ve spent lots of together time as a family over the summer months or if you’ve been able to spend extra one on one time with your child, he or she may need some getting used to being away from you for extended periods again. Remind your child that it’s normal to feel a little sad or anxious at being apart all day. Write little notes to put in his or her lunch box as a reminder that you are close by and that your thoughts are with him/her.

5. Extra pressure.

Back to school typically also means a return to extra curricular activities and homework. A sharp contrast to the lazy days of summer. Try to wean in after school activities and don’t over burden your child with too many. A child feels stress too and not enough time to unwind and catch his or her breath after school may lead to anxiety too.

Sara Dimerman has been a Therapist for over twenty years. She is one of North America’s most trusted parenting and relationship experts and the author of three books – ‘Am I A Normal Parent?’, ‘Character Is the Key’ and a book for couples – ‘How can I be your Lover when I’m too Busy being your Mother?’ Visit HelpMeSara.com and follow Sara on Twitter.

Motherhood

I Don’t Like My Mother-in-Law!

September 13, 2012

by an Anonymous Mom

Ok.

Here it goes.

I cannot and I repeat cannot STAND my mother-in-law!!!

Here are just a few reasons why.

1. She shows up unexpected time and time and time again. I have told her to call beforehand and she interpreted as call when she is three minutes from my house (after she has driven 30 minutes to get here).

2. She feels the need to do our grocery shopping. So when she does show up, she has brought groceries with her. The neighbours must wonder why a 70-year-old woman is lugging boxes of water and grocery bags to our front door before ringing the doorbell and why two idiotic people inside cannot go shopping on their own or at least carry the bags in from the car! UGH!

3. The mop. Believe it or not, she carries a dust mop in the trunk of her car and when I am not around (ie. when she’s babysitting my kid), she whips it out and dusts our floors! I know because my son tells me!

4. So I’ve asked her not to show up unexpected. She still shows up but won’t come inside until I notice she is trimming my lawn outside! She carries a lawn trimmer in her trunk too.

5. She uses our dirty towels to dust down the bathrooms.

6. She washes dishes and puts them away with dirt still on them.

7. She washes our laundry. No thanks. I don’t like my whites mixed with darks and I don’t want her touching my underwear!

I have lots more but ding dong! Guess who is here?

Editor’s note: Any advice and/or words of wisdom for this anonymous mom?

Photo: NewLine Cinema

Health

Back to School Means Back to You – and Exercise!

September 13, 2012

by Samantha Montpetit-Huynh

Now that the kids are back in school and you are attempting to create somewhat of a routine, it’s the perfect time to extend those thoughts and start a fitness program for yourself.

It’s quite common for people to train hard for the summer, just to fall off the wagon half way through and then find themselves somewhat disappointed by the end. But don’t fret. If this is you, you certainly are not alone.

There is no time like the present to re-create what you once lost! Seeing as over the next couple of weeks, “routine” will be the theme, this is the ideal time to take advantage of the continuous sunny days and become motivated in getting back into an exercise routine.

Search inwards to find what you like. Do you like being out doors? Are you a social person who likes exercise classes? Or do you shy away from a typical gym environment and prefer to work out on your own and are you disciplined enough to do it?

What type of exercise do you like? Aerobics? Strength training? Spinning? Boot camp? Yoga or Pilates?

1. Create a schedule. Seeing as you are already the manager of the household and extra curricular activities, there is no reason why you can not include your exercise routine on the same schedule. This way it is public knowledge for all to see and those around you are more apt to take you seriously. You included.

2. Hook up with a partner or two! There’s a reason why the expression “strength in number’s” is so popular. If you (like millions around you) find it hard to stick to a schedule, find someone to be accountable to. They don’t necessarily have to workout with you, but if you make an agreement where you have to report to someone on a regular basis, you have just improved your chances for success! Hence the reason why 80% of people get personal trainers; not because they don’t know what to do, but because they will be accountable to someone.

3. Be realistic. Setting the bar too high with “I’m going to hit the gym 5 days a week” in most cases, will only set you up for failure. Starting with 2-3 times is doable especially if there are little ones running afoot. Anything additional is gravy. Sound good?

