Live Out Loud - Adventures of a mom

Most of us want to learn about how to prepare for pregnancy, labour and delivery, the first years, etc., but it is curious to me that the older our kids get, the less people share about the journey. On the one hand, that is a welcome reality - less unwanted advice and less overt judgment - but on the other hand, it gives me the false impression that things get easier as the year progress. Does it?  Does it get easier? Why don't people talk much about parenting as the years go by?  Are we just exhausted?  Or have we just given up? Or perhaps, in a way, many of us are just surviving or worse yet, preparing for the worst and hoping for the best (not what I put first)? At any rate, as my kids grew (and they all do, by the way), I started asking questions from everyone willing to listen:  teachers, principals, neighbours, and friends about advice on what I might need to keep in mind as we transition to a new stage:  High School and adolescence. What I got from a lot ...

Last month I decided to teach my ESL students to file complaints, listen to public service broadcasts and write an incident report ...around the topic of Bullying and Harassment.  It was a very challenging unit to design and I learned a lot in the process.   A few of my students end-of-unit writing report really resonated to me.  I asked a few for permission to use their essays.  The following is one of them.  I have changed names to keep their identifies private.  Aside from that, I've typed their final report word-for-word. Bullying is a very heavy topic.  I never thought it would happen to me or my family but it happened. I remember last September my older kid Victor told me his classmates put him down to the floor, and kicked his stomach several times.  They also used their fists to punch Victor's head.  I was very angry to hear that.  It's unacceptable behaviour in the elementary school.  I brough him to see t...

I just thought this was an interesting essay my son just submitted for school...perhaps we could learn a thing or two about sharing with others! How to Give a Successful Fundraiser Have you ever felt sorry for the people on the streets, or wanted to help a person in need?  Do you have a family member who is sick but doesn’t have enough money to  pay for a doctor?  Good morning/afternoon honorable judges, teachers, and fellow students.  My name is S...L.... and I would like to share with you my speech on how to have a successful fundraiser.  The above examples are sometimes reasons that cause us to want to raise money.  Some tips I will be highlighting today are on how to clarify your reasons and goals, how to setup a fundraiser and how to handle your money.    The first tip when preparing for a fundraiser is to know your reasons and goals.  Without a reason a fundraiser would be pointless.  First, you must set a goal f...

We are in the middle of the summer and I've had this thought since end of June, but life is busy and so it's only now that I get to write down my thoughts. It was end of June.  The kids were looking forward to summer vacation.  I was dreading figuring out what to do with the kids all summer and where to put them while I work.  But both of us were looking forward to a break from school. And on the last week of school you get the REPORT CARD.  The one piece of paper that is supposed to give you some reassurance that all the hard work has paid off.  That one piece of paper is supposed to boost MY confidence that I was a good mom.  That my kids are on the right track.  That they are doing well.  That there is something I can be proud of. Yes, I know this doesn't sound right, but perhaps I'm not the only one on earth that feels this way? I have blogged before about the first time I received my kids' report cards here ....and I continue to l...

I remember the first day I was dropped off for Grade 1.  I hated the day.  I hated the school.  I felt alone and wanted to just go home.  I didn't know the language, the people or the school.  The days felt like months. I remember the first day I was dropped off for Grade 10 in Canada.  I didn't hate it, but I was so shocked.  I was lonely.  I was sad.  I didn't know the language (again!), the people or the school.  And above all, I was so scared of the unknown ahead of me.  What I felt, I remember now, was real fear of the unknown.  I remember waving good-bye to the family that had cared for me during the summer as they left town.  It was all surreal.  I saw the van vanished in the horizon from my dorm window....and then...silence. And then again, I remember the first day I went to university.  No one dropped me off, and that in itself was reason for me to wish to cry.  No one dropped me off because I h...

