Losing It! | urbanmoms.ca

Now Why Would You Do THAT?

By Kath on May 22, 2013 11:05 PM | 8 Comments

2012 was a record-breaking year for births in Alberta, with 52,398 new souls being welcomed into the world here. And according to Service Alberta, Emma and Liam were the two most popular names given to these little bundles of joy. I'm gonna be honest with you here: I love it when the top-baby-names list comes out each year. It's a chance to put on my robe and wig, take out the gavel and get judg-ey. And although we don't like to admit it, most of us secretly like mounting our high horses and looking down our noses at the plebs, with... More »

Thank You Kaitlin Hrudey

By Kath on May 15, 2013 11:58 PM | 2 Comments

There has been a lot of media coverage lately of the youth mental health crisis, which is particularly bad here in Calgary. And it's about damn time. I've known about this crisis for a long time now, because I've been part of it. And it's getting worse, not better.My oldest daughter has anxiety. And not just your garden-variety anxiety, either. I'm not talking about getting a nervous tummy before a big test or having rubbery knees before the big game or a dance recital. What I'm talking about is paralyzing, crippling Anxiety with a capital A. Social Anxiety Disorder. Generalized Anxiety... More »

AD/HD: It's Not Just for Kids Anymore

By Kath on May 9, 2013 12:35 AM | 10 Comments

Not that long ago, I went to see a psychiatrist for the first time.It's kind of a funny story how I ended up there, but the Cole's Notes version is that my kids drove me crazy. True story.But whatever the cause, there I was sitting in her office and answering all her backgrounder-type questions with half my brain, while wondering with the other half how someone so young could possibly have spent enough time in university to be a qualified psychiatrist. Eyes scanning her office walls looking for possible forgeries of medical degrees, I absent-mindedly responded to her queries about... More »

The First Time

By Kath on May 2, 2013 4:26 AM | 4 Comments

You know when you go to a place for the first time, and you are full of expectations of what it will be like, and it turns out to be nothing like you expected, and yet everything you expected all at once?That was Las Vegas for me.I flew in Friday night, and flew home Sunday evening, and in the intervening forty-eight hours, somehow every stereotype I had of Vegas was simultaneously smashed and reinforced. The strip was everything I expected it to be, and yet so much more.I loved the bright lights and huge energy. It made me feel a... More »

Who We Are

By Kath on April 25, 2013 12:13 AM | 1 Comment

Lately I've been watching a lot of How I Met Your Mother on Netflix. It's totally a hilarious show and I find it to be a nice little indulgence after a busy, busy day.There's one particular thing about this show that I really, really enjoy, and that's us. That's because one of the main characters - Robin Scherbatsky (played by Canadian actress Cobie Smulders) - is Canadian. As you would expect, there are times when the writers of the show hit the Canadian references perfectly, and other times when they are just a little bit off: take for example the... More »

Cheerleading and Lessons for Life

By Kath on April 17, 2013 8:44 PM | 3 Comments

"Why don't you ever write about our cheerleading?" Charlotte asked me the other day (after blog-stalking me until the wee hours late one night, but that's another other bottle of wine, as one of my dear friends is fond of saying).It's a fair question, actually. I write about a range of different things - lots of them related to parenting - but I've only once blogged about cheerleading, exclusively. So why not? I don't think there's any one reason in particular. Perhaps because cheer has consumed so much of our family life these past nine months it feels like I... More »

My Five Keys to Success (and a WINNER!)

