We sing in the car. We sing in the shower. We sing our ABCs with our kids. Let’s face it: music is everywhere. And thank goodness it is! Where would we be without our concerts, our playlists, our late-night serenades? Kids are naturally inclined to wiggle, make silly sounds, and skip about when it should […]

To quote American businessman and author Dave Ramsey, “You must gain control over your money or the lack of it will forever control you.” Many people live in poverty, not just in developing countries but in Canada and the U.S. as well—the problem is that we don’t talk about it and we don’t do much […]

My hot chocolate sits abandoned on my desk. My laptop warns me its battery is low. My head hangs defeated, staring at the blank screen. I need to write a scary story before class tomorrow, and I have no ideas! What would scare a bunch of 7th graders who walk around a dark forest for […]

I worked in Canada’s far North for six years in the 1980s, first as a teacher in a fly-in village in Cree territory, then as a teacher and curriculum developer in Algonquin territory in northern Quebec. During this time, the First Nations were slowly and surely taking back control of their education systems from the […]

So, you’re learning a new language. You’re highly motivated at first but soon realize it isn’t as easy as you thought it would be. Slowly, you stop opening your language app, and the words you’ve learned in your target language begin to fade. Why does it have to be so difficult?! Good news: although learning […]

Recess. The word itself brings back memories of primary school and those dreaded middle school days. Canadian young adults are likely reminded of hours spent climbing over the snow piles left by the plows, pretending to be astronauts or huskies or famous explorers. Alas, the snow would melt, and kids would move on to games […]

Birthdays, holidays, end of year parties… With so many occasions, it’s difficult to buy creative, useful gifts for the child that has everything! Trying to find something enjoyable yet educational, engrossing yet evergreen, well, it takes a lot of thought. But gift-shopping doesn’t have to be all that difficult! Our books, games, and music will […]

Everybody knows the great writers whose renown transcends generations: Shakespeare, Vernes, García Lorca, Tolstoy… How could a kid like me ever write something that compares to their literary masterpieces? Why can’t I be the next J.K. Rowling? If you’ve ever felt this way, you aren’t alone; it can be intimidating to reflect on the piles […]

If you’re like me, you probably learned your alphabet by singing along with Elmo. You may even have struggled with that Q to W section that always caused me problems. But if the ABCs are usually considered the first step towards deciphering books… how can you teach kids to read without memorizing an overwhelming 26 […]

Ah, Canada. Land of Sorry, Eh, and Timmies. Did you know Canadian mothers drink maple syrup during pregnancy to ensure their child is super Canadian? Oh, and we’re born in igloos and ride our first moose by age 9, if you hadn’t heard. Well, some of those might be exaggerated. Or invented. But I won’t […]