In fact, I have to abashedly admit to being ‘apathetic’ on most political issues (shame on me!)

However, I feel compelled to share this message.

Bill 22 is NOT good for our children.

And quite frankly, it sucks for our teachers.  But maybe you don’t like teachers?

Maybe you think they get a cushy ride, working ’9-2:30′ with lots and lots of holidays?

(um…of course, if you think that, my guess is you don’t know many teachers!)

But, if that’s your opinion, then take anything to do with TEACHERS out of the equation for a minute, and JUST focus on what Bill 22 means for our CHILDREN.

• wipes out virtually all current class-size and composition limits found in the School Act (Bill 33)
• no limits on number of students with special needs in a class
• no limit of numbers of students in Grades 4 to 12
• no consultation with teachers about their classes
• no public accountability for school boards

Of course, I happen to LOVE teachers.  And I think they deserve the right to a fair collective bargaining process.

(ok – confession….I didn’t love ALL my teachers)

But they ALL have my support.  Especially my very first teacher.

She taught me how to hold a pencil.  She taught me my ABCs.  She taught me more than I can possibly write here.

My first teacher was my sister.

And, here’s a letter she wrote to her PAC in response to the ridiculous claims that teachers are being ‘discriminatory’ about wanting limits on the number of special needs children in their classroom.

Please take 3 minutes to read it.  As the mud-flinging goes on, it’s easy to forget we are talking about REAL people.  Individuals.

Here’s what she had to say…

Let me start by saying I love teaching. I love children. I love the learning process. Many of you know me and have for years. I hope you do know how much I love working with your children and your families and that is why we teachers need to take a stand.

I realized the media and George Abbott have lots to say about what is going on this year with what teachers are demanding and what we are doing and I have not yet taken the opportunity to share my perspective with you, the parents of the children I care for deeply.

Recently, George Abbott has commented that it is discrimination for teachers to say there should be no more than three children in a classroom with individualized education plans. That comment horrifies me.

Having been both a Learning Assistance Resource Teacher for five years and a classroom teacher for many more than that, I can assure you that we are advocating for that child and their family. And we are advocating for the other children in the classroom.

What is first and foremost in a teachers mind is honouring the learning needs of a child with an IEP as well as those of the typical learner in the classroom setting.

So what does that mean, “honouring their learning needs?”

It means planning and meeting with specialists within the district to become informed and educated on the child’s unique situation. It means planning and meeting with parents, learning assistance teachers and support workers to create and then continue monitoring strong programming, and appropriate goals. It means learning new programs be it technology, book resources and teaching strategies. It means creating individualized learning materials and opportunities. It means writing lessons for School Support Workers to administer for him/her. It means providing that child with the extra time from the teacher in the classroom (scribing, additional teaching, sitting one on one with them, providing extra support for safety…).

I want to do this for a child with special learning needs. They deserve that we advocate for them. However, when George Abott says it is discrimination to only have three in a classroom, I need to advocate for the child that they deserve all that I mentioned above. But how can I truly honour the learning needs of five or six or more children that need this level of support well? And then how can I honour the learning needs of the typical learners in my classroom. They too deserve my time and instruction. If the government does not want to honour learning needs, the children will all lose out.

They want to legislate me back to work.
I am working. I am a part time teacher who works on planning and marking on weekends and in the evenings and mornings before school. I am here before school starts and am eager to greet my students in the mornings. Although my teaching time (paid time) ends at noon or before, my teaching partner and I remain in the classroom at lunch to assist children in learning to eat safely and politely. When the children go out to play, she and I collaborate on planning and supporting children with additional learning and behaviour needs as well as general programming. While she teaches in the afternoon, I will still be in the classroom. I pull students to do individualized assessments. I will pull students to provide further supports for the children who need it. I stay to complete marking. I collaborate with LARTs, I meet with the librarian to learn about new resources and meet with other staff members to work on school wide issues/supports. On the weekends, I go to places like Value Village to buy books for my classroom library (out of my own pocket) so that children have silent reading and Home Reading materials.

Yes, I am not doing recess duty. Yes, we are not having staff meetings with the principal. Yes, I did not do formal report cards. But yes I am working. I am working hard to provide a rich, safe and supportive classroom and school environment for my students and I still am meeting with and communicating with parents, SSWs and other teachers to assist me in making this happen.