By Kath on April 8, 2013 3:51 PM | 6 Comments

Congratulations to our third Weight Watchers contest winner Teresa! Way to go Teresa, you've just taken the first step in your journey towards a happier, healthier you. And speaking of journeys, I'm well on the way in my own weight loss journey. I've been at this for 10 weeks now and I've lost 12 pounds. That's still right on track for the one to two pounds per week that Weight Watchers recommends, and I'm pleased as can be with my results. I have more that I'd like to do - in fact, I'm only just about half-way towards my ultimate... More »

Pulling Back

By Kath on April 3, 2013 9:24 PM | 7 Comments

So I haven't been immune to all the talk on parenting sites and the media in general about screens, and the inordinate amount of time we spend on them. It's just that I was never all that inclined to do much about my own use of screens (Facebook! Pinterest! iPhone in bed!) or the amount of time my kids spent on their screens. But a few weeks ago I sat down with my daughter who suffers from severe anxiety disorders and we crafted a routine that we both thought would be most conducive to helping her manage her anxiety and return to... More »

'Rithmetic

By Kath on March 27, 2013 9:21 PM | 6 Comments

As a teacher I often get asked questions from my layperson friends about their children's school lives, and honestly, I'm happy to help out when I can. And perhaps it's not that surprising, but the two most common themes I get consulted about are:ReadingMathTimes change and schools change, but the three Rs are still the going concern for parents, it seems (or at least two of them are, anyway. I do find it interesting that I almost never get asked about writing, despite the fact that the argument can be made that learning how to communicate clearly and effectively using... More »

Taking Back the Power

By Kath on March 20, 2013 10:40 PM | 13 Comments

I haven't written a lot about my daughter's struggle with anxiety and school refusal, partly because it's as much her story to tell as it is mine, and also because...well, to be perfectly honest it's embarrassing. It makes me feel like a bad parent. Like I've failed my daughter and I've failed as a parent - my most important job.Bottom line: dealing with severe anxiety and school refusal (my daughter has been diagnosed with severe Social Anxiety Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder - along with a few other things) is no easy task for either the child suffering from them... More »

Six Weeks, Nine Pounds

By Kath on March 12, 2013 5:54 PM | 26 Comments

Before I get into talking about myself (oh, the self-indulgent world we bloggers live in) let me offer up an enthusiastic congratulations to our first Weight Watchers contest winner, Kim! Congratulations, Kim! You're taking the first step in an incredible journey and you know we're there with you every step of the way! Do you feel ready to begin your own weight loss journey? Well today could be your lucky day! Weight Watchers is offering another membership to a lucky UrbanMoms member! To be entered in this contest, simply comment below with an answer to my question at the... More »

What's on YOUR Plate today?

By Kath on March 4, 2013 2:17 AM | 2 Comments

As you can imagine, I've been doing a lot of thinking about what's on my plate lately, what with all the focus on weight loss and healthier eating. And as so often happens when you put a fair bit of thought into a thing, I find I've begun to look at it all a little differently. if (!window.OX_ads) { OX_ads = []; } OX_ads.push({ "auid" : "359153" }); document.write(''); &amp;amp;lt;iframe id="512b99ef2b55a" name="512b99ef2b55a" src="http://ox-d.sheblogsmedia.com/w/1.0/afr?auid=359153&amp;amp;amp;cb=INSERT_RANDOM_NUMBER_HERE" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" width="1" height="1"&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://ox-d.sheblogsmedia.com/w/1.0/rc?cs=512b99ef2b55a&amp;amp;amp;cb=INSERT_RANDOM_NUMBER_HERE" &amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;img src="http://ox-d.sheblogsmedia.com/w/1.0/ai?auid=359153&amp;amp;amp;cs=512b99ef2b55a&amp;amp;amp;cb=INSERT_RANDOM_NUMBER_HERE" border="0" alt=""&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;/iframe&amp;amp;gt; You see, when you plan your meals and eat mindfully, you change your entire point of view about... More »

Warm Bodies: Movie Girl's Debut Review!

