Category: Kid-Led Learning
Got A Picky Eater? A Reluctant Learner? Try The Rainbow Food Tray
Toddler-hood and picky eating are practically inseparable. For many parents, their kid’s lack of interest in just about any food put in front of them ranks right up there in the frustration department with refusing to sleep and melting down unceremoniously and without cause in the middle of the grocery store. Not. Awesome. There’s also [...]
Confessions of a Not-So-Crafty Mom
It was that last frantic week of school before Christmas break and I was running late to drop my son at Kindergarten for the day. Rushing through the door to his classroom my 2 year old daughter was the first to spot them. “Ooooooohhhhh…..Mamaaa….” she said, her tiny finger pointing to the ceiling. “Pritty..” Hanging [...]
Santa's Got An E-mail (And He Reads It)
It’s Dec. 15 and every year we get to this point where my oldest daughter asks me if she can still send Santa her list. Ummm, well. She’s OK with just telling the Santa at the Mall. But, really, she wants the letter back from him that confirms he’s out there. Thankfully, Canada Post has [...]
All This Talk of Family Holiday Traditions
While I always have visions of sugar plums dancing in my head this time of year, it is often combined with a heavy dose of reality that the holidays are lovely…and stressful…sweet…and incredibly frustrating. Getting everything done while still keeping that bit of magic from leaving the room in a fit of sugar-induced craziness is, [...]
Celebrating the Environmental Stewards of Tomorrow
Editor’s Note: Good Morning. Today, the folks from Comox Valley Land Trust have stopped by to talk about a wonderful program for kids who are the future stewards of the Earth. Check out this unique way of honoring the spirit of children who see the natural world and caring for it as their passion. Have [...]
Kids Art – The Science of Salt
Our oldest daughter and I love to combine science and art. We’re always looking for ways to combine mediums to create something really cool while seeing how things like salt, flour, dirt and water work together. So, when we were working recently on a science unit about absorption, we decided to try something fun combining [...]
Connecting Kids to The Year of the Rabbit
Gung Hay Fat Choy! Today is the official start of the 15-day 2011 Lunar New Year and, whether your heritage is Asian or not, giving children the chance to experience and understand cultural traditions is one of the most fun things about learning. Even in small communities where they may not be a big parade [...]
Helpful Hints for Art at Home
Editor’s Note: Matisse said Creativity takes courage. He couldn’t have been more dead-on. The ways people get their creative groove on define them in huge ways. They give people courage…a place to let all of their emotions spill out…and a voice to speak out, admire, honour or just simply reveal those things that mean the [...]
Road Trip & Beach Days Travel Packs for Kids
For our family, August is all about cramming in all of the camping, beach and road trip moments that got missed the rest of the summer into the 30 or so days before school starts (eeep!) What it also means is that I need to plan ahead for all of the down time attached to [...]
Waldorf Learning – The Spring Festival Of May Day
Editor’s Note: If you missed out on Robin’s review of some great science and non-fiction easy readers, you can catch it HERE. Now we have Rebecca Watkin on site with a look at the spring festival of May Day. Here she is: May Song Here’s a branch of snowy May, A branch the fairies gave us. [...]
Nature Journal – Taking A Walk With Wild Flowers
Editor’s Note: Happy first day of April! Naturalist Jocie Ingram is on site with info on some of the lovely wild flowers that you can find out and about the Comox Valley this month. Here she is: As I let the little one run ahead of me down the path and take in the fresh [...]
Taking A Peek Inside A Waldorf Classroom In Action
Editor’s Note: Good morning. Waldorf educator Rebecca Watkin is on site this morning showing us the inner workings of a Waldorf elementary grade classroom. Here she is: The first time I set foot into a Waldorf classroom my breath was taken away by its beauty. I am not sure what I expected, but I was [...]
A Waldorf Kindergarten
Editor’s Note: Happy Saturday! This morning we have Waldorf educator Rebecca Watkin giving us a look inside a Waldorf Kindergarten class. Here she is: When I think of my own Kindergarten year my memory is a bit foggy. To me it is virtually the same as Grade One, but without the desks. There were stations, there [...]
Independent Education – Beachcombers Community School
We are science geeks in our house. There’s no denying it, we dig bones and organs and bugs. If we had our way, our days would be spent exploring the tide pools any time of year. I’ve long been concerned about what school would be like for the tiny person. We’ve been contemplating homeschooling for [...]