They want to take control over my professional development.
I love the learning process. That is what is so refreshing and exciting about teaching primary. Students are excited about everything and watching their wonderment in new learning is such a privilege. But I also love the learning process that I experience daily. I reflect on my practice, what went well, what I could try next time. What I could do better to support the learning needs unique to my classroom. I know my strengths and I know the areas I wish to further develop.

Each school is its own community.
Depending on that unique culture, different schools may require different professional development opportunities. The professional development opportunities I seek out are to help me better reach the individual learning needs within my classroom. If one year I have a child in my classroom with severe and challenging behavioural needs, I will take pro-d opportunities so that I can better help that child. If another year I have many ESL children in my classroom I am going to want to learn about the many ways I can support them. I cherish my pro-d opportunities and the collaboration with my colleagues. I cannot imagine how pro-d could be a top down approach.

I love technology. I can see many benefits to having a Smart Board or Data projector right in my classroom. I was the one who advocated for the Fusion Writers and for the Kurzweil programs we have here in the school and I see them working with great success. My concern comes down to a lack of funding and the amount of time and money needed if things need to be repaired or installed. I bring my own laptop to school so I have an efficient, effective computer to use. I have also bought my own printer. My classroom library has been donated by retired teachers, families and purchased out of my own pocket. I bring in my own daughters’ books and ask students to please take care of them. Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Christmas gifts for parents, special craft and art projects – materials for these projects are bought with teachers’ own salaries. The bulletin board displays, the seasonal displays, the cushions, the couch and comfy chairs, the bins the books are in, the music CDs, the pencil holders, the prizes I give away, even my stapler, pencil sharpener and Handwriting and Social Responsibility programs have been bought by me personally because I work in an under-funded system but want to provide an inviting and rich classroom experience. Among other things, I have watched library and special education support been cut back even in my short twelve years in this province. So embrace technology, yes. But embracing technology without additional funding comes at what cost?

I am passionate about what I do. I am dedicated to “honing my craft”. I care deeply about the students I work with in the school. I feel privileged to be part of their educational journey. I am just one of many who feel the same way. I need to take a stand for children and for public education.

Sincerely,

SK

So…how about you? Are you going to take a stand for our children and for public education?

I hope so.  And so does Rya.  Because at the rate things seem to be going, her experience in the public education system is going to be vastly different than her mama’s.

(Photo on right: Rya attends her first rally to support her Auntie Stacey…and her OWN education!)

What can you do to support our children and teachers?

Contact your MLA
Sign the Petition to our Premiere

Sign the KILL BILL Petition
Share this post
Update your facebook status to show your support of teachers – or share the link to their YouTube Video
- http://youtu.be/d-ghZ96QVi8
Honk to show support of teachers demonstrating

Share your comments below!

I would like to reflect back on 2011.

But…um…I’m just not that philosophical.

And, I’m too freakin’ tired to pretend to be.

So…I’ll just say,

“Happy New Year!
May good things come your way in 2012, like…um..sleep!”

I remember in my last few weeks of pregnancy, all my friends with kids kept telling me…

“Erin – CHILL OUT!  Relax.  Read books.  Sleep in late, and go to bed early.  Kick your feet up.”

Instead…I spent my last few weeks painting the house, ‘finishing’ renovating the kitchen – which, consequently, is STILL not finished, and in general, keeping myself busy doing anything BUT relaxing.

If I could go back in time and stand before that Erin, I would take her by the shoulders, look her in the eye, then slap her upside the head (gently of course).

Actually…would I?

Because, now my friends with TWO (or more) children are telling me, “Erin, sleep when Rya naps.  When you have two children, you won’t have this luxury….take advantage of it now”

And, so far, I have NOT taken their advice.  Even though I know it would be a smart thing to do (especially on the days she wakes up at 4AM…which lately, has been EVERY DAY!)

Naps just seem so…I don’t know what the right word is…self-indulgent?  That’s not right.

But I feel guilty.

On the days I actually DO decide, “Yes…i’m going to have a nap” – the moment I lay down, I start thinking of all the things I *should* be doing.