By Kath on February 20, 2013 7:35 PM | 3 Comments

I'm pleased to welcome a guest blogger to Losing It this week: twelve year-old pop-culture addict, Movie Girl. She's bringing us her take on the newest instalment in the seemingly interminable string of zombie entertainment -- Warm Bodies.:) hai (thats how we greet each other nowadays) i figured it was time i did a review of a great movie. Warm Bodies its a mixture of zombie and rom-com. now how could anyone say no to that!!?the producers of the movie describe it this way: WARM BODIES is a funny new twist on a classic love story about a zombie and a... More »

What Valentine's Day Means to Me (Now)

By Kath on February 14, 2013 1:14 AM | 3 Comments

There was a time, in my teens and twenties, that Valentine's Day, for me, meant spending the day in a self-indulgent haze of yearning and loss, self-deprecation and bewilderment. I was a smart, attractive and strong young woman, but I found myself perpetually wandering the streets of my youth alone. You see, I was not a girl that boys asked out. Ever. If a guy asked for my phone number, I'd spend the afternoon walking on air, only to crash down to earth again in the evening when he called and I discovered the only reason he rang was to... More »

Challenges? Ha! I've got Tools for That...

By Kath on February 4, 2013 12:05 PM | 81 Comments

Okay, so it's been a little over two weeks now that I've been following the Weight Watchers 360° program, and I'm sure all you want to know is, how much weight have I lost so far? Well, I'm sorry to disappoint, but I'm going to put you off a little. It's for a really good reason, though! You see, the thing is: this journey is about more than just a number on the scale; it has to be. I strongly believe that in order to be successful in the long term, I can't look at this as a means to... More »

Tickle my Facebook Fancy

By Kath on January 30, 2013 11:41 PM

I was chatting with a colleague the other afternoon about how our use of Facebook has changed over the years. What with ads and recommended pages and the degradation of even the suggestion of privacy, we just don't share the same kinds of things we felt comfortable sharing on Facebook just a few years ago.Which is sad, but on the other hand if I'm posting less, I'm certainly not reading less. And I'm not ready to give it up, because I do still get quite a bit of enjoyment out of my Facebook. I personally love my daily dose of... More »

Not-so-secret Secrets of a Not-so-perfect Mother

By Kath on January 23, 2013 11:45 PM | 11 Comments

I remember having a t-shirt as a kid that said, "Pobody's Nerfect", and these days I find I'm repeating that mantra to myself a lot. Here's the thing: as parents we all have a heck of a lot going on in our lives and there are bound to be times when we just have to take a step back, throw our hands in the air and say a mental, "okay...you got me. I give up..."So if you're like me and you find yourself occasionally overwhelmed by exhaustion, busy-ness or even just a bad day and a larger-than-normal pile of dirty... More »

One Down...

By Kath on January 17, 2013 12:33 AM | 7 Comments

Um, wow.It pretty much never happens but you guys have rendered me nearly speechless with your outpouring of support and encouragement on my last post. It's always kind of nerve-racking when you sit down at the computer and prepare to open up about what is pretty much your most shameful "secret" (of course, being fat is never really a secret - it's pretty obvious to anyone who claps eyes on you). But to find every comment - every last comment - so positive and so encouraging? Well, this probably isn't news to you but it's kinda unheard-of on the internet.So... More »

A Before and After Story

By Kath on January 9, 2013 8:38 PM | 23 Comments

Do you know why my blog is called Losing It? It's not only because this life is such a wild and crazy busy ride that I often feel like I'm losing my marbles, although that's a convenient coincidence as it turns out. Many of you likely don't remember, but way back in May 2006 when I started this blog, it was called "An Urban Mom's Weight Loss Diary". On the day I started my blog, I tipped the scales at a scary 217.2 pounds, and over the course of my very successful journey with Weight Watchers, I lost slightly more than... More »

The Sweet Silence of Down Time

By Kath on January 3, 2013 9:15 AM | 4 Comments

As I sat down to write this morning, I was shocked to see how long it's been since my last post. And although I would prefer I had written more faithfully on my blog, I can honestly say I've enjoyed these last few quiet weeks. I've been rather silent on social media, and days have gone by where I haven't sat down at the computer at all. Instead I've read two books and been present for my daughters in a way that I seldom can be during the hustle and bustle of school/working weeks.All of which is not to say... More »

