We All Buy Stuff – Be Proactive About It

Editor’s Note: Happy Saturday! This morning Gayle Bates is here discussing the mass media and the role it plays in consumerism. Here she is:
Oh my, does the media ever affect the environment. We are exposed to more than 3000 messages every single day, and the vast majority of these messages are telling us to consume, [...]

Develop A Kids Cultural Palette-Learn to Make Sushi

Editor’s Note: Good morning. Sarah Stromquist is on site this morning sharing her recent adventure in making sushi with her lovely girls. She definitely inspired me to give it a whirl. Here’s Sarah:
Straying from my usual barrage of recipes, I decided to focus on one idea in hopes of convincing people to undertake their own [...]

The Cultural Value of Garbage

Editor’s Note: Good morning. Today we have Gayle Bates with us discussing cultural perspectives on things that are headed for the trash can and how different societies deal with it. Here she is:
How waste is a part of culture is a huge and fascinating topic. There are a number of cultural and traditional forms of development and sustainability across [...]

Books to Teach Kids About Chinese New Year

Editor’s Note: If you missed out on Rebecca’s morning post giving us a look inside the Waldorf classroom, you can read it HERE. Now, here’s Robin reviewing a cool collection of children’s books that help kids learn about Chinese culture and Chinese New Year. Have a great afternoon. Here’s Robin:
I get sort of droopy after [...]

Preserving Holiday Traditions with Sausage & Kraut

Tucked away in a kitchen cupboard is an old paper-bound cookbook. It’s nothing fancy, no spectacular photography, not even a professional print job. But, this book – The Wigilia – is one of my dearest possessions.
When I was nine, my grandmother and I traded letters and tapes once a week for a month as she [...]

Kids In The Arts – Local Olympic Experience

Editor’s Note: This morning we have Lindsay Sterk giving us the low-down on getting an Olympic experience right here in the Comox Valley. Here he is:

On November 2 the Olympic Torch is coming to Courtenay. The flame was lit in Greece on October 22 and is now making its way towards Canada, and will hit the ground running [...]

Book Review – Earth Day Stories

Good Morning! It’s time!
Today is HUGE in the OBE universe as we kick off a week’s worth of fantastic Earth Day good times with the opening of our new Family Community Gardens in partnership with the Comox Valley Regional District.
The ribbon cutting is the culmination of a day’s worth of family-friendly events including those fun [...]

Enjoy A Local Chinese New Year Feast

With the Lunar New Year starting Monday (January 26), what better time to gather the family and celebrate by creating a local feast to commemorate the Year of the Ox.
In Chinese culture, food prepared during this celebratory season is meant to bring luck as many dishes have symbolic meaning in relation to their appearance and [...]

Book Review – Winter Tales of Survival & Hope

Ken was horrified that I’d brought a book like this home from the library. While I went for what was shaping up to be a long visit to the midwife on Tuesday, he and the tiny person broke into the latest stack of books and CDs that had come home with us from the library [...]