Anyone else feel the same way?   And if so, any strategies to ditch the guilt and catch the Zzzz’s?

Because…mama needs ALL the energy she can get to keep up with this zippy child!

When I first started this blog, I was certain I would be updating it every other night, detailing all the great things we got up to and the milestones Rya was hitting.

That didn’t happen.  But, I DID capture lots of iPhone images!

Now, the idea of going thousands of iPhone photos to pull out my favourites was far too daunting…so I just randomly scooped some…blurry or not! (but hey…life goes by in a blur – so why not the montages too!)

Maybe next year I’ll sit down and make a better montage – right around the time I start working on Rya’s newborn album. haha

Enjoy mom

They say a photo is worth a thousand words…so, let’s just start with this…

Words cannot describe how much I love this photo…so I’m not even going to try…seriously.  Every time I start to write, I’m reduced to tears.  She has captured a piece of my family history forever and I am so very grateful.

What you can’t see in this photo is the locket I am wearing that has captured Rya’s attention.  It is my grandma’s locket.  And inside, a photo of a young, handsome man – my grandpa.  My daughter never had the chance to meet her great grandparents, but with the help of photographs, hopefully she’ll feel like she gets to know them a little…and with it, some of her family history.  Because our photographs truly do act as visual reminders of our family’s history.

So many of my own ‘childhood memories’ happen to have photos to go along with them.  Why?  Because my mom and dad were snap happy and had the camera out at all times?  Heck no!  It’s because when we would pull out the family photo albums once a year, the pictures would remind my parents of the stories, and they would tell my sister and me.   And so, those were the ‘memories’ that stuck.

I would leave it at that, but I’m compelled to say this…

As moms, we tend to be the ones toting the cameras around, and forget to (or purposely choose not to) put ourselves in front of the lens.

When we do, we can usually be found saying things like, “I hate getting my photo taken.  I’m totally not photogenic.  Can you photoshop me thinner, taller, shorter, blonder, less grey, less wrinkly….etc etc”

I admit, I am guilty of this too.

But what message am I giving to my daughter?  What message am I giving myself?

So, from now on…I’m going to like being behind AND in front of the lens – how about you?

Because I guarantee you this…Rya is NOT thinking, “does this outfit make me look fat?”

* My heart is capable of holding more love than I ever thought humanly possible

* My entire mood can be lifted by the tiniest grin

* Baby teeth are sharp…like, crazy razor sharp!

* I have become one of those mothers that uses spit to clean my baby’s face

* Sleep isn’t as necessary as I once thought it was

* No matter what you do, there’s a book saying you are doing it wrong.  There’s also a book saying you are doing it right.  To hell with the books!

* Watching my baby’s face light up when I walk into the room melts my heart.  Every. single. time.

* If you need to be somewhere at a certain time, without fail, seconds before walking out the door, you’ll have to deal with a blowout.

This Mother’s Day, I hope to have a relaxing, snuggle kind of day (as I haven’t been able to fall back asleep since our 3AM feed) – however, now that Rya has figured out crawling, she’s got places to go and things to see!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the loopy mamas out there!

It starts off with dragging poor Rya to mommy bootcamp, when all she really wanted to do was nap.

She was a sport though, and humoured me by watching me jump around like a mad woman from her car seat.

She got a bit fussy 15 minutes in – which is when I realized she really needed a diaper change.  Oh. Understatement.

She needed a diaper change AND a new outfit.

Blowout.

Second “F” for mommy – I forgot to pack her another outfit. 

Well…the jumper was multi-coloured, and I figured no one would notice the yellow stain on the side, so we stayed….just 45 more minutes  to go baby – hang in there.

I resume the circuit, placing her back in the car seat on top of the buckles.

Next thing I know, I see my baby launching towards me ‘a la superman…’

Miraculously, she managed to keep her body in perfect flying form, holding her head up looking at me with an expression of, “You are SO getting bad-mommy-of-the-year-award for this!”

SPLAT

Her little belly and chunky monkey legs take the impact – her hands slap down in front of her….her eyes are still fixed on me, “BAD, BAD Mommy”

She let me have it.  And rightly so.