Kitchen Rescues Courtesy Kraft

By Kath on December 16, 2012 3:32 PM

You know those nights, right? It's late, everyone's hungry, you just got back from work and there's hardly any food in the pantry. What to do for dinner? Well, there's always the take-out option, but before I run for my wallet and the drive-thru, I always check the Kraft Canada website and their "use what's on hand" feature - you type in three ingredients that you have, and they suggest dozens of recipes to choose from. I've found some enduring family favourites from this site, and avoided many fast-food meals as well.Mini Taco Bowls: a kid-pleasing family favourite I discovered... More »

My Top Ten Holiday Songs to Listen to and Sing

By Kath on December 12, 2012 10:09 PM | 4 Comments

One of my most favourite things about this most wonderful time of year is the music. Whether singing in the church choir as a child (where I acquired the very valuable life skill of properly pronouncing hosannah in excelsis), or big carol-sings in the school gym, with the lyrics displayed on transparencies placed on the overhead projector (yes, kids...that's what we used before they invented SmartBoards), to quiet(ish) evenings at home with my sisters and parents listening to (and singing along with) our favourite Christmas records and even nights where the three of us sisters curled up together in one big... More »

What's Your Advantage?

By Kath on December 6, 2012 11:29 PM | 1 Comment

As a teacher, I often get asked by parents, "what can I do to help support my child's learning at home?" It's a really important question, because a really great education depends on a strong partnership between the two most important influences in a child's life: her home and her school. I love being asked this question, because it shows me that I have the privilege of dealing with a family that is really invested in supporting their child's education.That's not to say that I always recommend anything more than, "keep on doing what you're doing!" The truth is, most... More »

Our New Holiday Tradition

By Kath on December 6, 2012 12:15 AM | 5 Comments

This year marks the second Christmas for my girls since their Dad and I separated. It's also going to be the first Christmas since the separation that we spend alone, at home, just the three of us (last year we flew from Calgary back 'home' to Toronto to be with my extended family). I spent a lot of last year doing things for my kids to try to help them feel the loss a little less keenly. The trip to Toronto. A first-time visit to Disneyland. Another trip to Toronto in the summer. This year is going to have to be... More »

A Present You Can Open Again and Again

By Kath on November 27, 2012 11:22 AM | 2 Comments

A little while ago I wrote about my love of reading. I love books - everything about them. I love the smell of them, the look of them, the feel of a book (or my Kobo) in my hand. I love to lose myself in imaginary worlds, to have my worldview questioned, my mind opened like a flower. When I was younger, an aunt gave me a gift of bookplates with the following quotation inscribed:A book is a present you can open again and again.And it's so true! Whether you're a serial re-reader like me, or whether you only read... More »

Friendship

By Kath on November 21, 2012 9:51 PM | 8 Comments

For my friend: you know who you are.So you know those times, the ones where life is such a hard, hard struggle you just don't know how you're going to make it through? Those rough, tough times, when all you can do is get your Dory on and just keep swimming? I'm there, friends. I'm not going to go into the details because this story is not mine to tell. And besides...it's personal and painful and I'm so full up from coping with it that I don't even have the energy to talk about it anymore, let alone try to find le... More »

Book Club of One

By Kath on November 15, 2012 12:39 AM | 7 Comments

Here's an interesting conundrum.I'm a voracious reader. Truly voracious. I gobble books up and just can't stop until there's nothing left. I also love to talk about what I'm reading, or have recently read, but I hate book clubs and I won't join one.But wait, it actually makes sense. You see, I would join a book club, and love it, but it'd have to be a club of one (me) or else a club populated entirely by clones of me. Because the thing is, I have a tricky taste in books. It's kind of - ahh, well - eclectic would be the... More »

Future Finances and a CONTEST!

By Kath on November 2, 2012 1:11 AM | 1 Comment

In some ways, I feel like the poster child for how not to be a financial success story. I have credit card debt and I tend to operate without a budget much of the time. Impulse purchases? Been there, done that. Just ask my car. (Seriously)But although I might be a silly spender in some ways, there's one thing I don't take lightly, and that's saving for my retirement and my children's education. I have RRSPs and a solid pension plan for myself, and RESPs for my kids. We opened the RESPs right after the kids were born, and make... More »

Ooh, the Funny!