I had the pleasure of attending our kids' school's graduating class ceremony last night.  This was my second time.  Last year was an eye opening experience as I had never attended a 'graduating' ceremony in elementary school. This year I was a little more prepared. I was invited to represent school council and say a few words of encouragement and congratulations. But what to say? I share this with you all here because I think there is a lesson for all of us here.   Lately God's been reminding me to learn to LIVE.  One of my Latin American Studies professors in College taught me something I never forgot (Yes, you learn things in college sometimes).  A lot of us here in North America, when asked, "why are you working so hard?" respond:  "I'm working to earn a living" But her point?  We want to earn a living but we do not know how to ENJOY that living we are earning I learned to plan, persevere and work hard thanks to my parents, a...

I've been sharing with you my journey as a mother of kids in the public school system.  Before I go on to share with you the fourth part of the series ... let's remind ourselves of this.  We can choose to see our kids' education as a right (which I agree it is) but we can also choose to see it as a blessing. You can CHOOSE BOTH. A lot has been happening lately in the schools:  we have an ongoing teachers' dispute and we have unhappy parents protesting against the new health education curriculum, amongst other things. But as I immerse myself as much as possible to be part of my kids' education career, I wonder how many of us are aware there are many other concerns that should raise our brows or at least cause us to pause and think and pray and reflect and ask for discernment.   The list can be long but if we don't change the way we understand our roles as parents of children in public schools (and any school for that matter), all these issues stand to be in d...

My heart is heavy when I turn on the TV and I watch reports of schools running with higher than usual number of absentees because parents are upset about the new health curriculum and are pulling their kids out for this week.  They are protesting and wanting to put pressure on the government to pull the sections on Sex Education back because they do not agree with the material specified in the guideline. I am glad I live in the free country where I can freely express my opinions. I am also glad to see that what is taught is transparent (I have access to what the teachers have access to) But I wished we would exercise our rights with more awareness and responsibility. Parents  have asked me if I was pulling my kids off school this week.  And some even commented that they didn't know what to do and would follow suit if other parents pulled their kids too. Please.   Know what you are fighting for if you choose to fight against this curric...

Something happens as we age - we transition from taking a mostly 'pupil' role to that of a 'teacher' role.  Look at me, I am a mother, a mentor, a cake decorator that teaches others and an educator.  I have also taught in our church, lead meetings, been chair of committees, trained staff, and so on. Even in rather mundane day to day activities,  it's easier for us to provide people with advice on anything from where the best restaurant and/or grocery store is or what road is best to avoid traffic, than to ask someone for that same information. Whether we say it out loud or not, when we are helping the kids with homework, piano practice, encouraging them to not quit that skating lesson they find so hard, correcting bad behaviour, enforcing time-out or explaining why they have to be more polite, thankful, positive.....we do think "I know more than you.  Mommy knows best." Or, in the context of serving God....when we are leading a church team to do so...

I continue to learn so much as I immerse into every opportunity I have in becoming part of my kids' public school experience.  I am blessed to be part of a school that has an awesome school, great staff, and caring parents.  Of course, there are challenges, too.  One of them being that the drop off and pick up traffic is often, for a lack of words, quite hectic, chaotic and even dangerous. I don't know what caused me to care about this to the point of putting words into action but on a random day, I just decided to write an email to our city councillor.  Note:  I had never even met this guy but on this random day, I had gotten a random email newsletter from him reporting on changes to traffic signs in an adjacent school.  So I clicked 'reply' and wrote him about my concerns about the school.  I shared with him these were concerns that had been voiced by parents in our school council but that I was writing him for advice as a concerned parent. To...

For the last few days I've been feeling this weird uneasiness around my kids' school.  I volunteer there quite often but something didn't seem 'right' for the last few days.  I tried to ignore this because I thought it is probably nothing. Then today I felt compelled I needed to call other Christian moms I know in the community and pray for the school.  Again, I brushed it off, thinking everyone already knows we ought to pray and maybe I was making much about nothing. Then as I chow down my morning snack I turned on the TV and saw on CNN that there had been another stabbing in the US - in a High School - with about 20 kids hurt many of them with life threatening wounds. I usually would pour into the TV to find out more.  I love news. Today, strangely, I turned off the TV and proceeded to write an email to those mommies.  I had to. Because I knew this was God telling me - WOULD you just listen, Sandy? Ok, Lord, I'm listening now.  What's happen...