She’s fine.  I’m not. I keep thinking how bad it could have been if she didn’t have her hands out, and smashed her face into the hard gym floor.

F…F….F

(um…now this is the part where you reply with a story how you did something bad once too (or know someone who has)…and I’m not the most rotten mommy in the world).

I don’t know what is so different about “7 months old” vs “6 months” – but it really feels different.  Like she isn’t a baby anymore.

Which is rather ridiculous.  But…I don’t know…it just feels different.

Perhaps it’s because her personality is really beginning to shine.  And she is doing ‘little people’ things like eating food, drinking from a cup and…(we had a big moment today!) for the first time ever, Rya has figured out how to propel herself forward!

It was like watching a salmon swim upstream.

She would wriggle forward, in pursuit of the object placed just out of her reach.  She would gain a few inches, and then slide herself backwards an inch.

Undaunted, she would start the wriggling process again.

Bum lift. Wiggle…wiggle…. and little by little…she made her way forward, until SUCCESS!  She reached the reward (a plastic bag of all things!)

I felt ridiculously proud of her.

Watching your little peanut figure out new things is pretty amazing.  So is being a mama (even on those days when it doesn’t feel amazing because you are riddled with mommy-guilt…like on our last trip to the Island…more on that later!)

(special thanks to Robyn from State of Grace Photography for the photo, taken at our ‘Fit by Design‘ coffee outing!)

You know when you meet someone, that special someone, and it turns your whole world upside down.

You can’t get enough of each other.  You hardly see your friends.  You stop trying to make new ones.  You don’t even notice if you have eaten that day.

You fall off the face of the earth…and those times when you might actually be around other people, you aren’t really there…you’re still off in your own little ‘private world’ with your special someone (flying through the sky in a red convertible?  ok…maybe not that part!).

And then, one day, you wake up and think, “Oh, hello world.  Nice to see you.”  But no one is saying ‘nice to see you’ back – and you realize that you are missing a bunch of your connections because you have neglected them.

I feel a bit like that.  Sorry friends.

And sorry blog.  I’ve neglected you too.  But at least I know you don’t care.

Anyone else feel this way after having a baby?  Am I normal? (ok…I know I’m not normal…but is the feeling normal?)

I hosted my first Christmas dinner.

I’m not sure I recommend that combination.

Actually – there is nothing wrong with the combination – just make sure ‘I need help’ are words you will actually say versus attempting to out-Martha Ms. Stewart herself (which, by the way, is never likely to happen!)

It started off calm enough, with a lovely sleep-in with my daughter.  Daddy made us coffee, Rya tore into her gifts (literally – she’s pretty good at opening presents!). Then, it was time to get started on dinner.

First, there was a big ol’ turkey in my fridge that needed to be tackled.

Having never made a turkey before, I thought maybe these things were hard to do.  YouTube to the rescue!

Soon I was removing neck and nasty bits, rubbing it down like a pro and stuffing it like there was no tomorrow.

“Hm”…I thought, “there’s nothing too difficult about making a bird!” – (even if I had to improvise on the ‘tie up with string’ instructions!)

Next up, the ham.   A little criss-cross clove studding and a sweet honey glaze, and we were off to the races!

The sweet potato casserole was prepped and pastry for the apple pie was already made and in the fridge.

We are all set to have a nice early 5PM dinner (which was important with young kids in the family)

By 4:30, the turkey was ready to come out and the ham and was smelling amazing (and I’m not even a big ham fan).  At this point, all that needed to happen was for the sweet potato casserole to go in the oven, the cranberry sauce to be made (which was a snap), and the salad dressing to be whipped up.

But at this point, Rya needed to go down for a nap.

45 minutes later, the rest of family had arrived, but instead of having a sleeping baby upstairs and dinner on the table, I was handing off an over-tired baby to my sister and heading back into the kitchen.

We had now slipped past our original dinner time.

We still would have been on for a 6PM dinner – however, I got it in my head the apple pie NEEDED be completed at this stage…and this is where it all went sideways.

Ever try to roll out pastry dough in a kitchen that is about 30 degrees?  Bad idea!

But I persisted…and persisted…while putting meat carving on hold while I tried to get it done .

In the living room, I could hear my daughter getting unhappier.