By Kath on October 25, 2012 12:02 AM | 4 Comments

I'll come right out and tell y'all: for the past few days I've been dealing with somewhat of a crisis on the home front, and - being the mom and all (and a single mom at that) - I've worn myself pretty thin, both physically and emotionally. Colleagues have commented on my exhausted look and general lack of pep; friends too, and even random acquaintances. Heck, one of my students asked me the other day if I had forgotten to put on makeup (I hadn't, for the record).So that's me this week. Exhausted. Worn out. Done.And yet, as tempting as... More »

Real Women of Philly WIN Free Groceries for a Year!

By Kath on October 15, 2012 8:45 AM | 6 Comments

Not that long ago, Jen posted a status update on Facebook that she had burned dinner. A stream of sympathetic been there, done that-type responses flooded in from other moms across the web. But I knew that this wasn't just your everyday garden-variety type mistake, and Jen soon made it clear as well. Yes she had burned dinner because she was super busy and was trying to do twelve other things simultaneously (it happens to the best of us) but she also admitted: she hates to cook. Because of this hatred, she feels she's not that good at it. (I... More »

Colour Me Pinned

By Kath on October 8, 2012 7:37 PM | 2 Comments

I've written about my tempestuous relationship with Facebook, and although I am on Twitter, I'll be the first to admit I rarely use it. It just goes way too fast for me to keep up with (and yes, I realize that just saying that makes me sound like I'm ninety-nine years old). I haven't yet found a tool that I can use to filter the tweets of all the people I follow so that I can effectively use this uber-popular social medium.But fear not. I have found my place.Pinterest.You see, I'm a visual person (maybe that's why the short bursts... More »

Minecraft Detente

By Kath on September 30, 2012 9:32 AM | 1 Comment

Not that long ago, I wrote about my children's obsession with the online sandbox game, Minecraft. At the time, I was concerned abut two things mainly: their addiction to playing it ALL. THE. TIME. and the behaviour of the other people on the multi-player servers.In the months that have ensued, we seem to have navigated the addiction issue. Possibly it's that the novelty has worn off ... possibly it's that I totally rock as a parent (my money's on the former). Either way, now they know they have to do their homework and chores before they play, and when I... More »

Love/Hate

By Kath on September 26, 2012 11:06 PM | 1 Comment

*SIGH*Now, Facebook, why'd you have to go and do it again?I have put up with all your random changes (heck, I even came to like timeline), and I was forgiving of the way you slowly eroded my privacy in a series of opt-out changes, because I liked -- nay loved -- what you gave me in return. The connections! The friendships! The constant stream of updates. And George Takei!But this -- this might just be the last straw. Whether you believe the outcry from Facebook users who claim that old private messages are being posted very publicly on their new... More »

Meet the Parents

By Kath on September 16, 2012 9:16 PM | 1 Comment

No, not that meet the parents (although I will admit it is one of my favourite funny movies). No, this is about an altogether different kind of Meet the Parents. It's the time of year when school boards across the country organize the first Parent-Teacher Conference of the year, formerly known as Meet the Teacher (or in some cases, Meet the Creature!)I know there are lots of "how-to" guides for parents out there, offering advice on how to handle a meeting with your child's teacher, so I'm not going to reinvent the wheel here. I'm also well aware that there's a... More »

Better Education For Life

By Kath on September 11, 2012 12:45 PM | 47 Comments

This blog post is sponsored by NIVEA Canada. NIVEA believes that every child deserves the best care. With this in mind, NIVEA Canada is proud to partner with the child rights and international aid agency, Plan Canada, to help fund an education project in Senegal, West Africa. With the shared goal of building schools, providing better opportunities for education and teaching essential skills, NIVEA Canada and Plan Canada are working together to help break the cycle of poverty. To learn more, you can also visit Facebook.com/NIVEACanada and click on the 'NIVEA & Plan Canada' tab.A group of young children in... More »

Farewell, Summer!