Seeking the Light and the Warmth with Advent
Editor’s Note: Happy Saturday morning! We have Rebecca Watkin on site discussing the Waldorf tradition of Advent - a time of celebrating light. Here she is: Deep Mid-winter drawing near – May Light arise in our Garden here. Advent has always been my favorite celebration. As a child I didn’t know it was Advent I loved, [...]
Green Learning – Reinvent by Reusing
Editor’s Note: Good afternoon. If you missed us this morning, you can check out Pauline Rae’s informative story on Montessori education HERE. Now we have Gayle Bates with some highly creative tips on reinventing old household items. Here she is: Aaaah November – the month between the crazy consumption potential of Halloween and the even [...]
Montessori in the Comox Valley
Editor’s Note: Today we take a peek inside the world of Montessori education in the Comox Valley with Pauline Rae and learn a bit about why this public-school program is beloved by so many parents, as well as in need of strong community support. Enjoy! During the year before my oldest child started kindergarten, we [...]
The Magic of Seasonal Festivals for Children
Editor’s Note: It’s an education imagination Saturday. If you missed it this morning, we reviewed two fantastically fun Halloween books with the Rainy Day Book Club. Check them out HERE. This afternoon we have Rebecca Watkin discussing the Waldorf tradition of seasonal festivals – their significance, beauty and ability to make the imagination of childhood [...]
Chinese Lanterns & Other Traditions
All he did was turn his lantern on. I had no idea why it could possibly be so cool, but the Chinese lettering and lovely art that glowed red through the paper hanging from the ceiling sucked me in and my pal Cliff, with his parents smiling modestly in the background, began to tell us [...]
Felt Boards to Spark Imagination
I have to be honest, I’d never even seen a felt board until we were shopping for the tiny person’s second birthday last summer and discovered some AMAZING ones at Kool & Child in Nanaimo. We hooked her up with a huge ocean scene that now lives on a wall in our hallway thinking she’d [...]
Holidays Around the World – Kwanzaa
While relatively new on the holiday schedule, the North American celebration of Kwanzaa is rooted in the strong cultural heritage of people of African descent and their annual celebrations. Kicking off on December 26, 2007 the seven-day festival of “first fruits” (Kwanzaa’s definition in Swahili) honours seven principles or Kawaida: * Umoja (Unity) To strive [...]
Holidays Around the World – Winter Solstice
A Winter chill is in the air. The days are short. Vacation planning to warm February destinations is at its peak. And, by the end of next week, much of the world will be in the midst of mid-Winter celebrations that range from the simple placement of special gifts of food on Winter dinner tables [...]
Holidays Around the World – Hanukkah
For the next few days we’re going to spend some time checking out other holidays celebrated by children around the world this year. When I was a kiddo, some of the most memorable experiences I ever had included experiencing the different holiday celebrations of friends of all faiths and ethnic backgrounds. Giving your kiddos the [...]
Geography Awareness Week
What is the capital of Nepal? (Kathmandu) Where are the Farallon Islands? (just off the coast California near San Francisco) What is the tallest waterfall in the world? (Angel Falls in Venezuela) If you are like me, it’s a good thing the Internet exists. Otherwise, world geography – as fascinated as I am by it [...]
Learning About Dia de los Muertos
Well, the Great Pumpkin came and went, leaving some fun goodies for our allergy-prone tiny person. …And then the Great Pumpkin sat down and ate all of the tiny person’s donated candy. …And now the Great Pumpkin is paying the serious price for eating every last one of those little sugar candies and chocolates in [...]
Making Bats for Spooky Learning
When I sent away for the Canadian Wildlife Federation’s free Wild About Bats package a few months ago, I sincerely wondered what I would ever do with it. The tiny person was not in any way interested in flying spooky creatures at that point and, much like the snake one I also sent away for, [...]
Worth the Drive – Kool & Child
My husband and I almost set up camp there – particularly happy that the tiny person and grandma decided to hang out at home instead of come with us. Otherwise, she would have insisted we move in forever. I’d been told by more than one intrepid parent that Kool & Child in Nanaimo was one [...]
Celebrate Heritage – National Aboriginal Day
It is fitting that the the first wonderfully sunny day in a few weeks is dedicated to honouring Canada’s aboriginal people. Keepers of Canada’s traditions, stewards of the oceans, Vancouver Island’s Comox Nation – derived from the Coast Salish kw’umalha, meaning plentiful, rich and wealthy – maintain a rich heritage marked by the grandeur, tradition [...]