The casserole came out needing to caramelize a wee bit longer, so I popped it back in the oven to broil for “one minute” and started the cranberry sauce.   As I continued my futile battle with the overheated pastry, listening to my daughter start to really cry, the cranberries began to boil over, and I suddenly smelled burnt peacans – Eek!  The casserole!

I quickly finished making a very sad-looking lattice crust for the pie, popped it in the oven, and left the kitchen to scoop my crying baby while hubbie went to work carving up the meat.

Bon appetite everyone – start dinner without me!

As I stepped into the nursery, turned on the soothing music, and sat in the rocking chair with Rya to nurse,  I took a deep breath, and had to chuckle.

That was ridiculous.

There were so many sets of hands just waiting (nay…hovering!),  for me to simply say, “I need help.”  And what the hell was up with my pie obsession?  (was this tied to some sort of postpartum hormone imbalance or had I just gone temporarily insane?)

Anyhow, about 20 minutes later when she was fed and sleeping, I came downstairs to find empty plates on the dinner table.

Empty, clean plates.

And a hungry family.

They had waited for me.

(swallow big lump in throat).

It was now past 7:30.

I would like to say at this point, the rest of the evening was calm and relaxing….but hey, we had some overtired kids, Rya woke up 10 minutes into dinner, and in the meantime, I managed to drive my head into the bathroom door, resulting in a fast-rising goose egg (the most comical part may have been the reaction at the table...“Put some ice on it quick, it’s getting big!”  “No…seriously…get some ice on it now!”)

The dinner tasted great though… I think?  I don’t remember?  Concussion? (hehe…just joking)

But, with such a late start dinner, and everyone full of turkey, the sad-looking pie ended up just sitting on the counter silently mocking me.

Damn-you pie.

“Sparks Story Starters!” – created right here in Kamloops by local Mom, Tamara Vukusic & her husband.

What are they?  In a nutshell…

Spark Your Imagination Story Starters is the fuel your kids’ imagination has been waiting for. These 50 kid-tested scenarios kick-start creativity and get kids talking. (I totally just swiped from their website! – could you tell?)

(and how cute is this  “testimonial”)

- Adam, aged 5 says
“Can you ask me the one about my pet dragon and how I sneak it into school? I have a different end now… “

And – here‘s the best part – because I’m a self-proclaimed iPhone junkie – you can get these cards on your iPhone!

Download the app here (or search “Spark-2″) (just .$99!) – and trust me, when you are waiting in line at the airport, in the middle of your roadtrip, or at the mall, and your children are getting bored, that will be the best damn $.99 you ever spent!

Of course, if you happen to LIVE in Kamloops – you can go get the real deck of cards too!(and you should!)
(Find them at the Kids Room, Tumbleweed Toys, Frou Frou Monkey, the Mulberry Bush & Full Boar Bicycle – just $13.99 -they make a GREAT stocking stuffer)

Why might you want the cards over just the iPhone app?

1.  For one, your reading-age children could head off with them on their own (you may not wish to send them off with your iPhone!) Of course these days, maybe the kids even HAVE their own iPhone!

2. The visiting grandparents can use them with the children to get re-acquainted (again, you may not wish to send your parents off with your iPhone either! hehe)

3. If you are using them in the car and you are driving, you’ll totally get busted if you use the iPhone app!

4. And I guess…maybe you don’t HAVE any iPhone?  Could it be?  Is there life without one? hahah

Tamara mentioned you could put a card at each place setting at the Christmas dinner to engage in some lively conversation.  I could have used those a few years ago when the conversation turned to grasshoppers (yes -grasshoppers) – and went on for 45 minutes about the poor farmers fields….sigh

Don’t have kids?  Well, quite frankly, I don’t think these are ONLY just for kids either – I might just pull out my deck on New Years – after a glass of wine (yes…one glass is all it takes after over a year sans-alcohol’) – I’m pretty sure I’ll be coming up with some seriously great story lines!  Who’s coming to MY New Year’s party?!

In any case – I think this idea just ROCKS! (and they definitely would help “Loopy Mamas” be a little less loopy over this holiday season!)

Ok – reader participation time!  Let’s see what YOU can come up with using this sample “spark starter”)