By Kath on September 6, 2012 12:22 PM | 10 Comments

Yesterday I sent my girls off to their respective schools, and I headed off to mine - each of us for our own first day. And that, more than September 21, defines the end of summer for me.So I took some time to reflect and look back on the summer we had this year in 2012 - and it was a great one!I sent my oldest off to sleep-away camp for the first time:And the girls and I had a wonderful time in the Okanagan:And then we had a few weeks to just veg and enjoy being at home with... More »

Moving Toward Closure

By Kath on August 13, 2012 3:12 AM | 10 Comments

I'm...struggling.Yesterday I found out my ex has begun seeing someone new. I'll be honest - I wasn't completely surprised, but my kids sure were. In the end, I believe he did what he thought was best to bring the two sides of his life together, but it turned into an emotional train-wreck for my daughters (well, to be fair, mostly for my older daughter). And I was the one scrambling to pick up the pieces, while also trying to sort out my own feelings about it.Now I haven't written much about my separation, mostly because it's not only my story... More »

Morning

By Kath on August 9, 2012 9:36 AM | 2 Comments

I love the solitude of early morning.The quality of the sunlight slanting into my living room.The quiet of the house before my daughters wake, shake off sleep and add their exuberant energy to the day.The smell of coffee brewing.It is, indeed, worth waking up for. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to grab my book, my coffee and a patch of morning sunlight on the couch.Enjoy your day.... More »

My Body, Myself

By Kath on August 7, 2012 10:34 AM | 11 Comments

Ahhh, summer. Long, hot days stretching out in sixty days of leisure, travel, food and wine. It's a great time of year for me and my girls. Two months of togetherness and agenda-less days, hours at the beach or by the pool and wonderful meals shared with friends and loved ones. It's bliss.I love it. With all my heart. And I embrace it, knowing the days are all too fleeting and the daily grind of the school year will soon be upon us again with its routines and rush and the fullness of the days with - stuff. And when... More »

Austerity Measures

By Kath on July 30, 2012 12:20 PM | 5 Comments

So, I did a household budget last week. -GULP- How can three people spend so much money just...living? I mean, yes: we go on vacation, I drive a new car and we don't buy our clothes at thrift shops. On the other hand, we're not flying first-class to Rome, I have a Toyota not a BMW and I tog the girls out at Old Navy instead of Tommy Girl. Realistically, I would have described my spending habits as being rather...average. Not outrageous, but also not particularly frugal. But when I looked at it all in the cold light of day, I... More »

Media Madness - Literally

By Kath on July 26, 2012 1:10 PM | 9 Comments

In the aftermath of the recent tragic theatre shooting in Aurora, Colorado, a lot of the social media reaction seemed to centre around the presence of Veronica Moser-Sullivan, aged six, at the midnight screening of the PG-13 rated movie The Dark Knight Rises. The reactions ranged from outrage that a young child would be at a violent, scary movie in the middle of the night to outrage that this fact generated so much commentary in the wake of so many other tragic deaths.I'm not actually going to share my opinion about Veronica Moser-Sullivan's presence at The Dark Knight Rises, because I'm not... More »

In Praise of Spontaneous Getaways (and a not-so-fun mudslide this time)

By Kath on July 22, 2012 1:54 PM | 2 Comments

Ever since we got stranded in Monterey, CA overnight due to a rogue mudslide caused by heavy rains that closed the Pacific Coast Highway before we could reach Los Angeles, I've wanted to take my girls back to the beach. I called that trip "A Delightful Detour", and it truly was one of the brightest moments in a brilliant vacation. My girls loved our forced delay in the beach-side Best Western Monterey Beach Resort and I really, really wanted to take them back to the ocean, but this time for a longer stay. However, finances and time and commitments being... More »

Cheering Them On

By Kath on July 15, 2012 1:45 PM | 1 Comment

"Would your girls want to join cheerleading?"When a fellow mom asked me that question, I'm pretty sure I just looked back at her with a blank stare for a few moments. Cheerleading for what? I wondered. A school? A team? Or...could it be...just plain ole cheerleading? You know, like cheerleading for the sake of cheerleading. Like, American-style cheerleading."They have that here?" I asked.Apparently, yes. They do. It's actually called All-Star Cheerleading and it would seem it's one of the fastest-growing sports in Canada. It's gaining popularity across the country, and every province except New Brunswick and PEI has its own... More »