But before any of the above, sit down and remind yourself why you are doing this in the first place. Are you aware of the Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines developed by the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology? Furthermore, do you know what could happen if you are not?

Unfortunately many women find out the hard way so make a clear commitment to yourself that should you fall off the wagon, that’s ok. It’s not about quick fixes, it’s about changing your life.

What is the toughest part of getting back into an exercise routine for you?

Samantha Montpetit-Huynh is the mother of two beautiful girls and the founder of Core Expectations, Toronto’s only full services wellness team that delivers personal training, abdominal rehabilitation and other support services to the homes and offices of pregnant women and new moms across the GTA.

Food

Fall in Love with Better Food

September 12, 2012

I love food.

Cooking, baking… and especially eating!

So I’m excited to share that I’m sitting on Sobeys Better Food Lover panel.

I’ll be blogging about food, what “better food” means to me and sharing some of my cooking and baking tips and recipes.

Here is my first post where I share tips on staying on track with healthy eating:

Cooking From Scratch: Healthy Eating Starts With Better Food

I’d love for you to read and comment too!

Follow @sobeys on Twitter and like their page on Facebook.

Disclosure: I am a member of the Sobeys Food Lovers program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation. The opinions in this post are my own.

Contest

Fall Trends for Kids 2012

September 12, 2012

Tulle skirts, faux leather motorcycle jackets – I love the cool fall trends for kids this year!

Kids outgrow their clothes so quickly so I’m always looking for good quality clothing at affordable prices. You know, jeans that won’t rip at the knee after a few wears!

I’ve found some adorable and trendy clothing for kids fall 2012 at my favourite places to shop. One of them is Old Navy where I’m bound to find something for my two boys at every visit. Whether it’s a new pair of jeans or basic tops, I always seem to walk out of that store with something!

I’m happy to offer my readers a $50 Old Navy gift card for your back-to-school/fall shopping for your kids. Enter below! (Canada only; ends September 26, 2012).

Here are my top picks for fall trends for kids 2012:

fall kids trends — Ruffle Dress $19 Joe Fresh

fall kids 2012 — Lap of Luxury Jacket, size 2-7, Peekaboo Beans $59 Contactvickyb.stylist@peekaboobeans.com

fall kids clothing — Nordic Sweater $24 Joe Fresh

fall kids clothing trends — Quilted patch pocket jacket $54.95 GAP

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Little Kids

Full-Day Kindergarten: Is it All It’s Cracked Up to Be?

September 11, 2012

My eldest son has just started grade three while my youngest has just entered senior kindergarten.

It’s the first year the school offers Full-Day Kindergarten (FDK). My son is ready for it – he’s 5 ½ after all (a January baby) and ready to learn, interact with kids his own age and go to school every day.

I’m usually laid-back when it comes to things happening at my kids’ school. But the new set-up for FDK has got me all fired up.

Last year, there were full-day alternate-day kindergarten classes; classes were running Mondays and Wednesdays, and Tuesdays and Thursdays with Fridays alternated between the two groups.

In total, there were about 23 kids in each class with a total of 200 kids in all the kindergarten classes.

Now with FDK, there are four classes running every day with 30 kids in each class (the cap, I believe) with one teacher and one early childhood educator (there should be one teacher for every 13 children). At our school, each class has 20 junior kindergarten children and only 10 senior kindergarteners.

The school has a separate kindergarten school yard where the kids will have their recess and be picked up and dropped off. But because there are too many kids – that’s 120 kids – the kindergarteners have staggered lunches and recesses.

Regular school lunch begins at 12:50pm which is pretty late to begin with. But because of the staggered lunch, my son doesn’t get to each his lunch until 1:20pm. The teachers encourage the kids to eat most of their lunch at first recess because of this.

I understand that full-day kindergarten means very full classrooms and an ECE. I also understand that 30 kids are now in each classroom, although I still believe this is over-crowded. But I’m concerned that of all the 30 kids in my son’s class, only 10 are SK students.

What does this mean for my child? As younger students – some as two whole years younger – are still learning to hold a pencil and learn the alphabet, how can I know that my son will excel in his classroom and become prepared for Grade 1? How can I be ensured first grade readiness in a class that has way more JK students than SK students? Will he have the one-on-one time with the teacher on a routine basis to ensure he is not left behind?