The Call

By Kath on July 12, 2012 5:23 PM | 5 Comments

Well, it happened on Tuesday. I got the call. You know, the one every camp parent dreads. The one where they tell you that your kid is very anxious and homesick and do you think it would be appropriate to talk with them?Before I launch into anything else here, let me first be clear on two points:My daughter has been diagnosed with a smorgasbord of anxiety disorders, and suffers so acutely from them that she often struggles just to go to school every day. So for her to be at camp, for a week, overnight, without me...well, it's just a... More »

Summer Camp Cares

By Kath on July 9, 2012 11:20 PM | 5 Comments

Like many other moms this summer, I sent my oldest child off to overnight camp for the first time this summer. Like those other moms, I shopped, packed and prepared with my first-time camper. I bought stationery and stamps. I filled out the forms and signed the waivers. I drove her to camp, kissed and hugged her goodbye. I watched her walk away with her tipi-mates, and I haven't stopped thinking about her since.All of which is pretty par for the course, I think. I so desperately want her to have a fantastic time, meet great new friends and count... More »

Free-Range Fun

By Kath on July 6, 2012 12:15 PM

I was inspired by Jason's post about boredom, in which he refers to this article by Tim Kreider in the New York Times. The article, called "The Busy Trap" bemoans our modern culture of busyness - how it affects every aspect of our lives, including our children and their programming (or over-programming, as the case may be). It's a topic that's much on peoples' minds these days: how busy we are or perhaps rather, how busy we choose to make ourselves. You know how it goes: all this technology that was supposed to save us so much time in fact just makes... More »

The New Business of Being a Girl

By Kath on June 30, 2012 9:33 AM | 6 Comments

When I was heading into grade seven, I hated my hair. I also hated my body, my clothes and pretty much everything else about my appearance. I figure it goes with the territory. But back then, changing that appearance wasn't all that much of an option. But this isn't 1980: it's a new era of girlhood. Back then, we looked up to Olivia Newton-John and Lady Di: Today, their role models are Katy Perry and Lady Gaga:Now there's a whole post in here about the over-sexualized influences of pop culture on our young girls, but this isn't it. This post is... More »

The Perfect Present

By Kath on June 24, 2012 11:20 AM | 3 Comments

I was going to write a post with great advice on what to get your child's teacher for an end of school present. But then I realized that only the procrastinators (read: me) are still running around picking up teachers' gifts so late in the game. I also know from elated Facebook posts that for many of you, summer holidays have already begun and the gift-giving boat has already sailed.So instead I'm going to write -- from a teacher's perspective -- about why it doesn't really matter what you got your child's teacher anyway. In the past few weeks, I've had... More »

A Big Bite of Buyers' Remorse

By Kath on May 31, 2012 11:53 PM | 5 Comments

Last weekend, I bit the bullet and bought a new laptop. Why? Well, my children are heavy users of our one existing computer, a 15-inch MacBook Pro which, I will readily admit, is a pretty sweet piece of hardware. But I was getting tired of a) hearing them bicker over whose turn it was to use the computer, b) being called on to mediate said bickering and c) never getting a chance to use the computer myself. On a tangent, here's one of the crappy things about kids growing older: they don't go to bed hours before you do anymore.... More »

A Game of Time

By Kath on May 20, 2012 10:07 PM | 2 Comments

A few weeks ago at school I taught a mini-lesson to my students about being a voracious reader. It's important, of course, that kids learn not only how to read, but also that they learn to love reading. We want kids to not want to put their books down when reading time is over, to hear them say, "one second" when we ask them to mark their pages and put down their books. Actually, I secretly smile when I notice children in my class sneaking books into their desk drawers so they can keep reading once everyone else has moved on... More »

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