The other day when I tweeted about my discontent with the new arrangement, I received an overwhelming response – both for and against Full-Day Kindergarten.

Sharon DeVellis (@sharondv) isn’t a fan of FDK:

“I just think that kids should be kids. They are going to be in school and the workforce for the better part of their lives. Why rush it?”

Katja Wulfers’ children (@jackstrawlane) all went to French school and didn’t have a choice with regard partial or full day kindergarten but her experience was positive.

“They enjoyed the routine of going every day, the structure of their days, the interaction with a larger number of children and adults in different scenarios (play, lunch, recess, gym, music, etc.), and came home pleased with their accomplishments. The introduction to learning techniques throughout both years enabled them to quickly grasp math and reading as early as SK and firmly by grade 1.”

Dee Brun (@cocktaildeeva) also had a positive experience:

“As a mom who has two kids come out of the old system and two kids now in the new all day system. I have to say the all-day wins hands down. My kids have learn and grown so much more through the all day. Also having the same teacher for the two year program saves so much time and really adds stability for the kids.”

But Kelly Linhares @cowandthemoonco is against FDK for her son:

“I would have no issue sending him to school a few days a week. But at not-yet-4, I am not ready to send him into the world full time. Is he ready? Perhaps. But why are we forced to make our kids grow up so fast. It’s the same reason I’m opposed to the suggested full year school with no summer break. Let them be kids!”

What do you think about Full Day Kindergarten?

Books & Music

TIFF 2012 The Lesser Blessed: Raw, Stark and Often Funny

September 10, 2012

The Lesser Blessed had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday, September 9, 2012. The film received a standing ovation and there wasn’t a dry eye in the packed theatre!

Directed by Anita Doron, who happens to be a dear friend of mine and a mom of one adorable boy, The Lesser Blessed is an adaptation of Richard Van Camp’s critically acclaimed novel.

The film (and the book) is a powerful coming-of-age story of Larry Sole (played by newcomer Joel Evans) who is a Tlicho Indian growing up in the small northern town of Fort Simmer in Northwest Territories.

The shy and quirky Larry is bullied daily by Darcy (Adam Butcher) who knows all about Larry’s horrific past and taunts him with what he knows. But when the new kid, the Métis Johnny Beck (Kiowa Gordon), arrives at school, he stands up to Darcy and befriends Larry.

Their friendship becomes more complicated when Johnny hooks up with Larry’s big crush, Juliet Hope (Chloe Rose). Larry’s mother Verna (Tamara Podemski) and her sometime boyfriend Jed (Benjamin Bratt) have a tumultuous relationship but seem to make it work.

Doron has such a compassion and sensitivity for the teenage characters and their struggles. She has a powerful way of depicting rural life in northern Canada and the characters’ hardships. Larry’s torturous past is revealed slowly yet dramatically through visions and dreams laced with traditional folklore.

Gordon is perfectly cast as the suave, rebellious new kid who befriends Larry and snags his dream girl. Bratt portrays Jed with raw masculinity and deep inner strength. Evans makes a wonderful debut as Larry.

The Lesser Blessed is a stark, dark and yet often funny depiction of a native teenager trying to forget his past and find his place. It is one of the best films I’ve recently seen.

Some photos from the premiere:

Big Kids

Green Jobs Forum 2012

September 9, 2012

Is your teen green?

Fifty-six per cent of Canadian teens are interested in a career in the environmental sector but don’t know how to develop a career in this area.

New research shows that while 68 per cent of teens surveyed believe jobs in the environmental sector are increasing, they don’t feel they know enough about the types of jobs available. A significant gap in environmental workers is expected in the next decade as 3 out of 10 environmental workers reach retirement age.

This is why the Green Jobs Forum offers new graduates, students, and the general public an in-depth exploration of careers in the ever-expanding Green Economy.

The Green Jobs Forum is taking place on September 17, 10am to 7pm at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Admission is FREE.

For more information, visit Greenjobsforum.ca

Follow Green Jobs Forum on Twitter @greenjobsforum with the hashtag #GJF12